Earl Cathcart
Encyclopedia
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. It was created in 1814 for the soldier and diplomat William Cathcart, 1st Viscount Cathcart
William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart
General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart KT, PC, PC , Scottish soldier and diplomatist, was born at Petersham, and educated at Eton.-Military career:...
. The Cathcart family descends from Sir Alan Cathcart, who sometime between 1447 and 1460 was raised to the Peerage of Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
as Lord Cathcart. He later served as Warden of the West Marches and Master of the Artillery. His great-great-grandson, the third Lord, was killed at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 (his father Alan Cathcart, Master of Cathcart, was one of many Scottish noblemen killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513). He was succeeded by his son, the fourth Lord. He fought at the Battle of Langside
Battle of Langside
The Battle of Langside, fought on 13 May 1568, was one of the more unusual contests in Scottish history, bearing a superficial resemblance to a grand family quarrel, in which a mother fought her brother who was defending the rights of her infant son...
in 1568 and was Master of the Household
Master of the Household
The Master of the Household is the operational head of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom...
to King James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. His great-great-great-grandson, the eighth Lord, was a soldier. He was a Major-General in the Army and sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
as a Scottish Representative Peer
Representative peer
In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords...
from 1734 to 1740. In 1740 Lord Cathcart was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Forces in America. However, he died on the passage out and was buried on Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
.
He was succeeded by his son, the ninth Lord. He was a Lieutenant-General in the Army and also served as British Ambassador to Russia. Between 1752 and 1776 Lord Cathcart sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer. His son, the tenth Lord, was a noted military commander and diplomat. He was a General in the Army and like his father served as British Ambassador to Russia. From 1788 to 1843 Lord Cathcart was a Scottish Representative Peer in the House of Lords. In 1807 he was created Baron Greenock, of Greenock in the County of Renfrew, and Viscount Cathcart, of Cathcart in the County of Renfrew, and in 1814 he was made Earl Cathcart. These titles were in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
He was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son, the second Earl. Like his father he was a General in the Army and also served as Governor General of Canada
Governor General of Canada
The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
from 1846 to 1847. On his death the titles passed to his second but eldest surviving son, the third Earl. He was a Deputy Lieutenant
Deputy Lieutenant
In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of the North Riding of Yorkshire
North Riding of Yorkshire
The North Riding of Yorkshire was one of the three historic subdivisions of the English county of Yorkshire, alongside the East and West Ridings. From the Restoration it was used as a Lieutenancy area. The three ridings were treated as three counties for many purposes, such as having separate...
and President of the Royal Agricultural Society
Royal Agricultural Society
The Royal Agricultural Society of England was established in the United Kingdom in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science". The RASE aim is to promote the scientific development of agriculture. The society received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840.From its early days the society...
. His eldest son, the fourth Earl, was also a Deputy Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire. He never married and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fifth Earl. His son, the sixth Earl, was a Major-General in the Army and served as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords from 1976 to 1989. The titles are held by the latter's only son, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1999. He is one of the ninety elected hereditary peers that remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...
, and sits on the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
benches. Lord Cathcart lost his seat in 1999 but was able to return in 2007 in a by-election caused by the death of Lord Mowbray
Charles Stourton, 26th Baron Mowbray
Charles Edward Stourton, 23rd Baron Stourton, 27th Baron Segrave, 26th Baron Mowbray CBE was a baron in the peerage of England. From 1965 to 1983, he was premier baron in the English peerage. He sat on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords, and was a Conservative whip in government and...
. He is also Chief of Clan Cathcart
Clan Cathcart
-Origins of the Clan:As well as being a surname Cathcart is a Scottish town just south of Glasgow. There is some speculation as to the origin of the name Cathcart. Some believe it is ancient Celtic meaning, "Fort on the River Cart", as that river flows right past the ancient castle. Others believe...
.
Several other members of the family may also be mentioned. The Hon. Sir George Cathcart
George Cathcart
General The Honourable Sir George Cathcart GCB was a British general and diplomat.-Military career:He was born in Renfrewshire, son of William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart. After receiving his education at Eton and in Edinburgh, he was commissioned into the Life Guards in 1810...
