Lords Cranstoun (1609)

1^st Lord Cranstoun, William Cranstoun, b.?, a.1609, d.1627

An ancient Border family, the name Cranston may have been taken from the Anglo-Saxon for “place of the crane”. Elfric de Cranstoun is mentioned in a charter by King William the Lion, and much later, Thomas de Cranston was given a charter for lands in Midlothian by King David II, and these estates were given the name of Cranstoun. His grandson, also Thomas, was a senior ally of William Crichton, the Lord Chancellor, and performed the role of Ambassador on various occasions. A descendant several generations later, Sarah Cranstoun, daughter of Sir John Cranstoun of Cranstoun, married William Cranstoun, son of John Cranstoun of Morriestoun, who had been Captain of the Guard to King James VI. William’s ancestry is unclear but he is also presumed to be a descendant of Thomas de Cranston. He was raised to the peerage in 1609 as 1^st Lord Cranstoun.

2^nd Lord Cranstoun, John Cranstoun, b.?, a.1627, d.?

Son of the 1^st Lord and Sarah Cranstoun. He married twice but had no children.

3^rd Lord Cranstoun, William Cranstoun, b.?, a.?, d.1664

Grandson of the 1^st Lord and son of James Cranstoun, Master of Cranstoun (b.?, d.1633) and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of Francis Stewart, 1^st & Last Earl of Bothwell. He was part of the Scottish Army that accompanied Charles II into England in 1651, where it was defeated at the Battle of Worcester. He was taken prisoner and committed to the Tower of London, although he later got off reasonably lightly during Cromwell’s Act of Grace.

4^th Lord Cranstoun, James Cranstoun, b.?, a.1664, d.b.1688

Son of the 3^rd Lord and Lady Mary Leslie, daughter of Alexander Leslie, 1^st Earl of Leven.

5^th Lord Cranstoun, William Cranstoun, b.?, a.c.1688, d.1726-1727

Son of the 4^th Lord and Anne Don, daughter of Sir Alexander Don, 1^st Baronet Don of Newton.

6^th Lord Cranstoun, James Cranstoun, b.?, a.1726-1727, d.1773

Son of the 5^th Lord and Lady Jean Kerr, daughter of Sir William Kerr, 2^nd Marquess of Lothian.

7^th Lord Cranstoun, William Cranstoun, b.1749, a.1773, d.1778

Son of the 6^th Lord and Sophia Brown (b.?, d.1779).

8^th Lord Cranstoun, James Cranstoun, b.c.1755, a.1778, d.1796

Younger brother of the 7^th Lord. He joined the Royal Navy and reached the rank of Captain in 1780, commanding HMS Assistance from 1791 to 1793 and HMS Bellerophon from 1795. He was appointed Governor of Grenada in 1796 but died before taking up this position.

9^th Lord Cranstoun, James Edmund Cranstoun, b.1780, a.1796, d.1818

Nephew of the 8^th Lord, being son of that man’s younger brother Charles Cranstoun (b.?, d.1790) and Elizabeth Turner (b.?, d.1781).

10^th Lord Cranstoun, James Edward Cranstoun, b.1809, a.1818, d.1869

Son of the 9^th Lord and Anne Livingston Macnamara (b.?, d.1858).

11^th Lord Cranstoun, b.Charles Frederick Cranstoun, b.1813, a.1869, d.1869

Younger brother of the 10^th Lord. He died shortly after succeeding his brother and the title became extinct. However the Chieftaincy of the Name and Arms of Cranstoun were preserved through the family of the 6^th Lord’s brother George Cranstoun (b.?, d.1807). His eldest daughter Margaret Nicolson Cranstoun (b.?, d.1841) married William Cuninghame of Lainshaw. Their son John Cuninghame (b.1796, d.1864) married Eliza Mary Upton. Their son Charles Edward Harris Cuninghame (b.1841, d.1888) changed his surname to Edmondstoune-Cranstoun. His daughter Pilar Eliza Mary Edmondstoune-Cranstoun (b.1880, d.1967) married Brigadier-General Alister Fraser Gordon (b.?, d.1917). Their daughter Margaret Colette Mary Gordon married Major John Gilbert Lockhart (b.?, d.1960). Their son David Alexander Somerville Lockhart (b.1943) changed his surname to Cranstoun and was recognized by the Lord Lyon King of Arms as Chief of the Name and Arms of Cranstoun in 1991.

(Last updated: 08/02/2010)