Lords Sinclair (1449)
1st Lord Sinclair, William Sinclair, b.?,
a.1449, d.1480
William Sinclair, of the Anglo-Norman Sinclairs
of Rosslyn, was 3rd Earl of Orkney, and he was created 1st Lord
St Clair, or Sinclair, in 1449. He was Lord Chancellor of Scotland from 1454 to
1458 and was granted the earldom of Caithness
in 1455. He later lost Orkney, which was a Norwegian title rather than a
Scottish one, when it was granted to King James II of Scotland as part of the
dowry for Margaret, daughter of King Christian of Denmark, but retained his
Scottish earldom of Caithness.
2nd Lord Sinclair, William Sinclair, b.?,
a.1480, d.1487
Son of the 1st Lord and his first wife Lady Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of Archibald Douglas,
4th Earl of Douglas. Known as the Waster, he was virtually disinherited as
his father considered him unworthy. The earldom of Caithness
went to his younger half-brother, also William Sinclair, and the estates of Rosslyn in Midlothian went to another half-brother, Oliver
Sinclair. He continued, however, to hold the lordship and name of Sinclair as
the senior member of the family, together with Ravenscraig
Castle and the estate of Dysart.
3rd Lord Sinclair, Henry Sinclair, b.?,
a.1487, d.1513
Son of the 2nd Lord and Christian Leslie,
daughter of George Leslie, 1st Earl of Rothes. He held a
long-term lease for Orkney and Shetland from the Crown and held the post of Justiciar of those islands, where he based himself at Kirkwall Castle. Shortly after succeeding, he was confirmed
as the Chief of the family of Sinclair. As with many of his family, he was a
keen seaman and captained ships, including the Great Michael. Like so many
others he died at Flodden.
4th Lord Sinclair, William Sinclair, b.?,
a.1513, d.1570
Son of the 3rd Lord and Margaret Hepburn (b.?, d.1542), daughter of Adam Hepburn, Master of Hailes (for whom see the earls of Bothwell). He allied himself to his relative John
Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Caithness, in attempting to put down an
insurrection within Orkney that had resulted in him being ejected from Kirkwall Castle, but their expedition was a disaster, and
at the Battle of Somersdale in 1529 he was taken
prisoner and the earl was killed along with 500 of his men. In 1542 he signed
the bond in support of the Queen Mother, Mary of Lorraine, against the Regent
Arran, and he also supported Queen Mary in 1568.
5th Lord Sinclair, Henry Sinclair, b.1527, a.1570, d.1601
Son
of the 4th Lord and Lady Elizabeth Keith (b.?,
d.c.1549), daughter of William Keith, 3rd Earl Marischal and widow of Colin
Oliphant, Master of Oliphant. He supported Mary
until the death of Darnley, when he switched sides to
the King’s party, and was made a Privy Counsellor in
1573. He was later one of the judges at the trials of the rebel lords Bothwell, Angus, Huntly and Erroll.
6th Lord Sinclair, Henry Sinclair, b.1581, a.1601, d.1602
Grandson
of the 5th Lord and Janet Lindsay (b.?, d.1569), daughter of John Lindsay, 5th
Lord Lindsay of the Byres, and son of James Sinclair,
Master of Sinclair (b.c.1557, d.1593) and Isabel Leslie, daughter of Andrew
Leslie, 5th Earl of Rothes.
7th Lord Sinclair, James Sinclair, b.?,
a.1602, d.1607
Younger brother of the 6th Lord.
8th Lord Sinclair, Patrick Sinclair, b.?,
a.1607, d.c.1615-1617
Younger brother of the 6th & 7th
Lords. He seems to have been a born trouble-maker, forever
in debt, and was eventually imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle for various
offences.
9th Lord Sinclair, John Sinclair, b.1610, a.c.1615-1617,
d.1674
Son of the 8th Lord and Margaret Cockburn,
daughter of Sir John Cockburn of Ormiston. He was an active Covenanter, member of the General Assembly, and was
made a Privy Counsellor in 1641. He was in the Scottish Royalist Army that went
into England in 1651 and was defeated at the Battle of Worcester, where he was
taken prisoner and held at Windsor Castle until 1660, and so avoided being
fined during the Act of Grace.
10th Lord Sinclair, Henry St Clair, b.1660, a.1674, d.1723
Grandson of the 9th Lord and Lady Mary Wemyss,
daughter of John Wemyss, 1st Earl of Wemyss, and son of Catherine
Sinclair, Mistress of Sinclair and John St Clair of Herdmanston
(b.c.1632, d.1672). The St Clairs of Herdmanston had been independent of the Sinclairs
of Rosslyn throughout history, and the two had no ancestor
in common as far back as the 12th Centry,
although it is likely that they came from the same Norman original. He was
given a new charter to the title by Charles II, so he is sometimes referred to
as 1st Lord Sinclair. A prominent supporter of the Stewarts, he was
the only Scottish peer who voted against the adoption of William & Mary as King & Queen of Scotland and was later suspected of
being involved in a projected French invasion of Scotland, which resulted in
him being imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle in 1707. He married Barbara Cockburn, daughter
of Sir James Cockburn, 1st Baronet Cockburn of Cockburn in 1680. His
heir, John St Clair, Master of Sinclair (b.1683, d.1750), took part in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 and was attainted, and so was
unable to assume the title. He died childless and any claim passed to his
younger brother James St Clair (b.?, d.1762), who never
used the title, and, he having no children either, the title became dormant.
