Baronage of Scotland

[[File:Ayton Castle - geograph.org.uk - 813849.jpg|thumb|300px|Ayton Castle, Scottish Borders, ''caput'' of the barony of Ayton. Built in 1851 in the Scottish Baronial style by William Mitchell-Innes, then baron of Ayton, to the design of James Gillespie Graham]] In Scotland, a "baron" or "baroness" holds a barony within the '''Baronage of Scotland''', the historic body of minor Scottish nobility. Scottish baronies are heritable<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2004 |title=Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, 63 Baronies and other dignities and offices, explanatory note 198: "It will be a floating dignity which can be bought and sold as incorporeal heritable property and may be bequeathed by will in the normal way". |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/notes/division/1/3/6/11 |access-date=16 June 2004 |website=UK Government Legislation Website}}</ref> titles of honour,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lord Clyde |url=https://archive.org/details/1992-lord-clydes-dictum |title=1992 Lord Clyde's Dictum - Scottish Barony Title of Nobility and Title of Hounour - Law Lord's Legal Position |date=1992 |quote=a barony falls into the class of noble as opposed to ignoble feus. That classification is discussed by Craig (Jus Feudale, I.x.16) and Bankton (II.iii.83). In Scotland the distinction was recognised between the greater barons and the lesser barons, the former acquiring such titles as Duke or Earl. It was at the earliest a territorial dignity as distinct from the later personal peerage. Thus when one was divested of an estate the TITLE OF HONOUR ceased (Bankton, IL.iii.84). In the feudal system, however, whether the dignity was that of a baron or of the greater dignity of an earldom, the feudal effects were the same (Erskine's Institute, I].iii.46).}}</ref> originally created by royal charter from the medieval period onward, and are transferable as well as inheritable. They are distinct from the Peerage of Scotland: a Scottish baron is not a peer, and the Scottish equivalent of an English baron is the higher title of Lord of Parliament. Holders are sometimes referred to as minor barons.

Historically, a barony combined a defined estate with land with local jurisdictional power; barons administered justice through baron's courts, and sat in the Parliament of Scotland. Their powers were curtailed in the 18th century, and Scottish baronies survived into modern times principally as titles of honour attached to land. The ''Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000'', which came into force in 2004, severed baronies from the land to which they had been attached.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abolition of the feudal system |url=https://www.lawscot.org.uk/members/journal/issues/vol-44-issue-02/abolition-of-the-feudal-system/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=Law Society of Scotland}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Explanatory Notes to Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/notes/division/1/3/6/11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918051623/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/notes/division/1/3/6/11 |archive-date=18 September 2024 |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> As a result, baronies are freely tradeable as incorporeal property, and a market in the titles has developed.<ref name=":7" /> The heraldic privileges associated with a barony are regulated by the Court of the Lord Lyon,<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2024 |title=1992 legal position, Lord Clyde, Spencer Thomas of Buquhollie v Newell: "A BARONY FALLS INTO A CLASS OF NOBLE" |url=https://www.courtofthelordlyon.scot/index_htm_files/Menking.pdf |access-date=16 June 2024 |website=Court of the Lord Lyon}}</ref> although the Lord Lyon King of Arms has no jurisdiction over the legal transfer of the title itself.

== History == Scottish baronies originated as grants of land by the Crown ''in liberam baroniam'', conferring on the holder both an estate and the jurisdiction to administer justice within it.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last=Reid |first=Professor Kenneth |title=The Abolition of Feudal Tenure in Scotland |publisher=Tottel |year=2003 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Dickinson |first=William Croft |title=The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523–1542. |date=1937-01-01 |publisher=Scottish History Society |year=1937 |chapter=Introduction}}</ref> They were heritable and, in time, prescriptive: a barony attached to the land rather than to the person, and could be alienated together with the ''caput'', the principal seat of the barony, rather than passing solely by inheritance.<ref name=":3" /> Most Scottish baronies were created before 1745, although a small number were erected as late as 1824.<ref name=":3" />

A barony required a Crown charter erecting specified lands into a barony, recorded in the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-02 |title=Chancery Records - National Records of Scotland |url=https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/learning-and-events/research-guides/chancery-records/ |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=National Records of Scotland |language=en-GB}}</ref> Where the original charter was later lost, an official extract from the Register carried the same legal weight.<ref name=":3" /> The General Register of Sasines, established by statute in 1617, provided a public record of land transfers and conferred prescriptive rights over the ''caput''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gretton |first=George Lidderdale |title=Property, trusts and succession |last2=Steven |first2=Andrew J. M. |date=2024 |publisher=Bloomsbury Professional |isbn=978-1-5265-2744-8 |edition=5th |location=London}}</ref> The Lyon Register, established in 1672, performed the equivalent function for armorial bearings: from that date no arms could be lawfully borne in Scotland unless recorded in the Lyon Register.<ref name=":0" /> From 1874, the requirement that each new baron be confirmed by the Crown through a charter of confirmation was abolished, and transfers were thereafter recorded by ordinary disposition in the Register of Sasines.<ref>{{Cite web |others= |title=Conveyancing (Scotland) Act 1874 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/37-38/94/contents |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260108064245/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/37-38/94/contents |archive-date=2026-01-08 |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref>

