'''Bartolomew de Villemore''' was a French courtier and administrator to [[Mary of Guise]], the mother of [[Mary, Queen of Scots]]. [[File:Château - Façade principale - Villers-Cotterêts - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - APMH00012686.jpg|thumb|right|Bartholomew de Villemore visited [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] at [[Villers-Cotterêts]] in September 1554]] Villemore was an official in the household of Mary, Queen of Scots in France. In February 1551 Mary of Guise directed [[Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven|Patrick, Master of Ruthven]] to him for payment of 400 [[Écu|French crowns]]. Ruthven complained that Villemore offered payment in old deprecated testoons and [[French sol|sous]].<ref>[[Annie Cameron]], ''Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine'' (SHS: Edinburgh, 1927), pp. 345-7.</ref> During Mary of Guise's visit to France, Villemore was involved with the wardrobe of her household, and commissioned black velvet gowns for two of her gentlewomem.<ref>[[Marguerite Wood]], ''Balcarres Papers'', 2 (Edinburgh: STS, 1925), p. xxvi.</ref> [[File:Kinneil House.jpg|thumb|right|[[Thomas Randolph (diplomat)|Thomas Randolph]] spent some time with [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] and Bartolomew de Villemore at [[Kinneil House]]]] He was employed in Scotland, and returned to visit the household of Mary, Queen of Scots, in France at [[Villers-Cotterêts]] in September 1554. [[Françoise de Paroy|Françoise de Paroy et d'Estainville]], Mary's governess, wrote to Mary of Guise that they were glad to hear his news. Mary was having her portrait painted by an artist who had served [[Francis I, Duke of Lorraine]].<ref>[[Marguerite Wood]], ''Balcarres Papers'', vol. 2 (SHS: Edinburgh, 1925), p. 236.</ref>
Villemore was appointed [[Comptroller of Scotland|Comptroller of the Scottish exchequer]] on 1 May 1555, making him receiver-general of crown revenue.<ref>Pamela Ritchie, ''Mary of Guise in Scotland, 1548-1560'' (Tuckwell: East Linton, 2002), p. 126.</ref>
On 12 May 1559 [[John Scrimgeour of Myres]] wrote to Villemore about building work at [[Falkland Palace]]. Only the glazing of the tower windows was completed, more work would be needed to finish the chambers and galleries before Mary of Guise visited. He was repairing timberwork in the palace and stables. He was also working on new fencing, ditches, and dykes, and wanted to discuss these works with Villemore in person. The letter shows that Villemore was involved in directing the Regent's works. It is kept at the [[National Archives of Scotland]] with a group of receipts and vouchers from Villemore's comptroller accounts in 1558 and 1559.<ref>Henry Paton, ''Accounts of the Masters of Work'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1957), pp. 297-8.</ref>
The English ambassador in Paris, [[Nicholas Throckmorton]] heard in November 1560 that Villemore sought funds to keep a garrison on [[Inchkeith]], even using soldiers from [[Dunbar Castle]] because of its strategic importance in the [[Firth of Forth]].<ref>Philip Hardwicke, ''State Papers'', vol. 1 (London, 1778), p. 152.</ref> Villemore continued as comptroller until October 1561, when he returned to France. [[John Wishart of Pitarrow]] was made comptroller in his place.<ref>Joseph Bain, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 564 no. 1035.</ref>
During the challenge to the rule of Mary of Guise posed by the [[Scottish Reformation]], the [[Lords of the Congregation]] complained about her French officers of state Villemore, Yves de la Rubarye, and [[Henri Cleutin]] in a manifesto of October 1559.<ref>[[Joseph Stevenson]], ''Calendar State Papers Foreign Elizabeth, 1559–1560'' (London, 1865), p. 19 no. 42.</ref> The [[Regent Arran|Earl of Arran]] challenged Villemore's appointment as Comptroller on 17 March 1560 because he was not Scottish.<ref>''Acts of Sederunt of the Lords of Council and Session'' (Edinburgh, 1790), p. 3.</ref> According to the English ambassador in Paris, Villemore canvassed for a stronger garrison on the fortress island of [[Inchkeith]], claiming that soldiers were better deployed there than at [[Dunbar Castle]]. In June 1561, it was proposed that Thomas Graham should be Comptroller, and Villemore his advisor.<ref>[[Jenny Wormald]], ''Mary, Queen of Scots: Politics, Passion and a Kingdom Lost'' (Tauris Parke, 2001), pp. 124–121.</ref> [[Regent Moray|Lord James]] wrote to Mary that the comptroller would see to the repair of her palaces for her return to Scotland.<ref>D. Murray Rose, "Mary Queen of Scots and her brother", ''The Scottish Historical Review'', 2 (Glasgow, 1905), pp. 156, 158–159.</ref>
The English diplomat at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, [[Thomas Randolph (diplomat)|Thomas Randolph]] mentioned Villemore in his letters of November 1562. Mary had been in [[Aberdeenshire]], campaigning against the [[George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly|Earl of Huntly]] and Villemore came to her at [[Dunnotar Castle]].<ref>Joseph Stevenson, ''Selections from unpublished manuscripts illustrating the reign of Mary Queen of Scotland'' (Glasgow, 1837), p. 102.</ref><ref>[[Thomas Wright (antiquarian)|Thomas Wright]], [https://archive.org/details/queenelizabethhe01wrig/page/106/mode/2up ''Queen Elizabeth and her times'', 1 (London, 1838), p. 106]</ref> She returned south to [[Kinneil House]], near [[Linlithgow]], where [[George Gordon, 5th Earl of Huntly|Lord Gordon]] was held prisoner. Villemore was at Kinneil. Randolph felt that Villemore's reputation was not very high. It was said he was a "false flattering varlet", his wife had run away with another man in France, and he returned to Scotland to "follow his old trade of a villainous life".<ref>Joseph Bain, ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1898), p. 668-9 no. 1152.</ref>
Villemore was a master of the queen's household in 1563, and signed her [[Food and the Scottish royal household|household books]].<ref>Thomas Small, 'Queen Mary in the Counties of Dumbarton and Argyll', ''Scottish Historical Review'', 25:97 (October 1927), pp. 13-19.</ref> He travelled to France with Thomas Maitland, a brother of Mary's secretary [[William Maitland of Lethington]].<ref>William S. McKechnie, "Thomas Maitland", ''The Scottish Historical Review'', 4:15 (April 1907), p. 276: ''Calendar of State Papers Scotland'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 24 no. 33.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villemore, Bartolomew}} [[Category:Mary of Guise]] [[Category:Court of Mary, Queen of Scots]] [[Category:Comptrollers of Scotland]] [[Category:Masters of the Scottish royal household]]