THE
BOYDS OF BADENHEATH
This branch of the family called
'The Boyds of Badenheath' owned the Tower
of Badenheath in the parish
of Kirkintilloch . These Boyds were of the
family of Kilmarnock, and
are mentioned as being of Badenheath as early as 1405.
From an account of the Parish
of Kirkintilloch dated 1845 " The Tower of
Badenheath was in ancient
times a stronghold of the Boyds, Earls of
Kilmarnock, whose armorial
bearings are still blazoned above the door. It
was at one period surrounded
with woods and had a deer park. In the memory
of persons now living,
the tower was covered with a leaden roof, and was
surrounded by a ditch."
From a book on the History
of Kirkintilloch I found - "The first
appearance of the Boyds
of Badenheath in history appears in connection
with the Battle of Langside
13 May 1568 when it is recorded that the Fourth
Lord Boyd, who with Lord Fleming,
the Lord Herrie's son, and thirty others,
formed a bodyguard round the
Queen during the battle - suffered
considerably by the defeat
at Langside : he so fell in the disfavour of the
Regent Moray, that he and
his two sons, Thomas, Master of Boyd, and Robert
of Badenheath, were commanded
to leave the country."
Kirkintilloch Library has an
excellent Local History section and keeps the
Local Archives so I am sure
that there will be more there on these Boyds.
It also has the IGI and OPRs
for the area but I must admit that the writing
from the 17th century is really
hard to read.
At the library I found
out that on 20th March 1617, Robert Boyd was served
heir to Robert Boyd, a brother
of his grandfather. On 9th May 1629 Robert
Boyd is served heir to Robert
Boyd his father. On 10th April 1641, James
Boyd is served male heir to
Robert Boyd, his brothers son and on 28th
February 1655 is served "
William Lord Boyde, heir male of James , Lord
Boyd , his father, in the
5 1. land of old extant of Badinhaith in the
Barony of Lenzie O.E. 5 1.
N. E. 25 1. the teynd-sheaves and other teynds
of the said 5 1. land of Badinheath."
I had been researching my Boyds
of Kilsyth on and off for a few years now
but only started finding out
about the Boyds of Badenheath after 'speaking'
to Richard G. Boyd of Mt.
Morris, Michigan.
Kilsyth is about 3 miles from
Badenheath and I have my family going back to
James Boyd who was born around
1779 but I don't know whether my branch are
descended from the Boyd's
of Badenheath or perhaps came directly from
Ayrshire or even Ireland.
One of the earliest Boyds I can find on the IGI
in Kilsyth is the marriage
of Jennett Boyd and Robert Gartschoir in 1643.
The Gartshores were owners
of a large estate next to Badenheath and I am in
touch with Graham and Fraser
Gartshore who have done extensive research on
their family.
I live in Cumbernauld near
Kirkintilloch and have been researching my Boyd
family who lived nearby in
Kilsyth. I would love to know if anyone has any ideas
on how these Boyds relate
to the Kilmarnock Boyds.
Marion
Fyfe
Cumbernauld