Baronets Hume of Polwarth (1625)

1^st Baronet Hume, Patrick Hume, b.?, a.1625, d.1648

The ancestor of this branch of the Home family was David Home of Thurston, who added the barony of Wedderburn by marrying the heiress of those lands. His grandson Patrick Home (b.?, d.1503) obtained the lands of Polwarth. He married Margaret Sinclair, daughter of Sir John Sinclair of Herdmanston. Their son Alexander Hume married Margaret Crichton. Their son Patrick Hume married Elizabeth Hepburn. Their son Patrick Hume (b.?, d.1599) was a prominent supporter of the Reformation. He married Agnes Hume. Their son Patrick Hume (b.?, d.1609) was made Master of the Household and Gentleman of the Wardrobe to King James VI. He married Julian Ker (b.?, d.1637), daughter of Sir Thomas Ker of Ferniehurst. Their son Patrick Hume was created 1^st Baronet Hume of Polwarth in the Peerage of Nova Scotia by Charles I.

2^nd Baronet Hume, Patrick Hume, b.1641, a.1648, d.1724

Son of the 1^st Baronet and Christian Hamilton (b.?, d.1688), daughter of Sir Alexander Hamilton of Innerwick. He was a staunch Covenanter, joining James Hamilton, 1^st Duke of Hamilton, in his opposition to Lauderdale’s notorious administration. In 1685, he was forced to leave the country, settling in Utrecht in Holland, but accompanied the Prince of Orange in 1688, after which he was held in high regard, becoming 1^st Lord Polwarth in 1690, and he was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1696 to 1702.

Lords Polwarth (1690)

1^st Lord Polwarth, Patrick Hume, as above

In 1697 he was created 1^st Earl of Marchmont, 1^st Viscount of Blasonberrie and 1^st Lord Polwarth, Redbraes and Greenlaw.

Earls of Marchmont (1697)

1^st Earl of Marchmont, Patrick Hume, as above

The name comes from Marchmont House in Berwickshire, which was sold off in 1913.

2^nd Earl of Marchmont, Alexander Hume-Campbell, b.1675, a.1724, d.1740

Son of the 1^st Earl and Grizel Ker (b.?, d.1703), daughter of Sir Thomas Ker of Cavers. He was the third but only surviving son of the 1^st Earl, and changed his name when he married Margaret Campbell, daughter of Sir George Campbell of Cessnock. He studied at Utrecht University and became an Advocate. In 1704 he was appointed to the Court of Session and took the title Lord Cessnock. He represented Berwickshire at the Scottish Parliament and supported the Union. In 1715, he raised a battalion to assist the Duke of Argyll in suppressing the uprising. He was Lord Clerk Register from 1716 to 1733, when he was dismissed from office for opposing the government of Robert Walpole. He was created a Knight of the Thistle in 1725 and a Privy Counsellor in 1726. From 1715 to 1721 he was Ambassador to Denmark, and after he succeeded his father, was a Representative Peer from 1727 to 1734.

3^rd Earl of Marchmont, Hugh Hume-Campbell, b.1708, a.1739-1740, d.1794

Son of the 2^nd Earl and Margaret Campbell (b.?, d.1722). He entered the House of Commons in 1734 and was considered a formidable member of the Opposition, even by the then Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. He was also a close friend of the poet Alexander Pope, and served as his executor. He was a Representative Peer for 34 years from 1750 to 1784 and was Keeper of the Great Seal from 1764. Marchmont had a twin brother, Alexander Hume-Campbell (b.1708, d.1760), who also went into politics, and was Lord Clerk Register from 1756 to his death. In 1780, a family feud developed over rival candidates for election to represent Berwickshire, and Marchmont eventually disinherited his grandson Hugh Scott for opposing his nominee and son-in-law, Sir John Paterson. With no surviving sons and more than one daughter, the earldom and its subsidiary titles became extinct or dormant. The earl remarried after the death of his first wife and had a son Alexander Hume-Campbell (b.1750, d.1781) who was created 1^st Baron Hume of Berwick in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1776. However this title became extinct at his death.

Lords Polwarth (1690, continued)

4^th Lord (Baroness) Polwarth, Anne Paterson, b.?, a.1794, d.c.1822

Grand-daughter of the 3^rd Earl of Marchmont and Anne Western (b.?, d.1747), and daughter of Anne-Hume Campbell (b.?, d.1790) and Sir John Paterson, 3^rd Baronet Paterson of Eccles (b.?, d.1782). She married Sir Philip Anstruther, 3^rd Baronet Anstruther, but died without children.

5^th Lord (Baroness) Polwarth, Diana Scott, b.1735, a.c.1822, d.c.1827

Aunt of the 4^th Baroness, and younger daughter of the 3^rd Earl of Marchmont.

6^th Lord Polwarth, Hugh Scott, b.1758, a.1822, d.1841

Son of the 5^th Baroness and Walter Scott (b.1724, d.1793). He succeeded to the title following a successful claim even though he had been disinherited by the 3^rd Earl of Marchmont, and was confirmed in the title in 1835.

7^th Lord Polwarth, Henry Francis Hepburne-Scott, b.1800, a.1841, d.1867

Son of the 6^th Lord and Harriet Bruhl (b.?, d.1853). He was an MP for Roxburghshire from 1826 to 1832, and the a Representative Peer. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Selkirkshire, and a Lord-in-Waiting to Queen Victoria. He added the Hepburne surname after inheriting the estates of Hepburne of Humbie via his ancestor Helen Hepburn, Countess of Tarras.

8^th Lord Polwarth, Walter Hugh Hepburne-Scott, b.1838, a.1867, d.1920

Son of the 7^th Lord and Lady Georgina Baillie (b.?, d.1859), daughter of George Baillie of Jerviswoode and Mellerstain, and sister to George Baillie-Hamilton, 10^th Earl of Haddington.

9^th Lord Polwarth, Walter George Hepburne-Scott, b.1864, a.1920, d.1944

Son of the 8^th Lord and Lady Mary Gordon (b.?, d.1914), daughter of Sir George John James Hamilton-Gordon, 5^th Earl of Aberdeen.

10^th Lord Polwarth, Henry Alexander Hepburne-Scott, b.1916, a.1944, d.2005

Grandson of the 9^th Lord and Edith Frances Buxton (b.1867, d.1930), daughter of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 3^rd Baronet Buxton of Bellfield and Runton (Essex), and son of Walter Thomas Hepburne-Scott, Master of Polwarth (b.1890, d.1942). Educated at Eton and King’s College Cambridge, he served in the Second World War, reaching the rank of Captain in the Lothian & Border Horse. After succeeding his father, he served as a Representative Peer until 1999, when the House of Lords Act reduced the number of elected hereditary peers. After the war, he went into business, and was a Director of ICI from 1969 to 1972, Chairman of General Accident from 1968 to 1972 and served several terms as a Director of the Bank of Scotland. In 1972, he became a Minister of State for Scotland in Edward Heath’s administration, and served until the 1974 election. He returned to business serving as a Director on various boards. He was also Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen from 1966 to 1986.

11^th Lord Polwarth, Andrew Walter Hepburne-Scott, b.1947, a.2005

Son of the 10^th Lord and Caroline Margaret Hay.

The courtesy title for the heir is Master of Polwarth.

(Last updated: 03/08/2009)