Lords Forrester (1633)
1st Lord Forrester, George Forrester, b.?,
a.1633, d.1654
The Forresters of Corstophine
were a branch of the great Forrester clan, named after the Keeper of the King’s
Forest, originally from Berwickshire. George Forrester was Sheriff of Edinburgh
and created 1st Baronet Forrester of Corstorphine
in 1625, and was raised to the peerage in 1633. Having no sons, he obtained a regrant of the title with special remainder to his
son-in-law James Baillie, and thereafter his younger brother William Baillie,
and thereafter their heir-males.
2nd Lord Forrester, James Baillie, b.1629, a.1654, d.1679
Husband of the 1st Lord’s daughter Joanna Forrester. His family were the Baillies of Lamington in
Midlothian and his father was a Major-General in the British Army. After
Joanna’s death he married again, but children from this second marriage were
excluded from the remainder.
3rd Lord Forrester, William Baillie, b.1632, a.1679, d.1681
Younger brother of the 2nd Lord. He married the 1st Lord’s younger sister Lilias
Forrester (b.1634, d.?).
4th Lord Forrester, William Forrester, b.?,
a.1681, d.1705
Son of the 3rd Lord and Lilias
Forrester. He was forced to sell the barony
of Corstophine to alleviate the family debt. In 1701
the estates of Corstophine were also sold.
5th Lord Forrester, George Forrester, b.1688, a.1705,
d.1726-1727
Son of the 4th Lord and Margaret Birnie
(b.1661, d.?). He served in the
British Army under the Duke of Marlborough and was at the Battle of Preston in
1715, where he commanded the 26th Foot Regiment, the Cameronians. He reached the rank of Colonel in 1716,
commanding the 30th Foot Regiment, and then moved on to the 2nd
Grenadier Guards followed by the 4th (Scots) Horse Guards.
6th Lord Forrester, George Forrester, b.1724, a.1726-1727,
d.1748
Son of the 5th Lord and Charlotte Rowe (b.?,
d.1742-1743). He served in the Royal Navy and reached the rank of Commander. He
died unmarried.
7th Lord Forrester, William Forrester, b.?,
a.1748, d.c.1763
Cousin of the 6th Lord, being son of that man’s younger
brother Captain John Forrester, RN (b.?, d.1737) and
Elizabeth Tyrrel. He also died unmarried.
8th Lord (Lady) Forrester, Caroline Forrester, b.?, a.c.1763, d.1784
Sister of the 6th Lord, she succeeded as stipulated in the
remainder.
9th Lord (Lady) Forrester, Anna Maria Cockburn, b.?, a.1784, d.1808
Daughter of the 8th Lady and Captain George Cockburn, RN, of Ormiston (b.?, d.1770). She also
died unmarried.
10th Lord Forrester, James Walter Grimston,
b.1775, a.1808, d.1845
Grandson of the 6th Lord’s younger sister Harriet Forrester
and Edward Walter, and son of Harriet Walter (b.?,
d.1786) and James Bucknall Grimston,
3rd Viscount Grimston (b.1747, d.1809). He
became 4th Viscount Grimston, an Irish
title, on the death of his father and in 1815 he was created 1st
Earl of Verulam in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
The family name was changed from Luckyn to Grimston on elevation to the peerage, having already been
baronets, and it is appropriate to present the history of this family from this
time.
Baronets Luckyn of Little
Waltham (1629)
1st Baronet Luckyn, William Luckyn, b.1594, a.1629, d.1660
William Luckyn was Sheriff of Essex and was
created 1st Baronet Luckyn of Little
Waltham, Essex, in 1629.
2nd Baronet Luckyn, Capell Luckyn, b.1622, a.1660,
d.1680
Son of the 1st Baronet and Mildred Capell,
daughter of Sir Gamaliel Capell
of Rookwoods Hall.
3rd Baronet Luckyn, William Luckyn, b.?, a.1680, d.1708
Son of the 2nd Baronet and Mary Grimston
(b.?, d.1719), daughter of Sir Harbottle
Grimston, 2nd Baronet Grimston
of Bradfield, Essex.
4th Baronet Luckyn, Harbottle, Luckyn, b.1683,
a.1708, d.1737
Son of the 3rd Baronet and Mary Sherrington
(b.?, d.1749). He died unmarried.
