There has been one creation of a

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

with the surname Clerk () (as distinct from

Clark Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

and Clerke). It was created in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

Letters Patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

dated 24 March 1679, for John Clerk of Pennycuik (or Penicuik; see

Penicuik House Penicuik House (alternative spellings in use until mid 19th century: ''Penycuik'', ''Pennycuik'') survives as the shell of a formerly grand estate house in Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. The 18th-century palladian mansion (at ) was built on the ...

). His father, the merchant John Clerk, had returned from Paris in 1647 with a considerable fortune and purchased the lands of

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; sco, Penicuik; gd, Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. It lies on the A701 midway between Edinburgh and Peebles, east of the Pentland Hills. Na ...

in Midlothian. The 1st Baronet acquired the lands of

Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melvil ...

, Midlothian, in 1700. The second Baronet built

Mavisbank House Mavisbank is a country house outside Loanhead, south of Edinburgh in Midlothian, Scotland. It was designed by architect William Adam in collaboration with his client, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, and was constructed between 1723 and 1727. The fir ...

near

Loanhead Loanhead is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, in a commuter belt to the south of Edinburgh, and close to Roslin, Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith. The town was built on coal and oil shale mining, and the paper industries. History Loanhead was a tiny vil ...

between 1723 and 1727. The 3rd Baronet, James, laid out plans for a new town in 1770, inspired by the local plans for a New Town in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

which were by then coming into reality. The rebuilding included a new church, St Mungos, in 1771, reputedly by Sir James himself. The family are said by Anderson (1867) to date from at least 1180 AD when one of them appeared as a witness to a donation to Holyrood Abbey by

William The Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

John Scougal John Scougal (1645–1730) was a Scottish painter. Life He was a cousin to Patrick Scougal (died 1682), Bishop of Aberdeen and to Patrick's brother John Scougal, Lord Whitekirk. John Scougal is said to have been born at Leith, where his fathe ...

is known to have painted at least two portraits of the first baronets. A number of the lineage are buried in Penicuik Old Parish Churchyard, with both a memorial gateway and a mausoleum to their memories.

Clerk of Penicuik (1679)

Sir John Clerk's grave, St John's Edinburgh

Sir John Clerk, 1st Baronet Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, 1st Baronet (died 1722) was a Scottish politician, created a Baronet of Nova Scotia on 24 March 1679. Sir John was the eldest son of John Clerk of Penicuik and Mary, daughter of Sir William Gray of Pittendrum. From ...

(died 1722) *

Sir John Clerk, 2nd Baronet Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, 2nd Baronet (1676–1755) was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge and composer. He was Vice-President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, the pre-eminent learned society of the Scottish Enlightenment. He ...

(1676 – 1755) *

Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet There has been one creation of a baronetcy with the surname Clerk () (as distinct from Clark, Clarke and Clerke). It was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia by Letters Patent dated 24 March 1679, for John Clerk of Pennycuik (or Penicuik; ...

(died 1782) without issue *

Sir George Clerk-Maxwell, 4th Baronet Sir George Clerk Maxwell, 4th Baronet FRSE (1715–1784), of Penicuik (simply Clerk prior to his marriage), was a Scottish landowner who served as the Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer in Exchequer (1741), Commissioner of Customs (1763), a Trustee ...

(1715 – 1784) succeeded his brother *

Sir John Clerk, 5th Baronet Sir John Clerk of Pennycuik, 5th Baronet FRSE (1736–1798) was a Royal Navy officer. Active in the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, he thereby became a founder fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh upon its formation in 1783. Life He ...

(died 1798) without issue *

Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet Sir George Clerk of Pennycuik, 6th Baronet (19 November 1787 – 23 December 1867) was a Scottish politician who served as the Tory MP for Edinburghshire, Stamford and Dover. Background Clerk was the son of Cpt. James Clerk (d.1793), t ...

(born 1787) nephew of the 5th Bt *Sir James Clerk, 7th Baronet (1812 – 1870) *Sir George Douglas Clerk, 8th Baronet (1852 – 1911) *Sir George James Robert Clerk, 9th Baronet (1876 – 1943) *Sir John Dutton Clerk, 10th Baronet (1917 – 2002) *Sir Robert Maxwell Clerk, 11th Baronet (born 1945) Appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Midlothian by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

:The

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

is George Napier Clerk (born 1975)

Clerk of Penicuik (1679)

See also

References

Further reading