Nicholas (Nicol) Uddert or Udward or Udwart or Anglicised as Nicol Edward (c. 1550 – c. 1610) was a 16th century Scottish merchant who served as

Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...

in 1592/93.

Life

He was a son of Thomas Uddert. Nicol Uddert worked for

Regent Moray James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray (c. 1531 – 23 January 1570) was a member of the House of Stewart as the illegitimate son of King James V of Scotland. A supporter of his half-sister Mary, Queen of Scots, he was the regent of Scotland for his ...

and in October 1568 came to York to serve him during the conference about

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 Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, and the

casket letters The Casket letters were eight letters and some sonnets said to have been written by Mary, Queen of Scots, to the Earl of Bothwell, between January and April 1567. They were produced as evidence against Queen Mary by the Scottish lords who opposed ...

. He was elected Provost of Edinburgh in 1592 in succession to William Little of Liberton. He was succeeded in 1593 by Alexander Home of

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

. During his period as Provost he hosted King James VI and his queen at his house. The king stayed in February 1592.

House in Niddry's Wynd

His magnificent house, built as a "civic palace" and described as new in 1589, is said to have been one of the grandest in Edinburgh and stood on Niddry's Close midway along the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

on its south side. It passed to Lockhart of Carnwarth in the late 17th century, at which point the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. ...

lived opposite. It was demolished in 1780 to build South Bridge. On 29 May 1589 the town council, at the request of

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

organised a banquet for ambassadors from towns in Holland in Uddert's new house. The English veteran sailor

George Beeston Sir George Beeston or Beston (circa 1520 - 13 September 1601 Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an a ...

, and the English trumpet officer was killed. Beeston and the English ambassador William Ashby had an audience with James VI. The king gave Beeston a locket set with diamonds and 100 gold crowns to his captains. James VI requested that Edinburgh town council give him, his three captains, and the English ambassador and their courtier escorts an "honest banquet" in Nicol Uddert's "new house at house at dinner time." The banquets were organised by

William Fairlie William Fairlie or Fairley ( fl. 1570–1600) was an Edinburgh merchant and burgess. Fairlie was frequently asked by Edinburgh town (burgh) council to survey and account for public works for the town council of Edinburgh. He was described as a "p ...

. There was a scheme for Flemish cloth workers, weavers and walkers from the low countries, to come to Edinburgh and set up businesses or work for Nicol Uddert. The

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council of ...

noted in 1594 that nothing had happened and withdrew a tax exemption granted to Uddert to help the scheme.

Family

Nicol Uddert married Jonet Gilbert, a daughter of the goldsmith

Michael Gilbert Michael Francis Gilbert (17 July 1912 – 8 February 2006) was an English solicitor and author of crime fiction. Early life and education Gilbert was born on 17 July 1912 in Billinghay, Lincolnshire, England to Bernard Samuel Gilbert, a write ...

. Nicol was the father of Nathaniel Udwart. He is thought to be father of Alexander Udwart, a burgess in Edinburgh in 1597.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uddert, Nicol Businesspeople from Edinburgh Lord Provosts of Edinburgh 1550s births 1610 deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain