Arms Intro
THE BARONY OF
Ormiston

East Lothian｜1637

Ormiston is a village in East Lothian which lies beside the River Tyne. It is believed to take its name from a semi-mythical Anglian settler called Orme, meaning ‘serpent’. During the Wars of Independence, Ormiston was held by the Lindsay family who were firm supporters of William Wallace.

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History 1
In the fourteenth century, Janet, daughter and heir of Sir Alexander Lindsay, Lord of Ormiston, married John Cockburn.
Their descendants held Ormiston for the following centuries.

Adam Cockburn of Ormiston was several times in the early fifteenth century an ambassador to England. He was succeeded in the family estates by his brother Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston who was appointed a Commissioner to England and was for a time Governor of Edinburgh Castle, an important military post.

1876 OS Map Killean Sheet 20. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
1876 OS Map Killean Sheet 20. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Unknown, Adam Cockburn, Lord Ormiston, 1656 - 1735. Lord Justice-Clerk｜National Galleries of Scotland (CC-BY NC)

History 2
John Cockburn, Baron of Ormiston, was a firm supporter of the Scottish Reformation during the early sixteenth century. The famous reformers John Knox and George Wishart are said to have preached sermons beneath a yew tree at Ormiston Hall, where Wishart was captured in 1545.
This great yew tree still stands today and may be a thousand years old.

It is in this latter role that Sir John carried out the orders of King James VI in his efforts to hunt Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston was a lawyer, Senator of the College of Justice, and Lord Justice-Clerk. Scotland’s witches. The same office of Lord Justice-Clerk was also held by his descendant Adam Cockburn of Ormiston in the 1690s, though by this time the role instead involved pursuing Jacobites, a task which Ormiston is said to have taken up with fervour.

Ardminish Bay, Isle of Gigha © 2000 Dumgoyach

1855 OS map Haddingtonshire, Sheet 14. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
(CC BY NLS)

History 3
The family were strong supporters of the Union between England and Scotland. Adam’s son and heir, John Cockburn of Ormiston, was the first representative of East Lothian in the Parliament of Great Britain after the Union of 1707 and served as a Lord of the Admiralty.
He was an enthusiastic agricultural improver, and has been called the ‘Father of Scottish Husbandry’.

He established a planned village, encouraging artisans and craftspeople to settle at Ormiston. However, these activities ruined the finances of the family, who were forced to sell the Ormiston estate to the Earls of Hopetoun. In later years, the nephew of the poet Robert Burns, William Begg, was for a time schoolmaster at Ormiston. The village became known as a centre for mining.

Ardminish Bay, Isle of Gigha © 2000 Dumgoyach

Ormiston Yew © 2005 John Darcy (CC BY-SA 2.0)

History 4
The Earls of Hopetoun were prominent nobles, occupying important positions in politics, the army and colonial service during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
James, 3rd Earl of Hopetoun sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer and was for many years Lord-Lieutenant of Linlithgowshire,

a post also held by successive Earls of Hopetoun. John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun was a prominent politician, the first Governor-General of Australia, Secretary of State for Scotland, and in 1902 was created Marquess of Linlithgow. His son, Victor, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, served as Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. Ormiston Hall was burnt down during the Second World War.

1876 OS Map Killean Sheet 20. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
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Arms Intro
Barony of Ormiston, Arms of the Baron of Ormiston
THE BARONY OF
Ormiston

East Lothian｜1637

Ormiston is a village in East Lothian which lies beside the River Tyne. It is believed to take its name from a semi-mythical Anglian settler called Orme, meaning ‘serpent’. During the Wars of Independence, Ormiston was held by the Lindsay family who were firm supporters of William Wallace.

Click icons to learn more
History 1
In the fourteenth century, Janet, daughter and heir of Sir Alexander Lindsay, Lord of Ormiston, married John Cockburn.
Their descendants held Ormiston for the following centuries.

Adam Cockburn of Ormiston was several times in the early fifteenth century an ambassador to England. He was succeeded in the family estates by his brother Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston who was appointed a Commissioner to England and was for a time Governor of Edinburgh Castle, an important military post.

1876 OS Map Killean Sheet 20. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
1876 OS Map Killean Sheet 20. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.

Unknown, Adam Cockburn, Lord Ormiston, 1656 - 1735. Lord Justice-Clerk｜National Galleries of Scotland (CC-BY NC)

History 2
John Cockburn, Baron of Ormiston, was a firm supporter of the Scottish Reformation during the early sixteenth century. The famous reformers John Knox and George Wishart are said to have preached sermons beneath a yew tree at Ormiston Hall, where Wishart was captured in 1545.
This great yew tree still stands today and may be a thousand years old.

It is in this latter role that Sir John carried out the orders of King James VI in his efforts to hunt Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston was a lawyer, Senator of the College of Justice, and Lord Justice-Clerk. Scotland’s witches. The same office of Lord Justice-Clerk was also held by his descendant Adam Cockburn of Ormiston in the 1690s, though by this time the role instead involved pursuing Jacobites, a task which Ormiston is said to have taken up with fervour.

Ardminish Bay, Isle of Gigha © 2000 Dumgoyach
History 3
The family were strong supporters of the Union between England and Scotland. Adam’s son and heir, John Cockburn of Ormiston, was the first representative of East Lothian in the Parliament of Great Britain after the Union of 1707 and served as a Lord of the Admiralty.
He was an enthusiastic agricultural improver, and has been called the ‘Father of Scottish Husbandry’.

He established a planned village, encouraging artisans and craftspeople to settle at Ormiston. However, these activities ruined the finances of the family, who were forced to sell the Ormiston estate to the Earls of Hopetoun. In later years, the nephew of the poet Robert Burns, William Begg, was for a time schoolmaster at Ormiston. The village became known as a centre for mining.

Ardminish Bay, Isle of Gigha © 2000 Dumgoyach

Ormiston Yew © 2005 John Darcy (CC BY-SA 2.0)

History 4
The Earls of Hopetoun were prominent nobles, occupying important positions in politics, the army and colonial service during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
James, 3rd Earl of Hopetoun sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer and was for many years Lord-Lieutenant of Linlithgowshire,

a post also held by successive Earls of Hopetoun. John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun was a prominent politician, the first Governor-General of Australia, Secretary of State for Scotland, and in 1902 was created Marquess of Linlithgow. His son, Victor, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, served as Viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943. Ormiston Hall was burnt down during the Second World War.

1876 OS Map Killean Sheet 20. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
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