Barons sat in the Parliament of Scotland as part of the Second Estate.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Grant |first=Alexander |date=1978 |title=The Development of the Scottish Peerage |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25529278 |journal=The Scottish Historical Review |volume=57 |issue=163 |pages=1–27 |issn=0036-9241}}</ref> An Act of 1428 by James I sought to allow the smaller barons to be represented by elected shire commissioners, but the measure was inoperative; shire representation did not become regular until the 1428 act was revived in 1587.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodare |first=Julian |title=The government of Scotland, 1560-1625 |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-924354-9 |location=Oxford ; New York |chapter=Ch 2: The Body Politic}}</ref> Greater barons frequently acquired peerage titles over time, becoming lords of parliament, earls, or dukes; lesser barons retained local influence through their baron's courts.<ref name=":1" /> The jurisdictions exercised by baron's courts were substantially curtailed by the ''Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746'', passed in the aftermath of the Jacobite rising of 1745, which confined them to minor civil and criminal matters.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Whetstone |first=Ann Elizabeth |title=Scottish County Government in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries |date=1981 |publisher=John Donald |isbn=978-0-85976-061-4 |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>

Following the Acts of Union of 1707, legislative authority over Scottish private law passed to the Parliament of Great Britain at Westminster and, from 1999, to the devolved Scottish Parliament.<ref>{{Cite web |others= |title=Scotland Act 1998 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/contents |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260519173636/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/contents |archive-date=2026-05-19 |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> The Scottish Parliament's first major reform of land law was the ''Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000'', which came fully into force on 28 November 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parliament |first=Scottish |title=Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2000/asp_20000005_en_1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090721215510/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/scotland/acts2000/asp_20000005_en_1 |archive-date=2009-07-21 |access-date=2025-07-17 |website=www.opsi.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-11-28 |title=Age-old Scots property rights end |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/4048529.stm |access-date=2025-07-17 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The Act abolished the feudal system of land tenure in Scotland and severed baronies from the land to which they had been attached. Existing baronies were preserved as dignities – incorporeal hereditaments, comparable in status to hereditary peerages, baronetcies, and coats of arms – but no longer conferred any right to land.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 June 2004 |title=Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, 63 Baronies and other dignities and offices, explanatory note 198: "It will be a floating dignity which can be bought and sold as incorporeal heritable property and may be bequeathed by will in the normal way". |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/notes/division/1/3/6/11 |access-date=16 June 2004 |website=UK Government Legislation Website}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/section/63 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617144406/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/section/63 |archive-date=17 June 2025 |access-date=2025-07-17 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":3" /> The Act marked the end of the ability to acquire a barony by purchasing land containing the ''caput''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Explanatory Notes to Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/notes/division/1/3/6/11/data.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241222140817/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2000/5/notes/division/1/3/6/11/data.htm |archive-date=2024-12-22 |access-date=2025-07-17 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref>

Since 2000, baronies are thus "floating" dignities, capable of being assigned by their holder or bequeathed by will.<ref name=":2" /> Where a baron dies intestate, the dignity is inherited under the pre-1964 rules of succession, which the ''Succession (Scotland) Act 1964'' preserved for titles and dignities.<ref>{{Cite web |others= |title=Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1964/41/contents |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260303140646/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1964/41/contents |archive-date=2026-03-03 |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref> The Court of the Lord Lyon retains jurisdiction over the heraldic aspects of baronies; a holder may petition for a grant of arms and for the appropriate baronial additaments.<ref name="lyon-court.com">{{Cite web |date=30 April 2015 |title=Note issued with Warrant for Letters Patent from Lord Lyon King of Arms |url=http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/files/Menking%20Decision.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908092331/http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/files/Menking%20Decision.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2015 |access-date=13 December 2015}}</ref> The Court has no jurisdiction over the legal assignation of baronies, which is a matter of civil law.<ref name=":3" />

=== Lordships === The medieval baronage existed alongside, and overlapped with, a category of greater territorial dignities known as the "provincial lordships".<ref name=":1" /> These were extensive territories such as the lordships of Annandale, Badenoch, Galloway, Lorne, and the Lordship of the Isles, which corresponded to whole provinces and resembled earldoms in scale rather than the ordinary barony. Over the 14th and 15th centuries these provincial lordships largely ceased to exist as a distinct category: most were absorbed into earldoms, came into the hands of the Crown, or – like Lorne, Nithsdale and the Isles – became lordships of parliament, that is, peerages.<ref name=":1" /> By the middle of the 15th century the higher dignities of duke, earl, and lord of parliament had developed into a personal, honorific peerage, distinct from the baronage out of which the greater barons had been drawn.<ref name=":1" />

