Roberton, Lanarkshire

Coordinates: 55°32′57″N 3°39′00″W / 55.5492°N 3.65°W / 55.5492; -3.65

Roberton
Scots: Robertin
Roberton  Roberton shown within South Lanarkshire
Language	English
Council area	South Lanarkshire
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Strathclyde
Fire	Strathclyde
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
List of places: UK • Scotland •

Roberton is a Scottish village in Lanarkshire.

Origins

( See Roberton (family))

The origins of the town of Roberton are intertwined with those of the Robertons of that Ilk, Earnock, Bedlay and Lauchope.

Black 1965 describes the etymology as literally 'the Town of Robert'. This Robert was brother of Lambin Asa, who was the progenitor of the Earls of Loddon and Lamington. Ritchie 1954 , Reid 1928 and Grant 2007 assert the origins of Robert as a Flemish feudal vassal of Baldwin of Biggar.

In fact, the Chartulary of Kelso gives Robert as the son of Lord Asa (probably the second son as the eldest was James who inherited the barony of Draffen from his father along with the title of Laird of Lesmahagow). Lambyn appears to have held the lands of Lesmahagow (the regal barony) alongside William Comyn before the grant was made to the Abbey of Kelso by David I. As a consequence Lambyn became the Laird of Lesmahagow and the minor baronies were then divided up between his family and associates with terms based on the original grant to Lambyn and James. It seems Lambyn had previously been in Yorkshire, as were Theobald and Baldwin, where his family had become Lords of Multon under the Earl of Richmond. Theobald took the grant of Douglas (from whom descends the famous Douglas family), Baldwin appears to have become Sherriff of Biggar, presumably not being directly entitled to grant of a barony. Baldwin appears to have risen when he married the widow of Reginald, bastard son of Alan, Earl of Richmond, who had taken land at CrawfordJohn, presumably as a result of the holdings of William Comyn and Lambyn Asa in the vicinty.

It might be possible that Theobald was a younger brother of Lambyn but Baldwin's relationshup would appear to be less direct. For reference, consult the Chartulary of Kelso, Annals of Lesmahagow (J B Greenshields) and Burkes Commoners.

It is first mentioned in a charter by Wice of Wiston tything it to Malcolm IV (Reid 1928). Grant dates ‘Robert, brother of Lambin’ as the first lord c.1157.

The Barony

It became the seat of the Robertons of that ilk until their dispossession by Robert I for Stephen de Robertoun's signing of the 1296 Ragman Roll. It was subsequently bestowed upon Sir James Douglas, ancestor of the Earls of Morton (Beverage n.d.).

The Parish

Roberton was a parish town chartered by Kelso Abbey (Reid 1928),(Beverage).

Historically it was an Established Church of Scotland. It merged with Wiston in 1772, and became a United Presybterian Church in 1847. In 1843 a Free Church was established that dwindled, ultimately belonging to the Presbytery of Jedburgh by 1880 (Familysearch)

Geography

Roberton is most notable for being one of the earliest documented Flemish settlements in Lanarkshire, and at 12 square miles (31 km²) in size it was one of the largest in the Flemish enclave around Biggar (Grant). Running beside the river Clyde for 6 miles (10 km), the agriculture included oats and barley (Sinclair 1791)

References

• Beverage, A., nd. Clydesdale: Descriptive, Historical and Romantic p 50
• Black, G Surnames of Scotland, Birlinn, Edinburgh 1999
• Familysearch
• Grant, ‘A Lordship and Society in 12th Century Clydesdale’ in Pryce et al. Power and Identity in the Middle Ages: Essays in Memory of Rees Davies Oxford University Press, 2007
• Hardie –Stoffelen, A ‘The rise of the Flemish families in scotland’ at < http://www.amg1.net/scotland/flemfam.htm> last cited 12th January 2009.
• The 1296 Ragman Roll
• Reid, T History of the Parish of Crawfordjohn, Upper Ward of Lanarkshire 1153 to 1928 Turnball & Spiers Edinburgh 1928
• Ritchie, R.L.G , The Normans in Scotland University Press, 1954
• Sinclair, J Statistical Accounts of Scotland 1791 - 99 Volume 2 p 210

External links

• Familysearch Research Wiki [1]