Henry Wardlaw of Torrie

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

Henry Wardlaw of Torrie was a Scottish landowner and courtier.

He was a son of John Wardlaw of Torrie (died June 1557)Register of the Privy Seal, 5:1, p. 126 no. 598. and Elizabeth Beaton (died 1558), a daughter of John Beaton of Balfour and Mary Boswell.Ruvigny, 'Wardlaw Family', Notes and Queries, 10 S VIII (October 1907), p. 265. Torrie is in Torryburn parish in Fife.

Elizabeth Beaton, Lady Torrie was a sister of Cardinal David Beaton.Robert Kerr Hannay, Rentale Sancti Andree (Edinburgh: SHS, 1913), p. 181. In later life John Wardlaw became incapable of managing his affairs. During a court case brought by his younger brother William, witnesses described various details of John Wardlaw's skills and activities as a wealthy laird in Fife.Margaret Sanderson, A Kindly Place? Living in Sixteenth-Century Scotland (East Linton: Tuckwell, 2002), pp. 192-3.

Henry Wardlaw's daughter Nicolas was a companion of Mary, Queen of Scots, sometimes known as "Madame Torrie". When she married Patrick Wood of Bonnyton in September 1566, the queen's half-brother, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, wrote to the treasurer Robert Richardson to ensure she had a purple velvet gown with gold passments or trimmings as a royal gift for her wedding day.John Charles Gibson, The Wardlaws in Scotland: A History of the Wardlaws of Wilton and Torrie (Edinburgh, 1912), pp. 70–71.Charles Thorpe McInnes, Accounts of the Treasurer of Scotland, 12 (Edinburgh: HMSO, 1970), pp. 19, 395–396.

Henry Wardlaw fought for Mary at the battle of Langside in 1568. He was involved in the death of James Ballany at the battle. Regent Moray declared his property forfeited and gave it to James Cunningham of Drumwuhassill.Gordon Donaldson, Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, vol. 6 (Edinburgh, 1963), pp. 92 no. 451, 209 no. 1111. He was found guilty of treason in August 1571, along with a Fife neighbour Henry Echlin of Pittadro. The penalty was suspended.John Charles Gibson, The Wardlaws in Scotland: A History of the Wardlaws of Wilton and Torrie (Edinburgh, 1912), p. 68: Calendar State Papers Scotland, 3 (Edinburgh, 1903), pp. 668–670 nos. 897, 898.