Some baronies were erected as lordships, and a small number of surviving baronial dignities are accordingly styled "Lord of X" rather than "Baron of X", for example the Lord of Arbroath. Nevertheless, the institutional writer Lord Stair described such lordships within the baronage as "but more noble titles of a barony" in 1681.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dalrymple |first=James |title=The institutions of the law of Scotland: deduced of its originals, and collated with the civil, canon and feudal laws, and with the customs of neighbouring nations |date=1981 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-02719-8 |editor-last=Walker |editor-first=David |location=Edinburgh |pages=II.3.45 |orig-date=1681}}</ref>

== Aquisition and transfer since 2004 == The ''Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000'' separated Scottish baronies from the land to which they had been previously attached. The practical effect was to make the titles freely tradeable: a barony can be bought, sold, gifted, or bequeathed independently of any landholding, and the buyer becomes the new holder of the dignity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-03-12 |title=Lindsays {{!}} A guide to Scottish Barony Titles |url=https://www.lindsays.co.uk/resources/a-guide-to-scottish-barony-titles-dec-2019/ |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=Lindsays |language=en-GB}}</ref> Baronies may be acquired by any individual regardless of nationality or place of residence,<ref name=":3" /> and many post-2004 transfers have involved buyers from outside Scotland and the United Kingdom. The Scottish Government acknowledged that the Act created "a market in Scottish Baronies [...] in recent years", and gave a Scottish Law Commission price estimate of approximately £60,000 for a barony of no special distinction at the time of the Act's drafting.<ref name=":2" /> Transfer is effected by written assignation; baronies are not registrable in the Land Register, and deeds relating to them are no longer recordable in the Register of Sasines.<ref name=":2" />

A non-statutory "Scottish Barony Register" was established by members of the Scottish legal profession in 2004 to record transfers.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Scottish Barony Register |url=https://scottishbaronyregister.org/scottish-barony-titles |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=Scottish Barony Register |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-05 |title=Margaret Hamilton Of Rockhall Against Lord Lyon King Of Arms |url=https://vlex.co.uk/vid/margaret-hamilton-of-rockhall-896706781 |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=vLex |language=en}}</ref> A market of solicitors and brokers in Scotland and elsewhere advertises baronial titles for sale.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Scottish Barony Titles currently for sale |url=https://baronytitles.com/titles-for-sale/ |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=Barony Titles |language=en-GB}}</ref> Reported asking prices typically range from the low tens of thousands of pounds for less historically prominent titles to substantially higher sums for those with notable historical associations or surviving ''caputs''; prices in the region of £80,000 to £140,000 or more have been reported.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magnus |first=Emma |date=2024-02-12 |title=Scottish castle for sale for £2.3 million - along with the chance to become a baron |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/luxury/kelly-castle-scotland-for-sale-baron-b1137699.html |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=The Standard |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-04-30 |title=Bidders get chance of royal link |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/3675201.stm |access-date=2026-05-23 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Craig |first=James |date=2025-09-19 |title=I paid £104,000 to become a Baron - now I’ve launched my own luxury wine |url=https://www.anguscountyworld.co.uk/business/i-paid-ps104000-to-become-a-baron-now-ive-launched-my-own-luxury-wine-5326091 |access-date=2026-05-24 |website=AngusWorld |language=en}}</ref>

==Styles and forms of address== Holders of a Scottish barony may incorporate the title into their name in the form "John Doe, Baron of X" or "Jane Doe, Baroness of X". Where the holder is also in possession of the ''caput'', the territorial designation may be combined with the title, as in "John Doe of X, Baron of X"; some families prefer to use the territorial designation alone ("Doe of X"). The name recorded by the Lord Lyon King of Arms in a grant or matriculation of arms becomes the holder's official name for legal purposes.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Debrett's: Forms of Address |url=https://debretts.com/etiquette-category/forms-of-address/ |access-date=2026-05-23 |website=debretts.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="scotsbarons1">{{cite web |title=Titles and Usages |url=http://www.scotsbarons.org/titles_and_usages.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225165126/http://www.scotsbarons.org/titles_and_usages.htm |archive-date=25 February 2015 |access-date=17 March 2015 |publisher=Scotsbarons.org}}</ref>

The standard third-person forms are "The Baron of X" and "The Baroness of X". The forms "Baron X" and "Lord X" are incorrect, as both imply a peerage title, specifically that of Lord of Parliament, the Scottish equivalent of an English baron.<ref>{{cite web |title=Male Barons |url=http://www.scotsbarons.org/male_barons.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225165215/http://www.scotsbarons.org/male_barons.htm |archive-date=25 February 2015 |access-date=17 March 2015 |publisher=Scotsbarons.org}}</ref> Where the husband holds the barony, his wife is granted a courtesy title and may be styled "Baroness of X" or "Lady X"; the husband of a substantive baroness receives no courtesy title.<ref name=":4" /> The eldest son of a baron or baroness may use the territorial designation with the suffix "yr" (younger). In formal correspondence, the honorific prefix The Much Honoured (abbreviated as ''The Much Hon.'') can be used.

