Clan Cunningham is a
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...
. The traditional origins of the clan are placed in the 12th century. However, the first contemporary record of the clan chiefs is in the thirteenth century. The chiefs of the Clan Cunningham supported
Robert the Bruce
Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...
during the
Wars of Scottish Independence. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Clan Cunningham feuded with the
Clan Montgomery. Historically, the chief of Clan Cunningham held the title of
Earl of Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III of Scotland, James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the e ...
. However, in modern times the chief of the clan is Cunningham of Corsehill. On 18 December 2013, Sir John Christopher Foggo Montgomery Cunninghame, Baronet of Corsehill, was recognized by
Lord Lyon as
Clan Chief
The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...
after the chiefship had been vacant for over 200 years.
History
Origins
Cunninghame is in the northern part of
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
. Fredric van Bassen stated that in the year 1059, King Malcolm rewarded Malcolm, son of Freskin with the Thanedom of
Cunninghame.
The progenitor of the family known as
Cunningham was Warnebald, who received a grant for the land of the Manor Cunningham between 1135 and 1140.
The story that related to King Malcolm says that the son of Friskin, obtained the lands from
Malcolm III of Scotland
Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...
after he had sheltered him under hay in a barn and this is said to have given rise to the family's coat of arms which is of a shake-fork, as well as the motto ''Over fork over''.
Sir George Mackenzie states that the coat of arms allude to the office of Master of the King's Stables.
The Cunninghams were certainly well settled in the parish of
Kilmaurs by the end of the thirteenth century.
The son of the Laird of Kilmaurs was Hervy de Cunningham who fought for
Alexander III of Scotland at the
Battle of Largs in 1263 against the Norse invaders.
The following year he received a charter from the king confirming all of his lands.
Wars of Scottish Independence
During the
Wars of Scottish Independence the Cunninghams were supporters of the Bruces in their fight for Scottish independence.
However prior to this their name appears in the
Ragman Rolls, swearing fealty to
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
in 1296.
Bruce being generous to his supporters and after his victory, the lands of Lamburgton were added to that of Kilmaurs in 1319 by royal charter.
Sir William Cunningham of Kilmaurs was amongst the Scottish noblemen offered as a hostage to
David II of Scotland
David II (5 March 1324 – 22 February 1371) was King of Scotland from 1329 until his death in 1371. Upon the death of his father, Robert the Bruce, David succeeded to the throne at the age of five and was crowned at Scone in November 1331, be ...
's English captors in 1354.
Sir William's eldest son, also named William, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert Denniston of that Ilk and acquired through her substantial lands including
Glen Cairn and Finlayston in
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...
.
15th and 16th century and clan conflicts
Sir William Cunningham's grandson was created Lord Kilmaurs in 1462 and then later
Earl of Glencairn
Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III of Scotland, James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn, Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the e ...
.
One of his younger brothers was the ancestor of the Cunninghams of Caprington branch of the clan who later achieved their own prominence.
Other distinguished branches of the clan are the Cunninghams of Cunninghamhead, the Cunninghams of Aitket, the Cunninghams of Robertland, and the Cunninghams of Corsehill.
In 1488 the
Clan Montgomery burned down the Clan Cunningham's
Kerelaw Castle.
This was part of a century-long
feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
that had apparently started when the office of
Baillie in Cuninghame, held by the Cunninghams, was awarded to the son of
Lord Montgomerie on 31 January 1448-9.
The two clans had been on opposing sides at the
Battle of Sauchieburn, with Hugh Montgomery among the victorious rebels,
[Way, George, and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 278 - 279.] and
Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn slain with the defeated James III. A longstanding rivalry (principally over the Bailieship of Cunninghame) was now a vendetta.
During the 16th century, the long-running feud continued. Edward Cunningham of Auchenharvie was slain in 1526 and Archibald Cunningham of Waterstoun in 1528;
[Robertson, William (1889). ''"Historical Tales of Ayrshire".'' Pub. Glasgow & London.] the Montgomery's
Eglinton Castle was burned down by the Cunninghams in the same year.
