John Bothwell, Lord Holyroodhouse
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John Bothwell of Auldhamer, Lord Holyroodhouse (c.1550–1609) was a 16th-century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice residing at Holyrood House prior to it becoming a royal palace.
Life
He was born in Bothwell House in Edinburgh, the son of Bishop Adam Bothwell, a Lord of Session and bishop of Orkney. His mother was Margaret Murray, daughter of John Murray of Touchadam. His paternal uncle Richard Bothwell served as Provost of Edinburgh during the reign of Mary Queen of Scots. His grandfather Francis Bothwell had also been a Senator of the College of Justice since its foundation in 1532 and a Lord of Session in the Edinburgh courts. Francis was Provost of Edinburgh 1523/24.{{Cite web|url=http://name.umdl.umich.edu/004896980.0001.000|title=The peerage of Scotland: containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, ... collected from the public records, and ancient chartularies of this nation, ... Illustrated with copper-plates. By Robert Douglas, Esq;.|first=Robert|last=Douglas|date=January 20, 2007}} His aunt, Janet Bothwell, was mother of the mathematician, John Napier.{{Cite web|url=https://www.electricscotland.com/history/nation/bothwell.htm|title=Bothwell|website=www.electricscotland.com}}
In early life he was styled "John Bothwell of Alhammer".
Being a favourite of King James VI he was made Abbot or Commendator of Holyrood Abbey from 1581.
In July 1593 he was created a Senator of the College of Justice and Lord of Session, in place of his father, and adopted the title of "Lord Holyroodhouse".
He dressed as an Amazon in August 1594 to perform in the tournament at the baptism of Prince Henry at Stirling Castle.Michael Bath, Emblems in Scotland: Motifs and Meanings (Brill, Leiden, 2018), pp. 97-101. In May 1595 James VI gave him a diamond ring worth £180 Scots.Miles Kerr-Peterson & Michael Pearce, 'James VI's English Subsidy and Danish Dowry Accounts, 1588-1596', Scottish History Society Miscellany XVI (Woodbridge, 2020), p. 59. In September 1595 James VI sent him to be his representative at the christening of a child of Elizabeth Douglas, Countess of Erroll.M. S. Giuseppi, Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1595-1597, vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 13.
He was an ally of the Laird of Buccleuch.Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1595-1597, vol. 12 (Edinburgh, 1952), p. 499 no. 402.
His correspondence with Anthony Bacon in England in 1596 mentions his relation, Mr Kello, the husband of the calligrapher Esther Inglis.Thomas Birch, Memorials of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, vol. 2 (London, 1754), p. 158.
In December 1607 the king elevated the title from a non-hereditary legal title to a hereditary title.
He died on 26 November 1609. He is thought to be buried in Holyrood Abbey adjacent to his home. If so he logically shares the grave of his parents at the second column from the main east window.
Family
He was married to Maria or Marie Carmichael (died 1626),Will of Marie Carmichaell, National Records of Scotland CC8/8/53 pp. 618-621. a daughter of Sir John Carmichael of Carmichael (d.1600).{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Maria-Carmichael/6000000017479141253|title=Maria Carmichael|website=geni_family_tree}}
She lived in Advocate's Close in Edinburgh, on the site of the present later house called "Adam Bothwell's house", built by William Dick of Braid.Jane Stewart Smith, The Grange of St. Giles (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 50. Her will mentions a larger "meikle" hall with a "wainscot" or oak dining table, a cupboard (shelves) made of "fir" or pine and an oak table.Michael Pearce, 'Painted Decoration, Making and Context', Jennifer Melville, Gladstone's Land (Edinburgh: National Trust for Scotland, 2018), p. 257.
Their son John Bothwell became the 2nd Lord Holyroodhouse. He seemed to have lived in Dundee rather than Edinburgh as he became a burgess of that town in 1620. The title Lord Holyroodhouse temporarily expired with his death in 1638{{Cite web|url=https://www.fdca.org.uk/1620_JohnBothwell.html|title=FDCA - 1620 John Bothwell, Lord Holyroodhouse|website=www.fdca.org.uk}} but was readopted in the early 18th century by his descendant Henry Bothwell, 3rd Lord Holyroodhouse (1657-1755).Grant's Old and New Edinburgh vol.1 p.120
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Category:Peers of Scotland created by James VI