We are commissioned to offer for sale the Dignity of ‘The Lordship and Barony of Hailes’. Following the passing, and coming into effect of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 barony titles are separated from their former lands. However, on this occasion our client is offering Hailes Castle with the dignity of the Lordship of Hailes. For those interested Hailes Castle can be viewed on many web-sites. The care and maintenance of Hailes Castle was taken over by The Commissioners of Works, now Historic Scotland, an agency of the Scottish Government, in 1928 under a Guardianship Agreement. As a result of this agreement, which is in perpetuity, there is no liability attached to ownership of this magnificent ancient monument. Our client is asking for offers over £200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Pounds).
Purchasers are advised to read carefully our Terms of Business posted on our web-site.
The new holder of the title will be able to style him/herself ‘Lord/Lady of Hailes’.
Hailes lies in the county of East Lothian a few miles west of East Linton. The most significant feature there is the ruined Hailes Castle, now under the management of Historic Scotland. There is a legend that an English prisoner rescued the Earl of Dunbar and March from a savage horse and was rewarded by a grant of lands in what became Hailes.
John, Abbot of Lindores, referred to the church of Hailes in a document dated 1227. The Castle of Hailes was constructed during the late thirteenth century by the de Gourlay family. During the Wars of Independence the de Gourlay family gave their support to the English under Edward I, “the Hammer of the Scots”. In the aftermath of Bannockburn the lands of the Gourlays, and others, were forfeited to the Crown of Scotland, and the Castle and Lordship of Hailes was granted to Patrick, Earl of March. He granted it to Sir Adam de Hepburn and this grant was confirmed by King David I. When Sir Adam died his title and properties were inherited by his eldest son Patrick.
Patrick, later Sir Patrick Hepburn of Hailes, was born around 1321. He is known to have gone on a pilgrimage to the Shrine of St Thomas A’Becket of Canterbury in 1363. In 1381 King Richard II of England granted him safe conduct to travel through England bound for the Holy Land, accompanied by twelve horsemen. Sir Patrick and his son Patrick took part in the famous Battle of Otterburn in 1388. Sir Patrick was still alive in 1402.
Patrick Hepburn, the younger of Hailes, fought in and survived the Battle of Otterburn, but was killed in a border-skirmish in Berwickshire in 1402. He had three sons of whom Adam, the eldest inherited the titles and lands of his grandfather Sir Patrick Hepburn of Hailes, the elder.
Adam, later Sir Adam, Hepburn acted as an emissary in England on behalf of King James I. He was also appointed as Keeper of the Castle of Dunbar, and was known as Steward of the Earldom of March. Sir Adam died in 1446 and was succeeded by his eldest Sir Patrick.
On 20 December 1451 King James II granted Patrick Hepburn of Hailes, and his heirs and assignees, the lands of the Lordship of Hailes, and other lands, to be incorporated into the free barony of Hailes. Formerly the Hepburns had held Hailes in heritage from the Earl of March, who in turn held it of the Crown. Sir Patrick was created a peer of Parliament under the title Lord Hailes in 1453. He died around 1483.
The Castle of Hailes was significantly extended under the Hepburns, a family that became increasingly influential in late medieval Scotland.
Lord Hailes, had several children, of whom Adam the eldest was his successor. Adam Hepburn later known of as ‘of Dunsyre’ was Sheriff of Berwick in 1467. He died around 1479 and the lands and titles fell to his eldest son Patrick.
Sir Patrick Hepburn of Dunsyre, was Sheriff of Berwick in 1480 and succeeded his grandfather as second Lord Hailes in December 1482. He held a number of important offices under the Crown including Master of the King’s Household, Custodian of Edinburgh Castle, and Sheriff Principal of Edinburgh and Great Admiral of the Kingdom. When John Ramsay’s title of Lord Bothwell was forfeited to the Crown in 1488 it was re-issued as an earldom and Sir Patrick became Earl of Bothwell. Patrick Hepburn died on 18 October 1508.
