Duke of Buccleuch

This article is about the Dukedom of Buccleuch. For the 10th and present Duke of Buccleuch, see Richard Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch.

Dukedom of Buccleuch
held with
Dukedom of Queensberry
Creation date1663
Created byCharles II
PeeragePeerage of Scotland
First holderJames Scott
Present holderRichard Scott, 10th Duke
Heir apparentWalter Scott, Earl of Dalkeith
Remainder tothe 1st Duke's heirs male of the body lawfully begotten
Subsidiary titles
  • Marquess of Dumfriesshire
  • Earl of Buccleuch
  • Earl of Dalkeith
  • Earl of Doncaster
  • Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanquhar
  • Viscount of Nith, Tortholwald and Ross
  • Baron Scott of Tindale
  • Lord Scott of Buccleuch
  • Lord Scott of Whitchester and Eskdaill
  • Lord Douglas of Kilmount, Middlebie and Dornock
Seats
Former seatsMontagu House
Beaulieu Palace House
MottoAmo ("I love")[1]
*Dalkeith Palace remains in the ownership of the Dukes, but is not presently inhabited by them or their family.

Duke of Buccleuch (/bəˈkluː/ bə-KLOO), formerly also spelt Duke of Buccleugh, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created twice on 20 April 1663, first for James Scott, Duke of Monmouth, and second suo jure for his wife Anne Scott, 4th Countess of Buccleuch. Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II, was attainted after rebelling against his uncle King James II and VII, but his wife's title was unaffected and passed on to their descendants, who have successively borne the surnames Scott, Montagu-Scott, Montagu Douglas Scott and Scott again. In 1810, the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch inherited the Dukedom of Queensberry, also in the Peerage of Scotland, thus separating that title from the Marquessate of Queensberry.

The substantial origin of the ducal house of the Scotts of Buccleuch dates back to the large grants of lands in Scotland to Sir Walter Scott of Kirkurd and Buccleuch, a border chief, by King James II, in consequence of the fall of the 8th Earl of Douglas (1452), but the family traced their descent back to a Sir Richard le Scott (1240–1285). Sir Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch (died 1552) distinguished himself at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh (1547). His great-grandson Sir Walter was created Lord Scott of Buccleuch in 1606.[2]

Other subsidiary titles associated with the Dukedom of Buccleuch are: Earl of Buccleuch (1619), Earl of Dalkeith (1663) and Lord Scott of Whitchester and Eskdaill (1619) (all in the Peerage of Scotland). The Duke also holds the two subsidiary titles of the attainted Dukedom of Monmouth, namely Earl of Doncaster (1663) and Baron Scott of Tindale (1663) (both in the Peerage of England), and several subsidiary titles associated with the Dukedom of Queensberry, namely Marquess of Dumfriesshire (1683), Earl of Drumlanrig and Sanquhar (1682), Viscount of Nith, Tortholwald and Ross (1682) and Lord Douglas of Kilmount, Middlebie and Dornock (1682) (all in the Peerage of Scotland). The Earldom of Doncaster and Barony of Scott of Tindale had been forfeit at the time of the first Duke's attainder, but the titles were restored to the 2nd Duke of Buccleuch in 1742. Until 1835, the Dukes also held lands in the West Riding of Yorkshire and the ancient title of Lord of Bowland. The Duke of Buccleuch is the hereditary chief of Clan Scott.[3] The holder is one of only five people in the UK to hold multiple different dukedoms, the others being Cornwall/Rothesay/Cambridge (all currently held by the Prince of Wales), Hamilton/Brandon, Argyll (Scotland/UK), and Richmond/Lennox/Gordon.

The courtesy title used by the Duke's eldest son and heir is Earl of Dalkeith; and that of Lord Dalkeith's eldest son and heir is Lord Eskdaill.

The novelist Sir Walter Scott, Bart., was directly descended of the Lords of Buccleuch. His family history, fancifully interpreted, is the main subject of much of The Lay of the Last Minstrel.

William Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith, who became the 7th Duke of Buccleuch was elected President of St. Andrew's Ambulance Association in 1908. The Presidency of the Association (now St Andrew's First Aid) has been held by the Buccleuch family from that date.

Sarah Ferguson, former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is a great-great-granddaughter of the 6th Duke of Buccleuch.

The 7th Duke of Buccleuch had a daughter, Alice, who married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (third son of King George V and uncle of Queen Elizabeth II) in 1935, becoming a member of the British royal family. Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and Prince William of Gloucester are grandsons of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch.

Most of the Dukes of Buccleuch (the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th) are buried in the Buccleuch Memorial Chapel in St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Dalkeith, Midlothian. The 2nd Duke (died 1751) is buried in Eton College Chapel. The most recent Dukes (the 8th and 9th) are buried among the ruins of Melrose Abbey in Melrose.[4]

Dukes of Buccleuch are invariably granted the honour of Knight of the Order of the Thistle.[5]

Estates and houses

The current Duke of Buccleuch, Richard Scott, the 10th Duke, is one of the largest private landowners in Scotland with some 200,000 acres (over 80,000 hectares)[6][7] and chairman of the Buccleuch Group, a holding company with interests in commercial property, rural affairs, food, and beverages. The title originally comes from a holding in the Scottish Borders, near Selkirk.

The family seats are Bowhill House, three miles from Selkirk, representing the Scott line; Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, representing the Douglas line; and Boughton House in Northamptonshire, England, representing the Montagu line. These three houses are still lived in by the family and are also open to the public. The family also owns Dalkeith Palace in Midlothian, which is let, and has owned several other country houses and castles in the past.

London residences

Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch came into possession of a grand London standalone mansion Montagu House, Whitehall through his marriage to Lady Elizabeth Montagu.[8] Lady Elizabeth's grandfather John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu had acquired the House in 1731, and she inherited the property following the deaths of her mother Mary, Duchess of Montagu in 1775 and her father George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu in 1790.[8]

In 1853 the grandson of Lady Elizabeth and the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch commissioned the Scottish Architect William Burn to replace the existing Montagu House with a palatial residence in the French Renaissance Chateau style. The new Montagu House was completed in 1858,[9] and continued to serve as the London residence of the Dukes and their families until 1917, when the British government requisitioned the House during the First World War, after which it was occupied by the Ministry of Labour.[8] In her memoirs, the 5th Duke's great-granddaughter Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was critical of his decision to renew the Crown Lease of the site of Montagu House, and noted that the £120,000 spent on constructing the new Montagu House in the 1850s could have covered the cost of purchasing the freehold of another London mansion, Chesterfield House.[10] Alice also asserted that the Duke's architect William Burn had encouraged the 5th Duke to purchase the freehold of Chesterfield House rather than renewing the lease of Montagu House.[10]

By the end of the War John Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch had purchased the leasehold of No. 2 Grosvenor Place,[11] which had previously been used as the London townhouse of the Dukes of Northumberland from 1873 until c. 1917.[12][13][14] This continued to be the London residence of the Dukes of Buccleuch until Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch handed over use of the property to the London Association of Scottish Societies to be used as a London headquarters and social centre for all Scotsmen serving in the armed forces during the Second World War.[15] By 1946 No. 2 Grosvenor Place had been leased to Imperial Chemical Industries for an annual rent of just under £10,000.[16]

Montagu House, Whitehall was demolished in 1949-50.[17]

Following the conclusion of the Second World War, by 1950 Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch had taken an apartment at No. 15 Grosvenor Square as his London residence,[18][19] which he continued to occupy in 1970.[20]

By 1970 his son John Scott, Earl of Dalkeith and his wife Jane Scott, Countess of Dalkeith maintained a London residence at No. 46 Bedford Gardens, Kensington.[21][22] Following Lord Dalkeith's accession as 9th Duke of Buccleuch in 1973, he continued to maintain the house as a London residence, and reportedly owned both No. 44 and No. 46 Bedford Gardens by 1988.[23]

List of title holders

Feudal barons of Buccleuch (1488)

