How did a branch of the Wauchopes end up in northern Scotland?
During the many years that the Scots and English fought over control of the Borders region, the king of Scotland would often assemble the nobility of his realm up north at Aberdeen, as the de facto capital at Dunfermline was prone to attack by the English. So it was natural that the king s loyal backers, including the Wauchopes, would hold property near Aberdeen along the Dee River Valley. King Malcolm III, Canmore, held court at Deeside circa 1060. King David I, who had been a Prince and Earl in northern England before becoming king of Scotland, made his capital in Roxburgh and first began to invite Norman knights to the Dee in earnest, circa 1124. (This may well coincide with the rise of the Warcops in Cumbria as well). Aberdeen was made a royal burgh in 1179. Edinburgh was not made the official national capital until 1437. Canmore built the first castle there (i.e., on Castle Rock, site of later Edinburgh Castle) in the 11th century.