==Heraldry== thumb|A Scottish baron's helmet [[File:Azure Chapeau.PNG|thumb|An azure chapeau]]The heraldic privileges of Scottish barons are regulated by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, who exercises authority over the granting and matriculation of arms in Scotland. A holder may petition the Lyon Court for a grant of arms and is entitled to bear the helm and additaments appropriate to the dignity. Barons may wear two eagle feathers when dressed in Highland attire; for those belonging to a clan, the practice is subject to consultation with the clan chief.<ref>{{cite web |title=How to wear the kilt | Scottish Tartans Authority |url=http://www.tartansauthority.com/highland-dress/modern/how-to-wear-the-kilt/some-advice/ |access-date=17 March 2015 |publisher=Tartansauthority.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hereditary offices |url=http://www.scotsbarons.org/hereditary_offices.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226024221/http://www.scotsbarons.org/hereditary_offices.htm |archive-date=26 February 2015 |access-date=17 March 2015 |publisher=Scotsbarons.org}}</ref> Between the 1930s and 2004, the Lord Lyon also granted a ''chapeau'' or cap of maintenance to barons as part of their armorial achievement: ''gules doubled ermine'' for barons in possession of the ''caput'', and an ''azure'' version for heirs of ancient baronial families no longer holding the estates.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Innes of Learney |first=Thomas |url=http://archive.org/details/scotsheraldry0000inne |title=Scots Heraldry |date=1978 |publisher=London : Johnston and Bacon |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7179-4228-2}}</ref> The Baron of the Bachuil is uniquely permitted to use a chapeau lined with vair (squirrel fur).<ref name="bachuil">{{cite book |last=Livingston of the Bachuil, yr. |first=Niall |url=http://baronage.co.uk/2006a/Bachuil.pdf |title=The MacLeas or Livingstones and their Allodial Barony of the Bachuil |date=2006 |publisher=Baronage Press |access-date=2018-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205638/http://www.baronage.co.uk/2006a/Bachuil.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The chapeau was an addition introduced under Thomas Innes of Learney as Lord Lyon and is no longer granted; many earlier baronial arms do not include it.

==List of baronies== {{More citations needed section|date=July 2025}}{{Divisions of Scottish Baronage sidebar}}

Below is an '''incomplete list''' of baronies created in the Scottish baronage. Titles in ''italics'' are subsidiary baronial titles held by the same baron. Titles linked and with '''The''' before the name is the holder's primary title.