  • David Scott (d. c. 1491/2), 1st of Buccleuch
  • Walter Scott (d. c. 1504), 2nd of Buccleuch
  • Walter Scott of Branxholme and Buccleuch (d. 1552), 3rd of Buccleuch
  • Walter Scott (c. 1549–1574), 4th of Buccleuch
  • Walter Scott (1565–1611), 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, 5th of Buccleuch (created Lord Scott of Buccleuch in 1606)

Lords Scott of Buccleuch (1606)

  • Walter Scott (1565–1611), 1st Lord Scott of Buccleuch, son of the 4th Baron
  • Walter Scott, 2nd Lord Scott of Buccleuch (d. 1633), 2nd Lord Scott of Buccleuch (created Earl of Buccleuch in 1619)

Earls of Buccleuch (1619)

  • Walter Scott (d. 1633), 1st Earl of Buccleuch
  • Francis Scott (1626–1651), 2nd Earl of Buccleuch
  • Mary Scott (1647–1661), 3rd Countess of Buccleuch
  • Anne Scott (1651–1732), 4th Countess of Buccleuch was created Duchess of Buccleuch in 1663

Dukes of Buccleuch, first creation (1663)

Also Earl of Doncaster and Baron Scott of Tynedale

Dukes of Buccleuch, second creation (1663)

The heir apparent is the present holder's son Walter John Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (b. 1984)
The heir apparent's heir apparent is his son, Willoughby Ralph Montagu Douglas Scott, Lord Eskdaill (b. 2016)

Family tree

Coats of arms

  • Ancestral Scott arms: Or on a bend azure a mullet of six points between two crescents of the field[26]
    Ancestral Scott arms: Or on a bend azure a mullet of six points between two crescents of the field[26]
  • Arms of the Duke of Monmouth & Buccleuch
    Arms of the Duke of Monmouth & Buccleuch
  • Arms of the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch
    Arms of the 3rd Duke of Buccleuch
  • Arms of the 4th Duke of Buccleuch
    Arms of the 4th Duke of Buccleuch
  • Arms of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch
    Arms of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch
  • Arms of the 8th to 10th Duke of Buccleuch[27]
    Arms of the 8th to 10th Duke of Buccleuch[27]
Coat of arms of the Duke of Buccleuch
Adopted
1935
Coronet
A coronet of a Duke
Crest
A Stag trippant proper armed and attired Or
Escutcheon
Quarterly: 1st grandquarter for the Earldom of Doncaster: the arms of King Charles II debruised by a Baton Sinister Argent; 2nd grandquarter for the Dukedom of Argyll: quarterly, 1st and 4th: Gyronny of eight Or and Sable (Campbell); 2nd and 3rd: Argent a Lymphad sails furled Sable flags and pennons flying Gules and oars in action of the second (Lorne); 3rd grandquarter for the Dukedom of Queensberry: quarterly, 1st and 4th: Argent a Heart Gules crowned with an Imperial Crown Or on a Chief Azure three Mullets of the field (Douglas); 2nd and 3rd, Azure a Bend between six Cross Crosslets fitchée Or (Mar); the whole of this grandquarter within a Bordure Or charged with a double Tressure flory-counter-flory Gules; 4th grandquarter for the Dukedom of Montagu: quarterly, 1st: Argent three Fusils conjoined in fess Gules a Bordure Sable (Montagu); 2nd: Or an Eagle displayed Vert beaked and membered Gules (Monthermer); 3rd: Sable a Lion rampant Argent on a Canton of the last a Cross Gules (Churchill); 4th: Argent a Chevron Gules between three Caps of Maintenance their fronts turned to the sinister Azure furred Ermine (Brudenell); over the grandquarters at the fess point an Inescutcheon Or on a Bend Azure a Mullet of six points between two Crescents of the field (Scott).
Supporters
On either side a Female Figure proper habited from the waist downwards in a Kirtle Azure gathered up at the knees the arms and bosom uncovered around the shoulders a Flowing Mantle as before suspended by the exterior hand girdle and sandals Gules and her head adorned with a Plume of three Ostrich Feathers Argent
Motto
Amo ("I Love")


In media

  • Nick Carraway, the narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, says his family has "a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch", but then points out that this is not true.

