Perthshire｜1607
Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross beside the River Isla. It lies in the centre of the fertile Valley of Strathmore around halfway between Perth and Dundee. The early history of Coupar can be traced to the founding of a Cistercian Abbey by King Malcolm IV in the twelfth century. By the sixteenth century it was said to be one of the wealthiest abbeys in Scotland. The significant market town of Coupar Angus grew up nearby.
and later served as Lord Privy Seal to Queen Mary. Campbell’s successor in control of the Abbey was a secular leader, Leonard Leslie. Leslie also sat in Parliament and was elected to the Lords of the Articles.
1902 OS map Perth and Clackmannan Sheet LXIV.SW. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland. (CC BY NLS)
Elphinstone was also awarded the title Lord Coupar and made a Lord of Parliament, taking the Abbey of Coupar as one of his family seats.
Lord Coupar appears to have been diligent in his duties to the realm. He regularly sat in Parliament and was also present during the ratification of the controversial religious bill, The Five Articles of Perth in 1621. Coupar sided with the Covenanters in the civil wars with King Charles I. This attracted the attention of the Royalist commander in Scotland, the Marquis of Montrose, who in 1645 gave orders to his soldiers to wreck and plunder the Coupar estate.
Remains of the Abbey at Coupar Angus © 2017 Scott Cormie (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Ogilvy of Airlie family had a long association with Coupar. They had held the office of Hereditary Bailie of the Regality of the Abbey of Coupar. The Ogilvy family only held Coupar for a short time, however, before the barony returned to the Elphinstones.
The Cross, Coupar Angus © 2023 Richard Sutcliffe (CC BY-SA 2.0)
His son James, 5th Lord Balmerino, also studied at the bar and was appointed a Lord of Session. Arthur, 6th Lord Balmerino, was an active participant in the Risings of 1715 and 1745. With the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie, he was given the command of a troop of Life Guards.
Abbey Church, Coupar Angus © 2023 Richard Sutcliffe (CC BY-SA 2.0)
He was tried and beheaded on Tower Hill along with the Earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie. His estates were confiscated. They were later purchased by a relative, James Stuart, 8th Earl of Moray, one of the Representative Peers for Scotland. Coupar continued to be held by the Stuarts into the twentieth century. The current Baron of Coupar descends from both the Elphinstones and the Ogilvys of Airlie.
Artist unknown, Lords Balmerino and Kilmarnock (Execution scene) Line engraving on paper｜National Galleries of Scotland (CC BY=NC)
Perthshire｜1607
Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross beside the River Isla. It lies in the centre of the fertile Valley of Strathmore around halfway between Perth and Dundee. The early history of Coupar can be traced to the founding of a Cistercian Abbey by King Malcolm IV in the twelfth century. By the sixteenth century it was said to be one of the wealthiest abbeys in Scotland. The significant market town of Coupar Angus grew up nearby.
and later served as Lord Privy Seal to Queen Mary. Campbell’s successor in control of the Abbey was a secular leader, Leonard Leslie. Leslie also sat in Parliament and was elected to the Lords of the Articles.
1902 OS map Perth and Clackmannan Sheet LXIV.SW. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland. (CC BY NLS)
Elphinstone was also awarded the title Lord Coupar and made a Lord of Parliament, taking the Abbey of Coupar as one of his family seats.
Lord Coupar appears to have been diligent in his duties to the realm. He regularly sat in Parliament and was also present during the ratification of the controversial religious bill, The Five Articles of Perth in 1621. Coupar sided with the Covenanters in the civil wars with King Charles I. This attracted the attention of the Royalist commander in Scotland, the Marquis of Montrose, who in 1645 gave orders to his soldiers to wreck and plunder the Coupar estate.
Remains of the Abbey at Coupar Angus © 2017 Scott Cormie (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Ogilvy of Airlie family had a long association with Coupar. They had held the office of Hereditary Bailie of the Regality of the Abbey of Coupar. The Ogilvy family only held Coupar for a short time, however, before the barony returned to the Elphinstones.
The Cross, Coupar Angus © 2023 Richard Sutcliffe (CC BY-SA 2.0)
His son James, 5th Lord Balmerino, also studied at the bar and was appointed a Lord of Session. Arthur, 6th Lord Balmerino, was an active participant in the Risings of 1715 and 1745. With the arrival of Bonnie Prince Charlie, he was given the command of a troop of Life Guards.
Abbey Church, Coupar Angus © 2023 Richard Sutcliffe (CC BY-SA 2.0)
He was tried and beheaded on Tower Hill along with the Earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie. His estates were confiscated. They were later purchased by a relative, James Stuart, 8th Earl of Moray, one of the Representative Peers for Scotland. Coupar continued to be held by the Stuarts into the twentieth century. The current Baron of Coupar descends from both the Elphinstones and the Ogilvys of Airlie.
Artist unknown, Lords Balmerino and Kilmarnock (Execution scene) Line engraving on paper｜National Galleries of Scotland (CC BY=NC)