{| class="wikitable" !width=220|Title !Creation date |- |The Baron of Abbotshall |17c |- |The Baron of Abergeldie |1482 |- |The Baron of Aden |1333 |- |The Baron of Alford |17c |- |The Baron of Alforshire | |- |''Baron of Trent'' | |- |The Baron of Anstruther |16c |- |The Baron of Ardblair |1399 |- |''Baron of Gask'' | |- |The Baron of Ardgour |16c |- |The Baron of Ardgowan |13c |- |The Baron of Ardgrain | |- |The Baron of Ardoch |16c |- |The Baron of Arndilly |17c |- |The Baron of Arnisdale |17c |- |The Baron of Arnot |1507 |- |The Baron of Auchreoch |15C |- |The Baron of Auchendarroch |17c |- |The Baron of Auchenhove <ref>Historical Records of the Family of Leslie 1067-1869 vol. 3 by Col. Leslie of Balquhain (1869) </ref><ref>National Records of Scotland, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk Legal records - Wills and testaments</ref> |15c |- |The Baron of Auchindoir |15c |- |The Baron of Auchinleck |15c |- |The Baron of Auchmacoy |16c |- |The Baron of Auchterhouse |13c |- |The Baron of Auchtermunzie |1437 |- |Baron of Auchterutherstruther |17c |- |The Baron of Ayton |17c |- |The Baron of the Bachuil |9c |- |The Baron of Badenscoth |1823 |- |The Baron of Balcaskie |17c |- |The Baron of Balfluig |16c |- |The Baron of Ballencrieff (East Lothian) | |- |The Baron of Ballencrieff (West Lothian) |15c |- |The Baron of Ballindalloch |17c |- |The Baron of Ballumbie |17c |- |The Baron of Balmachreuchie |15c |- |Baron of Balmain |1475 |- |The Baron of Balmore |1478 |- |The Baron of Balquhain<ref name=balquhain1> "[A]ll erected, created and united in a whole and free barony called the barony of Balquhain" {{cite web |title=Ratification in favour of Patrick Leslie of Balquhain |website=The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 |publisher=University of St Andrews |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/search.php?action=fc&fn=charlesii_trans&id=38999:&query=john&type=trans&variants=&google= |access-date=2025-07-31 }} </ref> |1670<ref name=balquhain1 /> |- |Baron of Balquidder |1774 |- |The Baron of Balvenie |16c |- |The Baron of Balvill |1630 |- ||The Baron of Banchory |18c |- |The Baron of Bannockburn |14c |- |The Baron of Barnbarroch |16c |- |The Baron of Barnis Forbes |15c |- |The Baron of Barnton |14c |- |The Baron of Barr |16c |- |The Baron of Barra |16c |- |The Baron of Bathgate<ref name=bathgate1> "[A]ll and whole the lands and barony of Bathgate" {{cite web |title=Ratification in favour of Patrick Leslie of Balquhain |website=The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 |publisher=University of St Andrews |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/search.php?a=fcf&fn=charlesii_trans&id=38366&t=trans |access-date=2025-08-01 }} </ref> |12c |- |The Baron of Bavelaw<ref name=bavelaw1>{{Cite web |title=Bavelaw {{!}} The Forum of Scotland's Baronage |url=https://baronage.scot/tour-of-the-baronies/bavelaw/ |access-date=2024-08-12}}</ref> | |- |The Baron of Bearcrofts |1697 |- |The Baron of Bedrule | |- |The Baron of Belton |c. 1468 |- |The Baron of Benholm |15c |- |The Baron of Biggar |1451 |- |The Baron of Blackburn |16c |- |The Baron of Blackford |17c |- |The Baron of Blackhall |1395 |- |The Baron of Blackness<ref name=blackness1> "[A]nd union of the same to the barony of Blackness (...)" {{cite web |title=Ratification in favour of Patrick Leslie of Balquhain |website=The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 |publisher=University of St Andrews |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/search.php?a=fcf&fn=charlesii_trans&id=38998&t=trans |access-date=2025-08-01 }} </ref> | |- |The Baron of Blair |15c |- |The Baron of Blantyre |16c |- |The Baron of Bognie |1635 |- |''Baron of Mountblairy'' |1812 |- |The Baron of Bombie |17c |- |The Baron of Buittle |1315 |- |The Baron of Brigton |1761 |- |The Baron of Brough | |- |Baron of Buchan Forest | |- |''Baron of Blairbuis'' | |- |''Baron of Corsewall'' | |- |''Baron of Glencammon'' | |- |The Baron of Buquhollie and Freswick |16c |- |The Baron of Byres |1366 |- |Baron of Calder |14c |- |The Baron of Cambusnethan |1315 |- |The Baron of Carmichael |14c |- |The Baron of Carnoustie |16c |- |The Baron of Carnwath | rowspan="8" | |- |''Baron of Braidwood'' |- |''Baron of Walston'' |- |''Baron of Dryden'' |- |''Baron of Covington'' |- |''Baron of Milntown'' |- |''Baron of Westshield'' |- |''Baron of Newholm'' |- |The Baron of Carstairs |14c |- |''Baron of Baldoon'' |15c |- |The Baron of Cartsburn |1669 |- |Baron of Castlehill |1411 |- |Baron of Caskieben |16c |- |The Baron of Castle Stewart |1638 |- |The Baron of Cavers |16c |- |The Baron of Chirnside | |- |The Baron of Clackmannan |1334 |- |The Baron of Cleghorn |15c |- |The Baron of Clerkington<ref>RSG.I.App.2.#1768</ref> |1369 |- |The Baron of Closeburn |15c |- |The Baron of Clugstoun |1471 |- |The Baron of Cluny |16c |- |The Baron of Cluny |17c |- |The Baron of Cockenzie |16c |- |The Baron of Coigach<ref>{{cite web |title=The Barony of Coigach |url=https://www.baronyofcoigach.com/ |access-date=17 March 2015 |publisher=The Barony of Coigach}}</ref> |1511 |- |The Baron of Coldingknows |1634 |- |The Baron of Elphinstone |15c |- |The Baron of Colstoun |17c |- |The Baron of Corrachree |16c |- |The Baron of Corstorphine |1431 |- |The Baron of Coupar<ref>{{Cite web |title=Records of the Parliaments of Scotland |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/search.php?action=fetch_index_frame&fn=jamesvi_trans&id=12147&query=coupar&type=trans&variants=&google= |access-date=2025-07-11 |website=www.rps.ac.uk}}</ref> |1606 |- |The Baron of Cowie (Aberdeen) | |- |The Baron