Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian

Robert Kerr. Painting around 1678

Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian PC (also Robert Ker or Robert Kerr, 2nd Earl of Lothian ) (born March 8, 1636 in Newbattle House , † February 15, 1703 in London ) was a Scottish nobleman and politician.

Origin and education

Robert Kerr was a son of William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian and his wife Anne Ker († 1677). His mother was the daughter and heiress of Robert Ker, 2nd Earl of Lothian, Countess of Lothian in her own right . Robert Kerr held the courtesy title of Lord Kerr of Newbattle and studied first from 1651 to 1653 at the University of Leiden , then from 1654 to 1657 at the Protestant Academy in Saumur and at the University of Paris .

Political activity among the Stuarts

After the Stuart Restoration , Kerr helped restore royal rule in the border regions with England . As early as 1665, his father gave him the family estates. From 1668 to 1676 he served as a cavalry officer, perhaps fighting as a volunteer in the Third Anglo-Dutch War , while in September 1673 he made a secret visit to Paris. After the death of his father in October 1675, he inherited the title of Earl of Lothian. Because of his poor health, Lothian stayed in Paris and Montpellier from autumn 1679 to summer 1680 . In 1681 he took an oath on the Test Act , and during the reign of James VII he became a member of the Privy Council on January 4, 1686 . As early as September 16, 1686, he and other opposition members were ousted from the Privy Council when the king had a criminal law repealed against their opposition.

Political activity under William of Orange

Supporters of the Glorious Revolution

After Lothian was ousted from office by Jacob VII, he supported Glorious Revolution in 1688 and was reassigned to the Privy Council on May 18, 1689 by the new King Wilhelm II . On August 3, 1689 he was appointed Lord Justice General of Scotland and Sheriff Principal of Edinburghshire . He held these offices as well as other smaller state offices until his death. In 1690 he inherited the title of Earl of Ancram from his uncle Charles Kerr, 2nd Earl of Ancram .

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Lothian was a moderate Presbyterian who may have been influenced by Bishop Robert Leighton , who had previously been a pastor in Newbattle . In January 1692 he was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . For this meeting the king could make proposals for the appointment of the leading clergy. Lothian succeeded in getting the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland to accept these proposals if they did not object unanimously to them. Lothian's measured and discreet demeanor certainly contributed to this. After the congregation continued for a month, Lothian stunned the clergy when he warned them on February 13, 1692 not to destroy the unity of the faith. Then, by order of the king, he overturned the General Assembly without, as usual, setting the date of a new meeting. Against Lothian's protests, the moderator, the head of the General Assembly, then set a date in August 1693 as the new beginning of the meeting. A state crisis could only be averted by not holding the General Assembly on that date. Lothian was held partly responsible for this failure of the king's policy towards the Scottish Church. Because of his poor health, he took a cure in Bath , then he retired to his Newbattle House , which he had expanded and where he passed the time by making music. At the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1694, Lothian no longer served as Lord High Commissioner.

Further political activity under William of Orange

Lothian tried for a long time to gain priority over the Earl of Roxburghe in the Peerage of Scotland . In 1695, however, the Scottish Parliament humiliated him when it classified the title Earl of Lothian lower than that of Earl of Roxburgh. On June 23, 1701, however, King Wilhelm II rewarded him by making Lothian Marquess of Lothian . On August 25, 1702 he was appointed to the committee to negotiate the union with England . On February 4 or 5, 1703 he was appointed a member of the committee that was to negotiate the financial arrangements for the Union. However, Lothian died unexpectedly a few days. A medical examination named gallbladder disease as the main cause of death. Lothian was buried in the family vault in the parish church of Newbattle.

Marriage and offspring

In January or February 1660, Kerr Jean Campbell († 1700), the second eldest daughter of Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll and his wife Margaret Douglas married. On his death he left a fortune and property valued at over £ 15,000, including his stake in the failed Darién project .

He and his wife had six sons and five daughters, including:

• William Kerr, 2nd Marquess of Lothian (1661-1722)
• Charles Kerr († 1735)
• John Kerr († 1728)
• Mark Kerr (1676-1752)
• James Kerr
• Mary Kerr (1674–1736) ∞ James Douglas, 2nd Marquess of Douglas

Four of his daughters died before they reached adulthood. His eldest son, William Kerr, inherited his title.

Web links

• Tristram Clarke: Kerr, Robert, first marquess of Lothian (1636-1703). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
• Robert Kerr, 1st Marquess of Lothian on thepeerage.com , accessed March 14, 2017.
• Cracroft's Peerage: Lothian, Marquess of (S, 1701)

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Marquess of Lothian 1701-1703	William Kerr
William Kerr	Earl of Lothian 1675-1703	William Kerr
Charles Kerr	Earl of Ancram 1690-1703	William Kerr