James eventually purchased the Sinclair lands of Rosslyn,
Ravenscraig and Dysart with entail to heirs-male of
his sisters. He reached the rank of Lieutenant-General in the British Army.
11th Lord Sinclair, Charles St Clair, b.?,
a.1762, d.1775
In 1782 the title was successfully claimed by a descendant of the 10th
Lord’s uncle, using the rules of the new patent of succession by heir-general
whatsoever, and backdated but for attainder. I have excluded James St Clair from
the list since, although he was not himself attainted, he refused to claim his
brother’s lost title. The 10th Lord’s paternal grandfather, Sir John
St Clair of Herdmanston purchased the estate of Rosslyn from the descendant of the 2nd Lord’s
half-brother. He married Catherine Sinclair (b.?, d.1686),
daughter of Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet Sinclair of Murkle (of county Caithness) & Stevenston
(of county Haddington) (a cadet branch of the main Rosslyn family). Their son John St Clair of Herdmanston was the father of the 10th Lord as
mentioned above. His younger brother, Matthew St Clair (b.1647, d.1728),
married Margaret Carre (b.?,
d.c.1742), daughter of Sir Thomas Carre (or Ker) of Cavers, and their son became 11th Lord,
de jure, posthumously.
12th Lord Sinclair, Andrew St Clair, b.1733, a.1775, d.1775
Son of the 11th Lord and Elizabeth Hume (b.?,
d.1784), daughter of Sir Andrew Hume of Kimmerghame.
He died within a year of his father.
13th Lord Sinclair, Charles St Clair, b.1768, a.1775, d.1863
Son of the 12th Lord and Elizabeth
Rutherford. In 1782 his claim to the title,
presumably made originally by his father or grandfather, was accepted by the
House of Lords. He joined the Royal Scots in 1784 and eventually retired having
reached the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was a Representative Peer from 1807
to 1859.
14th Lord Sinclair, James St Clair, b.1803, a.1863, d.1880
Son of the 13th Lord and Agnes Chisholm (b.?,
d.1814), daughter of James Chisholm of that Ilk. He joined the Grenadier Guards
in 1822 and in 1827 reached the rank of Major in the 92nd Foot Regiment.
He was a Representative Peer from 1868 to 1880.
15th Lord Sinclair, Charles William St Clair, b.1831, a.1880,
d.1922
Son of the 14th Lord and Jane Little (b.?,
d.1887). He joined the 57th Foot Regiment in 1848 and reached the
rank of Major in 1856 before being severely injured during the Crimean War. He
then served in India during the Mutiny, and eventually retired in 1879 having
reached the rank of Colonel. He was a Representative Peer from 1885 to 1922.
16th Lord Sinclair, Archibald James Murray St Clair, b.1875,
a.1922, d.1957
Son of the 15th Lord and Margaret Jane Murray (b.?, d.1935). He joined the Scots Greys in 1896 and reached
the rank of Captain in 1901. He served during the Boer War and the First World
War and was Extra Equerry to Prince Arthur of Connaught
from 1914 to 1938. He was made a Member of the Royal Company of Archers and of
the Royal Victorian Order in 1918 and was a Representative Peer from 1923 to
1957.
17th Lord Sinclair, Charles Murray Kennedy St Clair, b.1914,
a.1957, d.2004
Son of the 16th Lord and Violet Kennedy. He was educated at Eton and Magdalene College Cambridge and following a
commission into Territorial Army in 1936 he joined the Coldstream
Guards in 1937, and reached the rank of Lieutenant the following year. He served
in Palestine in 1939 and fought in the Second World War in the Guards Armoured
Division. He retired in 1947 as a Captain, due to wounds received. He then
entered the Royal Household as Portcullis Pursuivant,
and was later promoted to York Herald of Arms when he succeeded his father. He
was a Representative Peer from 1959 until the Peerage Act in 1963 allowed for
all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords without election. In 1953 he
was invested as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order and served as its
Honorary Genealogist from 1960 to 1968. Also in 1953 he was made an Extra
Equerry to the Queen Mother, a post he held until her death. He was
Lord-Lieutenant of Dumfries & Galloway from 1982 to 1989 and he was
invested as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1990 and as a Member of
the Royal Company of Archers.
18th Lord Sinclair, Matthew Murray Kennedy St Clair, b.1968,
a.2004
Son of the 17th Lord and Anne Lettice Cotterell, daughter of Richard
Charles Geers Cotterell, 5th
Baronet Cotterell of Garnons,
county Hereford.
The courtesy title for the heir is Master of Sinclair.
(Last updated: 20/09/2010)