of Cowie (stirling) |12c |- |Baron of Coxton |1686 |- |The Baron of Craighall | |- |The Baron of Craigie |1666 |- |Baron of Craigievar |16c |- |The Baron of Craigmillar |1511 |- |The Baron of Cranshaws |15c |- |The Baron of Crawfordjohn |13c |- |The Baron of Crichton |15c |- |The Baron of Crimond |16c |- |The Baron of Cromar | |- |The Baron of Cromarty |17c |- |The Baron of Crommey |18c |- |The Baron of Culbin |16c |- |The Baron of Culcreuch |c. 1472 |- |The Baron of Cushnie |15c |- |The Baron of Dairsie |18c |- |The Baron of Dalziel | |- |The Baron of Danira and Comrie | |- |The Baron of Delvine |15c |- |The Baron of Denboig |1657 |- |The Baron of Denny |16c |- |''Baron of Fullarton'' | |- |The Baron of Dinnet |14c |- |Baron of Dirleton |1220 |- |The Baron of Dolphinstoun |c. 1700 |- |The Baron of Dowart |1496 |- |The Baron of Drum |1323 |- |Baron of Drylaw | |- |Baron of Duart and Morvern |1631 |- |The Baron of Dudhope<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baronage.scot/tour-of-the-baronies/dudhope |title=Dudhope | the Forum of Scotland's Baronage}}</ref> |1542 |- |The Baron of Dun |1382 |- |Baron of Dunconnel |1400 |- |The Baron of Duncrub |17c |- |The Baron of Dunure |16c |- |The Baron of Earlshall |15c |- |The Baron of Easter Gordon | |- |The Baron of Echlin |18c |- |The Baron of Edingight |16c |- |The Baron of Elie and St Monans |15c |- |The Baron of Entwistle |1212 |- |The Baron of Esslemont |16c |- |The Baron of Ethie | |- |Baron of Eyemouth |18c |- |The Baron of Fetternear |17c |- |The Baron of Fingalton |1663 |- |The Baron of Finlaystone Maxwell |17c |- |The Baron of Finzean |17c |- |The Baron of Fithie | |- |The Baron of Fordell |1511 |- |The Baron of Freuch |1559 |- |The Baron of Gala |16c |- |The Baron of Garrallan |14c |- |The Baron of Garthland |c. 1637 |- |The Baron of Gartly |15c |- |The Baron of Gartmore |15c |- |The Baron of Giffen | rowspan="4" |1371 |- |''Baron of Trearne'' |- |''Baron of Ramshead'' |- |''Baron of Stane'' |- |The Baron of Gilmerton |1667 |- |The Baron of Glasserton |1542 |- |The Baron of Glencoe | |- |The Baron of Glendowachy | |- |The Baron of Gleneagles | |- |The Baron of Glenfaier | |- |The Baron of Glenfalloch |14c |- |The Baron of Glengarnock | |- |The Baron of Glenluce |c. 1628 |- |The Baron of Glentirian | |- |The Baron of Gogar |16c |- |The Baron of Gourdie |16c |- |The Baron of Gourock |18c |- |The Baron of Grandhome |17c |- |The Baron of Grantully |15c |- |Baron of Greenlaw |1451 |- |The Baron of Greenan |16c |- |''Baron of Clary'' |17c |- |The Baron of Greenock |18c |- |The Baroness of Grougar |1321 |- |The Baron of Haliburton and Lambden |1451 |- |Baron of Hallrule |16c |- |''The Baron of Buncle and Preston'' |14c |- |''The Baron of Over Liberton'' | |- |The Baron of Haddington |16c |- |The Baron of Hartsyde |1345 |- |The Baron of Herbertshire |1523 |- |The Baron of Horsbrugh |15c |- |The Baron of Houston |c. 1296 |- |The Baron of Inchdrewer |16c |- |The Baron of Insch |1528 |- |The Baron of Invermessan |1566 |- | The Baron of Inneryne |10c |- |The Baron of Innes |17c |- |The Baron of Inverallochy | |- |The Baron of Invercauld and Omnalprie | |- |The Baron of Jedburgh Forest | 1602 |- |The Baron of Keith Marischal |1150 |- |The Baron of Kellie |1619 |- |The Baron of Kelly | |- |The Baron of Kemnay | |- |The Baron of Kerse | |- |The Baron of Kersland | |- |The Baron of Kilbirnie |1600 |- |The Baron of Kilcoy |16c |- |The Baron of Kilduthie | |- |The Baron of Kilmichael |1541 |- |''Baron of Kilmun'' | |- |''Baron of Innerwick'' |15c |- |The Baron of Kilmaurs | |- |The Baron of Kilpunt | |- |The Baron of Kilravock |1293 |- |The Baron of Kinblathmond | |- |The Baroness of Kincaid |15c |- |The Baron of Kincraig |16c |- |The Baron of Kinedar | |- |The Baron of Kinnaber | |- |The Baron of Kinnairdy |17c |- |The Baron of Kinnear |16c |- |The Baron of Kinross | |- |The Baroness of Kippenross |16c |- |The Baron of Kirkbuddo |1463 |- |The Baron of Kirkdale |15c |- |The Baron of Kirkgunzeon | |- |The Baron of Kirkliston |1618 |- |The Baron of Kirriemuir |1390 |- |The Baron of Kirknewton |17c |- |The Baron of Kirkton |17c |- |''Burgh of Barony of Kirkstyle'' | |- |The Baron of Krawfort |1576 |- |The Baron of Lag |1685 |- |The Baron of Lamberton |c. 1236 |- |''The Baron of Lamden'' | |- |The Baron of Lamington | |- |The Baron of Largo |17c |- |The Baron of Lathallan |17c |- |The Baron of Lee |1272 |- |The Baron of Lenzie |1170 |- |The Baron of Lescure |15c |- |The Baron of Leslie (Aberdeenshire) |16c |- |The Baron of Lesmahagow | |- |The Baron of Lethendy |17c |- |The Baron of Lethington |c. 1166 |- |The Baron of Lintrathen | |- |The Baron of Little Pert | |- |The Baron of Lochfergus |16c |- |Baron of Locherwart | |- |Baron of Heriotmuir | |- |The Baron of Loch Mullion |c. 1700 |- |The Baron of Lochnaw |1699 |- |The Baron of Lochrounell |c. 1630 |- |The Baron of Logany |c. 1576 |- |The Baron of Logie | |- |The Baron of Logiealmond | |- |The Baron of Loncastell |c. 1551 |- |The Baron of Loudoun |12c |- |The Baron of Lour |1654 |- |The Baron of Lundie |1489 |- |The Baron of Marchmont |17c |- |Baron of MacDonald |17c |- |The Baron of MacDougall |1660 |- |The Baron of MacDuff |1039 |- |The Baron of McAuslane of Caldenocht |c. 1395 |- |The Baron of Martyn-Kennedy alias Frethrid |c. 1541 |- |The Baron of Mearns |12c |- |The Baron of Meigle and Fullerton |1165 |- |The Baron of Melfort |1360 |- |The Baron of Melgund | |- |The Baron of Melville | |- |The Baron of Menie |1317 |- |The Baron of Menzies |1510 |- |The Baron of Mertoun |1504 |- |The Baron of Midmar |16c |- |The Baron of Miltonhaven |1695

