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Marquess of Lothian

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For the early Earldom of Lothian, see Earl of Dunbar.

Marquessate of Lothian
Arms: Quarterly: 1st & 4th, Azure, a Sun-in-Splendour proper (Lothian, as a coat of augmentation); 2nd & 3rd, Gules, on a Chevron Argent, three Mullets Gules (Kerr of Jedburgh). Crests: 1st, A Sun-in-Splendour proper (Lothian); 2nd, A Stag's Head cabossed Argent (Kerr of Jedburgh). Supporters: Dexter: An Angel proper, vested Azure, surcoated Vert, winged and crined Or; Sinister: A Unicorn Argent, armed crined and unguled Or, gorged with a Collar Gules, charged with three Mullets Argent.
Creation date23 June 1701
Created byWilliam III & II
PeeragePeerage of Scotland
First holderRobert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian
Present holderRalph Kerr, 14th Marquess of Lothian
Heir apparentJohn Kerr, Earl of Ancram
Remainder toHeirs male whatsoever
Subsidiary titlesEarl of Lothian
Earl of Ancram (1633)
Earl of Ancram (1701)
Viscount of Briene
Lord Newbattle
Lord Jedburgh
Lord Kerr of Newbattle
Lord Kerr of Nisbet, Langnewtoun, and Dolphinstoun
StatusExtant
Seat(s)Ferniehirst Castle
Former seat(s)Newbattle Abbey
Blickling Hall
MottoSERO SED SERIO
(Late, but in earnest)

Marquess of Lothian is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, which was created in 1701 for Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian. The Marquess of Lothian holds the subsidiary peerages of Earl of Lothian (created 1606 and 1631), Earl of Ancram (created 1633 and 1701), Viscount of Briene (1701), Lord Newbattle (1591), Lord Jedburgh (1622), Lord Kerr of Newbattle (1631), Lord Kerr of Nisbet, Langnewtoun, and Dolphinstoun (1633), Lord Kerr of Newbattle, Oxnam, Jedburgh, Dolphinstoun and Nisbet (1701), and Baron Ker, of Kersheugh in the County of Roxburgh (1821), all but the last in the Peerage of Scotland. As The Lord Ker in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, previous marquesses sat in the House of Lords before 1963, when Scottish peers first sat in the House of Lords in their own right. The holder of the marquessate is also the Chief of Clan Kerr.

The 13th Marquess of Lothian was better known as the Conservative politician Michael Ancram. In November 2010, he received a life peerage as Baron Kerr of Monteviot and so became entitled to sit in the House of Lords. He lived at Monteviot House in Roxburghshire. The family previously owned a larger Scottish seat, Newbattle Abbey in Midlothian, which is now a college, and also Blickling Hall in Norfolk, which now belongs to the National Trust.

The 14th and current Marquess is Ralph Kerr, brother of the 13th Marquess. He owns Ferniehirst Castle in Roxburghshire, which is the family seat that was restored by the 12th Marquess, and Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire. The heir apparent is his eldest son John.

History of the titles

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Clan Kerr has several branches. The name "Kerr," from the Old Norse "kjrr" meaning "marsh-dweller," arrived in Scotland from Normandy. In Scotland it was rendered Kerr, Ker, Carr and Carre, with a Scottish variant on the west coast taken from the Gaelic "ciar," meaning dusky.[1] According to the lore of the family of Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian, the name comes from the Norman chiefs Ralph and Robert, brothers who came to Roxburgh from Lancashire in the 1300s.[1][2]

The Kerrs of Ferniehurst claim descent from Ralph, while the Kerrs of Cessford claim they are descended from Robert.[1] These two main branches of Clan Kerr were often at odds with one another, fighting until they came together in the early 1500s.[1] The Kerrs subsequently also warred with the Scott Clan, until the feud ended when Sir Thomas Kerr of Ferniehurst married Janet Scott. In a 1591 charter of King James V, Mark Kerr had his lands at Newbattle and Prestongrange erected into the barony of Newbattle.[1]

1st title

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Mark Kerr was created Lord Newbattle in 1591 and Earl of Lothian in 1606, both with remainder to his heirs male.[3] The title went to the eldest of his four sons, Robert Kerr, 2nd Earl of Lothian.[2] In 1621 both titles were surrendered by the 2nd Earl and regranted with a special remainder to his daughters, the eldest of whom, Lady Anne Kerr, succeeded to both titles on his death in 1624.[4] Her husband, Sir William Kerr (eldest son of Sir Robert Kerr, later 1st Earl of Ancram) was created Lord Kerr of Newbattle and Earl of Lothian in 1631. On her death in 1667 their eldest son became 4th Earl of Lothian (though he was not recognised as such) and on her husband's death in 1675 also 2nd Earl of Lothian.

2nd title as Marquess

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By this point Sir Robert Kerr, father of the 1st Earl of the 2nd creation, had been created Lord Kerr of Nisbet, Langnewtoun and Dolphinstoun and Earl of Ancram, and the titles had been inherited by the 4th and 2nd Earl of Lothian's uncle, Charles Kerr, on whose death in 1690 he became 3rd Earl of Ancram.

He was then created Lord Ker of Newbattle, Oxnam, Jedburgh, Dolphinstoun and Nisbet, Viscount of Briene, Earl of Ancram and Marquess of Lothian in 1701.

