Sir Ludovick Houstoun, Knight Ludovick was born about 1590, at Houston Hall to Sir John Houston and Margaret Stirling . He was educated at home by private tutors as was common for families of nobility at the time. He was a member of the Church of England and was a Royalist. He was knighted by King James VI/I. He married Lady Margaret Maxwell (born circa 1604, Newark, Scotland). They had five children: Patrick, Elizabeth, Marion, Jean and George. Ludovick made sure all five of his children were set up to prosper with marriages into wealthy noble families.
Houston Hall as it appears now. Their sister Jean married Sir James Hamilton, 6th of Orbiston and held the office of Lord Justice Clerk (second most senior judge in Scotland).
The desire to have his children's future secure might have been compounded by political unrest at the time. King Charles I had been upon the throne but a few weeks when the whole of Scotland was startled by the proclamation to revoke all grants by the Crown of Church lands and all acquisitions of them to the prejudice of the Crown. Essentially the King could take all of the land owned by the Church of Scotland or previously owned by the Church but later granted to a family by a previous king. This scared many large land holders. The passing of the Act met with so vehement a storm of opposition that its enforcement was rendered impossible. But the irritation continued and bore serious results for years to come. Many saw it as the first act of the war to come. In 1637 the King printed a new prayer book (the Service Book) which he instructed all clergy to use in order to bring the ritual of the Church of Scotland into closer conformity with that of the Church of England. This was met with rioting. Riot against Anglican prayer book 1637 But the folks in Rewfrewshire (county of the Houstons) did not riot but still very angry, instead they (including Ludovick) drew up a supplication unto the Lords of His Majesty's Secret Council and sent a representative (local minister) to present this in Edinburgh on behalf of the Church. It asked that the Council respectfully ask the King to stop pushing this book on his loyal subjects and try to change the whole Church or at least go through the proper channels and have it approved by the General Assembly and Parliament. The only response they received was a royal proclamation outlawing any supplications again the new Service Book. Tensions were high as the Service Book was still being pushed upon the Scots but there was a glimmer of hope when the King sent his Royal Commissioner (the Marquess of Hamilton of Scotland and cousin to the Houstons) to meet with the Assembly and the Estates. Sir Ludovick was one of the representatives for Rewfrewshire. On November 21, the Assembly met in the nave of the Cathedral of Glasgow. About 260 members were present, many of them armed. After six days the Marquess of Hamilton quit and returned to England unable to push the King's agenda forward. But the rest of the members carried on for another month, declared Episcopacy to be unlawful, outlawing the Service Book and dealt out sentences of excommunication to bishops, ministers, and...well everyone that disagreed with them in church and political matters. A War Committee was created and every county was to send a commissioner to Edinburgh to receive orders. In Renfrewshire, Lord Montgomery (a neighbor and friend to the Houstons) was appointed to lead the men of their county to war. We can assume that George and his brother John were apart of this company. Motogomery joined Commander Leslie and crossed the River Tweed (border into England), fought the King's army and won. At the meeting of the Estates held in Edinburgh on July 25, 1641 at which the treaty made by the King was ratified, Renfrewshire was represented by Sir Ludovick Houston and Sir Patrick Maxwell of Newark (his father-in-law). The moderates found this to be an uncomfortable compromise but the radical sect found it to be another slap in the face. One thing led to another, fighting continued and the King was executed. The crowning of Charles II didn't seem to cool off the Scots at all. George Houston of Johnstone, 1609-1650Johnstone Castle after George expanded the house George took over the estate and continued working to expand the castle. This work effectively left the original building largely hidden by a new castellated facade. The historic town of Johnstone was a planned community which grew up around Johnstone Castle. In 1782 the laird, George Houston's great grandson, commissioned designs for a series of regular residential streets which now form the town centre. By 1794 the town had gained its current parish church. Industrial development included coal mining, thread and cotton industries with mills powered by the Black Cart Water which runs to the north of Johnstone. In 1848, the castle is said to have played host to its most famous visitor, the composer Chopin, who is said to have stayed there for a month, during which time he performed at the Merchants Hall in Glasgow during a tour of Scotland. After WWII the Castle was sold to the city. All but the original tower house was torn down and the land was used for a housing development. But the lard saved the original 16th tower house. The 4 bedroom single family house was recently renovated and sold in 2014 for £450,000. George married Elizabeth Cuninghame of Craigends (large and powerful family) and they had two sons, John (1630) and Robert (1633).
His attempts to force the Church of Scotland to adopt high Anglican practices led to the Bishops' Wars, strengthened the position of the English and Scottish parliaments and helped precipitate his own downfall. This placed George Houston is a difficult position. For generations the Houstons were very close to the royal family and strong supporters as well as friends. But the royal family was no longer in Scotland and many Estate holders very likely did not think the king had the best interests of Scotland in mind. To top it off, George was Presbyterian along with most of the others in the area. "And When Did You Last See Your Father?" painting by William Frederick Yeames The oil-on-canvas picture, painted in 1878, depicts a scene in an imaginary Royalist household during the English Civil War. The Parliamentarians have taken over the house and question the son about his Royalist father (the man lounging on a chair in the center of the scene is identifiable as a Roundhead officer by his military attire and his orange sash). Yeames was inspired to paint the picture to show the crises that could arise from the natural frankness of young children. Here, if the boy tells the truth he will endanger his father, but if he lies he will go against the ideal of honesty undoubtedly instilled in him by his parents. From 1642, Charles fought the armies of the English and Scottish parliaments in the English Civil War. After his defeat in 1645, he surrendered to a Scottish force that eventually handed him over to the English Parliament. Charles refused to accept his captors' demands for a constitutional monarchy, and temporarily escaped captivity in November 1647. Re-imprisoned on the Isle of Wight, Charles forged an alliance with Scotland, but by the end of 1648 Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army had consolidated its control over England. Charles was tried, convicted, and executed for high treason in January 1649. The monarchy was abolished and a republic called the Commonwealth of England was declared. During this turbulent political time, Clan Houston had been Moderate Presbyterians and sided with neighbors, friends and family. George and his older brother John were both killed in a conflict in Galloway, Dumfriesshire, Scotland 1650, an area known to be Royalist sympathizers. Sadly their father outlived them, passing away 11 years later in 1661 at the age of 71.
0 Comments
|