Sir George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull, (1570 – 16 December 1634) was 6th Lord Kinfauns from 1621 to 1627, then 1st Viscount of Dupplin from 1627 before advancing to the earldom in 1633. He was a Scottish nobleman and political official.

Biography

He was the second son of Peter Hay 4th of Megginch and Margaret, daughter of Patrick Ogilvy of Inchmartin. No date is recorded for his birth, but he was baptised 4 December 1570. Around 1588, Hay entered Scottish College at Douai, where he studied under his uncle Edmund Hay until 1596. He was initially introduced to court by his cousin the

Earl of Carlisle Earl of Carlisle is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England. History The first creation came in 1322, when Andrew Harclay, 1st Baron Harclay, was made Earl of Carlisle. He had already been summoned to Parliamen ...

. Hay served as a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

from 1596. On 18 February 1598, he was granted the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

priory of

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and a seat in Parliament, but, finding the rents too low to live on, he returned the peerage. On 15 November 1600, he was given land for his services to the King on the occasion of the

Gowrie conspiracy The Gowrie conspiracy was a series of events unfolding in Scotland on 5 August 1600. Although the facts of the actual attack and deaths of the Ruthvens are known, the circumstances by which that sequence of events came about remain a mystery. Ruthv ...

. He was knighted sometime before 18 October 1607, when he first appeared in the records as Sir George Hay. He was appointed

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clàr Morair Clèireach'') is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenanc ...

and a member of the Privy Council on 26 March 1616. He was instrumental in the passage of the

Five Articles of Perth The Five Articles of Perth was an attempt by King James VI of Scotland to impose practices on the Church of Scotland in an attempt to integrate it with those of the Church of England. This move was unpopular with those Scots who held Reformed wor ...

in 1618. In 1619 the

Privy Council of Scotland The Privy Council of Scotland ( — 1 May 1708) was a body that advised the Scottish monarch. During its existence, the Privy Council of Scotland was essentially considered as the government of the Kingdom of Scotland, and was seen as the most ...

wrote to King James to defend Hay's interest in glass and iron manufacture in Scotland, arguing that Scottish glass should be sold in England without custom duties. In 1621 he was infeft of the lands and Lordship of Kinfauns, confirmed by crown charter in records of parliament. On 9 July 1622, he was appointed Lord Chancellor and Keeper of the Great Seal. On 19 July 1625, the lands of the

Earldom of Orkney The Earldom of Orkney was a Norse territory ruled by the earls (or ''jarls'') of Orkney from the ninth century until 1472. It was founded during the Viking Age by Viking raiders and settlers from Scandinavia (see Scandinavian Scotland). In ...

were transferred to him. On 7 May 1625, he was at the funeral of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

in London, and was sworn in as a member of the Scottish Privy Council of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. He was created Viscount of Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns on 4 May 1627. In September 1629 he was a collector of tax in Scotland. He discovered that Marie Stewart, "My Lady Marre", had obtained a chest containing important documents concerning taxes which had been kept by the late Archibald Primrose, clerk of taxations. She made some difficulties about handing over the documents, and was away from Edinburgh in the north of Scotland. On 25 May 1633, he was created the

Earl 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) ...

on the occasion of the King Charles' coronation in Scotland. He resisted the king's regulations for lords of session (1626), and upheld precedency over archbishop of St Andrews. In 1626, he began to suffer from old age. It was noted that he was absent from the Council in July 1626 as he was suffering from "the pain of the gute" very severely. Two years later his "known infirmitie and seekenesse" was noted. He died of

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

in London and was buried in

Kinnoull Parish Church Kinnoull Parish Church is a Church of Scotland church in the Kinnoull area of Perth, Perth and Kinross, Perth, Scotland. A "Kinnoull Church" appears in documents when it was granted to Cambuskenneth Abbey in 1361. It was rebuilt in 1779 but demo ...

, in which a monument was erected in his honour.

Marriage

He married Margaret, daughter of Sir James Halyburton of Pitcur manor, Kettins parish, on 15 November 1595. They had three children: # Sir Peter Hay (died '' decessit vita patris'' at Kinfauns, 1621), unmarried # George Hay (d. 1644) # Lady Margaret, married to

Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Spynie (died March 1646) was a Scottish nobleman and soldier of fortune. Life He was the eldest son of Alexander Lindsay, 1st Lord Spynie from his wife Jean Lyon. He was still a minor at the time of his father's murd ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinnoull, George Hay, 1st Earl of 1570 births 1634 deaths 01 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1625 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630 Lord chancellors of Scotland Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Peers of Scotland created by Charles I