Lords Herdmanston and Sinclair – Part One

When John Sinclair the 9th Lord Sinclair died on 10 November 1674 at Agés, near Burgos in Spain, his last child Catherine had already died in childbirth eight years earlier. Lord Sinclair was the last of the male line descended from the Sinclairs of Roslin through Earl William Sinclair, via his eldest son, William ‘the Waster’ (d. 1487).

John’s daughter Catherine had provided heirs in the shape of two sons, Henry and John, in addition to a daughter Mary, by her husband, John St. Clair of Herdmanston. Henry, their eldest son, was only 6 years old when his mother died on 13 July following the birth of his sister, then his father also died unexpectedly and was buried on 17 July 1666 in Greyfriars Kirkyard. From his father, Henry inherited the barony of Herdmanston and, in 1677, he obtained a crown charter of the title of Lord Sinclair, which he inherited from his maternal grandfather, John, Lord Sinclair. The new patent was limited to the male heirs of Henry himself, or to those of his brothers and their descendants, and was a separate creation to the original Lordship.

Henry’s son John, the Master of St. Clair, was attainted in 1715 for his participation at the battle of Sheriffmuir during the first Jacobite uprising, which prevented him from inheriting the title or the estates. When Henry died in 1723, the master’s brother, General James St. Clair, inherited their father’s lands instead but both peerages remained forfeited. In 1735, Gen. James purchased Roslin Castle from William, the last Sinclair of Roslin which, in the event of Gen. James leaving no issue, was to be inherited by the sons of his sisters. In 1736 the Master of St Clair obtained an act of parliament which enabled him to inherit the lands but not the peerages, at which point, his brother Gen. James transferred their father’s properties back to him. When the Master died in 1750 leaving no heirs, his brother, Gen. James inherited everything and would have become the next Lord Sinclair but for the attainder. When he died in 1766 without male heirs, the Lordship of Rosslyn was inherited by James Paterson, son of Grizel St. Clair, Gen. James’ eldest sister, who had married John Paterson of Preston Hall. James Paterson adopted the name St. Clair and on his death without heirs in 1789, Rosslyn was inherited by Sir Henry Erskine, the son of Gen. James’ other sister, Catherine, who had married Sir John Erskine of Alva. Sir Henry Erskine married Janet Wedderburn, sister to Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl Rosslyn, who also died without heirs. The Rosslyn earldom next devolved to Alexander Wedderburn’s nephew, Sir James Erskine, the son of Sir Henry Erskine and Janet Wedderburn, who adopted the name St. Clair-Erskine. [See Lords Herdmanston and Sinclair – Part Two].

The tree below follows the maternal line from Grizel St. Clair (1681-1737) and her descendants, through the Paterson, Thomson and Anstruther families. The older creation of Lord Sinclair remains forfeit under the attainder and the right to contest and reverse the attainder remain with the descendants of Grizel St. Clair. The second creation of Lord Sinclair from 1677 was reinstated in 1782 following a decision in the House of Lords and devolved to Charles St. Clair, great-grandson of Dr Matthew St. Clair (d. 1728), the uncle of Henry, 1st Lord Sinclair of the Herdmanston line. [See Lords Herdmanston and Sinclair – Part Two].

Nina Cawthorne

DESCENDANTS