Earl of Haddington
Encyclopedia
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...
. It was created in 1627 for the noted Scottish lawyer and judge Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Melrose
Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington
Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington , designated before his peerage as 'of Drumcarny, Monkland, and Binning', was a Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire.-Family:...
. He was Lord President of the Court of Session
Lord President of the Court of Session
The Lord President of the Court of Session is head of the judiciary in Scotland, and presiding judge of the College of Justice and Court of Session, as well as being Lord Justice General of Scotland and head of the High Court of Justiciary, the offices having been combined in 1836...
from 1616 to 1625. Hamilton had already been created Lord Binning in 1613 and Lord Binning and Byres, in the County of Haddington, and Earl of Melrose, in the County of Roxburgh
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
, in 1619. These titles were also in 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...
. The title of the earldom derived from the fact that he was in possession of much of the lands of the former Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey
Melrose Abbey is a Gothic-style abbey in Melrose, Scotland. It was founded in 1136 by Cistercian monks, on the request of King David I of Scotland. It was headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Melrose. Today the abbey is maintained by Historic Scotland...
. However, Hamilton was unhappy with this title and wished to replace it with "Haddington" (a title which was then held by John Ramsay, 1st Earl of Holderness and 1st Viscount of Haddington, but on whose death in 1626 both peerages became extinct). In 1627 he relinquished the earldom of Melrose and was instead created Earl of Haddington, with the precedence of 1619 and with limitation to his heirs male bearing the surname of Hamilton. This derived from the fact that he considered it a greater honoured to take his title from a county rather than from an abbey. Hamilton was a member of the prominent Scottish family of that name and descended from John de Hamilton, younger son of Walter de Hamilton (or Walter Fitzgilbert), who was granted the feudal barony of Cadzow and who is also the ancestor of the Dukes of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
and Dukes of Abercorn
Duke of Abercorn
The title Duke of Abercorn was created in the Peerage of Ireland in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn.This article also covers the Earls and Marquesses of Abercorn, all named after Abercorn, West Lothian, in Scotland.-History:...
.
Lord Haddington was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Baron. He was a staunch Covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
. Haddington served as Governor of the Castle of Dunglass
Dunglass
Dunglass is a location in East Lothian, Scotland, lying east of the Lammermuir Hills on the North Sea coast. It has a 15th century Dunglass Collegiate Church, now in the care of Historic Scotland...
, and was killed by a massive explosion there in 1640. His eldest son, the third Earl, died childless at an early age and was succeeded by his younger brother, the fourth Earl. On his death the titles passed to his son, the fifth Earl. He married Margaret Leslie, 8th Countess of Rothes (d. 1700), daughter of the noted statesman John Leslie, 1st Duke of Rothes
John Leslie, 1st Duke of Rothes
John Leslie , son of John Leslie, 6th Earl of Rothes, was the 7th Earl of Rothes and 1st Duke of Rothes. He was a descendant of Princess Beatrix, sister of King Malcolm III of Scotland...
, who had received a re-grant of the earldom of Rothes in 1663 which allowed it to be passed on to his daughter (see the Earl of Rothes
Earl of Rothes
Earl of Rothes is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for George Leslie, 1st Lord Leslie. He had already been created Lord Leslie in 1445, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the third Earl, having only succeeded his elder brother in March 1513, was killed at the...
for earlier history of this title). According to the regrant of 1663, the earldom of Rothes was not allowed to be united with the earldom of Haddington. The couple were therefore in 1689 granted a patent of the marriage contract, which stated that the earldom of Rothes should descend to their eldest son, the Hon. John, while the earldom of Haddington should be inherited by their second son, the Hon. Thomas. According to this patent Lady Rothes was succeeded by her eldest son John, the ninth Earl (who assumed the surname of Leslie; see the Earl of Rothes for further history of this branch of the family).
