Clan Hunter Timeline
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Clan Hunter Timeline
Follow the Clan Hunter Timeline through the ages.
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Timeline
0082
80 AD
The Roman general Agricola marches his army into Scotland and subdues the Caledonian tribes.
0700
700
The Hunterston Brooch is crafted in the ancient kingdom of Dalriada.
0802
802
The sacred isle of Iona is burned by the Vikings.
0911
911
Ancestors of the Hunters were Norsemen who invaded Normandy under Rollo (later Duke of Normandy) and became Normans.
1066
1066
William I “the Conqueror” invades England. He takes hostage four Scottish princes. One of these, David grew up in the Norman Court and became King David I of Scotland.
1116
1116
Norman Venator is mentioned in an Inquisition held by David, then Prince of the Cumbrians.
1124
1124
The Hunters were among Norman nobles who came to Scotland by invitation of David I they received a Royal appointment to hunt for the King of Scotland.
1136
1136
Glasgow Cathedral is consecrated by King David I. It is the oldest building in Glasgow.
1153
1153
The 2nd laird, Norman I received a grant of land from King Malcolm IV of Scotland.
1214
1214
The 3rd laird, Venator (The Hunter) is named in charters during the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland.
1233
1233
The 4th laird, John Deo Venator witnessed a deed in Glasgow Church records.
1260
1260
The 8th laird, Aylmer le Huntar del Counte de Are (Ayr) of the county of Ayr appears on the Ragman Rolls submitting to Edward I of England at Berwick.
1263
1263
The 5th laird, Ardneil Huntar fought for King Alexander III of Scotland at the Battle of Largs, 6 miles from Hunterston. Scotland won this last battle against the Vikings on the British mainland.
1295
1295
The 7th laird would have been alive during the First Interregnum when Edward I of England “the Hammer of the Scots” makes John Balliol King of Scotland.
1314
1314
The 9th laird fought alongside King Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence against the English invaders whose defeat at Bannockburn is celebrated to this day.
1328
1328
Treaty of Edinburgh recognised Scotland’s Independence ending 30 years of Wars of Independence.
1374
1374
A grant of land is given to William Hunter 10th laird. The original Charter document remains at Hunterston to this day.
1412
1412
Foundation of the University of St Andrews
1454
1454
12th laird, William Huntar died while his son was a minor. His brother John, Hereditary Forrester became his guardian.
1462
1462
13th laird, Archibald Huntar is recorded on the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland as having paid rent to the Crown confirming his position as Hereditary Keeper of the Royal Forests.
1468
1468
The islands of Orkney and Shetland are ceded to Scotland from Norway.
1487
1487
Margaret Cathcart
1513
1513
The 14th laird, John Hunter, is killed Battle of Flodden Field alongside King James IV. The 15th Laird, Robert Huntar of Huntarstoune was a minor when his father fell.
1522
1522
Jonet Montgomerie
1542
1542
Mary Queen of Scots is born and is crowned at Stirling Castle the following year.
1547
1547
Mungo Hunter, the 16th laird is killed at Battle of Pinkie. Mungo added the external stairs and the Great Hall to Hunterston Castle.
1568
1568
The 17th laird, Robert Hunter of Hunterstoune inherits as a minor. Later, he too fought beside Queen Mary at the Battle of Langside. He was a supporter of the Reformed Religion (Protestantism).
1587
1587
Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded by her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
1605
1605
Guy Fawkes is arrested during an attempt to blow up the English Parliament. As Lady Hunterston, Jean and her husband Patrick became co-heirs of Hunterston. Patrick is listed as the 19th laird but the inheritance came through his wife and her mother, both named Jean.
1606
1606
The Union Flag is adopted for England, Scotland and Wales.
1611
1611
Robert Huntar (III) the 18th laird had no children. The lairdship was passed through his sister Jean to her children in 1611. Diverting the inheritance through the female line explains the remarkable way the Hunters of Hunterston have maintained their unbroken history in Scotland.
1627
1627
Robert, the 20th laird enters Glasgow University. Robert served in the Ayrshire Yeomanry and died in 1679.
1648
1648
Marion Cunninghame
1692
1692
Massacre of Glencoe.
1698
1698
As the 21st laird Patrick (II) had his title to the land ratified by King William II on 27th June 1698.
1698
The Bank of Scotland is founded by an Act of the Scottish Parliament and the Darien expedition to Panama fails inflicting damage to the Scottish economy. Patrick, the 22nd laird married Marion Crawford and they had ten children.
1704
1704
Marion Crawfurd
1707
1707
The Act of Union unites the English and Scottish Parliaments.
1732
1732
The 23rd laird, Robert Hunter married Janet Aitchison of Glasgow. Their two sons died young and two of their daughters were unmarried. Their third daughter, Eleonora succeeded her father on his death in 1796.
1746
1746
The Battle of Culloden ends the Jacobite rising.
1796
1796
Eleanora Helen Hunter became the 24th laird. Helen married her cousin Robert Caldwell a mariner and shipowner who assumed the surname of Hunter. They constructed Hunterston House and expanded the farmland by draining marshland around Hunterston Castle.
1796
Robert Burns dies.
1796
Portrait of Eleanora Hunter
1799
1799
The 25th laird, Robert was the last laird to be born in the Castle. He obtained a Royal Charter for the lands at Hunterston in 1829 and had two daughters, Jane and Eleanora.
1850
1850
Highland clearances drive people off the land to make way for sheep which sparks a Scottish diaspora.
1863
1863
Jane married Gould Read Weston a career officer in the British Indian Army. In 1880 she obtained a Royal licence from Queen Victoria to assume the name and Arms of Hunter-Weston. They had two sons, Aylmer and Reginald.
1876
1876
Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.
1883
1883
Jane Hunter-Weston
1905
1905
The 27th laird, Lieutenant General Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston, KCB, DSO, JP, DL, Member of Parliament to North Ayrshire married Grace Strang Steel of Philiphaugh, Selkirk in 1905. However, they had no children. Aylmer died in 1940 and Grace in 1954.
1934
1934
The Scottish National Party is founded.
1954
1954
In February 1954, Eleanora Agnes Cochran-Patrick (Aunt Nora) matriculated Arms as the 28th laird. Hunterston passed across to the descendants of Jane Hunter’s sister.
1968
1968
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland permits the ordination of women as ministers.
1968
Neil Hunter the 29th laird continued the conflict against the incursion of further industrialisation at Hunterston. Neil married Sonia Furlong of Gloucestershire in England and they had seven children, one daughter and six sons.
1983
1983
Clan Hunter is formed.
1995
1995
Madam Pauline Natalie Hunter became the 30th Chief of Clan Hunter she has been most active in the promotion of Clan Hunter worldwide. She is our fifth female Clan Chief.
The Clan Timeline continues to this day and will continue for generations to come with the careful stewarding of our current and future Clan Chiefs.
You can learn even more about the origins of the Clan Hunter on our Clan History page, or Wikipedia page.
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DIRECTIONS
You will find us off the A78 just north of West Kilbride. Look for our driveway marked by stone pillars and "Hunterston Estate"
ADDRESS
Hunterston KA23 9QG
Telephone: 07980 209060
*This number is not continuously manned, so please do leave us a message.
OPENING TIMES AND ACCESS
Acccess to Hunterston Castle is strictly by appointment. Note that as a historic monument, wheel chair access is limited. More visitor information is available on our visitors page . Please email us to arrange a visit.