The 2nd Marquess succeeded his cousin as Lord Jedburgh before succeeding to the Marquessate, and the 6th Marquess was created Baron Ker, of Kersheugh in the County of Roxburgh, in 1821, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.

Earls of Lothian; First creation (1606)

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Earls of Lothian; Second creation (1631)

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Lords Jedburgh (1621/2)

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The grave of Robert Ker, Lord Jedburgh d.1692, Jedburgh Abbey
  • Andrew Ker, 1st Lord Jedburgh (died 1633)
  • Alexander Kirkaldy later Ker,[5] de jure 2nd Lord Jedburgh (c. 1590 – c 1650)
  • John Ker, de jure 3rd Lord Jedburgh (died before 1670)
  • Robert Ker, 4th Lord Jedburgh (died 1692)
  • William Ker, 5th Lord Jedburgh (1661-1722); later 2nd Marquess of Lothian (title held by the Marquesses of Lothian from 1703- see below)

Earls of Ancram (1633)

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Marquesses of Lothian (1701)

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The heir apparent is the present holder's son John Walter Donald Peter Kerr, Earl of Ancram (born 1988).

Family tree and succession

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Line of succession (simplified)
  • William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian (1737-1815)
    • William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian (1763-1824)
      • John William Robert Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1794-1841)
        • Lord Walter Talbot Kerr (1839-1927)
          • Andrew William Kerr (1877-1929)
            • Peter Francis Walter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian (1922–2004)
              • Ralph William Francis Joseph Kerr, 14th Marquess of Lothian (b. 1957)
                • (1) John Walter Donald Peter Kerr, Earl of Ancram (b. 1988)
                • (2) Lord Frederic James Michael Ralph Kerr (b. 1989)
                • (3) Lord Francis Andrew William George Kerr (b. 1991)
                • (4) Lord Hugh Alexander Thomas Joseph Kerr (b. 1999)
            • Lord John Andrew Christopher Kerr (1927-2018)
              • (5) William Walter Raleigh Kerr (b. 1950)
                • (6) Robert John Edward Kerr (b. 1987)
                  • (7) Hugh Cornelius William Kerr (b. 2019)
                  • (8) Rupert Aubrey Michael Kerr (b. 2022)
                • (9) Walter William Kerr (b. 1992)
              • (10) David John Kerr (b. 1952)
                • (11) John Andrew David Kerr (b. 1981)
                • (12) Andrew Christopher Kerr (b. 1984)
              • (13) Andrew Peter Hugh Kerr (b. 1955)
      • Lord Henry Francis Charles Kerr
        • Francis Ernest Kerr
          • Henry Francis Kerr
            • Francis Robert Newsam Kerr (1916-1995)
              • Male issue living
      • Lord Charles Lennox Kerr (1814-1898)
        • Charles Wyndham Rodolph Kerr (1849-1894)
          • Charles Iain Kerr, 1st Baron Teviot (1874-1968)
            • Charles John Kerr, 2nd Baron Teviot (1934-2023)
              • Male issue living
      • Lord Frederic Herbert Kerr (1818-1896)
        • Arthur Herbert Kerr 1862-1930)
          • Mark Peregrine Charles Kerr (1891-1951)
            • Frederic Mark Kerr (1919-2000)
              • Male issue living
    • Lord Mark Robert Kerr (1776-1840)
      • Hugh Seymour McDonnell, 4th Earl of Antrim (1812-1855) [6]
      • Mark McDonnell, 5th Earl of Antrim (1814-1869)
        • William Randal McDonnell, 6th Earl of Antrim (1851-1918)
          • Randal Mark Kerr McDonnell, 7th Earl of Antrim (1878-1932)
            • Randal John Somerled McDonnell, 8th Earl of Antrim (1911-1977)
              • Alexander Randal Mark McDonnell, 9th Earl of Antrim (1935-2021)
                • Male issue living
    • Lord Robert Kerr (1780-1843)
      • William Walter Raleigh Kerr (1809-1881)
        • William Walter Raleigh Kerr (1859-1941)
          • Louis William Howard Kerr (1894-1977)
            • Male issue living

The above line of succession represents only those whom are in remainder to the Marquessate of Lothian. There are further collateral branches that provide heirs to other titles separately granted and are currently held by the current Marquess of Lothian.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Scottish clan profile: Kerr". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the". 1839. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage". Google Books. 1914. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  4. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lothian, Earls and Marquesses of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 18.
  5. ^ Alexander Ker's father, William Kirkaldy (formerly Ker), assumed the surname of Kirkaldy upon assuming the Grange estates of the Kirkaldy family. Alexander Ker re-assumed his father's original surname of Ker upon relinquishing those Grange estates back to the heir male of the Kirkaldy family
  6. ^ The Antrim Earldom was granted, under special remainder to Randal William McDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim and 1st Earl of Antrim with only the Earldom falling under the terms of the special remainder that allowed the succession to the title to pass through the 1st Earl's daughters for lack of male heir. He was succeeded in the Earldom first by his eldest daughter, the 2nd Countess of Antrim, and then his younger daughter, the 3rd Countess of Antrim who was also the wife of Lord Mark Robert Kerr who was, in his own right, in the line of succession to the Marquessate of Lothian. Members of the Antrim line have assumed the matrilineal surname of McDonnell by deed poll.

Bibliography

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