Minor barons, barones minores, are the lowest rank of the aristocracy,[2] but they are an ancient rank, for barons existed before Scotland had dukes, marquesses, viscounts or baronets (bearing in mind that in pre-Union 1707 Scotland the equivalent to the English rank of Baron was Lord of Parliament, and that it is a solecism to style Lords as Barons).[2]
The village of Kinfauns, historically also known as Kinfawns or Kynfauns, lies in Perth and Kinross, about six miles to the south-east of Perth, between the River Tay to the south and the Sidlaw Hills to the north. Kinfauns likely takes its name from the Gaelic ceann-fan or ceann-fauns, meaning either the 'head of the slope', referring to the rising Sidlaw Hills, or 'head of the opening', referring to the belt of flat land beside the hills, opening eastward into the Carse of Gowrie. Kinfauns Castle, which sits between Kinfauns village and Perth, was built in the early 1820s in a Gothic fashion, replacing a medieval castle which had previously stood on or near the site.
River Tay
Historically, the Lords of Kinfauns held the power of admiralty over the Tay. They were tasked with preserving the fishing in the river and with punishing poachers. Tradition has it that all vessels sailing along the river once recognised the power of the Lord of Kinfauns by saluting the castle or by lowering their colours as they passed it.[6][8]
History of the Lordship of Kinfauns
Records in the 1170s show that a chapel of Kinfauns, among others, was confirmed in the possession of the nearby Scone Abbey, one of the great religious establishments of medieval Scotland. Legend has it that some lands of Kinfauns passed around 1330 to a Frenchman, Thomas de Longueville. De Longueville was supposedly of noble stock but had been forced into exile after committing murder in the presence of the King of France. He adopted a life of piracy, sailing the seas for 16 years and earning the name "Red Reiver". It is said he attempted to capture a ship carrying Sir William Wallace who defeated De Longueville. The Reiver in turn became Wallace's companion, joining him in his struggle against the English during the Wars of Independence. There is a cave called the Dragon Hole in Kinnoull Hill in the parish of Kinfauns which is believed to have been an occasional hiding place of Wallace. De Longueville later joined King Robert the Bruce and is said to have been alongside him in the vanguard of the capture of the key stronghold of Perth in 1313. As a reward for his bravery Bruce granted him lands at Kinfauns. De Longueville was considered a great warrior and supposedly wielded a two-handed broadsword nearly six feet long. Some say he married the heiress of Charteris of Kinfauns and took from her the name Chartres or Charteris, and built a castle. Certainly, he adopted this name and his descendants held land at Kinfauns in the following centuries.[9]
It seems that lands of Kinfauns were divided by the time of King Robert the Bruce, who also granted lands to the De Maneris and the Ross families. In 1426 the Abbot of Scone brought a dispute before Parliament against Robert de Ross and Thomas Charteris. The Abbot claimed that the teinds (tithes) due to him from the lands of Kinfauns had not been paid for some time. Parliament confirmed his rights and ordered the landowners to pay amends.[10]
The town of Perth was one of the most important fortifications in late medieval Scotland. It was surrounded by castles and powerful families, who were often at war with one another and with the magistrates of Perth. Along with the Charteris family of Kinfauns there were also the Ruthvens, Blairs, Oliphants, Rosses and more. The Charteris family had a bitter and long-running feud with the Ruthvens, and in 1552 John Charteris was murdered by the Ruthvens on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. Another feud was between the Charteris of Kinfauns and their neighbours, the Blairs of Balthyock. Many of the Charteris family rose to prominence in the governance of Perth town from the late 14th to the mid 16th century. For example, between 1465 and 1500 Andrew Charteris was Provost of Perth fourteen times and between 1480 and 1500 Gilbert Charteris was eight times elected bailie. During the struggles of the mid 16th century the Charteris family were supporters of the Queen Dowager, Cardinal Beaton and the Regent Arran.[3][11]
The last Charteris of Kinfauns was John Charteris, who with his wife Janet Chisholm adopted as their son Harry Lindsay, brother of David Lindsay, the Earl of Crawford. Harry took the surname Charteris and in time acquired the lands and Lordship of Kinfauns. He later succeeded his brother as Earl of Crawford. Some say he married Beatrix Charteris, an heiress of Kinfauns.[4]
In 1581 King James VI granted to the powerful William Ruthven, Earl of Gowrie, Lord Ruthven, Dirleton some lands at Kinfauns. William was succeeded by his son John, 3rd Earl of Gowrie. There are many theories as to the motives of the mysterious Gowrie Conspiracy in 1600, but Gowrie and his brother Alexander seem to have tried to kill or kidnap King James VI; but were both killed in the attack. As a result, John's lands and titles were forfeited to the Crown. As with many lands from the Earls of Gowrie, their part of the lands of Kinfauns were granted to one the king's favourites, Sir David Murray, Lord Scone.[12][13]
By the 1620s the lands and Lordship of Kinfauns were in the hands of George Hay.[14][5] Hay was the second son of Patrick Hay of Megginch, and a favourite of King James VI, who bestowed on him the lands of the Carthusian monastery at Perth along with a seat in Parliament in 1598. He was with the king during the events of the Gowrie Conspiracy, and was rewarded for his loyalty. In 1616 he was appointed Lord Clerk Register and knighted. In 1622 he was appointed Lord Chancellor of Scotland, one of the great offices of state, and in 1627 he was created a peer as Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns. In 1633 he was created Earl of Kinnoull. He died in 1634 and was interred in Kinnoull Church, where a statue was erected of him in his Lord Chancellor's robes. His only surviving son succeeded him as the 2nd Earl of Kinnoul in 1634. He was a yeoman of the guard to King Charles I and one of his privy councillors. In 1641 there was a ratification in favour of Hay, of his infeftment of the Lordship of Kinfauns, including the responsibility for the keeping of the waters of the Tay.[6] His son William succeeded as 3rd Earl of Kinnoul. For his continued support of the king, he was imprisoned by the English in Edinburgh Castle during the tumultuous civil wars of the mid-17th century. The Hay family's loyalty to the Stuart monarchy caused them to lose the greater part of their estates around this time.
In 1647 the lands and Lordship of Kinfauns passed to Sir Alexander Blair of Balthyock, a descendant of the Blairs who had been neighbours and great rivals to the Charteris family. Around 1660 Sir Alexander Blair of Balthyock sold to William Blair the lands and Lordship of Kinfauns and Craigtoun, including the keeping of the waters of the Tay.[7] In 1671 Alexander Carnegie, son of the Earl of Northesk, married Ann, the eldest daughter of William Blair of Kinfauns, who resigned the Lordship of Kinfauns to his daughter and her husband. Their son, Alexander, assumed the name of Blair as well as that of Carnegie. In 1685 Alexander Blair Carnegie, younger of Kinfauns, was appointed by Parliament a commissioner for the Act of Supply. In 1695 Alexander Blair Carnegie of Kinfauns succeeded to the lands and Lordship of Kinfauns.
The Blairs held Kinfauns into the early 18th century, when Margaret, daughter of Alexander Blair and Jean Carnegie and heiress of the Blairs of Kinfauns married John, 11th Lord Gray, and so the Kinfauns estate passed to the Gray family. The 11th Lord Gray was Sheriff Principal of Forfarshire and Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire. It is said that during the Jacobite Rising of '45 Gray waited on the Hanoverian commander the Duke of Cumberland at Dundee as the Duke was on his way to the Battle of Culloden. Apparently, the Duke received him coldly and haughtily and Lord Gray immediately returned home and resolved to join the Rising and Bonnie Prince Charlie. His wife, who could see the dim prospects of the Rising, prevented her husband from leaving through trickery, knowing he would not listen to reason. She recommended that he should have his feet bathed after his hard ride from Dundee. His lordship put his feet into the bath and Lady Gray, as if by accident, poured a kettle of boiling water upon them. He was so scalded that he was unable to leave his room for several weeks, and meanwhile the rising had come to a bloody end.[15]
Kinfauns remained with the Gray family. Francis, 14th Lord Gray of Gray and Kinfauns, succeeded his brother in 1807 and held the titles and estates for many years. He had been a Major in the Breadalbane Fencibles and was later Postmaster-General of Scotland and served as a representative peer for Scotland in the House of Lords from 1812 to 1842. He is said to have been a popular and respected local figure who did much to improve the neighbourhood, as he did to improve his own estates. This Lord built the new mansion house of Kinfauns in the 1820s and vastly improved the estate by building new farmsteads and cottages of artistic design. He was succeeded by his son John, 15th Lord Gray, who was also a Representative Peer for Scotland and Deputy-Lieutenant of Perthshire. During the construction of the Dundee and Perth Railway it is said that Lord Gray would only allow the line to pass through his estate for the then huge fee of £12,000.
The estates of Gray and Kinfauns passed to a cousin of the Grays, Edmund Archibald Stuart, who took the surname Gray. He later succeeded another kinsman to become the 15th Earl of Moray in 1895. The Earl was succeeded by his brother Francis James Stuart, 16th Earl of Moray and he in turn by his brother Morton Gray Stuart-Gray, 17th Earl of Moray in 1909. The 17th Earl was an enthusiastic gardener and was responsible for improving the gardens at Kinfauns.
Related Research Articles
Earl of Kinnoull is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for George Hay, 1st Viscount of Dupplin. Other associated titles are: Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns (1627) and Baron Hay of Pedwardine (1711). The former two are in the Peerage of Scotland, while the third is in the Peerage of Great Britain. The title of Viscount Dupplin is the courtesy title for the Earl's eldest son and heir.
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John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King James VI of Scotland for unknown purposes. The king's retinue killed both brothers during the attack, and the king survived.
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Clan Charteris is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands.
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Dickinson, Professor William Croft, The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523-1542, Introduction, published by Scottish History Society, 1937. "The standard scholarly work on the history of Scottish baronies"
Grant, Alexander, The Development of the Scottish Peerage, published in the Scottish Historical Review, 1978.
Roberts, John Leonard. The Jacobite wars: Scotland and the military campaigns of 1715 and 1745 (Capstone, 2002)
Szechi, Daniel. 1715: the great Jacobite rebellion (Yale University Press, 2006)
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