Earl of Crawford
Encyclopedia
The title Earl of Crawford is one of the most ancient extant titles in Great Britain
, having been created in the Peerage of Scotland
for Sir David Lindsay in 1398. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll.
The title has a very complex history. Crawford Castle
, along with the title of Earl of Crawford, was given by Robert II
to David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford
.
allowed it. The claim was based on the extensive research of his son Lord Lindsay. It was held that the seventh Earl's father, the sixth Earl, was the lawful successor to the earldom of Crawford (though he did not claim it); therefore, the sixth Earl of Balcarres was posthumously declared the twenty-third Earl of Crawford, and his son, the seventh Earl of Balcarres, became the twenty-fourth Earl of Crawford. Thereafter, these two earldoms have remained united.
The subsidiary titles associated with the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres are: Lord Lindsay of Crawford (created 1398), Lord Lindsay and Balniel (1651) and Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall (1826). The former two subsidiary titles, as well as the two Earldoms, are in the Peerage of Scotland
. The Barony is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
. By virtue of the title of Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall, the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres sat in the House of Lords
until the passage of the Peerage Act 1963
. The present Earl sits in the House of Lords as Baron Balniel, a life peerage conferred on him in 1974 after he left the House of Commons
and before the death of his father.
The Earl of Crawford is the hereditary Clan Chief
of Clan Lindsay
.
The heir apparent
is the present holder's son Anthony Robert Lindsay, Lord Balniel (b. 1958)
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, having been created in the Peerage of Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
for Sir David Lindsay in 1398. It is the premier earldom recorded on the Union Roll.
The title has a very complex history. Crawford Castle
Crawford Castle
Crawford Castle, substantially in ruins, is located on the north bank of the River Clyde, around half a mile north of Crawford, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The ruins stand on an earlier motte and bailey earthwork. The castle was formerly known as Lindsay Tower, after its former owners, the Lindsay...
, along with the title of Earl of Crawford, was given by Robert II
Robert II of Scotland
Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...
to David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford
David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford
David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford was a Scottish peer who was created Earl in 1398. Many historians believe that Lindsay was also the organiser for the Battle of the Clans at Perth in 1396. Additionally, Lindsay was a noted jousting champion who fought the English champion Lord Welles in a...
.
Early history
The title descended to the first Earl's descendants without much incident, until the death of David Lindsay, 8th Earl of Crawford in 1542. The eighth Earl had a son, Alexander, commonly called the Wicked Master, who frequently quarreled with his father and even tried to murder him. The Wicked Master was sentenced to death for his crime, and the eighth Earl conveyed his title to a cousin, also called David Lindsay, a descendant of the third Earl of Crawford, and excluded from the succession all of the Wicked Master's descendants. However, the ninth earl, although he had his own sons, named the Wicked Master's son David as his heir; thus, in 1558, at the ninth Earl's death, the earldom returned to the main branch of the family. The ninth Earl is frequently referred to as an interpolated Earl, as are the 17th-22nd Earls.Later history
At the death of Ludovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of Crawford, the title was passed, despite senior heirs, to a cousin, John, who had already been created Earl of Lindsay. The earldoms of Crawford and Lindsay continued to be united until the twenty-second earl died unmarried in January 1808. The two earldoms then became dormant until the respective heirs could prove their claims to the titles. In 1843, James Lindsay, 7th Earl of Balcarres put forward his claim to the Earldom of Crawford; in 1848, the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
allowed it. The claim was based on the extensive research of his son Lord Lindsay. It was held that the seventh Earl's father, the sixth Earl, was the lawful successor to the earldom of Crawford (though he did not claim it); therefore, the sixth Earl of Balcarres was posthumously declared the twenty-third Earl of Crawford, and his son, the seventh Earl of Balcarres, became the twenty-fourth Earl of Crawford. Thereafter, these two earldoms have remained united.
The subsidiary titles associated with the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres are: Lord Lindsay of Crawford (created 1398), Lord Lindsay and Balniel (1651) and Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall (1826). The former two subsidiary titles, as well as the two Earldoms, are in the Peerage of Scotland
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...
. The Barony is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
. By virtue of the title of Baron Wigan of Haigh Hall, the Earls of Crawford and Balcarres sat in the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
until the passage of the Peerage Act 1963
Peerage Act 1963
The Peerage Act 1963 is the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that permitted peeresses in their own right and all Scottish hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, and which allows newly inherited hereditary peerages to be "disclaimed".-Background:The Act resulted largely from the...
