Cockburn (surname) - The Rise and Fall of The Cockburn Landowners

The Rise and Fall of The Cockburn Landowners

In 13th-century written charters, several Cockburns appear as landowners in Roxburghshire and Fifeshire. The land around Cockburn Law in Berwickshire was possibly the location of the residence of the 13th-century Pieres de Cokeburn; however, the nearby land may have been held by Cockburns as vassals of a more powerful land-owning family, such as the Dunbars. Cockburn Tower, a small fortified house (now a ruin) that occupied a site on the southern slope Cockburn Law overlooking the Whiteadder Water, was the seat of the Cockburns of that Ilk from about 1527 to 1696. The surrounding land was purchased in about 1527 by William Cockburn from Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford. The Tower and surrounding land were auctioned off in 1696 to pay off the debts of Sir James Cockburn of that Ilk.

In 1330, Sir Alexander de Cokburne became the Baron of Langton (in Berwickshire), Carriden (in West Lothian) and Bolton (in East Lothian) following his marriage to the wealthy Anglo-Norman heiress Mariota de Veteriponte (also known as Maria de Vipont). The Langton estate was located to the southwest of Duns, about 6 km from Cockburn Tower. Sir Alexander's second marriage to the heiress Maria de Monfode added the estate of Skirling (in Peeblesshire). The greatly enlarged Cockburn lands were split up among Sir Alexander's three sons; however, the barony of Langton and Carriden remained with the eldest son Alexander. For the next 400 years, the Cockburns of Langton were prominent landowners in Berwickshire. Other branches of the family acquired estates in Ormiston and Clerkington (just southwest of Haddington) in East Lothian. The Cockburns of Henderland and of Skirling held estates in Selkirkshire and Peebleshire, respectively.

William Cockburn of Henderland was a notorious border reiver in early part of the 16th century. His well-known thievery and his purported close connections with his English counterparts just south of the border made him a target for the young King James V, who wished to clearly establish his authority over the more lawless parts of his kingdom. William Cockburn was arrested in 1530, taken to Edinburgh, tried, convicted of treason and beheaded. His lands and property were forfeited to the Crown.

By the middle of the 18th century, as a result of financial difficulties, the Langton and Ormiston branches of the Cockburn family lost most of their land holdings. Sir Archibald Cockburn, 4th Baronet of Langton borrowed increasing sums of money, primarily from the Cockburn of Cockburn branch of the family, to help finance ambitious agricultural reforms on his Langton estate. These financial difficulties were not resolved by the three succeeding baronets of Langton. At time of the death of Sir Alexander Cockburn, 7th Baronet at Fontenoy in 1745, the financial situation of the Langton branch had become critical. In 1747, his heir, Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet, was unable to fend off the claims of his creditors, which included Sir James Cockburn, 3rd Baronet Cockburn of that Ilk, Thomas Hay, and others. The decision of the Lords of Session in Scotland in favor of the creditors was appealed to the House of Lords in London, but the earlier decision was upheld. The resulting bankruptcy led to the auctioning off of the Estate of Langton, which was purchased in 1757 by David Gavin. Despite the loss of their land, the Langton branch of the Cockburn family would continue to be prominent in Great Britain well into the 19th century, but now in the military and judicial arenas. The Cockburn of Langton baronetcy went dormant in 1880 when the 12th Baronet, Sir Alexander Cockburn, died without legitimate issue.

The Ormiston branch of the Cockburn family stems from the marriage in 1370 of John Cokburne, second son of Sir Alexander de Cokburne, to Johanetta de Lyndessay, an heiress who owned the estate of Ormiston in East Lothian. John Cockburn of Ormiston and his brother Ninian Cockburn were Protestant supporters of the Scottish Reformation and came to support the English cause in 1548 during the war of the Rough Wooing. John Cockburn of Ormiston was another enthusiastic proponent for the modernization of Scottish agricultural practice. The financial consequences of his plans were as ruinous to the Ormiston branch of the Cockburns as they were to the Langton branch. He attempted to demonstrate the benefits of his reforms in a model community at Ormiston. His ambitious schemes ran into financial difficulties and he was required to sell the estate of Ormiston in 1747 to John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun.