STUART, Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1542-1587)
Mary Stuart was born in 1542, the
only child of King James V and Mary of Guise. She became Queen of the realm a
mere 6 days after her birth upon the death of James. The effects of her
turbulent reign were experienced in Glasgow and its vicinity. During her
infancy, near the beginning of her reign, the Battle of the Butts was fought in
1544 on Glasgow's Gallowmuir between the Regent, James Hamilton, Earl of Arran
and those opposed to his rule. The latter included Matthew Stewart, Earl of
Lennox. The end of Mary's reign was similarly marked with a battle near to the
town, at Langside in 1568.
Mary returned to Scotland from France, where she had been brought up, in 1561 upon the death of her husband, King Francis II of France. The Reformation Parliament had swept Catholicism from its previous position in the country although Mary remained Catholic. The government of the country was left in the hands of her Protestant half-brother James Stewart, Earl of Moray.
Following his failed rebellion against the Regent Arran, the Earl of Lennox had taken refuge in England but was allowed to return by Mary in 1564. The following year she married his son, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley. When Darnley became ill, the Queen attended him in Glasgow. This was supposedly at the Provand's Lordship, but was more likely to have been at the Lennox's own town house which was situated in the Stablegreen area and which was only removed in the mid-19th century.
When Darnley was murdered near Edinburgh in February, 1567 Mary was suspected of being implicated in the plot, and even more so when she married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell mere months later. In June a confederation of Lords rebelled and marched against Mary and Bothwell whose army took up position at Carberry Hill. No battle was fought, with most of the Queen's troops abandoning her. Mary was forced to surrender and Bothwell to flee. She was required to abdicate in favour of her son James and was then imprisoned in Lochleven Castle. Moray became the Regent for the new King James VI.
Mary managed to escape on the 2nd May, 1568 and made her way to Hamilton and the protection of the Earl of Arran's family. An army of 6,000 rallied to her, but there were other supporters of the Queen who were no friends to the Hamiltons and who would not come to her while she remained in their lands. It was decided that she should travel to the fortress at Dumbarton which was being held for her. There, the others would gather to her cause.
Mary's preference was to avoid any military engagements if possible; she wanted to regain her kingdom by general acclaim. On the other hand, the Hamiltons may have been more inclined to a direct confrontation with the Regent and arranged plans accordingly. The army marched from Hamilton to make for Dumbarton on 13th May, skirting close to Glasgow to perhaps draw the Regent out.
The Regent had been at Glasgow when news reached him on the 3rd May of Mary's escape to Hamilton. He occupied the Bishop's Castle, placing it in the care of Sir John Stewart of Minto, and made Glasgow his headquarters while he awaited support from his allies. By the 13th May the Regent had raised an army of 4,000 men, 600 of whom were from Glasgow itself, being no friend to the Hamiltons after the pillage of the town in 1544.
Moray had good information about the Queen's activities and was aware of the plan to march to Dumbarton. He had decided that his best course of action lay in an early engagement of Mary's forces, before they became too strong. Despite already being outnumbered he planned to intercept her army but could not be sure which route it would follow - to the north of the river or to the south.
On the morning of the 13th May, aware that the Queen's army was on the move and still on the south side of the river, he marched his forces through the Gallowgate Port onto the Gallowmuir. From this position, if Mary chose to cross the Clyde at Dalmarnock ford then he could engage her on the Gallowmuir itself. If she continued on the southern route towards the Dumbuck ford then he could cross the river and block her path at Langside. From the elevated ground of his location, Moray at last observed the Queen's army leave Rutherglen and remain on the southern path, and his plan was put into effect.
Despite the numbers in her favour Mary was heavily defeated and fled the field. She rode south and within 3 days had crossed the Solway into England to seek asylum with Elizabeth I. She was imprisoned there for the rest of her life, eventually being executed in 1587.
Tradition has it that Mary stopped at Barrowfield House during her flight from Langside. This seems unlikely given its proximity to the Regent's stronghold of Glasgow, but thereafter the farm at Barrowfield was known as Queen Mary's Farm in commemoration of the supposed event. The avenue which led to this farm later became Queen Mary St..
A children's game also remembers the Queen, although in a rather sad fashion. The stem of a flower, usually a marigold, is held between the thumb and forefinger. The rhyme "Mary Queen of Scots got her head chopped off" is recited as the head of the flower is flicked from the stem by the thumb-nail on emphasising "off."
© 2005 Gordon Adams
Scott, Alexander, M., (1884); "Notes on the Battle of Langside." In Transactions of the Glasgow Archeological Society. New Series, Vol.1, 1885-90. Glasgow, Maclehose & Sons.