. The present Earl sits in the House of Lords as Baron Balniel, a life peerage conferred on him in 1974 after he left the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and before the death of his father.
The Earl of Crawford is the hereditary Clan Chief
Scottish clan chief
The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...
of Clan Lindsay
Clan Lindsay
-Origins of the Clan:There is currently no known proven path pertaining to the origin of the Clan Lindsay. However, several possible theories have been advanced over the years. First is the theory proposed in 1769 by biographer/historian, Richard Rolt, in which he claimed that the Lindsays were...
.
Earls of Crawford (1398)
- David Lindsay, 1st Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 1st Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford was a Scottish peer who was created Earl in 1398. Many historians believe that Lindsay was also the organiser for the Battle of the Clans at Perth in 1396. Additionally, Lindsay was a noted jousting champion who fought the English champion Lord Welles in a...
(d. 1407) - Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of CrawfordAlexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of CrawfordAlexander Lindsay, 2nd Earl of Crawford was a Scottish magnate. He was the son of David Lindsay, 1st Earl of Crawford and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of King Robert II and Euphemia de Ross....
(c. 1387–1438) - David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 3rd Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford was a regent to James II of Scotland. He was a member of Clan Lindsay, a Scottish Lowland clan....
(d. 1445) - Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of CrawfordAlexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of CrawfordAlexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford acceded 1446, died September 1453.Father: David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford Mother: Marjory OgilvieMarried Margaret Dunbar and had 3 children, Elizabeth, David 5th Earl born 1440 and Alexander the 7th Earl....
(d. 1453) - David Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrose, 5th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 1st Duke of MontroseDavid Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrose was a Scottish nobleman.He was the son of Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford, and inherited the Earldom of Crawford on his father's death in 1453...
(1440–1495) - John Lindsay, 6th Earl of CrawfordJohn Lindsay, 6th Earl of CrawfordJohn Lindsay, 6th Earl of Crawford was an Earl of Crawford.He was the son of David Lindsay, 1st Duke of Montrose and Elizabeth Hamilton, and married Marion Home....
(d. c. 1513) - Alexander Lindsay, 7th Earl of Crawford (d. 1517)
- David Lindsay, 8th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 8th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 8th Earl of Crawford was the son of Alexander Lindsay, 7th Earl of Crawford. He was a member of Clan Lindsay, a Scottish Lowland clan.-Succession and penalty:...
(d. 1542) - David Lindsay, 9th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 9th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 9th Earl of Crawford was a Scottish peer and Member of Parliament.He married Catherine Campbell, daughter of Sir John Campbell of Lorn and they had a son, John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir....
(d. 1558) - David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford (d. 1574)
- David Lindsay, 11th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 11th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 11th Earl of Crawford was a Scottish nobleman.-Life:He was the eldest son of David Lindsay, 10th Earl of Crawford, by Margaret, daughter of Cardinal Beaton and Marion Ogilvy, and was born about 1547...
(c. 1547–1607) - David Lindsay, 12th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 12th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 12th Earl of Crawford, 1577 - 1620 was a Scottish nobleman.David Lindsay was born in Crawford, Lanarkshire, Scotland. He was the son of David Lindsay, 11th Earl of Crawford and Lilias Drummond, Baroness Fyvie. He married Jean Kerr, daughter of Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian on 16...
(d. 1621) - Henry Lindsay, 13th Earl of Crawford (d. 1622)
- George Lindsay, 14th Earl of Crawford (d. 1633)
- Alexander Lindsay, 15th Earl of Crawford (d. 1639)
- Ludovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of CrawfordLudovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of CrawfordLudovic Lindsay, 16th Earl of Crawford took part in the strange plot of 1641 called The Incident. Having joined King Charles I at Nottingham in 1642, he fought at the Battle of Edgehill, at the Battle of Newbury and elsewhere during the English Civil War; in 1644, just after the Battle of Marston...
(d. 1652)
Earls of Crawford (1642)
- John Lindsay, 17th Earl of Crawford, 1st Earl of Lindsay (c. 1598–1678) (descended from 1st Earl's uncle, received Earldom of Crawford under regrant of 1642)
- William Lindsay, 18th Earl of Crawford, 2nd Earl of Lindsay (1644–1698)
- John Lindsay, 19th Earl of CrawfordJohn Lindsay, 19th Earl of CrawfordJohn Lindsay, 19th Earl of Crawford and 3rd Earl of Lindsay was a Scottish peer and politician. He succeeded to the earldoms in 1698 on the death of his father William Lindsay, 18th Earl of Crawford. He was elected as one of the first representative peers in February of 1707, and so served until...
