There has been one creation of baronets with the surname Clerk (as distinct from Clark

Clark Baronets

There have been four Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Clark , all in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...

 and Clarke

Clarke Baronets

There have been five Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Clarke , two in the Baronetage of England and three in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...

 and Clerke

Clerke Baronets

There have been three Baronetcies created for members of the Clerke family. One creation is extant as of 2008.The Clerke Baronetcy, of Hitcham in the County of Buckingham, was created in the Baronetage of England on 13 July 1660 for John Clerke. He was a descendant of Sir John Clerke , who in 1513...

). It was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia by Letters Patent

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

 dated 24 March 1679, for John Clerk of Pennycuik (or Penicuik), whose father, also John Clerk of Penicuik

John Clerk of Penicuik

Sir John Clerk of Pennycuik, 2nd Baronet was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge, composer and architect.He was Vice-President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, the pre-eminent learned society of the Scottish Enlightenment.-Early life:...

, had returned from Paris in 1647 with a considerable fortune and purchased the lands of Penicuik

Penicuik

Penicuik is a burgh and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River North Esk. The town was developed as a planned village in 1770 by Sir James Clerk of Penicuik. It became a burgh in 1867. The town was well known for its paper mills, the last of which closed in 2005....

 in Midlothian

Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

. The 1st Baronet acquired the lands of Lasswade

Lasswade

Lasswade is a civil parish and village in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles south of Edinburgh city centre, between Dalkeith and Loanhead...

, Midlothian, in 1700.

The 3rd Baronet, James, laid out plans for a new town in 1770, inspired by the local plans for a New Town in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 which were by then coming into reality. The rebuilding included a new church, St Mungos, in 1771, reputedly by Sir James himself.

The family are said by Anderson (1867) to date from at least 1180 AD when one of them appeared as a witness to a donation to Holyrood Abbey

Holyrood Abbey

Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded...

 by William The Lion

William I of Scotland

William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...

. John Scougal

John Scougal

John Scougal was an early Scottish painter.Of a respectable family, being a cousin to Patrick Scougal , Bishop of Aberdeen, John Scougal is said to have been born at Leith, where his father had a residence, and where several of his works were still in the Town Hall in the nineteenth century.In the...

 is known to have painted at least two portraits of the first baronets.

A number of the lineage are buried in Penicuik Old Parish Churchyard, with both a memorial gateway and a mausoleum to their memories.

Clerk of Penicuik (1679)

• Sir John Clerk, 1st Baronet
  Sir John Clerk, 1st Baronet
  Sir John Clerk, 1st Baronet was a Scottish politician, created a Baronet of Nova Scotia on 24 March 1679. Sir John served in the Parliament of Scotland, and, in 1700, acquired the lands and barony of Leswade, near Edinburgh....
  
   (d. 1722)
• Sir John Clerk, 2nd Baronet (1676 - 1755)
• Sir James Clerk, 3rd Baronet (d. 1782) without issue.
• Sir George Clerk-Maxwell, 4th Baronet (1715 - 1784) succeeded his brother.
• Sir John Clerk, 5th Baronet (d. 1798) without issue.
• Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet
  Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet
  Sir George Clerk of Pennycuik, 6th Baronet PC, DL , was a British Tory politician.-Background:Clerk was the son of James Clerk, third son of Sir George Clerk-Maxwell, 4th Baronet, by his wife Janet Irving, daughter of George Irving, of Newton.-Political career:Clerk sat as Member of Parliament for...
  
   (b. 1785) nephew of the 5th Bt.
• Sir James Clerk, 7th Baronet
• Sir George Douglas Clerk, 8th Baronet
• Sir George James Robert Clerk, 9th Baronet
• Sir John Dutton Clerk, 10th Baronet
• Sir Robert Maxwell Clerk, 11th Baronet