Lennox Cairn

Dedicated to those who fell in the Battle of Linlithgow Bridge on the 4th September 1526, the Lennox Cairn marks the approximate location where John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox (c.1490 - 1526), surrendered his sword to Patrick Hamilton, the Laird of Pardovan, but was then slain by Sir James Hamilton of Finnart (c.1495 - 1540). Lennox was said to have been buried nearby and passers-by laid stones in tribute. The Battle came about as nobles tried to gain control over the levers of power through the young King James V (1512-42); the Earl of Lennox was trying to release the young James who had been seized by Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (c.1489 - 1557), and held in Edinburgh.

The Cairn had long disappeared by the 19th C. although the Ordnance Survey map of that time places it just the south of the current monument. A new cairn was constructed in the 1990s, said to include two stones which had been taken from the original cairn, although this seems unlikely; one does bear what is said to represent the Lennox arms but the other is an Ordnance Survey marker for the old Kettlestoun farm.

Surrounding the memorial is the Lennox Cairn Garden, which incorporates plants which appeared in the heraldic crests of the combatants involved in the battle. The monument was the work of the Linlithgow Heritage Trust, in conjunction with Burgh Beautiful. The garden was built by students from Oatridge Agricultural College, financed by the Scottish Government and European Union.

This is the starting point for the Linlithgow Bridge Battlefield Trail.


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