Earl of Erroll () is a title in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...

. It was created in 1453 for Sir William Hay. The subsidiary titles held by the Earl of Erroll are ''Lord Hay'' (created 1449) and ''Lord Slains'' (1452), both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable of Scotland. The office was once associated with great power. The Earls of Erroll hold the hereditary title of

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

Clan Hay Clan Hay ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Garadh or MacGaradh'') is a Scottish clan of the Grampian region of Scotland that has played an important part in the history and politics of the country. Members of the clan are to be found in most parts of Scotland ...

. The Earl of Erroll is one of four peers entitled to appoint a private pursuivant, with the title " Slains Pursuivant of Arms".p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the Kingdom (Cassell, 2002), Earl of Erroll is also the name of a Scottish highland dance, danced today at Highland games around the world. The family seat is Woodbury House, near Everton,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

History

The Hay clan descends from

Scoto-Norman The term Scoto-Norman (also Franco-Scottish or Franco-Gaelic) is used to describe people, families, institutions and archaeological artifacts that are partly Scottish people, Scottish (in some sense) and partly Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman (in some ...

knight Guillaume de la Haye, who first appears on the records circa 1160. Gilbert de la Hay (died April 1333), ancestor of the Earls of Erroll, was the older brother of William de la Hay, ancestor of the

Earls of Kinnoull Earl of Kinnoull (sometimes spelled Earl of Kinnoul) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for George Hay, 1st Viscount of Dupplin. Other associated titles are: ''Viscount Dupplin'' and ''Lord Hay of Kinfauns'' (1627) a ...

. In 1251, William received a charter of two

carucate The carucate or carrucate ( lat-med, carrūcāta or ) was a medieval unit of land area approximating the land a plough team of eight oxen could till in a single annual season. It was known by different regional names and fell under different forms ...

s of land from his brother, which was confirmed by King Alexander III.

Regrant of the earldom of Erroll

A regrant was one of the peculiarities in the Scottish law of peerage, that a party might, by a resignation to the Crown, and a charter following upon such resignation, obtain power to nominate the heirs to succeed him in his honours and dignities. Some of the highest of the Scottish peerages are held under such nominations. Gilbert Hay, 11th Earl of Erroll, on 13 November 1666, obtained a regrant of his honours. This regrant had special power to nominate his heirs. This nomination was made in 1674 with Gilbert appointing his cousin Sir John Hay of Keillour and his heir male, failing which, appointing Sir John Hay of Keillour's heir female, and failing which, appointing certain Hays of Tweeddale. The 11th Earl of Erroll having died in 1674 without issue, Sir John Hay of Keillour became 12th Earl of Erroll. On his death in 1704, his son, Charles became the 13th Earl of Erroll. Charles died unmarried in 1717, when the title devolved on his sister, Mary. Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll died in 1758 without issue. Mary's sister Margaret had previously died at Rome in 1723, however she had married James Livingston, 5th Earl of Linlithgow, 4th Earl of Callendar, and had issue, and it is from her that the present Earl of Erroll is descended. This regrant was questioned in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminst ...

in 1797. The then

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The second Ea ...

had questioned George, the 16th Earl of Erroll's right to vote at an election of the peers of Scotland. One of the objections made to the title was that the title of Earl of Erroll was claimed through a nomination. It was decided in 1748 in the case of the earldom of Stair that this power of nomination could not be validly exercised after the Union. The House of Lords, after a full inquiry, decided in favour of the 16th Earl of Erroll's right to the title. That the Earl of Erroll holds the honours of his house undoubtedly and without dispute, is clear from the decision of the House of Lords.

Notes and Queries ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inner ...

; p. 13; By Inc Chadwyck-Healey, William White; Published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 1852
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Earls of Erroll (1453)

William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll (1423 – October 1462) was a Scottish peer. He was the first Earl of Erroll and the second Lord Hay of Erroll. Biography William Hay was born in Erroll (now spelled Errol) in Perthshire, the son of Gilbert H ...

(d. c. 1462) * Nicholas Hay, 2nd Earl of Erroll (d. 1470) * William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll (d. 1507) *

William Hay, 4th Earl of Erroll William Hay, 4th Earl of Erroll (1470 – 9 September 1513), styled as Lord Hay until 1507, was a Scottish peer and soldier. He was killed at the Battle of Flodden. Biography William Hay was the son of William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll. He ha ...

(d. 1513) *

William Hay, 5th Earl of Erroll William Hay, 5th Earl of Erroll ( – 28 July 1522) was a Scottish peer and statesman. Biography William Hay was the son of the William Hay, 4th Earl of Erroll and Christian Lyon. He had double royal lineage, descended from Kings Robert II ...

(d. 1522) * William Hay, 6th Earl of Erroll (c. 1521–1541) *

George Hay, 7th Earl of Erroll George Hay, 7th Earl of Erroll ( – 30 January 1573) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. Biography Hay was the grandson of William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll; George's father Thomas was killed alongside his older brother, William Hay, 4th ...

(d. 1573) * Andrew Hay, 8th Earl of Erroll (d. 1585) * Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll (d. 1631) * William Hay, 10th Earl of Erroll (d. 1636) * Gilbert Hay, 11th Earl of Erroll (d. 1674) * John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll (d. 1704) *

Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll (1677 – 16 October 1717) was a Scottish peer and Lord High Constable of Scotland who strongly opposed the 1707 union of Scotland and England. Biography Charles Hay was the eldest son of John Hay, and his wi ...

(d. 1717) * Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll (d. 1758) * James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (1726–1778) * George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll (1767–1798) * William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll (1772–1819) * William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll (1801–1846) * William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (1823–1891) * Charles Gore Hay, 20th Earl of Erroll (1852–1927) * Victor Alexander Sereld Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll (1876–1928) * Josslyn Victor Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll (1901–1941) * Diana Denyse Hay, 23rd Countess of Erroll (1926–1978) * Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll (b. 1948) 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 the present holder's son Harry Thomas William Hay, Lord Hay (b. 1984).

Footnotes

References

External links