Lord Herdmanston was a title in the
Peerage of Scotland that was held by the Sinclair or St Clair family.
History
Herdmanston in
East Lothian had been held from the 12th century, when
Henry St Clair received a grant of the lands of Herdmanston, from
Richard de Morville, Constable of Scotland.[3] It is not known if the Sinclair Lords Herdmanston share a common origin with the
Sinclair Barons of Roslin,[4] from whom branch off the
Lords Sinclair and
Earls of Caithness.[5] According to the website sinclairgenealogy.info, the fact that the first proven Baron of Roslin,
William St. Clair (died 1297) was made sheriff of
Haddington in East Lothian where Herdmanston also is, suggests that he was appointed there to cover his own home area, and given that the name William appears frequently in the St Clair of Herdmanston family suggests that he may have been part of their extended family.[6] However, according to the website clansinclairusa.org, William St Clair of Roslin was probably unrelated to the St Clairs of Herdmanston.[7] According to Archibald Allan writing in 1900, Henry St Clair of Herdmanston appears to have been a son of the first William de St Clair of Roslin of the 11th century,[5] but this William's existence cannot be proved by contemporary evidence and according to Roland Saint-Clair, William St. Clair who died in 1297 was the first proven Baron of Roslin.[8]
The Sinclairs of Herdmanston are recorded by
James Balfour Paul in his The Scots Peerage.[9] They are also recorded by
Bernard Burke in his a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire,[10] and by 18th century herald,
Alexander Nisbet, in his A System of Heraldry.[11] The
coat of arms of the Sinclair of Herdmanston family is similar to that of the Lord Sinclair, but the
tincture of the
cross was changed from
azure to
sable.[2]
Lords Herdmanston
Roland Saint-Clair writing in the late 19th century lists the following Lords Herdmanston:[4]