Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
LEE-PENNY, n.comb. A small, red, roughly heart-shaped stone set in a groat of Edward IV of England (1442–83) in the possession of the family of Lockhart of the Lee near Carluke in Lanarkshire and used by being dipped in water which was then preserved as a cure esp. for cattle diseases. “This famous charm … is said to have been brought home by Lockhart of Lee, who accompanied the Earl of Douglas in carrying Robert the Bruce's heart to the Holy Land” (wm.Sc. 1879 J. Napier Folk-Lore 95), in 1330. This object is the theme of Scott's Talisman.Sc. 1829 Scott Talisman Intro.:
Sir Simon Lockhart … left it to his heirs, by whom, and by Clydesdale in general, it was, and is still, distinguished by the name of the Lee-penny.Lnk. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 VI. 586:
There may still, however, be seen hanging in some byres, a phial of Lee-penny water, to keep the cows from parting calf, and to preserve the milk from changing.Lnk. 1863 P.S.A.S. IV. 222:
I was lately told by the farmer at Nemphlar, in the neighbourhood of Lee, that in his younger days, no byre was considered safe which had not a bottle of water from the Lee Penny suspended from its rafters.
