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 Kerr, abbot of
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 ...
,
Midlothian, and
Helen Leslie, sister of the
Earl of Rothes.
The House of Kerr was of Anglo-Norman lineage, and the Kerrs of Fernihirst settled in Scotland in the 13th century.
Kerr and his family lived in Newbattle Abbey, a mansion occupying the site of a Cistercian abbey founded in 1140.
[Colin McWilliam, Christopher Wilson, ]
Career
Kerr was named
Vicar
A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of
Linton in 1567. He was appointed
Master of Requests in 1577, a role he held until 1606. He was a gentleman of the king's chamber in 1580. In 1581, he succeeded his father as Commendator of Newbottle.
Like his father, Mark Kerr was an
Extraordinary Lord of Session
Extraordinary Lords of Session were lay members of the Court of Session in Scotland from 1532 to 1762, and were part of the historical judiciary of Scotland.
When the Court of Session was founded in 1532, it consisted of the Lord President, 14 ...
under king
beginning in 1584, with his lands in Newbottle made into a Barony.
On 28 October 1587, he was made a
Lord of Parliament
A Lord of Parliament ( sco, Laird o Pairlament) was the holder of the lowest form of peerage, entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre- Union Parliament of Scotland. Since that Union in 1707, it has been the lowest rank of the ...
as Lord Newbottle, or possibly 15 October 1591.
In 1587 he was made a baron and
Privy Counsellor
The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...
in 1587, and in 1604 he. He acted as interim
Lord Chancellor of Scotland
The Lord Chancellor of Scotland, formally the Lord High Chancellor, was a Great Officer of State in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Holders of the office are known from 1123 onwards, but its duties were occasionally performed by an official of lower s ...
.
He was created Earl of Lothian on 10 July 1606,
and resigned the office of Master of Requests in the same year.
An English list of the Scottish nobility states his residences were "Morphele" and
Prestongrange
Prestongrange is a place in East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, situated between Musselburgh to the west, and Prestonpans to the east.
The place name derives from "Preston", meaning "priest's town", and a grange (or granary) which was wo ...
.
Marriage and family
He married Margaret Maxwell, a daughter of John Maxwell,
Lord Herries. Kerr and his wife were said to have 31 children.
Their children included:
*
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, ...
* Anne Kerr
* Margaret Kerr, who married
James Hay, 7th Lord Hay of Yester
* Janet Kerr, who married
William Cunningham, 8th Earl of Glencairn
William Cunningham, 8th Earl of Glencairn (1575–1630) was a Scottish politician.
The son of James Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn by his spouse Margaret (d. January 1610), daughter of Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy and Katherine Ruthven. His ...
* Jean Kerr, who married (1) Robert Boyd, Master of Boyd, (2)
David Lindsay, 12th Earl of Crawford, (3) Thomas Hamilton of Robertoun. In 1623 King James made steps to help the dowager Countess of Crawford and her children, because she had been a faithful servant to
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...
.
Death
He died on 8 April 1609.
His wife Margaret Maxwell was accused of causing his death through witchcraft.
She died at
Prestongrange House
Prestongrange House is a historic house at Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, UK. It is situated near to two other historic houses, Hamilton House and Northfield House.
Prestongrange House is now the site of Royal Musse ...
on 8 January 1617.
He was succeeded by his son Robert, 2nd Earl of Lothian.
The second earl had no sons, and the title passed to his daughter Anne, as Countess of Lothian, and subsequently in 1631 her husband was created
William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian
William Kerr, first Earl of Lothian of a new creation (1605–1675) was a Scotland, Scottish nobleman.
Career
Kerr signed the Covenanter, national covenant in 1638 and marched with the Scots into England in 1640, being present when the Engl ...
.
[David Laing, ''Correspondence of Sir Robert Kerr, first Earl of Ancram'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1875), pp. xlviii, li.]
See also
*
Marquess of Lothian
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 titles of Earl of Lothian (created 1606), Earl of Lothian (created again 1 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lothian, Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of
1553 births
1609 deaths
Earls of Lothian
Ordained peers
Peers of Scotland created by James VI