{{Infobox noble, type , name = William Maxwell , title = 5th

Earl of Nithsdale Earl of Nithsdale was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1620 for Robert Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell, with remainder to heirs male. He was made Lord Maxwell, Eskdale and Carlyle at the same time. The title of Lord Maxwell had be ...

, image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = 1683–1716 , reign-type = Tenure , predecessor = Robert Maxwell, 4th Earl of Nithsdale , successor = ''Title forfeited'' , suc-type = , spouse = {{marriage, Lady Winifred Herbert, 1699 , spouse-type = , issue = William Maxwell, Lord Maxwell
Anne Bellew, Baroness Bellew , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , titles = , noble family =

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

, house-type = , father = Robert Maxwell, 4th Earl of Nithsdale , mother = Lady Lucy Douglas , birth_name = , birth_date = 1676 , birth_place = Terregles Castle,

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ) or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an ...

, christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = {{Death date and age, 1744, 03, 02, 1676, df=y , death_place =

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

(now

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) , burial_date = , burial_place = , religion =

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, occupation = , memorials = , website = , module = William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale (1676{{snd2 March 1744), was a

member of the

Scottish nobility The Scottish Noblesse means nobility in Scotland, including both those with peerage titles as well as those without. The concept was prominently advocated for by Sir Thomas Innes of Learney during his tenure as Carrick Pursuivant of Arms and l ...

who took part in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...

. He was

attainted In English criminal law, attainder 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 titles, but ...

with his titles forfeited. However, Lord Nithsdale made a celebrated escape from the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

by changing clothes with his wife's maid the day before he was due to be executed. The lordship of Herries of Terregles was later restored to his descendants and remains extant.

Early life

{{Unsourced, section, date=January 2023 He was the eldest son of Robert, fourth

(1627/28–1683), and Lady Lucie Douglas (died 1713), daughter of William, eleventh earl of Angus and first Marquess of Douglas. He was probably born at Terregles Castle, near

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

. The early death of his father ensured that he was raised by his mother, the Dowager Countess, who educated him to be a faithful and conventionally devout Roman Catholic and a partisan of the

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

cause.

Jacobite supporter

On reaching the age of 21, in 1697, and becoming earl, William secretly visited the Jacobite court at Saint-Germain to give his allegiance to the exiled King

James II and VII James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

, where he met his future wife Lady Winifred Herbert, daughter of the Duke of Powis. After their marriage at Saint-Germain in 1699, they settled at his family seat at

Terregles Terregles () is a village and civil parish near Dumfries, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire. The name Terregles, recorded as ''Travereglis'' in 1359, is from Cumbric ''*trev-ïr-eglẹ:s''. '' ...

. As a prominent Catholic in the predominantly Covenanting

Lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

, he was on a number of occasions the object of Presbyterian assaults on his estate, on suspicion of harbouring

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s. Despite his discretion, he was long suspected of Jacobite sympathies. In 1712 he resigned his estate to his son William (died 1776), reserving a life rent to himself.{{EB1911, inline=y, wstitle=Nithsdale, William Maxwell, 5th Earl of, volume=19, page=711 In the

, after some hesitation, he proclaimed James III and VIII at

and

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

, before joining the main Jacobite forces at

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden nearby, and close to Hadrian's Wall. Hexham was the administra ...

under General Thomas Forster. Nithsdale was captured at Preston together with other Jacobite leaders, sent to London,{{sfn, Chisholm, 1911 tried and found guilty of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

, and sentenced to death on 9 February 1716. His devoted countess Winifred, who was at their home in

(near

) when she heard of the capture of her husband travelled to London and appealed in vain for a pardon. Instead, she laid a meticulous plan to rescue him from the

. The night before the day appointed for his execution (24 February 1716), with the help of two other Jacobite ladies, she effected his escape from the Tower. She had been admitted to his room, and by exchanging clothes with his wife's maid, he escaped the attention of his guards. He fled to France, while the countess returned to Scotland to ensure the transfer of the estate to their son. She joined him in Paris and they went to Rome, where they lived, attached to the

Government in Exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

of Prince

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

, heir to the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelled Stewart, also known as the Stuart dynasty, was a dynasty, royal house of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and later Kingdom of Great Britain, Great ...

claim to the British and Irish thrones, until his death.{{sfn, Chisholm, 1911

In literature

The story of the Earl of Nithsdale's escape from the Tower of London inspired

James Hogg James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots language, Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a ...

's ''Ballad of the Lord Maxwell'' first published in the ''Royal Lady's Magazine'' in October 1831.Hunter, Adried (ed.) (2020), ''James Hogg: Contributions to English, Irish and American Periodicals'',

Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

, pp. 68 - 76 & 226, {{isbn, 9780748695980

References

{{Reflist {{s-start {{s-reg, sct {{s-bef, rows=2, before=

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...

{{s-ttl, title=

, years=1696–1716 {{s-non, reason=Attainted , - {{s-ttl, title=

Lord Herries of Terregles Lord Herries of Terregles (pronounced "''Heh''-reez of Ter-regulls'") is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1490 for Herbert Herries with remainder to his heirs general. On the death of his grandson, William, 3rd ...

, years=1696–1716 {{s-vac, reason=Attainted, next= William Constable-Maxwell {{s-end {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Nithsdale, William Maxwell, 5th Earl of 1676 births 1744 deaths Nobility from Dumfries and Galloway

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

5th Earl of Nithsdale Escapees from England and Wales detention Escapees from the Tower of London Lords Herries of Terregles People of the Jacobite rising of 1715 Prisoners in the Tower of London Scottish escapees Scottish Jacobites Scottish Roman Catholics