Wood

The name of Wood was previously given as ‘de Bosco’, a Norman name which has become common throughout England. The name also arises as an anglicisation of several Gaelic names which incorporate the word ‘coill’, also meaning ‘wood’. In the mid fifteenth century Andrew Wood, a merchant trader of Leith, was employed by James III to protect the Scottish trade with Holland. In 1481 he defended Dumbarton against a fleet of Edward IV of England. James III granted him lands at Largo and bestowed a knighthood upon him. When that unhappy monarch was forced to flee from his rebellious nobles, he took refuge aboard one of Sir Andrew’s ships and crossed to Fife to gather an army. During the Battle of Sauchieburn, Andrew Wood’s ships sailed up and down the Forth, taking on board the wounded and afterwards searched for the missing king. After the death of James III Sir Andrew refused to acknowledge the young James IV, whom he considered to be merely a pawn in the hands of his guardians. Sir Andrew was the greatest Scottish seafarer of his time, and his open contempt of the new regime went unpunished. He was entirely restored to royal favour when in 1488, and again in 1490, he defeated English fleets sent to destroy the Scottish merchant trade. James IV used Scotland’s emerging naval power in his campaign to suppress the Lords of the Isles. After the fateful Battle of Flodden it was Sir Andrew Wood who was sent to France to invite the Duke of Albany to assume the regency of Scotland. Sir Andrew’s grandson was one of the barons of the Parliament of 1560 who subscribed to the Articles for upholding the new reformed religion. After the downfall of Mary, Queen of Scots, he quickly joined those upholding the claims of the infant James VI.

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