Marquess of Lothian 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 Union, ...

, which was created in 1701 for Robert Kerr, 4th Earl of Lothian. The Marquess of

Lothian Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...

holds the subsidiary titles of Earl of Lothian (created 1606), Earl of Lothian (created again 1631), Earl of Ancram (1633), Earl of Ancram (created again 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 The Peerage of the United Kingdom is one of the five Peerages in the United Kingdom. It comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801, when it replaced the ...

, previous marquesses sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

before 1963, when Scottish peers first sat in the House of Lords in their own right. The holder of the

marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

ate is also the

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 boa ...

Clan Kerr Clan Kerr () is a Scottish clan whose origins lie in the Scottish Borders. During the Middle Ages, it was one of the prominent border reiver clans along the present-day Anglo-Scottish border and played an important role in the history of the Bo ...

. The current Marquess of Lothian, the 13th, is better known as the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician

Michael Ancram Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, Baron Kerr of Monteviot, (born 7 July 1945), commonly known as Michael Ancram, is a British politician and life peer who served as Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 2001 to ...

. In November 2010, he received a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages Ac ...

as Baron Kerr of Monteviot and so became entitled to sit in the House of Lords. He lives at

Monteviot House Monteviot House is the early 18th century home of the Marquess of Lothian, the politician better known as Michael Ancram. It is located on the River Teviot near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. History The house which sits ...

in Roxburghshire. The family previously owned a larger Scottish seat,

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey ( gd, Abaid a' Bhatail Nuaidh) was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by mo ...

in Midlothian, which is now a college, and also

Blickling Hall Blickling Hall is a Jacobean architecture, Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England, Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ...

in Norfolk, which now belongs to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the marquessate is the 13th Marquess' younger brother Lord Ralph Kerr, who owns

Ferniehirst Castle Ferniehirst Castle (sometimes spelled Ferniehurst) is an L-shaped construction on the east bank of the Jed Water, about a mile and a half south of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, and in the former county of Roxburghshire. It ...

in Roxburghshire, which is the family seat that was restored by the 12th Marquess, and

Melbourne Hall Melbourne Hall is a Georgian style country house in Melbourne, Derbyshire, previously owned by William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, British Prime Minister from 1835 to 1841. The house is now the seat of Lord and Lady Ralph Kerr and is open to th ...

in Derbyshire.

History of the titles

has several branches. The name "Kerr," from the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

"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. According to the lore of the family of

Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian Mark Kerr (or Ker), 1st Earl of Lothian (15538 April 1609) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He became the first Earl of Lothian in 1606. Family He was a member of the "famous border family" of Ker of Cessford. He was the son of Mark Ke ...

, the name comes from the Norman chiefs, Ralph and Robert, both brothers who came to Roxburgh from Lancashire in the 1300s. The Kerrs of Ferniehurst claim descent from Ralph, and the Kerrs of Cessford claimed they are descended from Robert. These two man branches of Clan Kerr were often at odds with one another, fighting until they came together in the early 1500s. 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, Mark Kerr had his lands at Newbattle and Prestongrange erected into the barony of Newbattle.

1st title

Mark Kerr was created Lord Newbattle in 1591 and Earl of Lothian in 1606, both with remainder to his heirs male. The title went to the eldest of his four sons,

Robert Kerr, 2nd Earl of Lothian Robert Kerr, 2nd Earl of Lothian (died 1624) was a Scottish noble. His life Robert Kerr was the son of Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian, who had been given the new title in 1606. He was the eldest son, with three brothers: William, Mark, and James, ...

. 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. 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

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 A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

, and the 6th Marquess was created Baron Ker, of Kersheugh in the County of Roxburgh, in 1821, in the

Earls of Lothian; First creation (1606)

(1553–1609) *

(died 1624) * Anne Kerr, 3rd Countess of Lothian (died 1667) * Robert Kerr, 4th and 2nd Earl of Lothian and 3rd Earl of Ancram (1636–1703) (created Marquess of Lothian in 1701)

Earls of Lothian; Second creation (1631)

William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian William Kerr, first Earl of Lothian of a new creation (1605–1675) was a Scottish nobleman. Career Kerr signed the national covenant in 1638 and marched with the Scots into England in 1640, being present when the English were routed at t ...