See also

  • Buccleuch, Scottish Borders
  • Clan Douglas
  • Clan Scott
  • Clan Stewart as they are descendants of the Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of King Charles II
  • Duke of Buccleugh (ship) – several ships with that name

References

  1. ^ Berry, William; Glover, Robert (1828). Encyclopædia Heraldica: Or, Complete Dictionary of Heraldry. Published by the author. p. 460.
  2. ^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Buccleuch, Dukes of". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 712.
  3. ^ "Requirements for recognition". The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012.
  4. ^ "St Mary's Episcopal Chapel - Clan Scott Scotland". Archived from the original on 9 January 2017.
  5. ^ Annex 1
  6. ^ Who owns Scotland? The changing face of Scotland's landowners, Andrew Picken & Stuart Nicolson, BBC Scotland News, published 21 May 2019
  7. ^ Ross, David (5 June 2013). "Questions raised over land swap deal with billionaire". The Herald. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b c Cox, Montagu H.; Norman, Philip, eds. (1930). "Montague House". Survey of London: Volume 13, St Margaret, Westminster, Part II: Whitehall I. London County Council. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  9. ^ Chancellor, E. Beresford (1908). The private palaces of London: past and present. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner. pp. 301–303. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  10. ^ a b Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. *Memories of Ninety Years.* London: Collins & Brown, 1991, pp. 10. OCLC 1245534119. Retrieved 20 April 2026 from https://archive.org/details/memoriesofninety0000alic
  11. ^ Alice, Duchess of Gloucester. *Memories of Ninety Years.* London: Collins & Brown, 1991, pp. 76-77. OCLC 1245534119. Retrieved 12 Nov 2025 from https://archive.org/details/memoriesofninety0000alic
  12. ^ "No. 2 Grosvenor Place". The Grub Street Project. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  13. ^ Penny, Nicholas. "The Vendramin Family — The 'Cornaro Family' in the Collection of the Dukes of Somerset and the Dukes of Northumberland". The National Gallery. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Duke of Northumberland leases No. 2 Grosvenor Place". The Observer. 17 August 1873. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  15. ^ The Tatler and Bystander. (12 February 1941). Page 8. 2 Grosvenor Place - Duchess of Gloucester & Duke of Buccleuch. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tatler-and-bystander-2-grosvenor-pla/191262995/
  16. ^ The Daily Telegraph. (20 July 1946). Page 3. I.C.I.'s New Offices. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-icis-new-offices/191262989/
  17. ^ "MOD London Offices". Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  18. ^ Evening star. (25 June 1950). Page 62. Lord Dalkeith - 15 Grosvenor Square. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-lord-dalkeith-15-grosveno/195926295/
  19. ^ The Tatler and Bystander. (23 January 1952). Page 2. Duke of Buccleuch - Grosvenor Square. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tatler-and-bystander-duke-of-buccleu/195926514/
  20. ^ Townend, Peter, ed. (1970). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (105th ed.). London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. p. 395. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  21. ^ The Daily Telegraph. (16 July 1971). Page 26. Countess of Dalkeith - 46 Bedford Gardens London W8. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-countess-of-dalkeith/195925878/
  22. ^ Townend, Peter, ed. (1970). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage (105th ed.). London: Burke's Peerage Ltd. p. 392. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  23. ^ Roth, Andrew (6 September 2007). "The Duke of Buccleuch". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  24. ^ Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999). "Buccleuch and Queensberry". Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Vol. 1 (106th ed.). Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd. pp. 409–412. ISBN 2-940085-02-1.
  25. ^ Morris, Susan; Bosberry-Scott, Wendy; Belfield, Gervase, eds. (2019). "Buccleuch and Queensberry". Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage. Vol. 1 (150th ed.). London: Debrett's Ltd. pp. 692–697. ISBN 978-1-999767-0-5-1.
  26. ^ Scots Peerage, p. 249
  27. ^ scotarmigers.net

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