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In the rolling landscape of Angus, the Barony of Baky - sometimes spelled Bakie or Baikie - once held quiet prominence. Its name, possibly drawn from the Gaelic bac, meaning a bend or hindrance in the land, hints at a stream or burn that shaped the terrain and the lives around it. Medieval records speak of capella de Baky in 1363 and Beaqui by 1565, marking its place in Scotland’s feudal mosaic.
The barony was long associated with the Fenton family, a notable lineage in Angus. But its story took a turn toward the Douglas name through a strategic marriage: Janet Fenton, daughter of Walter Fenton of Baky, wed Sir James Douglas of Ralston. This union folded the lands of Baky into the Douglas sphere, linking two influential families and extending the Douglas reach into Angus.
Sir James Douglas, himself descended from Sir William Douglas and Marjorie Lindsay, passed this legacy to his son Henry Douglas, who appears in the records of 1488 and in the rolls of the Scottish Exchequer and Privy Council. Through this line, the Douglas name became entwined with the heritage of Baky, not through conquest but through alliance—a quiet absorption of influence typical of the time.
As the centuries turned, the name Baikie migrated northward, finding new life in Orkney, where it evolved into a surname and local identity. Yet the barony’s roots in Angus remain a testament to how land, lineage, and loyalty shaped the fabric of medieval Scotland.
One fourth part of the barony of Baky, in the
sheriffdom of Forfar, was acquired (by John, third Lord Glamis) on the
resignation of Henry Douglas 14 August 1487, a second fourth part was
acquired from Jonet Fenton of Baky 4 July 1489.
In 1869, there
stood a fine farm house and offices the property of Admiral Popham of
Cardean. A short distance [north west] of the offices, On a small
eminence Mr. Rattary points out the site of the Castle of Baikie,
nothing of it is to be now traced.
A short distance [north west]
of the offices, on a small eminence Mr Rattary points out the site of
the Castle of Baikie, nothing of it is to be now traced. "The Castle of
Baikie was situated in the parish of Airlie, within an hour ride of
Clova, and stood on rising ground near the west end of a great moss. It
was moated in old times, reached by a draw bridge, and part of the ruins
of the Castle and Causeway were visible towards the close of last
century. David Lindsay, the son of Margaret Fenton, and Bailiff of the
Earls of Crawford for several years, was designed of Lethnot & Bakie,
and is the last designed Lindsay of Bakie, and it is likely that the
estate had passed from the family in the time of his successor, for the
3rd Lord Glamis had charters of it in 1489."
Jarvies Land of the
Lindsays Page 283.
See also:
•
Douglas of Ralston
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