In April 1586, Hugh Montgomery, 4th Earl of Eglinton, aged twenty-four, was traveling to
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
to join the Court having been commanded to attend by the King, accompanied only by a few domestic servants. He stopped at
Lainshaw Castle to dine with his close relative, a Montgomery, the Lord of Lainshaw, whose Lady was a Margaret Cunningham of Aiket Castle, with sisters married to John Cunningham of Corsehill and
David Cunninghame of Robertland.
[Dobie, James D. (ed Dobie, J.S.) (1876). ''Cunninghame, Topographized by Timothy Pont'' 1604–1608, with continuations and illustrative notices. Pub. John Tweed, Glasgow.] It seems that a plot to kill the Earl had been organized and the Lady or some say a servant girl who was also a Cunningham,
climbed to the battlements after the meal to hang out a white table napkin and thereby sprung the trap. Thirty Cunninghames attacked the Earl as he crossed Annick Ford and cut his servants to pieces; the Earl himself was dispatched with a single shot from the pistol of John Cunningham of
Clonbeith Castle. His horse carried his dead body along the side of the river, still known as the 'Weeping', 'Mourning', or 'Widows' path. A wave of bloody revenge swept over Cunninghame and elsewhere. Cunningham relatives, friends, and supporters were killed without mercy. Aiket was killed near his home; Robertland and Corsehill escaped to Denmark. Clonbeith was traced to a house in Hamilton, possibly Hamilton Palace
[Ker, Rev. William Lee (1900) ''Kilwinnning''. Pub. A.W.Cross, Kilwinning. .P 153.] and hacked to pieces by Robert Montgomery and John Pollock. Robert also killed the Earl of Glencairn's brother the Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, Alexander of Montgreenan, thought to have instigated Hugh's murder. He rode to Montgreenan and shot the Commendator at his own gate.
[Skelmorlie - Walter Smart History(1968).] The government of King
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
eventually managed to make the chiefs of the two clans shake hands. In 1661 Lord High Chancellor William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn, married Margaret Montgomery, daughter of Alexander, 6th Earl of Eglinton, drawing a line under the feud.
In 1513 Cuthbert Cunningham, earl of Glencairn was killed at the
Battle of Flodden
The Battle of Flodden, Flodden Field, or occasionally Branxton or Brainston Moor was fought on 9 September 1513 during the War of the League of Cambrai between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland and resulted in an English victory ...
. The fifth Cunningham Earl of Glencairn was a Protestant reformer and a patron of
John Knox
John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland.
Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...
.
The English saw the Reformation as an opportunity to discomfort the Scottish Crown and Glencairn was accused of being in their pay.
Glencairn rose up against
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
and at the
Battle of Carberry Hill in 1567 where she surrendered, Glencairn was one of the commanders.
He is said to have then ordered the destruction of the Chapel Royal at
Holyrood.
The Cunninghams were among the Scots who were undertakers of the
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...
.
Sir James Cunningham who married a daughter of the Earl of Glencairn was granted five thousand acres in
County Donegal
County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
.
The name Cunningham is in the top seventy-five most common in
Ulster
Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
.
17th century and Civil War
During the
Scottish Civil War,
William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn supported
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
.
In 1653 Glencairn raised a force to oppose
General Monk.
In August of that year Glencairn went to Lochearn in
Perthshire
Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
where he met with some of the Highland clan chiefs.
In 1654, with a body of fighting men, Glencairn took possession of
Elgin.
He then announced a commission to raise all of Scotland against
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
but the rising was a failure.
Glencairn however escaped with his life and after the
Restoration he was made Lord Chancellor of Scotland.
In 1669 Sir John Cunningham of Caprington, a lawyer, was created a
Baronet of Nova Scotia by Charles II.
18th century and Jacobite risings
At the
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
in 1746, the British artillery which fired
grapeshot at the advancing Jacobites was Captain Cunningham's Company, although its commander, Archibald Cunningham, had been dead for two months.
[Prebble, John. (2002). ''Culloden''. pp. 84 and 337.]
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...
was a historical writer who was the British envoy to
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
from 1715 to 1720.
Charles Cunningham was famous for his historical paintings, some of which are in
Hermitage Palace in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
and also in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.
William Cunningham of Robertland was a friend of the poet
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
.
Allan Cunningham was a poet and writer who some believe was only eclipsed by Burns himself.
Alan Cunningham's work was supported by
Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...
who provided for Cunningham's children after his death.
