James Dalrymple, first ViscountStair, was a Scottish lawyer and statesman. He was born in 1619 and died in 1695. In the English Civil War he sided at first with the parliament, but afterwards with the royalists. He was made a knight on the Restoration, and in 1671 president of the Court of Session. In 1682 he fell out of favour with the king, and retiring to Holland became an adherent of the Prince of Orange, who, after the Revolution, raised him to the peerage. The connection of his son, the Master of Stair, with the massacre of Glencoe brought some odium upon him in his last years. He wrote: The Institutes of the Laws of Scotland; Vindication of the Divine Perfections; and An Apology for his Own Conduct. Research James Dalrymple
John Dalrymple, first Earl of Stair, was a Scottish lawyer and statesman. He was born in 1648 and died in 1707. It was through him that the massacre of Glencoe was perpetrated in 1692. He succeeded his father (James Dalrymple) as viscount in 1695, and in 1703 was created earl. He was largely instrumental in bringing about the union between Scotland and England.
John Dalrymple was a Scottish soldier, diplomatist and the second Earl of Stair. He was born in 1673 and died in 1747. The second son of John Dalrymple, the second Earl of Stair, John Dalrymple first saw military service under the prince of Orange in Holland, and later served under the Duke of Marlborough, distinguishing himself at Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet. He succeeded to the earldom in 1707. from 1715 until 1720 he was ambassador in Paris, whence he secured the expulsion of the Old Pretender. For the next twenty years he devoted himself to the improvement of his estates and to political machinations against Walpole. In 1742 he was made a field-marshal and played a conspicuous part in the Battle of Dettingen. Research John Dalrymple
The Massacre of Glencoe took place in 1692. The Master of Stair, William III's chief minister in Scotland, took the accidental late submission of the clan of Glencoe as an opportunity to teach the Highlanders a lesson. He requested of the king permission to exterminate the clan on the grounds that they had in the past been guilty of acts of brigandage and murder, and upon receiving assent, he sent to Glencoe a party of 120 soldiers whom on the 1st of February, commanded by CaptainCampbell of Glenlyon, marched up the glen and arrived pretending to be friends with the clan. They proceeded to live with the clansmen, dining with them, joking with them and playing cards with them until the morning of February the 13th 1692 when, whilst it was still dark, the soldiers surrounded the clansmen's huts and dragging them from their beds murdered them, firing at those who fled - thirty-eight men were murdered at the scene and many more died in the snow, drowned in the bogs or starved fleeing. The incident caused a scandal and resulted in the dismissal of the Master of Stair, and the first public sympathy for the Highlanders from the lowland Scottish. Research Massacre of Glencoe
Snake stone (also known as Water of Ayr Stone or Scotch Stone) is a variety of whetstone. It is a light grey carboniferousshale, used for polishing marble and copper plates as well as sharpening tools. Snake stone is found at Bridge of Stair on the Ayr in Scotland. Research Snake Stone
In architecture a halfpace is a platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight. Research Halfpace
In architecture a nosing is that part of the treadboard of a stair which projects over the riser; hence the term is applied to any like projection, as for example the projecting edge of a moulding. Research Nosing
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Abbreviations
Research James Dalrymple
