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1448, Sir Alexander
Montgomery, Sir Robert
Cunninghams'
brother-in-law, was made
Bailie of Cunninghame, a
title that belonged to Sir
Robert Cunningham. This
event sparked the bloody
Montgomery/Cunningham feud
that lasted until the
1660s.
1458, Sir Alexander
Cunningham was rewarded for
his support of King James
II (Stuart) against the
Clan Douglas. He was
granted the Barony of
Kilmaurs, along with the
lands of Kilmarnock,
Hilton, Finlaystone and
Glencairn.
1488, Sir Alexander
Cunningham is made 1st Earl
of Glencairn by royal
charter, and receives
Drummond and Duchray in
Lennox for helping defeat
the rebels at Blackness
(the rebels being an army
of King James III son James
fighting to overthrow his
father).
June 1488, Sir Alexander
Cunningham and King James
III were killed at the
Battle of Sauchieburn. The
victorious son became King
James IV of Scotland.
Later in 1488, King
James IV revoked all titles
given by his father over
the past few years. Sir
Alexander Cunningham's son
and heir, Robert
Cunningham, lost his title
of 2nd Earl of Glencairn.
He did retain the earlier
title of 2nd Lord
Kilmaurs.
Also in 1488, the
Montgomerys' burned the
Cunninghams' Kerelaw
Castle.
1499, Cuthbert
Cunningham, 3rd Lord
Kilmaurs, lead the Clan in
an attack on Montgomerys'
at Irvine.
1528, William Cunningham,
4th Earl of Glencairn, lead
an attack on the
Montgomerys' and burned
their Eglinton Castle at
Irvine in Ayrshire.
The fifth Earl of
Glencairn, a Protestant
reformer, fought against
Mary Queen of Scots forces.
He was one of the
commanders at the Battle of
Carbery Hill where she
surrendered in 1567.
Glencairn is said to have
ordered the destruction of
the Chapel Royal at
Hollyrood/Edinburgh.
1586, the
Cunningham-Montgomery feud
erupts after Hugh
Montgomery, 4th Earl of
Eglinton, is murdered by
Cunninghams'. James
Cunningham, 7th Earl of
Glencairn and 7th Lord
Kilmaurs is head of the
clan at that time.
1661, William
Cunningham, 9th Earl of
Glencairn, is made Lord
High Chancellor of Scotland
for life. His marriage to
Margaret Montgomery,
daughter of Alexander, 6th
Earl of Eglinton, ended the
Cunningham-Montgomery
feud.
The Cunningham’s
were among the Scottish
involved in the Plantation
of Ulster. Sir James
Cunningham, who was married
to a daughter of the Earl
of Glencairn, was granted
five thousand acres in
County Donegal. The name is
now among the seventy-five
most common names in
Ulster.
The 9th Earl of
Glencairn raised an army in
Scotland to fight for
Charles II in his bid to
gain his father’s
throne. Somehow he managed
to avoid execution by
Cromwell after the uprising
was crushed.
1699, Sir John
Cunningham of Caprington, a
distinguished lawyer, was
created a Baronet of Nova
Scotia by Charles II.
Other prominent
Cunningham’s were
Alexander Cunningham, an
eighteenth-century
historical writer, who was
British envoy to Venice
from 1715 to 1720.
Charles Cunningham was
famous for his historical
paintings, some of which
still hang in the Hermitage
Palace in St Petersburg and
Berlin.
Alan Cunningham, poet
and writer, whom many
believe was only eclipsed
by Robert Burns, was born
at Blackwood in
Dumfriesshire in 1784. His
work was supported by Sir
Walter Scott who, on
Cunningham’s death in
1828, provided for his two
sons.
Caprington Castle was
remodelled in the 1780s,
and again in the 1830s. The
castle still remains in the
Cunningham family to this
day.
The ruin of Kerlaw
Castle has been preserved
as a tourist
attraction.
The Cunninghams' were
known for their local fueds
with other Ayrshire Clans
such as the
Montgomerys'.
The Cunninghams' were
connected to other Ayrshire
Clans through marriage such
as the Cambells' and
Hamiltons'.
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