Balliol

The importance of Galloway's Gaelic clans (or kindreds) on the medieval and later history if south-west Scotland has been neglected. The research presented here re-assesses their importance and significant influence on the history of the region.

During the Scottish Wars of Independence many Scots chose, or were forced to choose, the apparent security of English allegiance. In the years when Edward I, for example, appeared most likely to win his war with Scotland, many opted to enter the English king's peace in the hope of retaining their lands, rights and privileges under the new administrative order. This acknowledgement of the likelihood of an Edwardian victory prompted a practical response from most leading Scottish figures.

The resumption of Anglo-Scottish conflict in 1332-3 brought with it a replication of some of the major issues of the First War of Independence, reigniting the Scottish civil conflict between Bruce and Balliol. This manifested itself in the invasion of Edward Balliol and his Disinherited allies, whose early success encouraged other disaffected Scots to rally to their support as they sought to gain possession of Scottish territories to which they retained claims. 1 The active entry of Edward III into the war in 1333 also brought about a return of large-scale English invasions of Scotland over a prolonged period, with the subsequent devastation that accompanied such forays. The involvement of Edward III and the participation of his armies in the Balliol attempts to regain the throne came at a cost, and 1 The Disinherited were a group of English and Anglo-Scottish nobles and others whose lands in Scotland had been forfeited as a result of their failure to support the Bruce cause during the reign of Robert I. Although raised during the Anglo-Scottish peace negotiations of 1327-8, the issue of outstanding Disinherited claims to Scottish lands was not resolved. The Disinherited party thereafter formed a close association with the young Edward III, and were prominent in the 1330 coup that saw him overthrow the ruling minority government and seize power. Sonja Cameron and Alasdair Ross, 'The Treaty of Edinburgh and the Disinherited (1328-1332)', History lxxxiv (1999), pp. 237-56; Caroline Shenton, 'Edward III and the Coup of 1330', in The Age of Edward III, ed. J.S. Bothwell (Woodbridge, 2001). Edward III demanded £2,000 worth of Scottish land as reimbursement for his efforts. 2 At Newcastle in February 1334, the English king received his reward. The sheriffdoms of Berwick, Roxburgh, Peebles, Selkirk, Dumfries and Edinburgh (the latter with its associated constabularies of Haddington and Linlithgow) became the possessions of Edward III, as southern Scotland was effectively annexed to England. 3 An English administrative apparatus was quickly established in the region, and individual sheriffs reported to the head of English administration for Scotland at Berwick. 4 For the period of the 1330s there exist, therefore, detailed records produced by the new English administration in these areas. These records include the accounts of those same English sheriffs as they sought to establish control over their new territories. For the period from 1335 until 1337 they contain lists of territories from which the sheriffs were expected to collect revenue due to the English Crown. The records themselves have existed in published form for quite some time within the appendices of volume three of Bain's Calendar of Documents Relating to Scotland. 5 Despite the potential significance of these records, Bain's at-times inaccurate recording of documentary evidence has resulted in these sources being used relatively sparingly. Many historians have utilised them, but usually as a source of historical detail within a larger study of specific geographical areas or individuals and families. 6 No-one has, as yet, examined the 2 Foedera (RC edn), II, ii, 847-8; Ranald Nicholson, Edward III and the Scots. The Formative Years of a Military Career, 1327-1335 (Oxford, 1965), pp. 97-9. 3 Foedera (RC edn), II, ii, 888-90; Nicholson, Edward III and the Scots, pp. 158-62. 4 Rot. Scot., i, 271, 275, 276. 5 CDS, iii, appendices iii and vi. The original records are held in the TNA, E 101/331/21 and E 101/331/22. 6 See, for example, Richard D. Oram, 'Bruce, Balliol and the Lordship of Galloway: South-West Scotland and the Wars of Independence', TDGNHAS, 3rd ser., lxvii (1992), pp. 29-47; Bruce Webster, 'The English Occupation of Dumfriesshire in the Fourteenth Century', TDGNHAS, 3rd ser., xxxv (1956-7), pp. 64-80; idem, 'Scotland without a King', in Medieval Scotland. Crown, Lordship and

Arthur Lionel Smith (1850-1924) was Balliol through and through: matriculated 1869, Tutor 1874, Lecturer 1879, Fellow 1882, Dean 1907, Master 1916. Though he was a particularly engaged and hardworking  Fellow and Master of Balliol, a great part of his time and energy was devoted to work outside the college (even including a five-year Fellowship at Trinity) and outside Oxford. In this illustrated talk, Anna will open up some of his extensive personal, academic and administrative archive to show some of his activities at home and away during the First World War..

Transcript/tidied up notes plus footnotes and sources/further reading of a talk given as part of the Unlocking Archives series on Friday 19 February 2016, 1-2pm, at Balliol Historic Collections Centre, St Cross Church, Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UH.Text at https://balliolarchivist.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/2742/

February - March 2016. Balliol College antechapel.

'Leaves from a College Album – Francis Fortescue Urquhart’s photos, Winter 1915-1916’

Urquhart’s long series of photo albums is an invaluable resource that I return to over and over again, finding illustrations for different themes or topics each time. They offer a rare personal glimpse into college life, and the surrounding town and countryside, of the 1890s-1930s. In this selection I simply looked at photos dated more or less a century ago. Given what was going on in the world in 1916, this was guaranteed to be a source of stories… but aside from the obvious intrusions of war, many features of architecture and landscape were more or less unchanged, and remain recognisable now. Images and text at: https://balliolarchivist.wordpress.com/2016/03/01/antechapel-display-ht-2016/