Captain Wimberley’s letters to William Leiper resume after an interval of more than five years; whether this represents a gap in the correspondence or in the record is unclear.

This letter details the findings from a field trip to Lesmoir Castle, at some time between early and mid August 1898.

Captain Wimberley also touches upon his continuing researches, pointing out that James Gordon, later of Lesmoir, had previously been designated of ‘Fothirletter’.

8 Ardross Terrace                                         Inverness.                                    31 Augt 1898 My dear Sir,                     I have not forgotten my promise to give you a fuller account of the Gordons of Terpersie than the one in my printed history of the Lesmoir family.     All our party were in the Cabrach from 3rd to 17th Currt. and enjoyed our stay very much. We made an expedition to Lesmoir and were there a long time, longer than I ever was before.     I was glad to find the small portion of wall, which I saw in 1854 still standing, in my opinion a bit of the W or SW gable : There are several trees, not old ones close beside it, and it was amid rank grasses, nettles and ragged robin. Commencing there I found a heap of debris for a good many yards, and at the end of it, a lot more big stones, though not what wd call a portion of wall, but what appeared to me the debris of the other gable, and adjoining this some very old pear trees.     I take it that the front of the old building faced nearly SE towards what is marked on the map Wheedlemont & Quarry Hill, and that there was a good sized open Court in front of it ; while beyond the East or NE gable & the pear trees, there was evidently a garden : there are bushes in it yet.     The wall or dike within the moat is of excellent masonry, proby dry stone, and very substantial, and at a bend at SE corner there has evidently been the Main Entrance, no doubt approached by a draw bridge. The wall here is fully 5 to 6 ft above the level of surrounding land, but for some say 70 yards the ditch has got filled up, (on each side of this entrance, the water having been diverted from the ditch by a drain on NE side, and by another drain from S side back into a basin. That of Lesmoir, and running a few yards to S.W of the Castle, from which water had previously been diverted to fill the ditch.     It could not have been much of a defence, I mean the ditch, for a few hours work wd. have emptied it.     I wish I could have got a photo of the moat dike from that side, taken from 30 or 40 yards off: - it looks as good as if it had been built in 1800.     Since I came back I have devoted much of my spare time to putting together a great number of the notes I showed you relative to the first laird of Lesmoir and his marriages & issue, particularly Willm. of Ter- persie. I have nearly finished the draft & intend copying it into a book. When this is done, I propose sending it to you to see it, and as I shd. like to keep it, & should find it take up much time to make a second copy, I think I shall ask you to get some one to copy so much of it as you would care to keep.     A great portion of it is taken up with showing how James Gordon, who in 1526 was called “of Fothirletter became in time “of Lesmoir,” and with all I can glean about his two wives, and the Stewarts of Laithers and Ogilvys of Ogilvy.     I have not got the whole put together in any of my present M.S. books, but have now made a continuous com- pilation.     With kind regards                          Yours very truly                          Douglas Wimberley.

Captain Douglas Wimberley to William Leiper