|- |The Baron of Mochrum |c. 1472 |- |The Baron of Moncreiffe | rowspan="2" |1248 |- |''Baron of Easter Moncreiffe'' |- |The Baron of Montgomeriestoun |c. 1636 |- |The Baron of Mordington |1124 |- |The Baron of Mouswald |1452 |- |The Baron of Moy |17c |- |The Baron of Mugdock |1458 |- |The Baron of Muirton |1532 |- |The Baron of Mullion |1446 |- |The Baron of Mureth |c. 1514 |- |The Baron of Myrton |c. 1470 |- |The Baron of Newabbay | |- |The Baron of Newton |1685 |- |The Baron of Niddrie Marischal<ref name=niddrie1> [A]ll and whole the lands and barony of Niddrie-Marischal(...) {{cite web |title=Ratification in favour of Sir John Wauchope of Niddrie-[Marischal] |website=The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 |publisher=University of St Andrews |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/search.php?action=fc&fn=charlesii_trans&id=39304:&query=&type=trans&variants=&google= |access-date=2025-08-03 }} </ref> |1672<ref name=niddrie1 /> |- |The Baron of Ochtercoull | |- |The Baron of Old Montrose | |- |The Baron of Ormiston |1637 |- |''Baron of Robertland'' |1539 |- |The Baron of Otterinverane |14c |- |Baron of Over Cowal | |- |The Baron of Panbride | |- |The Baron of Panmure | |- |The Baron of Park |1563 |- |The Baron of Paistoun |16c |- |Baron of Penicuik |16c |- |The Baron of Pentland |1316 |- |''Baron of Lochawe'' | |- |The Baron of Phantelane |1436 |- |The Baron of Pitcaple |17c |- |The Baron of Pitcruivie |15c |- |The Baron of Pitmilly |16c |- |The Baron of Plean |16c |- |The Baron of Plenderleith |1306 |- |The Baron of Pluscarden | |- |The Baron of Portrie |c. 1636 |- |The Baron of Porterfield | |- |The Baron of Portlethen |18c |- |The Baron of Poltoun |1726 |- |The Baron of Preston and Prestonpans |1460 |- |The Baron of Prestonfield | |- |The Baron of Prestoungrange |1189 |- |The Baron of Primside and House Site | |- |The Baron of Quhithorne |c. 1569 |- |The Baron of Rachane |17c |- |The Baron of Rannoch |1502 |- |The Baron of Rattray |16c |- |The Baron of Ravenstone |15c |- |The Baron of Redcastle |15c |- |The Baron of Remistoun |c. 1540 |- |Baron of Renfrew |1398 |- |The Baron of Rescobie | |- |The Baron of Restalrig | |- |The Baron of Roberton |16c |- |The Baron of Rossie |17c |- |The Baron of Ruchlaw |16c |- |The Baron of Rusco |17c |- |The Baron of Saint Monance |1596 |- |The Baron of Sauchie |1320 |- |The Baron of Saulset |c. 1629 |- |The Baron of Seabegs |15c |- |The Baron of Seggieden |1209 |- |The Baron of Skeane |1317 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Skene of Skene, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |url=https://humphrysfamilytree.com/Skene/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=humphrysfamilytree.com}}</ref> |- |''Baron of Hallyards'' | |- |The Baron of Smeaton Hepburn |15c |- |The Baron of Stobo |1577 |- |The Baron of Stonehaven | |- |The Baron of Stoneywood |15c |- |The Baron of Strathlachlan | |- |The Baron of Strichen |1514 |- |The Baron of Struan |16c |- |The Baron of Swinton |1098 |- |The Baron of Tarbert | |- |The Baron of Teallach |17c |- |The Baron of Thainstone |1488 |- |The Baron of Thankerton | |- |The Baron of Torboll |1360 |- |The Baron of Tranent |16c |- |The Baron of Traquair |1491 |- |The Baron of Troup | |- |The Baron of Tulloch |1678 |- |The Baron of Turriff<ref> {{cite news |title=Edinburgh Advertiser Archives, Sep 7, 1798, p. 17 |website=NewspaperArchive.com |publisher=Edinburgh Advertiser |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/edinburgh-advertiser-sep-07-1798-p-17/ |access-date=2025-08-02 }} </ref><ref name=turriff1> {{cite web |title=Ratification of the burgh in barony of Turriff |website=The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 |publisher=University of St Andrews |url=https://www.rps.ac.uk/search.php?action=fc&fn=jamesvi_trans&id=11405:&query=&type=trans&variants= |access-date=2025-08-02 }} </ref> |1592<ref name=turriff1 /> |- |The Baron of Twynehame |15c |- |The Baron of Urquhart |1587 |- |The Baron of Waughton | |- |The Baron of Wedderburn |1413 |- |The Baron of Wells |17c |- |The Baron of West Niddry | |- |The Baron of West Nisbet | |- |The Baron of Winchburgh |15c |- |The Baron of Wormiston |17c |- |The Baron of Yair |1806 |- |The Baron of Yeochrie |15c |} a: The creation date is the earliest known date for the barony and subject to revision.

