Mary Hay, 14th Countess of Erroll
Encyclopedia
Mary Hay, suo jure Countess of Erroll (died 19 August 1758), 18th Hereditary Lord High Constable
and Knight Marischal
of Scotland, and 14th Countess of Erroll
, was the Senior Great Officer among the Royal Officers of Scotland
and Chief of the King's Household in Scotland. She inherited these titles in 1717 on the death of her unmarried brother, Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll
.
(grandson of Sir George Hay, the younger son of the seventh Earl
) and his wife, Lady Anne Drummond, sister of the Jacobite Dukes Perth
and Melfort
. Like her brothers, Countess Anne was an active Jacobite and a secret agent of the exiled court of the Old Pretender, "James III and VIII"
, at Saint Germain-en-Laye.
Before August 1722, Mary Hay, Countess of Erroll, married Alexander Falconer, an advocate and son of Sir David Falconer
, Lord President of the Court of Session. His elder brother, David, succeeded a distant cousin as 5th Lord Falconer of Halkerton
. Later, her husband adopted the Hay surname.
As eldest sister and heir of their line, she succeeded to the dignities enjoyed by her brother under the nomination of 16 February 1674, and was served his heir on 6 February 1718. She had her claim as High Constable allowed at the coronation of King George II of Great Britain
, although she was represented by a deputy.
In 1745 she raised an army of Buchan men for Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Making Slains Castle
the chief centre for landing Jacobite
secret agents, she had an implied understanding with the naval officer patrolling the coast of Buchan
to let her know when his ship was passing off Slains. Once landed at Slains, they were hurried inland to another of her strongholds, Delgatie Castle
, with its hidey-holes and secret passage.
In 1747, under the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
which abolished heritable jurisdictions, she received £1,200 for the regality
of Slains. Her husband having predeceased her in July 1745, she died on 19 August 1758 at Slains Castle, County Aberdeen.
As she was childless, the family dignities went to her sister's grandson, James, Lord Boyd
, son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock
, who was executed on Tower Hill
and attainted in 1746, for his part in the Jacobite Rising
of 1745.
Lord High Constable
There are two current and one former royal offices in the United Kingdom of Lord High Constable:* The Lord High Constable of England, the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal...
and Knight Marischal
Knight Marischal
The office of Knight Marischal was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633, at Scone. Unlike the separate office of Marischal, the office of Knight Marischal is not heritable, and has continued to be filled up to the death of the 11th Duke of Hamilton in 1863...
of Scotland, and 14th Countess of Erroll
Earl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient 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 and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
, was the Senior Great Officer among the Royal Officers of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Chief of the King's Household in Scotland. She inherited these titles in 1717 on the death of her unmarried brother, Charles Hay, 13th Earl of Erroll
Earl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient 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 and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
.
Biography
She was the daughter of Sir John Hay of Killour, 12th Earl of ErrollEarl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient 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 and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
(grandson of Sir George Hay, the younger son of the seventh Earl
Earl of Erroll
The Earl of Erroll is an ancient 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 and Lord Slains , both in the Peerage of Scotland. The Earls of Erroll also hold the hereditary office of Lord High Constable...
) and his wife, Lady Anne Drummond, sister of the Jacobite Dukes Perth
Earl of Perth
The title Earl of Perth was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond.The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary...
and Melfort
Earl of Melfort
The titles of Viscount of Melfort and Lord Drummond of Gillestoun were created in the Peerage of Scotland 14 April 1685 for John Drummond, second son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth, with remainder to the heirs male of his body by his second marriage , failing whom to the heirs male of his...
. Like her brothers, Countess Anne was an active Jacobite and a secret agent of the exiled court of the Old Pretender, "James III and VIII"
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward, Prince of Wales was the son of the deposed James II of England...
, at Saint Germain-en-Laye.
Before August 1722, Mary Hay, Countess of Erroll, married Alexander Falconer, an advocate and son of Sir David Falconer
Sir David Falconer
Sir David Falconer, of Newton, was a Scottish judge.The second son of Sir David Falconer of Glenfarquhar, one of the commissaries of Edinburgh, and younger brother of Sir Alexander Falconer of Glenfarquhar...
, Lord President of the Court of Session. His elder brother, David, succeeded a distant cousin as 5th Lord Falconer of Halkerton
Lord Falconer of Halkerton
The title Lord Falconer of Halkerton was created in the peerage of Scotland on 20 December 1646, for Sir Alexander Falconer, Lord of Session, with remainder to his heirs-male whatsoever...
. Later, her husband adopted the Hay surname.
As eldest sister and heir of their line, she succeeded to the dignities enjoyed by her brother under the nomination of 16 February 1674, and was served his heir on 6 February 1718. She had her claim as High Constable allowed at the coronation of King George II of Great Britain
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
, although she was represented by a deputy.
In 1745 she raised an army of Buchan men for Prince Charles Edward Stuart. Making Slains Castle
Slains Castle
New Slains Castle is a ruined castle near Cruden Bay in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, overlooking the North Sea.The remains stand perched atop tall, sea-facing cliffs, constructed around an existing tower house built in 1597 by the 9th Earl of Erroll. Significant reconstruction of the castle has been...
the chief centre for landing Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
secret agents, she had an implied understanding with the naval officer patrolling the coast of Buchan
Buchan
Buchan is one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by the council in 1996, when the Aberdeenshire unitary council area was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994...
to let her know when his ship was passing off Slains. Once landed at Slains, they were hurried inland to another of her strongholds, Delgatie Castle
Delgatie Castle
Delgatie Castle is a castle near Turriff, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.A castle has stood on the site of Delgatie Castle since the year 1030 AD, although the earliest parts of the castle standing today were built between 1570 and 1579...
, with its hidey-holes and secret passage.
In 1747, under the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
The Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1746 was an Act of the British Parliament passed in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745....
which abolished heritable jurisdictions, she received £1,200 for the regality
Regality
A regality was a territorial jurisdiction in old Scots law which might be created by the King only, by granting lands to a subject in liberam regalitatem, and also the tract of land over which such a right extended....
of Slains. Her husband having predeceased her in July 1745, she died on 19 August 1758 at Slains Castle, County Aberdeen.
As she was childless, the family dignities went to her sister's grandson, James, Lord Boyd
James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll
James Hay, 15th Earl of Erroll was the son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock.He was born with the name of James Boyd but legally changed it to James Hay in 1758, when he succeeded his great-aunt as Earl of Erroll .In 1749, he married Rebecca Lockhart In 1762,...
, son of William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock
William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock
William Boyd , 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, was a Scottish nobleman.William Boyd was educated at Glasgow. Like his father in the rebellion of 1715, William initially supported the Government side, but in the rebellion of 1745, owing either to a personal affront or to the influence of his wife or to his...
, who was executed on Tower Hill
Tower Hill
Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower...
and attainted in 1746, for his part in the Jacobite Rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745.