(3rd Earl of Lindsay) (d. 1713) - John Lindsay, 20th Earl of CrawfordJohn Lindsay, 20th Earl of CrawfordLieutenant-General John Lindsay, 20th Earl of Crawford was a Scottish peer and the first colonel of the Black Watch on its formation in 1739.He was the son of Lt.-Gen...
(4th Earl of Lindsay) (1702–1749) - George Lindsay-Crawford, 21st Earl of Crawford (5th Earl of Lindsay) (1723–1781)
- George Lindsay-Crawford, 22nd Earl of CrawfordGeorge Lindsay-Crawford, 22nd Earl of CrawfordMajor General George Lindsay-Crawford, 22nd Earl of Crawford , was a Scottish peer and soldier. He served in the British Army and was Lord Lieutenant of Fife....
(6th Earl of Lindsay) (1758–1808) (dormant 1808; last male line descendant of 1st Earl of Lindsay, Earldom of Lindsay passed (according to Lords decision in 1878) to a kinsman of 1st Earl of Lindsay and that of Crawford reverted to senior surviving line, as determined 1848) - Alexander Lindsay, 23rd Earl of Crawford (6th Earl of Balcarres) (1752–1825) (de jure; descended from second son of 3rd Earl of Crawford)
- James Lindsay, 24th Earl of CrawfordJames Lindsay, 24th Earl of CrawfordJames Lindsay, 24th Earl of Crawford and 7th Earl of Balcarres was an Earl in the Scottish peerage.James Lindsay was born on 24 April 1783 at Balcarres, Fife to Alexander Lindsay, 23rd Earl of Crawford and inherited the title of 7th Earl of Balcarres on his father's death in 1825...
, 7th Earl of Balcarres (1783–1869) (revived 1848) - Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of CrawfordAlexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of CrawfordAlexander William Crawford Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford, 8th Earl of Balcarres , was a Scottish peer, art historian and collector. He was also known as Lord Lindsay....
, 8th Earl of Balcarres (1812–1880) - James Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of CrawfordJames Lindsay, 26th Earl of CrawfordJames Ludovic Lindsay, 26th Earl of Crawford and 9th Earl of Balcarres was a British astronomer, politician, bibliophile and philatelist. A member of the Royal Society, Crawford was elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1878. He was a prominent Freemason.-Family:The Earl was the...
(9th Earl of Balcarres) (1847–1913) - David Alexander Edward Lindsay, 27th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 27th Earl of CrawfordDavid Alexander Edward Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford and 10th Earl of Balcarres KT, PC, DL, FRS, FSA , styled Lord Balniel between 1880 and 1913, was a British Conservative politician and art connoisseur....
(10th Earl of Balcarres) (1871–1940) - David Alexander Robert Lindsay, 28th Earl of CrawfordDavid Lindsay, 28th Earl of CrawfordDavid Alexander Robert Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, KT, GBE , known as Lord Balniel from 1913 to 1940, was a British Unionist politician....
(11th Earl of Balcarres) (1900–1975) - Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of CrawfordRobert Lindsay, 29th Earl of CrawfordRobert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford and 12th Earl of Balcarres, , styled Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician. The elder son of the 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres, he succeeded to the titles in 1975...
(12th Earl of Balcarres) (b. 1927)
The heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
is the present holder's son Anthony Robert Lindsay, Lord Balniel (b. 1958)
See also
- Clan LindsayClan Lindsay-Origins of the Clan:There is currently no known proven path pertaining to the origin of the Clan Lindsay. However, several possible theories have been advanced over the years. First is the theory proposed in 1769 by biographer/historian, Richard Rolt, in which he claimed that the Lindsays were...
- Crawford PrioryCrawford PrioryCrawford Priory is a mansion about 2 miles south west of Cupar, Fife, Scotland. It is a former residence of the Earls of Crawford, Earls of Glasgow and Barons Cochrane of Cults...
- Earl of BalcarresEarl of BalcarresThe title Earl of Balcarres was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1651 for Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Balcarres. The title has descended since in the Lindsay family....
- Earl of LindsayEarl of LindsayEarl of Lindsay is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1633 for John Lindsay, 10th Lord Lindsay, who later inherited the ancient Earldom of Crawford. The two earldoms remained united until the death of the twenty-second Earl of Crawford, also sixth Earl of Lindsay...
- Viscount of Garnock