This thread was originally written and published in July 2019.

de Lastalricke, de Lasalrics, de Lascalrickes, de Lastakic, de Lastakyks, de Lastalrichs, de Lestalrchs, de Lestalriks, de Lestalrikes, de Lastalryks, de Lascalerikes, de Lascalrics, de Lestalric.

variations I have found of the name de Lestalric

In another thread about the founding of North and South Leith, we read that King David I of Scotland had granted the Barony of Restalrig, to an Anglo-Norman noble known as Peter de Lestalric in the early 12th century. As a placename Restalrig’s roots lie in variations such as Lastalric, Lastalrik, Lastalrich, Lastalrig, Lestalryk, Lestalrich or Lestalrig. Versions of these starting with the letter R can be found after the 15th century, e.g. Restarycke, Restalrigh. This is how it is written in the 16th century Petworth House Map of the 1560 siege of Leith and also in the the 17th century Blaeu’s Atlas.

The accepted toponymy (meaning of a placename) for Restalrig is that it’s an evolution of Lestalric, from Lestal Hrycg, which in a northern dialect of Old English would be “ridge of the miry land“. The de Lestalrics were planted in the Barony by David I to help Normanise and consolidate his control over his country in the “Davidian Revolution“. I have always assumed that Peter took the de Lestalric part of his name from the name of the lands of his Barony, and not the other way around.

I made a long list of the Barons of Restalrig once, so here goes with the de Lestalric barons.

1. Starting off, Peter de Lestalric, 1084-1153, 1st Baron. A Norman knight, invited to Scotland by King David I
2. His son Edward de Lestalric, b.?-1183, 2nd Baron. He starts the construction of the Norman-style church at Restalrig in 1165.
3. His son Sir Thomas (I) de Lestalric, 1182 – 1214, 3rd Baron and Sheriff of Edinburgh (from this point on, the Baron of Restalrig was also by right the Sheriff of Edinburgh). Thomas oversees the completion of the church of Restalrig in 1210
4. His son Sir John (I) de Lestalric, b.?-1260, 4th Baron
5. His son Sir John (II) de Lestalric, b.?-1285, 5th Baron
6. His son Symon de Lestalric, b.?-1293, 6th Baron
7. His son Thomas (II) de Lestalric, b.? – 1316, 7th Baron
8. And lastly his son Sir John (III) de Lestalric , b.? – 1385, 8th Baron of Restalrig and the last of the de Lestalrics.

The de Lestalrics built a fortified tower, sometimes optimistically called Lochend Castle on a cliff overlooking the loch of Lochend from where they could control the Barony. There are no illustrations of this, or any of the de Lestalrics that I can find, but there is a tantalising description of Edward de Lestalric’s seal:

In 1385 on Sir John (III), the 8th Baron’s death, he had no male heir and so the Barony passed by the marriage of his daughter Katherine to Robert Logan of Grougar. Their son, Robert, takes the Barony, starting a long association of Robert Logans with Restalrig that spanned 4 centuries. For more on the Logans of Restalrig, see this post.

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