 Campbeltown Harbour |
Elizabeth Tollemache, Countess of Argyll and later Duchess of Argyll, lived from July 1659 (sources differ as to the exact date) to 9 May 1735. She was a landowner in Kintyre who prompted the early development of Campbeltown. The wider picture in Scotland at the time is set out in our Historical Timeline.
Elizabeth Tollemache was the daughter of Sir Lionel Tollemache, 3rd Bart, and Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart. She was born at Great Fakenham in Suffolk. She was brought up at Ham House in London and in Suffolk. On 12 March 1678 she married Archibald Campbell, Lord Lorne. They had a daughter and two sons. Both sons later became Dukes of Argyll and one of them also became a Field Marshal.
In 1685 Campbell's father mounted an unsuccessful rebellion against Charles VII/II. In its aftermath, Archibald offered his services to the King, perhaps to try to save the family estates from seizure alongside his father's titles. In the 1689 Glorious Revolution, however, he came out in support of William of Orange and Queen Mary, and was subsequently made the 10th Earl of Argyll, the title having been lost after the 1685 rebellion. In 1701, Campbell was made 1st Duke of Argyll, and Elizabeth became the Duchess of Argyll.
By this time, however, Elizabeth and Archie were living separate lives. Elizabeth based herself in Campbeltown and managed the extensive Kintyre estates she had brought to her marriage with Campbell. Elizabeth did much to promote the development of Campbeltown, pressing for the building of harbour facilities and helping support the first regular shipping service between Campbeltown and Glasgow. She died in Campbeltown.
