William Hamilton of Sanquhar

rdf:langString William Hamilton of Sanquhar

rdf:langString Sir William Hamilton of Sanquhar (c. 1510–1570) was pursemaster for James V and the Captain of Edinburgh Castle during the Regency of Regent Arran. William Hamilton was the son of William Hamilton, also of Sanquhar, and Katherine Kennedy, a daughter of David Kennedy, 1st Earl of Cassilis. He was first known as Hamilton of MacNaristoun, and was appointed pursemaster to James V of Scotland in September 1524. Hamilton travelled to France as a diplomat and in September 1528 brought back letters from Francis I of France co-signed by the secretary Florimond Robertet, showing that Francis was mindful of the 1517 Treaty of Rouen and would persuade the Duke of Albany to give up Dunbar Castle and would try to prevent Albany's return to Scotland. As Captain of Edinburgh Castle from 1 October 1548, in April 1549, Hamilton took delivery of 24 halberds. His annual fee for being Captain was £134-6s-8d. Scots. An inventory of Sir William's furniture at Newton Castle near Ayr, made in 1559 during a legal action, is notable for its description of furniture. It mentions cupboards and a door made in the "courtly manner" and "raised and carved work of the most recent and curious fashion used within the realm". Another inventory of 1588 shows that some of the same furniture was still in place. The gardens and orchard had hawthorn hedges, gooseberry and currant bushes, roses, apple trees, plum trees, and cherry trees. There were also areas with kale and herbs.