Noteworthy Lockards in Scotland
In 1296 there is a record of Malcom Lockhart of Ayrshire rendering homage to King Edward I of England on his brief conquest of Scotland.
The earliest paper in the family archives is a charter of 1323 by which Sir Symon Lockard bound himself and his heirs to pay out of the lands of Lee and Cartland an annual rent of 10 pounds.
Stephen Lockard, grandfather of Symon, founded the village of Stephenston in Ayrshire, which would have been a hamlet or farm town, housing farmers and workers on his estate. His son, Symon, acquired lands in Lanarkshire, and like his father, named a village which he founded Symons Toun (today called Symington), after himself.
Other Lockards have distinguished themselves in Scottish history:
- Alan Lockhart of the Lee was killed at the battle of Pinkie in 1547.
- Sir James Lockhart of the Lee, born in 1596, was appointed a gentleman of the Pivvy Chamber by Charles I and was knighted. In 1646 he was appointed to the Supreme Court Bench and took the title of "Lord Lee." A zealous royalist, Lord Lee was captured at Alyth in 1651 and conveyed to the Tower of London.
- Lord Lee's son, Sir William, was a distinguished soldier who fought on the royalist side at the battle of Worcester in 1651. He then campaigned on the continent, where he achieved such prominence that Cardinal Mazarin, successor to Cardinal Richelieu, offered to make him mareschal of France. Sir William died in the Netherlands in 1675.
- James Lockhart, who inherited the estates in 1777, also saw service on the continent, where he rose to be a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, a Knight of the Order of Maria Theresa, and a general of that empress's imperial forces. The title of Count became extinct when James's only son, Charles, died without issue.
Although the family seat, Lee Castle, has been sold, the estates are still owned and managed by the present head of the family, Angus Lockhart of the Lee.