b: C before the date is ''circa'' around this date of before. C after the date = century.

=== Higher titles ===

* List of Lordships in the Baronage of Scotland – the second degree of baronage nobility * List of Earldoms in the Baronage of Scotland – the third degree of baronage nobility, nobler than Baron (first) and Lord (second) * List of Marquisates and Dukedoms in the Baronage of Scotland – the noblest forms in the hierarchy * List of Lordships of Regality – erected ''in liberam regalitatem''

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite web|author=Scottish Law Commission |title=Report on Abolition of the Feudal System. Laid before Parliament by the Lord Advocate under section 3(2) of the Law Commissions Act 1965. Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed11 February 1999 (Scot Law Com No 168)|url=https://www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/download_file/view/447/ |access-date=17 March 2015}} * {{Cite book |last=Dickinson |first=William Croft |contribution=Introduction |url=http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/files/WES%20Note.pdf |title=The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523-1542 |publisher=Scottish History Society |date=1937 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181027/http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/files/WES%20Note.pdf |access-date=5 June 2025 |archive-date=3 March 2016 }} "The standard scholarly work on the history of Scottish feudal baronies". *Grant, Alexander, ''The Development of the Scottish Peerage'', published in the ''Scottish Historical Review'', 1978.

==External links== * {{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=Brian |date=May 2006 |url=http://www.armorial-register.com/monthly/special-newsletter-06.pdf |title=A petition for Arms with Baronial Additaments |volume=1 |edition=Special |journal=The Amorial Register Newsletter |access-date=17 March 2015 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923173759/http://www.armorial-register.com/monthly/special-newsletter-06.pdf |url-status=dead }} * {{cite web |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/deleted/library/documents-w10/afs1-00.htm |title= Report on Abolition of the Feudal System :Contents|website=www.scotland.gov.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050112153537/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/deleted/library/documents-w10/afs1-00.htm |archive-date=12 January 2005}} * [http://www.armorial-register.com/baron-lordship-register.html The Register of Feudal Lords and Barons of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122115950/http://www.armorial-register.com/baron-lordship-register.html |date=22 January 2022 }} * {{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk/|title=The Heraldry Society of Scotland|website=www.heraldry-scotland.co.uk|accessdate=5 June 2025}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.baronyregistry.com/ |title=The Scottish Baronage Registry |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226102451/http://baronyregistry.com/ |archive-date=2011-02-26}}

{{British nobility}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Barons in Scotland}} Scotland Barony Barony Barony Barony Category:Baronies in the Baronage of Scotland Category:Lists of British nobility Category:Scottish nobility Scotland Barony Scotland