Castles

Clan Cunningham castles, castle houses, and great estates:
*
Finlaystone Castle, known today as Finlaystone House, is near Port Glasgow in County Inverclyde (just across the border from County Renfrewshire), was held from 1399 to 1873 by Clan Cunningham (their Chiefs the Lords Kilmaurs from 1399 to 1488 and their Chiefs the Earls of Glencairn from 1488 to 1796 when the Earldom and Chiefship fell dormant until the 21st century.
2In 1797 Finlaystone passed to Cunningham heirs, including Robert Cunningham Graham of Dartmore, and was finally sold in 1873 to the Kidstons, and later passed to the Clan MacMillan in 1929.
*
Kilmaurs Place, about two and a half miles north of
Kilmarnock in
County Ayershire, dates from 1620 although the lands of Kilmaurs have been held by the Cunninghams since the thirteenth century
*
Kilmaurs Castle - The Cunninghams had an earlier stronghold near Jocksthorn Farm in Kilmaurs.
*Glencairn Castle, now known as Maxwelton House, is a couple of miles east of
Moniaive in
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
.
The building is a seventeenth-century tower house of two stories and includes a later mansion and tower house.
The property was originally held by the Dennistouns but passed by marriage in the fifteenth century to the Cunninghams of Kilmaurs.
The castle was named Glencairn after the Cunningham's earldom which is currently dormant.
The castle was sold to the Laurie family in 1611 and they changed the name from Glencairn to Maxwelton.
*
Caprington Castle is about two miles south-west of Kilmarnock, Ayrshire and has a massive keep dating from the fifteenth century that is encased in a castellated mansion.
It was originally held by the Wallaces of
Sundrum but passed by marriage in 1425 to the Cunninghams.
These Cunninghams were afterwards styled 'of Caprington'.
*
Aiket Castle was about four miles south-east of
Beith, Ayrshire, and dates from the sixteenth century.
It is an altered and extended tower house.
The lands were held by the Cunninghams of Aiket from the fifteenth century or earlier.
The property passed to the Dunlops in the eighteenth century and was later used to house farm workers, until it burned down in the 1960s.
*
Robertland Castle is about one-mile north-east of
Stewarton
Stewarton (,
) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...
, Ayrshire.
It was held by the Cunninghams in 1506 and David Cunningham of Robertland, with others, murdered Hugh Montgomery.
However Cunningham was later hunted down and killed as well, although the feud between the two clans continued for at least another twenty years.
*
Kerelaw Castle was built by the Cunningham Earls of Glencairn but was destroyed in a feud in 1488 and later sacked by the
Clan Montgomery in 1528.
*
Kyle Castle in East Ayrshire was once held by the Cunningham Clan.
*
Auchenharvie Castle.
*
Corsehill Castle,
Stewarton
Stewarton (,
) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...
.
*
Lainshaw Castle,
Stewarton
Stewarton (,
) is a town in East Ayrshire, Scotland. ...
.
*
Clonbeith Castle,
Auchentiber.
*
Montgreenan Castle,
Auchentiber.
*
Glengarnock Castle.
*
Lambroughton
Lambroughton is a village in the old Barony of Kilmaurs, Scotland. This is a rural area famous for its milk and cheese production and the Ayrshire cattle, Ayrshire or Dunlop breed of cattle.
Although Kilmaurs is in the council area of East Ayrs ...
*
Lands of Doura
*
Thorntoun house and estate is near Kilmarnock and was held by the Cunninghams from 1699 together with the estate of Caddel near Kilwinning.
*
Towerlands - A small estate once held by the Cunningham Clan.
See also
*
Barony and Castle of Corsehill
*
Cunningham
*
Cunninghamhead
*
Cunninghamhead Estate
*
Cunninghamhead, Perceton and Annick Lodge
References
External links
Clan Cunningham InternationalThe Legend of Friskin and King Malcolm Canmore.Video on the origins of the 'Over Fork Over' motto.Video and narration on Kilmaurs Castle.Annotated video on the history of Kilmaurs Place.Annotated video on Corsehill Castle.Annotated video on Auchenharvie Castle and the 'Bodysnatchers'Video and history of the Glencairn Aisle, KilmaursVideo footage and history of Kyle Castle
{{Use British English, date=July 2015
Clan Cunningham
Scottish clans