Lord Haddington was succeeded accordingly by his second son Thomas, the sixth Earl. He obtained a new charter of the earldom. He 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 1716 to 1735 and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire from 1716 to 1735. He was also appointed Hereditary Keeper of Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
. His eldest son Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning
Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning
Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning was a Scottish politician.The son of Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington and Helen Hope, he used his father's subsidiary title of Lord Binning as a courtesy title....
, married Rachel (d. 1773), daughter of George Baillie, of Mellerstain House
Mellerstain House
Mellerstain House is a stately home around 13 kilometres north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland. It is currently the home of the 13th Earl of Haddington....
and Jerviswood. Through this marriage Mellerstein House and the Jerviswood estate came into the Hamilton family. Lord Binning predeceased his father. Lord Haddington was therefore succeeded by his grandson, Thomas the seventh Earl (the eldest son of Lord Binning), who married Mary Lloyd, née Holt (great-niece of Sir John Holt, Lord Chief Justice 1689-1709). On his death the titles passed to his son Charles, the eighth Earl. He was a Scottish Representative Peer from 1807 to 1812 and Lord-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire from 1804 to 1823. He was succeeded by his son, the ninth Earl. He was a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
politician and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland from 1834 to 1835 and as First Lord of the Admiralty (with a seat in the cabinet) from 1841 to 1846. In 1827, one year before he succeeded his father in the earldom, he was created Baron Melros, of Tyninghame in the County of Haddington, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
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...
.http://www.thepeerage.com/p198.htm#i1977
Lord Haddington resigned the office of Hereditary Keeper of Holyrood Park in 1843 for a compensation fee of £40,000. He was childless and on his death in 1859 the barony of Melros became extinct.
The late Earl was succeeded in the Scottish titles by his second cousin, the tenth Earl. He was the son of George Baillie of Jerviswood (who had assumed the surname of Baillie in lieu of Hamilton), son of the Hon. George Hamilton, younger brother of the seventh Earl. He assumed in 1859 by Royal license the additional surname of Hamilton to that of Baillie. Lord Haddington was a Scottish Representative Peer in the House of Lords from 1859 to 1870 and served as a government whip in the 1866–1868 Conservative administration
Conservative Government 1866-1868
Lord Derby became Prime Minister for the third time after the fall of Lord Russell's Liberal government in 1866. His Chancellor of the Exchequer, Benjamin Disraeli, passed the Second Reform Act in 1867, and Derby retired from politics the following year, Disraeli succeeding him as Prime Minister...
. On his death the titles passed to his son, the eleventh Earl. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire from 1876 to 1917. In 1858 Haddington assumed by Royal license the additional surname of Arden after that of Baillie-Hamilton. His eldest son George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord Binning
George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord Binning
Brigadier-General George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord Binning, CB, MVO was a British Army officer; he was styled "Lord Binning" as a courtesy title....
(1856–1917), was a Brigadier-General in the Army. However, he predeceased his father. Lord Haddington was therefore succeeded by his grandson, the twelfth Earl. He was the son of Lord Binning. He sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish Representative Peer from 1922 to 1963 (when all Scottish peers were granted the right to sit in the House of Lords) and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Berwickshire from 1952 to 1969. the titles are held by his only son, the thirteenth Earl, who succeeded in 1986.
Several other members of the Baillie-Hamilton family have also gained distinction. George Baillie, son of the Hon. George Hamilton, younger brother of the seventh Earl, sat as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Berwickshire
Berwickshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Berwickshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1708 to 1918, when it was amalgamated with neighbouring Haddington to form a new Berwick and Haddington constituency...
