Lords Ross of Halkhead (1499)

1^st Lord Ross, John Ross, b.?, a.1499, d.1501

The family of Ross was not related to any descendants of the earldom of Ross, but were originally from Yorkshire. The lands of Halkhead were granted to one John Ross, son of Godfrey Ross, Sheriff of Ayr, in 1367. This John Ross’ great-grandson, also John Ross, was recorded as being a tournament champion and was Keeper of Blackness Castle from 1463 to 1468 and Sheriff of Linlithgow from 1472 to his death. He was created 1^st Lord Ross in 1499.

2^nd Lord Ross, John Ross, b.?, a.1501, d.1513

Grandson of the 1^st Lord and Marjory Mure and son of Robert Ross and Agnes Melville, daughter of Thomas Melville of that Ilk. He built up the family estates and was in favour with James IV, whom he hosted at Halkhead in 1506. He died at Flodden.

3^rd Lord Ross, Ninian Ross, b.?, a.1513, d.1555-1556

Son of the 2^nd Lord and Christian Edmonstone (b.?, d.1551), daughter of Sir Archibald Edmonstone of Duntreath. He was married four times, the first three being to daughters of peers.

4^th Lord Ross, James Ross, b.?, a.1555-1556, d.1581

Son of the 3^rd Lord and his second wife Elizabeth Ruthven, daughter of William Ruthven, 1^st Lord Ruthven (for whom see the earls of Gowrie). He was a staunch supporter of Queen Mary and hosted her at his estate of Melville. He was captured after the Battle of Langside but remained loyal to her. As a Roman Catholic he was ex-communicated in 1573.

5^th Lord Ross, Robert Ross, b.?, a.1581, d.1595

Son of the 4^th Lord and Jean Sempill (b.?, d.1592-1593), daughter of Robert Sempill, 3^rd Lord Sempill.

6^th Lord Ross, James Ross, b.?, a.1595, d.1633

Son of the 5^th Lord and Jean Hamilton (b.?, d.1631), daughter of Gavin Hamilton of Raploch. He voted against the Five Articles of Perth in 1621.

7^th Lord Ross, James Ross, b.?, a.1633, d.1636

Son of the 6^th Lord and Margaret Scott (b.?, d.1651), daughter of Sir Walter Scott, 1^st Lord Scott of Buccleuch. He died unmarried.

8^th Lord Ross, William Ross, b.?, a.1636, d.1640

Younger brother of the 7^th Lord. He also died unmarried.

9^th Lord Ross, Robert Ross, b.?, a.1640, d.1648

Younger brother of the 7^th and 8^th Lords. He also died unmarried and the title reverted to his great-uncle.

10^th Lord Ross, William Ross, b.?, a.1648, d.1656

Younger brother of the 5^th Lord. He was on the Committee for War for Renfrewshire and served as Sheriff of Renfrewshire in 1646. He was fined during the Act of Grace.

11^th Lord Ross, George Ross, b.?, a.1656, d.1682

Son of the 10^th Lord and his second wife Margaret Forrester, daughter of Sir James Forrester of Torwoodhead. He reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the Scots Guards and was in command at Glasgow and provided support to Bonnie Dundee after the defeat at the Battle of Drumclog, successfully defending Glasgow from the Covenanter attack that followed.

12^th Lord Ross, William Ross, b.c.1656, a.1682, d.1738

Son of the 11^th Lord and Grizel Cochrane (b.?, d.c.1665), daughter of William Cochrane, 1^st Earl of Dundonald. He fought alongside Bonnie Dundee against the Covenanters, and because of his friendship with that man he refused to join the army raised against him. He was present at the first Parliament of King William and was chosen by the Convention of Estates to meet the King in London. Although made a Privy Counsellor, he joined a disaffected group of nobles led by the Earl of Annandale and was held briefly in the Tower of London before being released without prosecution. In 1704 he was appointed as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. A staunch supporter of the Union, he was a Representative Peer from 1715 and also Lord-Lieutenant of Renfrewshire from then until his death. His younger half-brother Charles Ross (b.?, d.1732), who reached the rank of General in 1720, purchased the estates of Balnagowan in Easter Ross from a descendant of Hugh Ross of Rarichies, brother of John Macdonald, last earl of Ross, and became Chieftain of Clan Ross by default as the owner of the ancestral home of the Rosses.

13^th Lord Ross, George Ross, b.1681, a.1738, d.1754

Son of the 12^th Lord and Agnes Wilkie, daughter of Sir John Wilkie of Fouldean. He was Commissioner of Supply in Renfrewshire (a rough precursor of the modern Council) in 1702, Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1727 to 1729 and Governor of Edinburgh Castle from 1739 to 1754. His younger son Charles Ross (b.1721, d.1745), who had inherited Balnagowan from General Ross, died at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, and the estate passed to his father.

