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 Union, ...

. 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 Lord High Constable is a hereditary, now ceremonial, office of Scotland. In the order of precedence of Scotland, the office traditionally ranks above all titles except those of the Royal Family.p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the King ...

. 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 boa ...

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 A pursuivant or, more correctly, pursuivant of arms, is a junior officer of arms. Most pursuivants are attached to official heraldic authorities, such as the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In the mediaeval ...

, with the title "

Slains Pursuivant of Arms Slains Pursuivant of Arms is a private officer of arms appointed by the Chief of the Name and Arms of Hay – presently the Earl of Erroll, Lord High Constable of Scotland. It is believed that the Hay family had an officer of arms since the ti ...

".p60-61, Bruce, Alistair, Keepers of the Kingdom (Cassell, 2002),

Earl of Erroll Earl of Erroll () is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. 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. ...

is also the name of a

Scottish highland dance Highland dance or Highland dancing ( gd, dannsa Gàidhealach) is a style of competitive dancing developed in the Scottish Highlands in the 19th and 20th centuries, in the context of competitions at public events such as the Highland games. It ...

, 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 wa ...

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 (in some sense) and partly Anglo-Norman (in some sense). It is used to refer to ...

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 Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll (died 19 August 1758) was a Scottish noblewoman and ''suo jure'' Countess of Erroll. As 18th Hereditary Lord High Constable and Knight Marischal of Scotland, she was the Senior Great Officer among the Royal Offi ...

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 Earl of Linlithgow was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1600 for Alexander Livingston, 7th Lord Livingston, along with the subsidiary title of Lord Livingston and Callendar. In 1695, the Earldom of Linlithgow merged with ...

, 4th

Earl of Callendar Earl of Callendar was a title in the Peerage of Scotland.Also spelt "Calendar" and "Calender" It was created in 1641 for James Livingston, 1st Lord Livingston of Almond, a younger son of Alexander Livingston, 1st Earl of Linlithgow, along with th ...

, 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 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 ...

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 Ear ...

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 Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. 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 inne ...

; 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 books ...

, 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 Nicholas Hay, 2nd Earl of Erroll ( – 1470) was a Scottish peer. He was the second Earl of Erroll and the third Lord Hay of Erroll. Biography Nicholas Hay was the son of William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll and Lady Beatrix Douglas, daughter of J ...

(d. 1470) *

William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll William Hay, 3rd Earl of Erroll ( – 14 January 1507) was a Scottish peer. He was the third Earl of Erroll and the fourth Lord Hay of Erroll. Biography William Hay was the son of William Hay, 1st Earl of Erroll and his wife, Beatrix, daugh ...

(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 William Hay, 6th Earl of Erroll (1521 – 11 April 1541), styled as Lord Hay until age 1, was a Scottish peer. Biography William Hay was the son of the William Hay, 5th Earl of Erroll. He had double royal lineage, descended from Kings Robert ...

(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 Andrew Hay, 8th Earl of Erroll ( – 8 October 1585) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. Biography He was the son of George Hay by his first wife, Margaret Robertson. His father inherited the earldom after the death of his uncle, William ...

(d. 1585) *

Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll (30 April 156416 July 1631) was a Scottish nobleman. A convert to Catholicism, he openly conspired with the king of Spain to try to unseat the Protestant Queen Elizabeth. Biography He was the son of Andrew Hay, ...

(d. 1631) *

William Hay, 10th Earl of Erroll William Hay, 10th Earl of Erroll PC (before 1597 – 7 December 1636) was a Scottish nobleman. Biography He was the eldest son of Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll by his third wife, Lady Elizabeth, daughter of William Douglas, 6th Earl ...

(d. 1636) * Gilbert Hay, 11th Earl of Erroll (d. 1674) *

John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll John Hay, 12th Earl of Erroll (died 30 December 1704) was a Scottish nobleman and Lord High Constable of Scotland. Among his titles was Lord of Slains, but he had previously been known as John Hay of Kellour. Marriage and issue Hay was a son of S ...

(d. 1704) * Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll (d. 1717) *

(d. 1758) *

James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll (20 April 1726 – 3 July 1778) styled Lord Boyd from 1728 to 1746, was a Scottish nobleman and the son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock. Early life He was born James Boyd at Falkirk on 20 April 1726. James ...

(1726–1778) *

George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll Colonel George Hay, 16th Earl of Erroll (13 May 1767 – 14 June 1798) was a Scottish peer and soldier. Early life Erroll was the eldest son of James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll and his second wife, Isabella Carr, the eldest daughter and co-heire ...

(1767–1798) *

William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll (12 March 1772 – 26 January 1819), known as Lord Hay until 1778, was a Scottish peer. Early life Erroll was the son of James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll and his second wife, Isabella Carr, the eldest daughter and ...

(1772–1819) *

William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll William George Hay, 18th Earl of Erroll, KT, GCH, PC (21 February 1801 – 19 April 1846), styled Lord Hay between 1815 and 1819, was a Scottish peer and politician. Early life Erroll was the son of William Hay, 17th Earl of Erroll, and hi ...

(1801–1846) *

William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll William Harry Hay, 19th Earl of Erroll (3 May 1823 – 3 December 1891), styled Lord Hay between 1823 and 1831, and Lord Kilmarnock from 1831 to 1846, was a Scottish peer. Early life William Harry Hay was born on 3 May 1823. He was the only son ...

(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