. He was the father of (apart from the tenth Earl) 1) the politician and judge Charles Baillie, Lord Jerviswoode
Charles Baillie, Lord Jerviswoode
Charles Baillie, Lord Jerviswood was a Scottish advocate, judge and politicianBaillie was the second son of George Baillie of Mellerstain House and Jerviswood , son of the Hon. George Hamilton, younger brother of Thomas Hamilton, 7th Earl of Haddington. His mother was Mary Charles Baillie, Lord...
and 2) Reverend the Hon. John Baillie (1810–1888), Canon Residentiary of York, who the great-grandfather of John Robert Edward Baillie, a Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
. The Venerable Charles Baillie-Hamilton (1764–1820), son of the Hon. George Hamilton, younger brother of the seventh Earl, was Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
of Cleveland. He was the father of Charles John Baillie-Hamilton, a Member of Parliament, and William Alexander Baillie-Hamilton
William Alexander Baillie Hamilton
Admiral William Alexander Baillie-Hamilton was a British naval commander. He served on the Arctic Council when it was searching for Sir John Franklin.-Biography:...
(1803–1881), an Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
The family seat was originally Tyninghame House
Tyninghame House
Tyninghame House is a mansion in East Lothian, Scotland. It is located by the mouth of the River Tyne, east of Tyninghame and west of Dunbar. There was a manor at Tyninghame in 1094, and it was later a property of the Lauder of The Bass family. In the 17th century it was sold to the Earl of...
in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
which the 1st Earl had acquired c.1628, the former summer seat of the Lauder of The Bass family. It was sold after the death of the 12th Earl and was converted into several private apartments. Today the family seat is Mellerstain House
Mellerstain House
Mellerstain House is a stately home around 13 kilometres north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland. It is currently the home of the 13th Earl of Haddington....
, in Berwickshire
Berwickshire
Berwickshire or the County of Berwick is a registration county, a committee area of the Scottish Borders Council, and a lieutenancy area of Scotland, on the border with England. The town after which it is named—Berwick-upon-Tweed—was lost by Scotland to England in 1482...
.
Earls of Haddington (1627)
- Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of HaddingtonThomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of HaddingtonThomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington , designated before his peerage as 'of Drumcarny, Monkland, and Binning', was a Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire.-Family:...
(1563–1637) - Thomas Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Haddington (1600–1640)
- Thomas Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Haddington (1628–1645)
- John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington (1626–1669)
- Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington (c. 1650–1685)
- Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of HaddingtonThomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of HaddingtonThomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington KT was a Scottish politician.The son of Charles Hamilton, 5th Earl of Haddington and Margaret Leslie, 8th Countess of Rothes, he was christened on 5 September 1680...
(c. 1680–1735)- Charles Hamilton, Lord BinningCharles Hamilton, Lord BinningCharles Hamilton, Lord Binning was a Scottish politician.The son of Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington and Helen Hope, he used his father's subsidiary title of Lord Binning as a courtesy title....
(1697–1732)
- Charles Hamilton, Lord Binning
- Thomas Hamilton, 7th Earl of Haddington (1721–1794)
- Charles Hamilton, 8th Earl of Haddington (1753–1828)
- Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of HaddingtonThomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of HaddingtonThomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington KT PC FRS , known as Lord Binning from 1794 to 1828, was a British Conservative politician and statesman.-Background and education:...
(1780–1858) - George Baillie-Hamilton, 10th Earl of HaddingtonGeorge Baillie-Hamilton, 10th Earl of HaddingtonGeorge Baillie-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Haddington , known as George Baillie until 1858, was a Scottish Conservative politician....
(1802–1870) - George Baillie-Hamilton-Arden, 11th Earl of Haddington (1827–1917)
- George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord BinningGeorge Baillie-Hamilton, Lord BinningBrigadier-General George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord Binning, CB, MVO was a British Army officer; he was styled "Lord Binning" as a courtesy title....
(1856–1917)
- George Baillie-Hamilton, Lord Binning
- George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of HaddingtonGeorge Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of HaddingtonGeorge Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington, Kt, MC, TD , was a Scottish Peer from 1917 to 1986. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, he was awarded the Military Cross during the First World War. In World War II he was a Wing Commander in the RAFVR. He was Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire from 1952...
(1894–1986) - John George Baillie-Hamilton, 13th Earl of Haddington (b. 1941)