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Cap Badge
Kilt pin
Plaid Brooch
Tie pin
Cuff links
Sgian Dubh
In early times this name was spelt 'Locard' or 'Lokart'. Like so many Scottish families, the Locards came from England where they were among those dispossessed of their lands by William the Conqueror. There were Lockards near Penrith in the twelfth century and later in Annandale, where the town of Lockerbie is said to be named after them. The family finally settled in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, where they have held lands for over seven hundred years. The earliest paper in the family archives is a charter of 1323 whereby Sir Symon Locard bound himself and his heirs to pay out the lands of Lee. Symon, the second of Lee, fought alongside Robert the Bruce in the struggle to free Scotland from English domination. Later knighted, Sir Symon was among the knights, led by Sir James Douglas, who took Bruce's heart on Crusade in 1329. The heart was carried in a casket, of which Sir Symon carried a key. To commemorate the honour done to the family, their name was changed from Locard to Lockheart, later becoming Lockhart. As well as a new name, the family gained a precious heirloom on the Crusade: the mysterious charm known as the Lee Penny. Sir Walter Scott used the story of its acquisition by the family as a basis for his novel, 'The Talisman'. Sir Syman captured a Moorish amir in the battle in Spain, and received an amulet or stone with healing powers as part of his ransom. The amulet was later set in a silver coin which has been identified as a fourpenny piece of the reign of Edward IV. The coin is kept in a gold snuffbox which was a gift from Maria Theresa, Empress of Austria. Such was the belief in the amulet's powers that a descendant of Sir Symon, Sir James Lockhart of Lee, was charged with sorcery, an offence which could carry the death penalty. The case was later dismissed. 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 Lee. |
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