Back
further in 1357 the Tweeddale Hays had obtained the Midlothian estate of Yester
through marriage to the daughter of Sir Hugh Gifford. They built a courtyard
castle there and it became their principle seat, with Neidpath retained as
a second home, in their role as Sheriffs of Peebles.
1478 saw John Hay created “Lord Hay of Yester” His descendant became the Earl
of Tweeddale and his son was promoted Marquess of Tweeddale in 1694. If we
are to believe the Hay family-tree then the Marquess' half brother was Edmond
1st Laird of Hopes and from him is descended great-grandfather Edward Hay.
It struck
me as I headed north and then east to Haddingtonshire, or present day East
Lothian, just how far it must have been on horseback. In a modern car it took
me an hour and some, but back then? Who knows how long?
The countryside is different from Tweeddale, it is gentle rolling farmland
but with the Lammermuir Hills to the south. First I was looking for Gifford
and a desire to see Yester House and the ruins of Yester Castle,
built by the Hay's when they obtained the land through marriage in 1357
- now where have we heard that before? Neidpath was obtained by marrying the
daughter of Sir Symon Fraser and now Yester by marrying the daughter
of Sir Hugh Gifford. Those canny Norman/Scots!
I found the gates of the Yester Estate but for the first time in my
quest I was confronted by a sign that read: PRIVATE PROPERTY. I back tracked
to the village shop and got into conversation with two ladies who were,
as usual, incredibly friendly to the visitor. One lady had, in the past, trespassed
on the land in order to take photographs of the ruin. The estate was now in
the ownership of the Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti, who was in his nineties.
His son, young Mr Menotti, was probably in residence and would chase you off
if he caught you going to look at the castle.
I think there might be some belief in the area that the ruins belonged
as much to the heritage of the village as to the landowner. It was emphasised,
however, that it was out of bounds to the visitor. Anyway, they advised me,
summer was not the best time to crawl over the ruins as the weeds would be
as tall as a man and I would be in danger of falling into the burn! I was,
however, able to buy a greeting card with a pen and ink drawing of the castle
as compensation for my trek and I duly added £1.70 to the local economy.
With this
disappointment, of being denied a look at the pile of bricks that is Yester
Castle, I took myself off to view the village church and to note the number
of Hay's that had their final resting place there. Being encouraged to look
inside, by a villager, I was to see a really typical example of a Church of
Scotland Kirk. Unlike the Cathedrals of Brechin and Dunkeld, that had retained
or replaced their stained glass windows and had an altar table, this church
had a raised pulpit in the centre. It was described as being of “Dutch influence”
and to my eyes, most definitely none from the Church of Rome.
What it did have, of interest to me, was a private gallery, upstairs, for
the Lords of Yester to hear the word of God without mixing with their villagers!
Take a look at the village's community website called
Gifford On-line
As the evening set in, I got back into my car and drove on to the next village
of Garvald. I knew, from my research, that various of the Laird's
of Hopes, as our line of Hay's descend from, had had their children baptised
here and one at least married here. So I searched out the ancient church and
looked in vain for any sign of the Hays. Unlike Gifford, not a single one
seemed to have a headstone in the graveyard, which makes me believe the family
burial plot for the Hay of Hopes is elsewhere.
My time in
Scotland was running out. It was now after 6 pm and I was flying home in the
morning. My last visit was to the coast to the east and Dunbar where, according
to information I had found on the Internet, Charles Crosland Hay was either
born or baptised. In the early evening summer sun the town looked sleepy,
but fresh, as all seaside towns do. I had no where to actually search out
connected to the Hays and so fairly soon I had turned the car around and was
returning in the evening sun west to Edinburgh and South Queesnferry.
The next morning I was up at 7 and by 8.45 was patiently queuing for the long
drawn out security check at Edinburgh Airport. My flight to Jersey was direct
using Flybe, British European, and passed uneventfully. My three days in Scotland
were at an end and I was home in Jersey.
Next:
Charles Crosland Hay & Jeannette Hay in Cheltenham.
