Robert Balfour, 6th of Balbirnie
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Lieutenant-General Robert Balfour, 6th of Balbirnie (1762 - 31 October 1837)
Was an Officer in the 2nd Dragoons and the Fife Light Horse
Fife and Forfar Yeomanry
The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Territorial Army from 1793 to 1956 when it was amalgimated with the Scottish Horse....
.
He was the son of John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie
John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie
John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie was a nobleman from Fife, Scotland. Son of Robert Balfour, 4th of Balbirnie and Anne Ramsay of Kingsdale.He married Ellen Gordon, daughter of James Gordon of Ellon....
(b 1738) and Ellen Gordon (daughter of James Gordon of Ellon).
He married, on 8 August 1808, Eglantyne Katherine Fordyce (d 9 Jan 1851), who was the daughter of John Fordyce of Ayton.
Military career
- Captain on 9 July 1793 in the 2nd Dragoons
- Major in the Army the 1 January 1798 and Major in the 2nd Dragoons, 3 April 1801
- Lieutenant-Colonel in the Army 25 September 1803; Lieutenant-Colonel in the 2nd Dragoons 22 August 1805.
- Colonel in the Army the 1st of January, 1812
- Major-General the 4th of June, 1814.
- Honorary Colonel of the Fife Light HorseFife and Forfar YeomanryThe Fife and Forfar Yeomanry was an Armoured Yeomanry Regiment of the British Territorial Army from 1793 to 1956 when it was amalgimated with the Scottish Horse....
in 1831 until his death in 1837.
Whilst Lieutenant-Colonel of the 2nd Dragoons he was, for the misconstruction of a regulation, subjected to a Court Martial, and sentenced to be cashiered ; the Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
confirmed the sentence, but immediately after restored him to the functions of his commission, neither dishonorable or unworthy motives appearing in the charges preferred and established against him.
Balbirnie House and Estate
Carlton House Terrace
Carlton House Terrace refers to a street in the St. James's district of the City of Westminster in London, England, and in particular to two terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's Park. These terraces were built in 1827–32 to overall designs by...
, General Balfour sepent much of his time in Fife, Scotland.
He inherited Balbirnie House
Balbirnie House
Balbirnie House is an early 19th-century country house in Glenrothes, in central Fife, Scotland. The present house was completed in 1817 as a rebuild of an 18th-century building, itself a replacement for a 17th-century dwelling. The home of the Balfour family from 1640, the house was sold in 1969...
in Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
from his father John Balfour
John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie
John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie John Balfour, 5th of Balbirnie was a nobleman from Fife, Scotland. Son of Robert Balfour, 4th of Balbirnie and Anne Ramsay of Kingsdale.He married Ellen Gordon, daughter of James Gordon of Ellon....
and it had been in the family since the 1640s. General Balfour was heavily involved in the adaptation of Balbirnie House
Balbirnie House
Balbirnie House is an early 19th-century country house in Glenrothes, in central Fife, Scotland. The present house was completed in 1817 as a rebuild of an 18th-century building, itself a replacement for a 17th-century dwelling. The home of the Balfour family from 1640, the house was sold in 1969...
in Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
into a grand country mansion. and expansion of its lands including the acquisition of the Forthar estate from Dr David Pitcairn in 1830.
The present mansion is largely unchanged from General Balfour's works in 1815 which incorporated much of the earlier house at its north end. The architect was Richard Crichton who added the new apartments to the south of the old house and designed the two new grand neo-classical facades.
General Balfour extend the landscaped garden and moved the roads on the estate. These improvements were funded partly by increased estate rentals and income from coal mining but also from the General's share of a large inheritance from his aunt which is reputed also to have funded his two brothers' new houses and landscaping at Whittingehame
Whittingehame
Whittingehame is a parish with a small village in East Lothian, Scotland, about halfway between Haddington and Dunbar, and near East Linton. The area is on the slopes of the Lammermuir Hills...
and Newton Don.
The General was succeeded by his son John in 1837 who continued to enlarge the estate.
Children
General Balfour had four sons and three daughters:- Colonel John Balfour, 7th of Balbirnie (1811–1895)
- Katherine Jane Balfour (1812–1864)
- Captain Charles James Balfour (1814- 3 Feb 1878)
- Major Robert William Balfour (1817–1854)
- Eglantine Charlotte Louisa Balfour (1819-18 April 1907) who married in March 1853 to Robert the son of William Cavendish, 5th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 5th Duke of DevonshireWilliam Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, KG was a British aristocrat and politician. He was the eldest son of the William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire by his wife the heiress Lady Charlotte Boyle, suo jure Baroness Clifford of Lanesborough, who brought in considerable money and estates to...
- Elizabeth Anne Balfour(1820-10 August 1889) who married 1 November 1842 to Edward Pleydell-BouverieEdward Pleydell-BouverieEdward Pleydell-Bouverie PC, FRS , styled The Honourable from 1828, was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of Lord Palmerston's first administration as Paymaster-General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade in 1855 and as President of the Poor Law Board between 1855 and...
- George Gordon Balfour (1821–1901)