Lord Nairne 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, ...

, created by Charles II for Sir Robert Nairne of Strathord in 1681, which since 1995 is held by the

Viscount Mersey Viscount Mersey, of Toxteth in the County Palatine of Lancaster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1916 for the lawyer and politician John Bigham, 1st Baron Mersey. He had already been created Baron Mersey, of ...

History

Sir Robert Nairne of Strathord (c. 1620–1683), a supporter of Charles II, who was created Baron Nairne in 1681. After his death without issue the barony passed to his son-in-law, Lord William Murray (c. 1664–1726), the younger son of

John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, KT (2 May 16316 May 1703) was a leading Scottish royalist and defender of the Stuarts during the English Civil War of the 1640s, until after the rise to power of William and Mary in 1689. He succeeded as 2nd ...

, husband of his only daughter Margaret Nairne (1669–1747). Lord William Murray, who took the name of Nairne and became 2nd Baron Nairne, joined the standard of the

Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...

in 1715; he was taken prisoner at the battle of Preston and was sentenced to death. He was, however, pardoned, but his title was forfeited. On 24 June 1721 he was created Earl of Nairne, Viscount of Stanley and Lord of in the Jacobite Peerage by

the Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales fro ...

. His son John (c. 1691–1770), who but for the forfeiture would have been the 3rd Baron Nairne, was also taken prisoner at Preston, but he was soon set at liberty. In the rising of 1745 he was one of the Jacobite leaders, being present at the battles of

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the site of the 1745 ...

, of

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

and of Culloden, and consequently he was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary ...

in 1746; but escaped to France. His son John (died 1782) was the father of William Murray Nairne (1757–1830), who, being restored to the barony of Nairne in 1824, became the 5th baron. He married Carolina, the daughter of Laurence Oliphant (one of the foremost supporters of the Jacobite cause), and a well known Scottish songwriter. The male line became extinct when his son William, the 6th baron (1808–1837), died unmarried. The next heir was a cousin, Margaret, Baroness Keith of Stonehaven Marischal (1788–1867), wife of Auguste Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut de la Billarderie, but she did not claim the title. In 1874, the right of her daughter, Emily the wife of the Henry, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne, was allowed by 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 ...

. The Marquess and Marchioness were both succeeded by their eldest son Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne and 9th Lord Nairne. The lordship remained a subsidiary title of the marquessate until the death in 1944 of his grandson, Charles, 7th Marquess. Charles was succeeded in the marquessate by his cousin while the Scottish lordship passed to his sister Katherine Evelyn Constance Bigham, who became the 12th Lady Nairne. She was the wife of Edward Clive Bigham, 3rd Viscount Mersey. The Viscount and Viscountess were both succeeded by their eldest son, Richard, 4th Viscount and 13th Lord. the titles are held by the latter's son, the 5th Viscount and 14th Lord Nairne. The family seat is

Bignor Park Bignor Park is a privately owned country house and estate near the village of Bignor, in West Sussex, England, on the edge of the South Downs. The house is a Grade II listed building. Description History The original house was built by Richard Pe ...

, near

Pulborough Pulborough is a large village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England, with some 5,000 inhabitants. It is located almost centrally within West Sussex and is south west of London. It is at the junction of the north–south ...

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

Lords Nairne (1681)

Robert Nairne, 1st Lord Nairne Sir Robert Nairne of Strathord, 1st Lord Nairne (1600–1683) was a Scottish judge. Life He was the eldest son of Robert Nairne of Muckersie, and afterwards of Strathord, both in Perthshire, by Margaret, daughter of Sir John Preston of Penicuick, ...

(c. 1620–1683) *

William Murray, 2nd Lord Nairne William Murray, 2nd Lord Nairne (''c.'' 1665 – 3 February 1726) was a Scottish peer and Jacobite who fought in the Rising of 1715, after which he was attainted and condemned to death for treason, but in 1717 he was indemnified and released. ...

(1664–1726) (

1716) * John Nairne, de jure 3rd Lord Nairne (1691–1770) * John Nairne, de jure 4th Lord Nairne (died 1782) *

William Murray Nairne, 5th Lord Nairne William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1757–1830) (restored 1824) *

William Murray Nairne, 6th Lord Nairne William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

(1808–1837) * Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, 7th Lady Nairne, 2nd Baroness Keith (1788–1867) * Emily Jane Petty-FitzMaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne, 8th Lady Nairne (1819–1895) * Henry Charles Keith Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, 9th Lord Nairne (1845–1927) * Henry William Edmund Petty-FitzMaurice, 6th Marquess of Lansdowne, 10th Lord Nairne (1872–1936) * Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice, 7th Marquess of Lansdowne, 11th Lord Nairne (1917–1944) * Katherine Evelyn Constance Bigham, Viscountess Mersey, 12th Lady Nairne (1912–1995) * Richard Maurice Clive Bigham, 4th Viscount Mersey, 13th Lord Nairne (1934–2006) * Edward John Hallam Bigham, 5th Viscount Mersey, 14th Lord Nairne (born 1966) 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 Hon. Flora Diana Joan Bigham, Mistress of Nairne (born 2003).

Notes

References

Attribution: *

History

Lords Nairne (1681)

See also

Notes

References

Further reading