(1605–1675) *''The Earldom was inherited by the 4th Earl of the first creation (see above).''

Lords Jedburgh (1621/2)

*Andrew Ker, 1st Lord Jedburgh (died 1633) *Alexander Kirkaldy ''later'' Ker,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 ''de jure'' 2nd Lord Jedburgh (c. 1590c 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)

Robert Kerr, 1st Earl of Ancram Robert Kerr, 1st Earl of Ancram (c. 1578–1654), was a Scottish nobleman, politician and writer.Chambers, Robert (1840)A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen Volume 3, Blackie and Son, pp 315-6. Biography He descended from a third son ...

(1578–1654) *

Charles Kerr, 2nd Earl of Ancram Charles Kerr, 2nd Earl of Ancram (1624 – September 1690) was a Scottish peer and a member of the English House of Commons.Lodge (1847)p. 305/ref> Biography Charles was born on 6 August 1624 at Richmond, Surrey to Anne daughter of William Sta ...

(died 1690) *''The Earldom was inherited by the 4th and 2nd Earl of Lothian (see above).''

Marquesses of Lothian (1701)

Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian (8 March 1636 – 15 February 1703), known as the 4th Earl of Lothian from 1675 to 1701, was a Scottish nobleman. He was styled Lord Kerr until 1661 and Lord Newbattle from 1661 to 1675. The eldest son of Wi ...

(1636–1703) *

William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian Lieutenant-General William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian, (1661 – 28 February 1722) was a Scottish peer who held a number of minor military and political offices. He was known by the courtesy title of Lord Newbattle until 1692, when he su ...

(1661–1722) *

William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian, ( – 28 July 1767) was a Scottish nobleman, styled Master of Jedburgh from 1692 to 1703 and Lord Jedburgh from 1703 to 1722. Early life He was the son of William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian and Lady Jean ...

(1690–1767) *

William Henry Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian General William Henry Kerr, 4th Marquess of Lothian (1710 – 12 April 1775) was a Scottish nobleman, British soldier and politician, the eldest son of William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian. He was styled Master of Jedburgh until 1722, Lord Jedb ...

(1713–1775) *

William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian General William John Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian (13 March 1737 – 4 January 1815) was a British soldier and peer, styled Lord Newbattle until 1767 and Earl of Ancrum from 1767 to 1775. He was buried at St Andrew's parish Church, Farnham, S ...

(1737–1815) *

William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, (4 October 1763 – 27 April 1824), was a British soldier, landowner and politician. He was the son of William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian. He served as a representative peer from 1817 to 1824. Life Ker ...

(1763–1824) * John William Robert Kerr, 7th Marquess of Lothian (1794–1841) * William Schomberg Robert Kerr, 8th Marquess of Lothian (1832–1870) *

Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian Schomberg or Schömberg may refer to various people or places: Places In Canada *Schomberg, Ontario, an unincorporated village **Schomberg (Sloan Field) Aerodrome In Germany * Schömberg, Thuringia, in the district of Greiz, Thuringia *Schömberg ...

(1833–1900) * Robert Schomberg Kerr, 10th Marquess of Lothian (1874–1930) *

Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, (18 April 1882 – 12 December 1940), known as Philip Kerr until 1930, was a British politician, diplomat and newspaper editor. He was private secretary to Prime Minister David Lloyd George between 19 ...

(1882–1940) *

Peter Francis Walter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian Peter Francis Walter Kerr, 12th Marquess of Lothian, (8 September 1922 – 11 October 2004) was a British peer, politician and landowner. He was the son of Captain Andrew William Kerr by his wife, Marie Kerr. Both of his parents were male ...

(1922–2004) *

Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, Baron Kerr of Monteviot, (born 7 July 1945), commonly known as Michael Ancram, is a British politician and life peer who served as Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 2001 to ...

(born 1945) The

is the present holder's brother Lord Ralph William Francis Joseph Kerr (born 1957).
The heir presumptive's

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 his son John Walter Donald Peter Kerr (born 1988).

Family tree

References

* , at Leigh Rayment's Peerage pages
Photo and biography of Walter William Schomberg Kerr, Earl of Ancram
*

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lothian Marquessates in the Peerage of Scotland 1701 establishments in Scotland Noble titles created in 1701