, fourth son of the first Earl, was a General in the Army. The Hon. Charles Cathcart, younger son of the ninth Lord, was a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the Army and represented Clackmannanshire in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. The Hon. Louisa Cathcart, daughter of the ninth Lord, married David Murray, 7th Viscount of Stormont
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield
David Murray, 2nd Earl of Mansfield KT, PC , known from 1748 to 1793 as The Viscount Stormont, was a British politician. He succeeded to both the Mansfield and Stormont lines of the Murray family, inheriting two titles and two fortunes.-Life:Mansfield was the son of David Murray, 6th Viscount of...
. In 1793, on the death of her and Lord Stormont's uncle William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield, Louisa inherited (under a special remainder in the letters patent) the earldom of Mansfield created in 1776, and became the second Countess of Mansfield, while her husband inherited the earldom of Mansfield created in 1792, and became the second Earl of Mansfield (see the Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield
Earl of Mansfield and Mansfield
Earl of Mansfield, in the County of Nottingham, and Earl of Mansfield, of Caen Wood in the County of Middlesex, are two titles in the Peerage of Great Britain that have been united under a single holder since 1843...
for later history of these titles).
The family seat is Gateley Hall, near Fakenham
Fakenham
Fakenham is a town and civil parish in Norfolk, England. It is situated on the River Wensum, some north east of King's Lynn, south west of Cromer, and north west of Norwich....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
.
Scotland's legendary Bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
was Sir John Cathcart.
Lords Cathcart (1460)
- Alan Cathcart, 1st Lord Cathcart (d. 1497)
- Alan Cathcart, Master of Cathcart (d. before 1497)
- John Cathcart, 2nd Lord Cathcart (d. 1535)
- Alan Cathcart, Master of Cathcart (d. 1513)
- Alan Cathcart, 3rd Lord Cathcart (d. 1547)
- Alan Cathcart, 4th Lord Cathcart (1537–1618)
- Alan Cathcart, Master of Cathcart (1562–1602)
- Alan Cathcart, 5th Lord Cathcart (1600–1628)
- Alan Cathcart, 6th Lord Cathcart (1628–1709)
- Alan Cathcart, 7th Lord Cathcart (1648–1732)
- Allan Cathcart (d. 1699)
- Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart (1686–1740)
- George Alan Cathcart (b. 1719)
- John Cathcart (b. 1719)
- Charles Schaw Cathcart, 9th Lord CathcartCharles Cathcart, 9th Lord CathcartGeneral Charles Schaw Cathcart, 9th Lord Cathcart was a British soldier and diplomat. He was also chief of the Clan Cathcart.The son of Charles Cathcart, 8th Lord Cathcart and Marion Shaw, he was born on 21 March 1721...
(1721–1776) - William Schaw Cathcart, 10th Lord CathcartWilliam Cathcart, 1st Earl CathcartGeneral William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart KT, PC, PC , Scottish soldier and diplomatist, was born at Petersham, and educated at Eton.-Military career:...
(1755–1843) (created Viscount Cathcart in 1807 and Earl Cathcart in 1814)
Earls Cathcart (1814)
- William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl CathcartWilliam Cathcart, 1st Earl CathcartGeneral William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart KT, PC, PC , Scottish soldier and diplomatist, was born at Petersham, and educated at Eton.-Military career:...
(1755–1843)- William Cathcart, Master of Cathcart (1782–1804)
- Charles Murray Cathcart, 2nd Earl CathcartCharles Cathcart, 2nd Earl CathcartCharles Murray Cathcart, 2nd Earl Cathcart GCB was a British Army general who became Governor General of the Province of Canada and Lieutenant Governor of Canada West .-Life:Cathcart, eldest surviving son of William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart, was born at...
(1783–1859)- Hon. Charles Cathcart (1824–1825)
- Alan Frederick Cathcart, 3rd Earl Cathcart (1828–1905)
- Alan Cathcart, 4th Earl Cathcart (1856–1911)
- George Cathcart, 5th Earl Cathcart (1862–1927)
- Alan Cathcart, 6th Earl CathcartAlan Cathcart, 6th Earl CathcartMajor-General Alan Cathcart, 6th Earl Cathcart CB DSO MC was Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.-Military career:...
(1919–1999) - Charles Alan Andrew Cathcart, 7th Earl CathcartCharles Cathcart, 7th Earl CathcartCharles Alan Andrew Cathcart, the 7th Earl Cathcart is a British peer and member of the House of Lords and Chief of the Name and Arms of Clan Cathcart....
(b. 1952)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Alan George Cathcart, Lord Greenock (b. 1986)