74 CnuRcn (IF St. Joir.N thk Baptist, Daley. 



the Home of "Wedderburn arms given— first and fourth, the Hon 

 rampant ; second, the three paping-oes ; third, the engrailed cross 

 of the Siuclairs of Polwarth, another heiress. These quarterings, 

 commemorative of lands acquired through various heiresses, are 

 borne by all the branches of the Home or Hume family without 

 distinction from the Earls of Home and Marchmont down through 

 all its numerous cadets. In singular contrast to this unanimous 

 practice, Nisbet himself notes a curious exception, in the person 

 of Nicola Pepdie's own son David, the first of the Wedderburn 

 race who used a seal with the Home lion unaccompanied by his 

 mother's arms, and also his grandson George, who had the same 

 arms carved on the gateway in front of Wedderburn House. 



Under these peculiar and apparently discrepant circumstances, 

 I have taken the opportunity of consulting an eminent authorit3', 

 Mr Andrew Ross, Marchmont Herald, who considers the case 

 quite open to an alternative solution, which may at least be 

 fairly considered, and the lion rampant, being the well-known 

 heraldic distinction of the province of Galloway, at once leads 

 to the inquiry whether any grounds exist for the provincial arms 

 being so used in pale with family arms, as seems to be possible 

 in the present instance. The Gordons appear to have been a 

 family of high distinction in Kirkcudbrightshire from the 14th 

 century, when they first acquired possessions in the Glenkens. 

 Two centuries afterwards we find the head of the family, James 

 Gordon — who was killed at the battle of Pinkie, September 

 10th, 1547 — appointed for a term of five years the King's 

 Chamberlain of the Lordship of Galloway, both above and 

 below the Cree ; while his eldest son, John, mentioned above, 

 was appointed by Queen Mary, February 9th, 1555, Justiciar 

 of the Stewardry, an important office, in which he was reappointed 

 some thirty years later by King James VI., and died in August, 

 1604, half a century after his first appointment to a distinction 

 no doubt borne by him to the end of his life, but which does 

 not seem to have been in any sense hereditary. 



This question is not only interesting from a heraldic point of 

 view, Ijut also as to the date when the Kenmure aisle was first 

 erected. If such a structure had been built during the long life- 

 time and tenure of office of this John Gordon, so to combine the 

 provincial arms with those of his family would appear to be not 

 only justifiable but quite appropriate. In the case, however, of 



