Lanarkshire, a large county in the central lowlands, consisted of a mountainous region to the south, and a more prosperous lowland area, including the valley of the River Clyde, to the north. Atlas Scot. Hist. 226-8, 273-6. The proximity of the city of Glasgow no doubt strengthened the economy of Lanarkshire, which was one of the most heavily taxed of the Scottish shires in the 1650s, paying rates which were almost the same as those imposed on Edinburgh Shire. A. and O. ii. 1143-4, 1240-1, 1360-1. Historically, Lanarkshire was Hamilton country. The barony, castle and burgh of Hamilton formed the western capital of the duke of Hamilton’s estates, and Clydesdale in particular was dotted with castles belonging to the dukedom or to related families, such as the Hamiltons of Orbiston, Raploch and Dalzell. With the fluctuating fortunes of the Hamiltons in the 1640s, the execution of successive dukes in 1649 and 1651, and the subsequent forfeiture of the family estates, the power of Lanarkshire’s traditional rulers was first shaken and then destroyed. This vacuum presented an opportunity for the marquess of Argyll (Archibald Campbell*) and his allies in the western association, which soon recruited many of the Lanarkshire gentry, encouraged by the importance of the Protester ministers in the shire, led by Patrick Gillespie at Glasgow. Argyll’s faction replaced the Hamiltonians until December 1650, when the western association army was defeated by Oliver Cromwell’s* army in a battle fought, appropriately enough, at Hamilton. Dow, Cromwellian Scot. 7-8.
Although Argyll and his friends were willing to negotiate with the English invaders, by the mid-1650s they had largely lost their influence over the gentry of Lanarkshire, who were now coming under the influence of a rising local family: the Lockharts of Lee. In February 1652, when the shire presented its ‘assent’ to the union of Scotland and England, Sir William Lockhart* of Lee and his brother-in-law George Lockhart I* of Tarbrax were chosen as deputies. Sir William, who had already been appointed commissioner for the administration of justice by the Cromwellian regime, went on to represent the shire in union negotiations conducted in London in the winter of 1652-3. Cromwellian Union ed. Terry, 56, 76, 183. George was appointed commissary of Lanarkshire by the government in June 1653. Worcester Coll. Oxf. Clarke xliii, f. 14. One factor in the growing influence of the Lockharts was their historical connection with the Hamiltons, and their willingness to assist the family even in its ruin. The Lockharts of Lee were creditors of the Hamilton estate, and during the 1650s Sir William used his influence with the government to protect the interests of Duchess Anne. Sir William Lockhart’s marriage to a niece of the lord protector in 1655 further enhanced the family’s position in Lanarkshire. Infra, ‘Sir William Lockhart’.
The rise of the Lockharts was part of a more general trend, which saw the return of Scots to local government, encouraged by the commander-in-chief, George Monck*. In Lanarkshire, this can be seen most clearly in the business of assessment collection. In the spring of 1654 the collectors included one local man – Major William Weire – but their work was regulated by an English soldier, Colonel John Cotterell. Worcester Coll. Oxf.Clarke xliii, ff. 21, 27. By the end of the year, however, oversight was being ceded to the local gentry. In January 1655, when the collectors were told to improve their methods of tax collection, they were instructed to allow the gentry to choose sub-collectors themselves and to take accounts of the money raised. Monck also made it clear that if the collectors refused to allow this, the gentry were authorised to take action unilaterally. Worcester Coll. Oxf. Clarke xlvi, unfol.: 8 Jan. 1655. In March of the same year, the collectors were again criticised for delays, arising from ‘the want of frequent meetings of the gentlemen’ in the shire. Worcester Coll. Oxf. Clarke xlvi, unfol.: 3 Mar. 1655. The solution was further to promote gentry involvement in the local administration. This policy was further encouraged after the arrival of Lord Broghill (Roger Boyle*) as president of the Scottish council in September 1655. The justices of the peace selected for Lanarkshire in the spring of 1656 were overwhelmingly local men. Apart from the garrison commander at Glasgow, Colonel Richard Ashfield, and a handful of his officers, the responsibility for local justice now lay with men like Sir William Lockhart, the earl of Carnwath, Lord Blantyre, Sir James Hamilton* of Orbiston, Sir William Weire of Staynbyers and Sir William Baillie of Lamington. Of 33 magistrates appointed, 26 were lairds, and at least 15 of them were active on the bench. Scot. and Protectorate ed. Firth, 313-4; NRS, JC26/26, unfol. It was a similar story with the assessment commissioners appointed in 1657. Of the 36 named, 32 were local gentlemen, including the earl of Carnwath, Lord Blantyre and members of the Hamilton, Lockhart, Carmichael and Baillie families. A. and O. ii. 1151-2, 1391. These were the traditional leaders of the Lanarkshire gentry. Some of those on the commission for the peace and assessment commission had served as commissioners for Lanarkshire in the Scottish Parliaments of the 1640s: Sir William Baillie of Lamington (1639-41, 1645-7, 1648), Sir William Carmichael of Hyndford (1644-5) and his brother Sir Daniel Carmichael of Mauldsie (1649-50), and Sir John Cheislie of Cresswell (1649-50); while one of their fellow parliamentary commissioners, Sir James Lockhart of Lee (1645-7, 1648), was the father of Sir William Lockhart. Young, Parliaments of Scot. ii. 796. The make-up of the various commissions confirms the success of Monck and Broghill in involving the Scots in the running of Lanarkshire.
The Scottishness of the local commissions had a parallel in the parliamentary elections. Under the terms of the Instrument of Government, Lanarkshire was allowed to return one MP to Westminster. In each of the three elections (in 1654, 1656 and 1659) the gentry of the shire chose a member of the Lockhart family. Sir William Lockhart was elected in 1654 and 1656, and with his elevation to Cromwell’s Other House, his brother George Lockhart II*, was elected in 1659. These returns do not seem to have been unpopular. An order made by George Monck in January 1655 suggests that the 1654 election saw the participation of a large proportion of the gentry community. At the request of the gentlemen of Lanarkshire, Monck told the local officers to levy money to cover such expenses of their MP ‘as were voluntarily agreed upon (at a meeting of the shire for choosing of a member to sit in Parliament upon the 2nd of August last)’. Worcester Coll. Oxf. Clarke xlvi, unfol.: 15 Jan. 1655. A high degree of involvement in the elections is confirmed by the surviving election indenture, of 20 August 1656, which includes the names of 23 of the electors. All are local gentlemen – no Cromwellian soldiers appear to have taken part in this election – and the presiding sheriff was also a Scot: Lockhart’s brother-in-law Sir James Hamilton* of Orbiston. Of the 23 electors, 10 are familiar names from the lists of justices of the peace and assessment commissioners in 1656-7: James Hamilton of Dalzell, James Hamilton of Woodhall, Gavin Hamilton of Raploch, Thomas Hamilton of Preston, John Bannatyne of Corhouse, William Lockhart of Parke, George Lockhart of Tarbrax, William Laurie of Blackwood, William Baillie of Hardington, and John Lockhart*, brother of the returned MP. C219/45, unfol.
By 1656 there is no doubt that the Lanarkshire gentry were actively involved in the Westminster elections, just as they had willingly participated in local government; and in doing so they appear to have endorsed the hegemony of the Lockhart clan. It is interesting that after the Restoration, with the return to influence of the Hamiltons, this pattern did not change significantly. Between 1661 and 1667 three commissioners represented Lanarkshire at Edinburgh: Sir Robert Hamilton of Silvertonhill and Gavin Hamilton of Raploch, who had served as JPs and assessment commissioners in the previous decade; and Sir James Lockhart of Lee, the father of both MPs returned for the shire in the protectorate Parliaments. Young, Parliaments of Scot. ii. 796.