His eldest son Adam Hepburn, born 1492, then inherited the titles, notably second Earl of Bothwell, and the associated lands, later he was granted the barony and Castle of Crichton. On 27 August 1511 King James IV confirmed Adam Hepburn in the lordship and barony of Hailes with castle, tower, fortalice, all houses, mills, tenants, etc. He died at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513. His only son Patrick then succeeded.
Patrick Hepburn was an infant when he succeeded to the title third Earl of Bothwell in 1513. In 1531 as a result of his treasonable correspondence with King Henry VIII of England, he was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. Later he was forced to resign his lordship of Liddesdale and Hermitage Castle to the king. Soon after he was banished from Scotland and did not return until after the death of James V.
In 1547 Patrick Hepburn, 3rd Earl of Bothwell, opposed the actions of the Regent Moray who was acting on behalf of Mary, Queen of Scots. During the disturbed period of the mid-sixteenth century Hailes Castle was captured by the English however it was soon regained by the Scots. He was again accused of intriguing with the English and became a state prisoner. Hailes Castle was forfeited and handed over to Lord Borthwick in 1548. Patrick Hepburn died in Dumfries in 1656.
His son James was born around 1535, and succeeded as fourth Earl of Bothwell, Lord Hailes, Creightoun, and Liddesdale, and High Admiral of Scotland, later he became Duke of Orkney. James, Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, was allegedly involved in the murder of Darnley, the consort of Mary Queen of Scots, in 1567. Later he kidnapped Mary and took her as a prisoner to Dunbar Castle, and subsequently married her on 15 May 1567. On 5 and 6 May 1567 they stayed at Hailes Castle. Mary abdicated and took refuge in England while Bothwell fled to Denmark where he died a prisoner in Dragsholm Castle in 1578. On 20 December 1567 James Hepburn was forfeited by the Scottish Parliament and condemned to lose arms, honours, offices and dignities, for treason. Hailes Castle was then forfeit to the Crown. James Hepburn left no legitimate issue.
On 1 October 1594 Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch received a charter under the Great Seal of Scotland of the lands and barony of Hailes, Bothwell, Liddesdale, etc, part of the forfeited estate of James Hepburn. Sir Walter was a noted Border Reiver and took part in many raids into England, for example in 1596, with 80 horsemen, he attacked Carlisle castle and released Kinmont Willie another leading reiver. After the Union of the Crowns in 1603 reiving became much more difficult and Buccleuch moved to the Netherlands where he commanded troops fighting the Spanish. He returned to Scotland in 1609 and died at Branxholm in 1611. He was succeeded by his eldest son Walter.
Walter Scott, Lord Buccleuch, later was created by King James VI as Earl of Buccleuch, Lord Scott of Whitchester and Eskdale in 1619. He also fought in the Netherlands until 1631 when his services were demanded by King Charles I; however he died in England during 1633. By his wife Mary Hay, daughter of the Earl of Errol, he had several children of whom Francis succeeded him.
Francis Scott, second Earl of Buccleuch, was served heir to his father Walter, Earl of Buccleuch, in various lands and titles including the lordship and barony of Hailes on 27 February 1634. He was educated at St Andrews from 1636 to 1642. In 1641 he obtained the Lordship of Dalkeith. In 1647 he became a leading Covenanter
During the Cromwellian invasion of Scotland in 1650 Hailes Castle was largely destroyed through the actions of the Parliamentary Army under General Monk.
Around this time the lands and barony of Hailes came into the possession of the Earls of Winton. George, fourth Earl of Winton and ninth Lord Seton, was served heir to his grandfather George, Earl of Winton, in the lands and barony of Hailes, on 12 May 1653. George Seton had been born in 1642, and was a professional soldier. Some of his campaigns were in France while others were in Scotland, usually against the Covenanters, such as at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge in 1679. George died on 6 March 1704 and was succeeded by his son George as fifth Earl of Winton. During the Jacobite Rising of 1715 he actively supported the Old Pretender and participated in the invasion of England. George Seton was captured at the Siege of Preston in 1715 and tried for treason, he escaped and made his way to Rome where he died in 1749.
David Dalrymple, 5th son of James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount Stair, and his wife Margaret Ross, was born around 1665. He was admitted as a member of the Faculty of Advocates in 1688, and later was a Member of Scots Parliament. He acted as a Commissioner for the Treaty of Union and thereafter was Solicitor General, then Lord Advocate, and latterly Auditor General. He was created baronet of Hailes on 8 May 1701. He married Janet Rochead or Murray (1662-1726). He died on 3 December 1721 and the title and lands passed to his eldest son and heir James. [The lands, lordship, and barony of Hailes was disponed by James Melville of Halhill to Sir David Dalrymple, advocate, in 1692 (NAS Ref. GD26.3.1135)].
Sir James Dalrymple (1692-1751), baronet of Hailes, was Member of Parliament for the Haddington burghs and the Auditor General of the Exchequer. He married Christian, daughter of the Earl of Haddington and they had sixteen children. Sir James died at New Hailes on 24 February 1751 and was succeeded by his eldest son David.
Sir David Dalrymple, (1726-1792), third baronet of Hailes, was educated at Eton and in Civil Law at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He was admitted as an advocate in 1748, became one of the Senators of the College of Justice in 1766, and a Lord of the Justiciary, known as Lord Hailes, from 1776 until his death. He was a distinguished lawyer, author and historian. He married firstly to Anne, daughter of Lord Colstoun, and secondly to Helen, daughter of Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran. On the death of Sir David the titles but not the estate went to his nephew James.
Sir James Dalrymple, was the eldest son of John Dalrymple, merchant and sometime Lord Provost of Edinburgh – the said John being the younger brother of James the second baronet. Sir James died unmarried in December 1800 being drowned in the shipwreck of Captain Dempster’s ship in the Indian Seas.
On the death of Sir James, the fourth baronet of Hailes, the baronetcy passed to his brother Sir John Pringle Dalrymple. Sir John was Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Regiment and subsequently a Colonel of the British Army. He married Mary Rushworth but died without issue on 17 October 1829.
The lands, Lordship and Barony of Hailes were granted under the Great Seal on 4 February 1793 to Miss Christian Dalrymple. Christian Dalrymple of Hailes , born 30 December 1765, was the eldest daughter of Sir David Dalrymple and his first wife, who died unmarried 9 January 1838 and was buried at Morham, East Lothian. Her trustees resigned her interest in Hailes in favour of Sir Charles Dalrymple Fergusson in 1843. Sir Charles was the son of Sir James Ferguson of Kilkerran and Jean, daughter of Sir David Dalrymple and his second wife. Sir Charles and his wife Helen, daughter of the Lord Justice Clerk had three sons James, David and Charles. On the death of Sir Charles, New Hailes passed to Charles.
Sir Charles Fergusson adopted the surname Dalrymple on the death of his father in 1849. He served as an MP, and as a Junior Lord of the Treasury. Charles Dalrymple of Hailes disposed of the lands, lordship and barony of Hailes in 1876 to Arthur James Balfour of Whittinghame.
Arthur James Balfour was born in East Lothian in 1848. He entered politics and achieved high positions in government, for example he was Secretary of State for Scotland, then for Ireland, Lord of the Treasury, and Leader of the House of Commons. In 1902 he became Prime Minister and during World War One he was Foreign Secretary in Lloyd George’s government and was responsible for the Balfour Declaration which promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine. In 1922 he was created Earl Balfour of Whittingham, and he died in 1930. The lands Barony and Lordship of Hailes, including Hailes Castle have remained in the Balfour family until this day.
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