14^th Lord Ross, William Ross, b.c.1720, a.1754, d.1754

Son of the 13^th Lord and Elizabeth Kerr (b.?, d.1758), daughter of William Kerr, 2^nd Marquess of Lothian. He fought under John Campbell, 4^th Earl of Loudoun, at Inverness in 1745 and was injured during an attempt to surprise Bonnie Prince Charlie the following year. He survived his father by only two months and the title became extinct. His sister Elizabeth Ross (b.1725, d.1791) married John Boyle, 3^rd Earl of Glasgow, and their son was created 1^st Baron Ross of Hawkhead in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The estate of Balnagowan and the Chieftaincy of Clan Ross were inherited by his cousin, Sir James Lockhart (b.?, d.1755), 2^nd Baronet Lockhart of Carstairs, for whom see below.

The courtesy title for the heir was Master of Ross.

Baronets Lockhart of Carstairs (1672)

1^st Baronet Lockhart, William Lockhart, b.?, a.1672, d.1710

There are several ancient references to Lockharts in Ireland and England as well as Scotland and had been long established in Ayrshire, one responsible for founding the town of Stevenston and another the town of Symington. A Lockhart accompanied James Douglas when he took the Bruce’s heart on Crusade in 1329. Sir James Lockhart of Lee (the principal branch of the family) purchased the lands of Carstairs in 1599 and passed it to his younger son Sir William Lockhart. He married Jean Auchinleck, daughter of Sir George Auchinleck of Balmanno, and their son was created 1^st Baronet Lockhart of Carstairs in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia.

2^nd Baronet Lockhart, James Lockhart, b.?, a.1710, d.1755

Son of the 1^st Baronet and Isabel Douglas, daughter of James Douglas, 2^nd Earl of Queensberry.

3^rd Baronet Lockhart, William Lockhart, b.1715, a.1755, d.1758

Son of the 2^nd Baronet and Grizel Ross (b.1662, d.1749), daughter of William Ross, 12^th Lord Ross of Halkhead mentioned above. He had no male children and the baronetcy transferred to his younger brother.

4^th Baronet Lockhart, James Ross-Lockhart, b.1717, a.1758, d.1760

As second son, he succeeded to the estate of Balnagowan and the Chieftaincy of Clan Ross on the death of his cousin in 1754, as entailed by his mother’s brother, General Charles Ross. He had no children.

5^th Baronet Lockhart, George Lockhart, b.1718, a.1760, d.1778

Younger brother of the 3^rd and 4^th Baronets. He sold the estate of Carstairs in 1760. He also had no children.

6^th Baronet Lockhart, John Lockhart-Ross, b.1721, a.1778, d.1790

Younger brother again of the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th Baronets. He joined the Navy as a Midshipman in 1735 and worked his way up the ranks, being given his first command, HMS Vulcan, in 1747. In 1755 he moved to HMS Salvage, and the following year to the frigate HMS Tartar, the Chatham in 1758 and then the Shrewsbury in 1778, mostly operating against the French fleet. In 1779 he was promoted to Rear-Admiral of the Blue and took possession of HMS Royal George, engaging the Spaniards in the relief of Gibraltar. He was also MP for the Lanark Burghs from 1761 to 1768 and for Lanark from 1768 to his death. He took the name of Ross on succeeding his older brother and changed the designation of the baronetcy to that of Balnagowan.

7^th Baronet Lockhart, Charles Lockhart-Ross, b.1763, a.1790, d.1814

Son of the 6^th Baronet and Elizabeth Dundas, daughter of Robert Dundas of Arniston. He was Colonel of the 86^th Foot Regiment and reached the rank of Lieutenant-General. He was also an MP for many years.

8^th Baronet Lockhart, Charles William Frederick Augustus Lockhart-Ross, b.1812, a.1814, d.1883

Son of the 7^th Baronet and his second wife Lady Mary Fitzgerald (b.?, d.1842), daughter of William Robert Fitzgerald, 2^nd Duke of Leinster.

9^th Baronet Lockhart, Charles Henry Augustus Frederick Lockhart-Ross, b.1872, a.1883, d.1942

Son of the 8^th Baronet and his second wife Rebecca Sophia Barnes. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College Cambridge before joining the Seaforth Highlanders, and fought in the Second Boer War. While there he designed the Ross rifle. He was a Captain in Lovat Scouts Yeomanry from 1904 to 1913 and an advisor on small arms to the Canadian Army, for which the Ross rifle was mass-produced during the First World War. He was also one of Britain’s largest landowners. In trying to evade paying UK tax on the profits from his arms manufacturing, he declared Balnagowan to be a territory of the USA, and was officially declared an outlaw by a British Court and was forced to spend many years in exile. He was married three times but had no children, and so baronetcy became extinct. Balnagowan was inherited by his third wife, and former secretary, Dorothy Mercado. She married again after his death, but she and her husband, Francis de Moleyns, could not manage the estates and most of the land was sold off. The rump of the estate, still 60,000 acres, was preserved by a trust after their deaths until purchased by Mohamed el Fayed, who restored the castle.

(Last updated: 25/08/2010)