Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the

County of Kinross The County of Kinross or Kinross-shire is a historic county and registration county in eastern Scotland, administered as part of Perth and Kinross since 1930. Surrounding its largest settlement and county town of Kinross, the county borders Per ...

, 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, ...

. It was created in 1607 for Sir Michael Balfour. He was succeeded by his daughter, Margaret, his only child. She married Robert Arnot, who assumed the surname of Balfour and sat as Lord Balfour of Burleigh in the Scottish Parliament in right of his wife. Their son, the third Lord, fought with the

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

s at the

Battle of Drumclog The Battle of Drumclog was fought on 1 June 1679, between a group of Covenanters and the forces of John Graham of Claverhouse, at Drumclog, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The battle Following the assassination of Archbishop James Sharp on ...

. His grandson, the fifth Lord, was tried and convicted of the murder of schoolmaster Henry Stenhouse at Inverkeithing in 1709. He was sentenced to death in 1710 but escaped to freedom by dressing in his sister's clothes. He was primarily known as

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

of Burleigh, the title for the heir to the peerage, as he never took his seat in Parliament when his father died in 1713. He took part in the

Jacobite rebellion , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

in 1715 and was attainted for his role. He died childless in 1757. The lordship had been created by charter, a copy of which exists only in the family archives. The original charter did not specify right of succession.

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

(1795–1864), MP for

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the hi ...

, asserted his right to sit in the House of Lords as Lord Balfour of Burleigh and Lord Kilwinning. However, Walter Francis Balfour of Fernie, a male-line descendant of the second Lord, opposed Balfour on the grounds that he was the proper heir as heir male of the body. Robert Bruce died in 1864 before the case was decided, but his wife continued the case on behalf of their underage son, Alexander Hugh Bruce. On 21 July 1868, the House of Lords ruled in favour of the Bruces, determining that the original lordship was created with the remainder to heirs general (as evidenced by it being inherited by the original lord's daughter). On 19 March 1869, the attainder was reversed by Act of Parliament. Alexander Hugh Bruce, the 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh, was the great-great-grandson of Hon. Mary Balfour (d. 1758), daughter of the fourth Lord, and her husband Brigadier-General Alexander Bruce. Since 1869, the lordship has been held by the

Bruce family Clan Bruce ( gd, Brùs) is a Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a Royal House in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland (Robert the Bruce and David II of Scotland), and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce. Origins The surname ' ...

. Lord Balfour of Burleigh was a

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 and 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 ...

as a

Scottish Representative Peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the Parliament of Scotland, where, as a unicameral legislature, all Scottish P ...

from 1876 to 1921 and was

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

between 1895 and 1903. His second son, the seventh Lord, was a Scottish Representative Peer from 1922 to 1963. , the title is held by his granddaughter, the ninth Lady, who succeeded his father in that year. Another member of the Balfour family was

James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley or Clonawley ( – 18 October 1634) was a Scottish nobleman and courtier who was one of the chief undertakers in the Plantation of Ulster. His third marriage to Anne Blayney caused a notable scandal. ...

(in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

). He was the younger brother of the first Lord Balfour of Burleigh. The family seat now is

Brucefield House Brucefield is an 18th-century country house in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is located east of Clackmannan. The house was largely built in 1724 by Alexander Bruce, younger of Kennet. It was restored in the early 20th century, and is now protecte ...

, near

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. Th ...

. The original family seat was

Burleigh Castle The remains of Burleigh Castle are located just outside the village of Milnathort, 1.5 miles north of Kinross, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The castle dates from the 15th and 16th centuries, and now sits beside the A911 road, opposite a 19th ...

, near

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

, which is now in ruins.

Lords Balfour of Burleigh (1607)

* Michael Balfour, 1st Lord Balfour of Burleigh (d. 1619) *

Margaret Balfour, 2nd Lady Balfour of Burleigh Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(d. 1639), married to

Robert Balfour, 2nd Lord Balfour of Burleigh Robert Balfour, 2nd Lord Balfour of Burleigh (died 18 August 1663) was a Scottish military commander. Balfour was son of Sir Robert Arnot of Fernie, chamberlain of Fife. He married Margaret, daughter of Michael Balfour of Burleigh and Margaret, ...

(d. 1663) *

John Balfour, 3rd Lord Balfour of Burleigh John Balfour, 3rd Lord Balfour of Burleigh (after 1606 – died 1696/97) was a Scottish nobleman. He was educated in France; and has been traditionally and erroneously styled Covenanter John Balfour, the Covenanter being John Balfour of Kinloch. ...

(d. 1688) *

Robert Balfour, 4th Lord Balfour of Burleigh The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

(d. 1713) *

Robert Balfour, 5th Lord Balfour of Burleigh Robert Balfour, 5th Lord Balfour of Burleigh (buried 20 March 1757) was a Jacobite from the Burleigh family of the county of Kinross, remembered chiefly for a crime of passion that brought devastation to his family. Biography Balfour, when a yo ...

(d. 1757) ''(forfeit 1715)'' *Heirs but for the attainder: **Mary Bruce (née Balfour, d. 1758) **

Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet Robert Bruce of Kennet, Lord Kennet FRSE (24 December 1718 – 8 April 1785) was a Scottish advocate, legal scholar and judge. Life Bruce was born at Kennet House in Clackmannanshire on 24 December 1718, the son of Mary Balfour, daughter of Ro ...

(1718–1785) **Alexander Bruce (1755–1808) **

(1795–1864) *

Alexander Hugh Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh Alexander Hugh Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh, (13 January 1849 – 6 July 1921) was a Scottish Unionist politician, banker and statesman, who took a leading part in the affairs of the Church of Scotland. He was Secretary for Scotland betw ...

(1849–1921) (restored 1869) *

George John Gordon Bruce, 7th Lord Balfour of Burleigh George John Gordon Bruce, 7th Lord Balfour of Burleigh (18 October 1883 – 4 June 1967) was a Scottish peer and banker. He was a representative peer for Scotland in the British House of Lords from 1923 to 1963, and was Chairman of Lloyds Bank from ...

(1883–1967) *

Robert Bruce, 8th Lord Balfour of Burleigh Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the County of Kinross, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1607 for Sir Michael Balfour. He was succeeded by his daughter, Margaret, his only child. She married Robert Arnot, who assumed the sur ...

(1927–2019) *

Victoria Bruce-Winkler, 9th Lady Balfour of Burleigh Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(b. 1973) 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. ...

is the present holder's daughter the Hon. Laetitia Bruce-Winkler, Mistress of Burleigh (b. 2007).

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour of Burleigh 1607 establishments in Scotland Lordships of Parliament Perth and Kinross Noble titles created in 1607 Lord Balfour

Lords Balfour of Burleigh (1607)

See also

References