Margaret Home, Countess of Moray facts for kids
Margaret Home, Countess of Moray (who died in 1683) was an important Scottish noblewoman. She lived a long time ago, in the 1600s.
Her Family and Marriage
Margaret Home was the oldest daughter of Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and Mary Sutton, Countess of Home. Her family was very well-known in Scotland.
She had a brother, James Home, 2nd Earl of Home, and a younger sister, Anne Home. Anne later married John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, who was a powerful figure in Scottish politics.
In October 1627, Margaret married James Stuart, 4th Earl of Moray. At the time, he was known as "Lord Doune" because his father was still the Earl.
Life at Home
Margaret had a special nursery for her children at her mother's house in Canongate, Edinburgh. This house is now famous as Moray House. Her mother had portraits of Margaret and her husband, Lord and Lady Doune, in the house's art gallery. There were also unique standing figures, like "dummy boards," of her two oldest daughters with their companion, a dwarf named Meg Candie. These figures were in a room that looked out over the garden.
After her brother, the Earl of Home, passed away in 1633, Margaret received some money from her family's estate. She and her husband then worked on making their home at Donibristle even more beautiful. They hired skilled English artists, Edward Arthur and George Crawford, to help decorate. They also added a fancy fountain with a bronze statue of Mercury, a Roman god, standing on a tortoise. This fountain was surrounded by lead flower pots.
At Donibristle House, Margaret also had a special cabinet that held an early and very fancy telescope. She bought it in London in 1634 for £15, which was a lot of money back then! Her collection of books included religious sermons and a work written by Esther Inglis, a famous calligrapher.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1652, Margaret gave some land from her marriage settlement to her husband. This allowed him to sell the land to help pay off their debts. Her husband died the next year, in 1653.
Margaret lived as a widow until 1683. She continued to look after Moray House in Edinburgh and its beautiful gardens. She also planted many trees at Donibristle. A writer named Thomas Kirk visited Donibristle in 1677 and saw the Mercury fountain.
After Margaret's death, her lawyer, Hugh Paterson, found a large amount of silver plates hidden in a cupboard at Moray House. Paterson later built a grand house for himself called Bannockburn House near Stirling.
Her Children
Margaret and James had several children, including:
- James Stuart, Lord Doune, who married Catherine Tollemache.
- Alexander Stuart, 5th Earl of Moray, who married Emilia Balfour.
- Francis Stuart of Cullello.
- Archibald Stuart of Dunearn, who married Anna Henderson.
- Margaret Stuart, who married Alexander Sutherland, 1st Lord Duffus.
- Henrietta Stuart, who married Hugh Campbell of Calder.
- Anne Stuart.
- Anne Stuart, who married David Ross of Balnagown.
- Mary Stuart, who married Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll in 1650.
