Soon after seizing the estate, John Balliol, King of Scotland, lost his throne. As the sole inheritor of Balliol lands, Robert the Bruce is recorded as having owned Bourtreehill shortly after the Battle of Bannockburn.
In the years towards the end and after the Wars of Independence, a genuine 'peppercorn' rent was required from the tenent of Bourtreehill. This was further augmented by a payment of fine gilt spurs each whitsunday. These payments were paid directly to the crown. Alan of Blair was required to pay the above rent to Robert the Steward, future King Robert II and Laird of Bourtreehill.
In the centuries that followed, an eclectic and eccentric array of families or individuals became residents of Bourtreehill. Owned by a successive series of Barons, Lords, Earls and other representitives of the landed gentry of Scotland, Ireland and England, Bourtreehill became a prime property in the district.
Neglected by modern councils and, sadly, by Bourtreehillians themselves, the estate of Bourtreehill was once a highly regarded property. The evidence for this is scant at best but it is only now that a detailed chronological history of Bourtreehill can be unveiled.
