Borthwick History

This name is of territorial origin, and it seems likely to have been assumed from lands on Borthwick Water in Roxburghshire. The family is one of the most ancient in Scotland and some recent research suggests that they may have opposed Caesar’s legions. It is traditionally asserted that the progenitor of this noble house was Andreas, who accompanied the Saxon Edgar the Aetheling and his sister, Margaret, later queen and saint, to Scotland in 1067. The family soon became prominent in Scottish affairs. Sir William Borthwick possessed substantial lands in Midlothian and the Borders, and he obtained a charter confirming his lands of Borthwick around 1410. During the 15th century, the Borthwicks acquired immense influence and became Lords of Parliament. The 1st Lord Borthwick erected what remains one of the most impressive fortified dwellings in Scotland on a strong position near Middleton in Midlothian. He died some time before 1458 and is commemorated by a splendid tomb in the old church of Borthwick.

The Borthwicks fought alongside James IV at the ill-fated Battle of Flodden in 1513. William, Lord Borthwick, succeeded his father who fell at Flodden, and was given command of the strategic Stirling Castle and charged with the safety of the infant James V. His son, William, was a staunch friend and confidant of Queen Mary, who was a frequent visitor to Borthwick Castle. She took refuge there with her husband, Bothwell, but they were forced to flee before a substantial force under Lords Murray and Morton.

David Borthwick of Lochhill was a prominent lawyer who became the King’s Advocate, or principal legal adviser, in 1573. He may have been the first to bear the title, "Lord Advocate", still in use today for the Government’s chief law officer in Scotland.

The Borthwicks adhered to the royalist cause during the civil war, and their castle was besieged after the Battle of Dunbar in 1650. The splendid fortress was spared from the inevitable destruction when Oliver Cromwell offered Lord Borthwick honourable terms of surrender, which he accepted. Various branches of the family disputed the right of succession in the 18th and 19th centuries, but in June 1986, Major John Borthwick of Crookston was recognised by the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, as The Lord Borthwick of that Ilk and chief of the name and arms of Borthwick.