5th Baronet Luckyn, Capell Luckyn, b.c.1684, a.1737,
d.1756
Younger brother of the 4th Baronet. He changed his surname to Grimston on
succeeding to the estates of his great uncle, Samuel Grimston,
3rd Baronet Grimston of Bradfield, in
1700. In 1719 he was created 1st Viscount Grimston
and 1st Baron Dunboyne in the Peerage of
Ireland. He was MP for St Albans from 1710 to 1722 and from 1727 to 1734, with
the Irish Peerage not prohibiting him from sitting in the House of Commons. He
later succeeded his brother as 5th Baronet Luckyn.
Viscounts Grimston (1719)
1st Viscount Grimston, Capell Grimston, b.c.1684,
a.1719, d.1756
2nd Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, b.1711, a.1756, d.1773
Son of the 1st Viscount and Jane Cooke (b.?,
d.1765), his elder brother Samuel Grimston (b.1707,
d.1737) having died before his father. He also represented St Albans in the
House of Commons from 1754 to 1761.
3rd Viscount Grimston, James Grimston, b.1747, a.1773, d.1808
Son of the 2nd Viscount and Mary Bucknall
(b.1717, d.1778). He represented St
Albans in the Commons from 1783 to 1784 and then Hertfordshire from 1784 to
1790 ay which time he was created 1st Baron Verulam
of Gorhambury, Hertford, in the Peerage of Great
Britain, allowing him access to the House of Lords. He married Harriet Walter,
grand-daughter of Harriet Forrester, sister of the 6th Lord
Forrester and their son succeeded to that title as 10th Lord
Forrester.
4th Viscount Grimston, James Walter
Grimston, b.1775, a.1808, d.1845
Son of the 3rd Viscount and Harriet Walter. He also represented St Albans in the Commons from 1802 to 1808, when he
succeeded his father and entered the House of Lords. In 1815 he was created 1st
Earl of Verulam and 1st Viscount Grimston in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Earls of Verulam (1815)
1st Earl of Verulam, James Walter Grimston, b.1775, a.1815, d.1845
He was Lord-Lieutenant of Hertfordshire from 1823 to his death and a
Lord of the Bedchamber in 1835.
2nd Earl of Verulam, James Walter Grimston, b.1809, a.1845, d.1895
Son of the 1st Earl and Lady Charlotte Jenkinson
(b.?, d.1863), daughter of Charles Jenkinson,
1st Earl of Liverpool. He represented St Albans from 1830 to 1831
and Hertfordshire from 1832 to 1845, when he moved to the House of Lords. He
served as a Lord-in-Waiting under the Earl of Derby and was Lord-Lieutenant of
Hertfordshire from 1845 to 1892.
3rd Earl of Verulam, James Walter Grimston, b.1852, a.1895, d.1924
Son of the 2nd Earl and Elizabeth Joanna Weyland
(b.?, d.1886). Educated at Harrow, he reached the rank
of Lieutenant in the 1st Life Guards and thereafter was a captain in
the Hertfordshire Yeoman Cavalry. He was a Conservative MP for St Albans from
1885 to 1892 before entering the House of Lords.
4th Earl of Verulam, James Walter Grimston, b.1880, a.1924, d.1949
Son of the 3rd Earl and Margaret Frances Graham (b.?, d.1927), daughter of Sir Frederick Ulric
Graham, 3rd Baronet Graham of Netherby. He
had business interests in oil and telecoms and had some association with MI6.
5th Earl of Verulam, James Brabazon Grimston, b.1910,
a.1949, d.1960
Son of the 4th Earl and Lady Violet Constance Maitland Brabazon (b.1886, d.1936), daughter of Reginald Brabazon, 12th Earl of Meath. He died unmarried.
6th Earl of Verulam, John Grimston, b.1912, a.1960, d.1973
Younger brother of the 5th Earl. He served as a Flight-Lieutenant in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force
during the Second World War and as Conservative MP for St Albans from 1943 to
1945 and from 1950 to 1959 before entering the House of Lords. He was a prominent
businessman and was President of the London Chamber of Commerce from 1963 to
1966.
7th Earl of Verulam, John Duncan Grimston, b.1951, a.1973
Son of the 6th Earl and Marjorie Ray Duncan. He has been Managing Director in ABM-AMRO Bank since 1996. As well as
being 7th Earl of Verulam, he is also 7th
Viscount Grimston in the Peerage of the United
Kingdom, 8th Baron Verulam in the Peerage
of Great Britain, 10th Viscount Grimston and
10th Baron Dunboyne in the Peerage of
Ireland and 16th Lord Forrester in the Peerage of Scotland, as well
has holding the English and Scottish baronetcies mentioned above.
The courtest title for the heir is Viscount Grimston.
(Last updated: 11/06/2010)