Earldom of Glencairn | |
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Creation date | 28 May 1488 |
First holder | Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs |
Last holder | John Cunningham, 15th Earl of Glencairn |
Remainder to | Heirs general |
Subsidiary titles | Lord Kilmaurs (1469) |
Status | Dormant |
Former seat(s) | Finlaystone House Kilmaurs Place |
Motto | OVER FORK OVER |
Arms | Argent, a shakefork sable [1] |
Crest | A unicorn's head couped argent, armed or |
Supporters | Two cunnings (coneys) proper |
Earl of Glencairn was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. King James III created the title in 1488 by royal charter for Alexander Cunningham, 1st Lord Kilmaurs. He held the earldom just two weeks before he and the king were killed at the Battle of Sauchieburn. [2]
The name was taken from the parish of Glencairn in Dumfriesshire so named for the Cairn Waters which run through it. [3]
The title became dormant on the death of the fifteenth earl in 1796, with no original royal charter existing, nor a given remainder in the various confirmations in title of previous earls.
Shortly after, the earldom was unsuccessfully claimed by Sir Adam Fergusson of Kilkerran, Bt., as heir of line of Alexander, 10th Earl of Glencairn, great-great-grandson of the 10th Earl's daughter Lady Margaret Cunningham (c.1662–1742) with her husband John Maitland, 5th Earl of Lauderdale. His claim was opposed by Sir Walter Montgomery-Cuninghame, 4th Baronet, as presumed heir male along with Lady Henriet Don, sister of the last earl, and wife of Sir Alexander Don of Newton Don, Roxburghshire. The House of Lords Committee of Privileges on 14 July 1797, chaired by the Lord Chancellor (Lord Rosslyn), in deciding the claim of the first-named, took a view unfavourable to all the claimants, and adjudged, that while Sir Adam Fergusson had shown himself to be the heir-general of Alexander, 10th Earl of Glencairn who died in 1670, he had not made out his right to the title. [1] However, the decision was severely criticised by the jurist John Riddell in the 19th century and by Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Officer of Arms, in the 20th.
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in April 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. The title, the town of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, and many places around the world are named after members of the Hamilton family. The ducal family's surname, originally "Hamilton", is now "Douglas-Hamilton". Since 1711, the dukedom has been held together with the Dukedom of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain, and the dukes since that time have been styled Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, along with several other subsidiary titles.
Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Bruce.
Earl of Gosford is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1806 for Arthur Acheson, 2nd Viscount Gosford.
James Cunningham, 14th Earl of Glencairn was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and patron of Robert Burns.
William Cunningham, 4th Earl of Glencairn, 5th Lord of Kilmaurs was a Scottish nobleman, soldier, and "notorious intriguer".
Alexander Cuninghame, 1st Earl of Glencairn, 1st Lord Kilmaurs was a Scottish nobleman.
William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn (1610–1664), was a Scottish nobleman, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and a cavalier. He was also the chief of Clan Cunningham.
The Fergusson Baronetcy, of Kilkerran in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 30 November 1703 for the prominent advocate John Fergusson. The second Baronet represented Sutherland in the House of Commons and served as a Lord of Session under the judicial title Lord Kilkerran. The third Baronet, who with his brothers owned plantations and enslaved people in Jamaica and Tobago, sat as Member of Parliament for Ayrshire and Edinburgh. In 1796 he claimed the earldom of Glencairn. The House of Lords decided that he had successfully proved that he was heir-general to Alexander Cunningham, 10th Earl of Glencairn, but that he had not proved his right to the earldom. The sixth Baronet was a Conservative politician and colonial governor and notably served as Governor of New Zealand from 1873 to 1874 and as Governor of Bombay from 1880 to 1885. The seventh Baronet was Governor-General of New Zealand between 1924 and 1930. The eighth Baronet was an author and historian and also served as Lord-Lieutenant of Ayrshire.
The baronetcy of Cuninghame of Corsehill was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and conferred upon Alexander Cuninghame of Corsehill, a Scottish baron and landowner in Dumfriesshire and a great-great-great-grandson of the 4th Earl of Glencairn. The fourth baronet's father added the name Montgomery before his own on inheriting the estate of Kirktonholm.
Clan Cunningham is a Scottish clan. The traditional origins of the clan are placed in the 12th century. However, the first contemporary record of the clan chiefs is in the thirteenth century. The chiefs of the Clan Cunningham supported Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Clan Cunningham feuded with the Clan Montgomery. Historically, the chief of Clan Cunningham held the title of Earl of Glencairn. However, in modern times the chief of the clan is Cunningham of Corsehill. On 18 December 2013, Sir John Christopher Foggo Montgomery Cunninghame, Baronet of Corsehill, was recognized by Lord Lyon as Clan Chief after the chiefship had been vacant for over 200 years.
Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Huntly, who adopted the family name of Gordon from about 1457, was a powerful 15th-century Scottish magnate. He was knighted in 1439/1440 and was Lord of Badenoch, Gordon, Strathbogie and Cluny.
John Maitland, 5th Earl of Lauderdale was a Scottish judge and politician who supported the Acts of Union.
James Cunningham, 7th Earl of Glencairn (1552–1630) was a Scottish peer and member of the Privy Council of Scotland.
Alexander Cunningham, 5th Earl of Glencairn was a Scottish nobleman and Protestant reformer, prominent in the Scottish Reformation.
The Cuninghame, later Fairlie-Cuninghame Baronetcy, of Robertland in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 25 November 1630 for David Cuninghame, Master of the Works to James VI, with remainder to heirs male whatsoever. Cuninghame was a descendant of the Hon. William Cuninghame, 1st of Craigends, second son of Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn. On the death of his nephew, the fourth Baronet, in circa 1708, the title became dormant. It was successfully claimed in 1778 by William Cuninghame, great-great-grandson of Sir David Cuninghame, grandfather of the first Baronet. The fifth Baronet married Margaret, daughter of William Fairlie, to whose estates he succeeded. The sixth Baronet assumed the additional surname of Fairlie. The thirteenth Baronet assumed by deed poll the surname of Fairlie-Cuninghame in 1912, in lieu of his patronymic, Cuninghame. The current holder of the title, Robert Fairlie-Cuninghame, works as a software engineer in Sydney, Australia.
The Cunynghame Baronetcy, of Milncraig in the County of Ayr, is a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia. It was created on 3 February 1702 for the Scottish lawyer and politician David Cunynghame, with remainder to his "heirs male in perpetuum". He was the member of a family that claimed descent from the second son of Alexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn. The second and fourth Baronets both represented Linlithgowshire in the British House of Commons while the third Baronet was a Lieutenant-General in the British Army. Another member of the family to gain distinction was Sir Arthur Augustus Thurlow Cunynghame, fifth son of the fifth Baronet. He was a General in the British Army.
Walter Campbell, 3rd of Shawfield and Islay and 9th of Skipness was a Scottish landowner, advocate and Rector of Glasgow University.
The Decreet of Ranking of 5 March 1606 determined the relative precedence of members of the peerage of Scotland.
Baron of Glengarnock is a title of nobility in the Baronage of Scotland in the county of Ayrshire.
The Glencairn Aisle or Glencairn Vault at Kilmaurs, East Ayrshire is a Category B Listed vaulted sepulchral chapel. Built as a place for private contemplation and prayer, it also contains a large memorial monument, as well as the burial crypt of the Cunningham Earls of Glencairn and their family members. An 'aisle' is defined as a structure normally attached to a church, which may have burial crypt below, a family pew above, and sometimes a retiring room, as at the Glencairn Aisle.