"Earl of Windsor" and "Earl of Bute" redirect here. For the British prime minister, see John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute.
Marquessate of the County of Bute
Arms of the Marquess of Bute: Quarterly, 1st & 4th, Or, a Fess chequy Azure and Argent within a Double-Tressure flory counterflory Gules (for Stuart); 2nd & 3rd,, Argent a Lion rampant Azure (for Crichton).[1]
Over the centre Crest: NOBILIS EST IRA LEONIS (The wrath of the lion is noble) Over the dexter Crest: GOD SEND GRACE Over the sinister Crest: Avito viret honore (He flourishes in ancestral honour)
Currently the Earldom of Dumfries resides with the Marquesses of Bute. However, it can be inherited through the female line through an amendment to its original creation, and the title could be separated from the Marquessate of Bute should heirs presumptive to the titles of Bute and Dumfries, being male and female respectively, inherit.
John Stuart was the member of a family that descended from John Stewart (1360–1449), Sheriff of Bute, a natural son of Robert II of Scotland and his mistress Moira Leitch, married to Janet Sympil and in 1407 to Elizabeth Graham. This John Stewart was granted the lands of Bute, Arran and Cumbrae by his father. He was known as the 'Black Stewart' because of his dark complexion; his brother John Stewart of Dundonald was known as the 'Red Stewart'. The grant of lands was confirmed in 1400 by a charter of Robert III.[3][4]
About 1385, John Stewart of Bute was granted the hereditary office of Sheriff of Bute by his father Robert II. He died in 1449, aged 89.[5][6] At about the time of Mary, Queen of Scots, the family adopted the spelling of 'Stuart', which she had used while living in France.[3]James Stuart, seventh in descent from the Black Stewart, was created a Baronet, of Bute, in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 28 March 1627. His grandson, the third Baronet, represented Bute in the Parliament of Scotland and was one of the Commissioners that negotiated the Union between Scotland and England. On 14 April 1703, he was raised to the Peerage of Scotland as Earl of Bute, Viscount of Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock. He was succeeded by his son, the 2nd Earl of Bute and 4th Baronet, who sat in the House of Lords as a Scottish representative peer and served as Lord-Lieutenant of Buteshire. On his early death, the titles passed to his son, the third Earl. He became a politician and favourite of George III and served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763. Lord Bute married Mary, a daughter of Edward Wortley Montagu and his wife the writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. In 1761, Lord Bute's wife Mary was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain in her own right as Baroness Mount Stuart, of Wortley in the County of York, with remainder to the heirs male of her body by her then husband Lord Bute. Her son became the first Marquess of Bute, whose eldest son and heir John Stuart, Lord Mount Stuart (who predeceased his father) married Lady Elizabeth Penelope, daughter and heiress of Patrick McDouall-Crichton, 6th Earl of Dumfries. Lord Mount Stuart's eldest son John succeeded his maternal grandfather as seventh Earl of Dumfries in 1803, and his paternal grandfather as second Marquess of Bute in 1814. In 1805, he assumed by Royal licence the additional surname of Crichton before Stuart. He was succeeded by his only child, the third Marquess. He was an antiquarian, scholar, philanthropist and architectural patron and also held the post of Lord-Lieutenant of Buteshire. It was the 3rd Marquess who in 1868 first converted to Catholicism,[7] since which time the family have remained of that faith. His son the fourth Marquess was also Lord-Lieutenant of Buteshire. His grandson, John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute, succeeded his father and was Lord-Lieutenant of Buteshire from 1967 to 1975. As of 2021, the peerages are held by the latter's grandson, John Crichton-Stuart, 8th Marquess of Bute.
Bute family titles
The Marquesses of Bute have important ancestors not only in Scotland but also in Wales, including the first Lord Herbert of Cardiff, son and heir of Richard Herbert of Ewyas. He was also created Earl of Pembroke.[2] After the Stuart Restoration, most of the Herbert family property was sold, and the rest was owned by Thomas, Viscount Windsor, who married Charlotte, the only child of Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke. In 1766, Viscount Windsor's granddaughter, Charlotte Jane, was married to John Stuart, Lord Mount Stuart (1744-1814), the son and heir of the 3rd Earl of Bute, prime minister from 1762 to 1763,[2] and through this marriage great estates in south Wales came into the Bute family. In 1776, sixteen years before he succeeded his father as Earl of Bute, he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain in his own right as Baron Cardiff, of Cardiff Castle in the County of Glamorgan, in recognition of his substantial Welsh estates. In 1796, he was further honoured when he was created Earl of Windsor and Viscount Mountjoy, in the Isle of Wight, revivals of the titles once held by his wife's family, and Marquess of Bute. These titles are also in the Peerage of Great Britain.
Other offices and duties
The marquess of Bute is the hereditary keeper of Rothesay Castle, a privilege granted to the ancestor of the Earls and Marquesses of Bute, John Stewart, by Robert II during the 14th century. In this capacity, the Crichton-Stuart family had been responsible for the upkeep and restoration of the castle up until the 1960s.[8][9]
This branch of the Stewart (also Stuart) family previously held the office of Hereditary High Steward of Scotland, an office now held by the duke of Rothesay, in his capacity as a direct descendant of the House of Stuart.
Lord William Stuart, fourth son of the first Marquess, was a captain in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament. Lord George Stuart (1780–1841), fifth son of the first Marquess, was a rear-admiral in the Royal Navy. Lord Dudley Stuart, sixth son of the first Marquess (and eldest from his second marriage), was a member of parliament. Lord Patrick Crichton-Stuart, second son of Lord Mount Stuart, eldest son of the first Marquess, was Member of Parliament for Cardiff. His eldest son James Crichton-Stuart also represented this constituency in Parliament. Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart, second son of the third Marquess, was also Member of Parliament for Cardiff before his early death in the First World War. Lord Colum Crichton-Stuart, third and youngest son of the third Marquess, sat as Member of Parliament for Northwich for many years. Lord Robert Crichton-Stuart Crichton-Stuart, second son of the fourth Marquess, was Lord-Lieutenant of Buteshire. Lord Rhidian Crichton-Stuart, fifth and youngest son of the fourth Marquess, was a British member of the International Legislative Assembly of the Tangier International Zone.
The Earls and Marquesses of Bute originally used the courtesy title Lord Mount Stuart for the heir apparent. After the Earldom of Dumfries was inherited by the second Marquess, the heir apparent has been styled Earl of Dumfries and his heir apparent is styled Lord Mount Stuart. However, the current Marquess John Bryson Crichton-Stuart was styled as Lord Mount Stuart for some years after his father inherited the marquessate in 1993. This was because his father was well known at the time as Johnny Dumfries, Earl of Dumfries. Subsequently, the seventh Marquess became known as John or Johnny Bute and his heir adopted Jack Dumfries for short.
Quarterly, 1st & 4th, Or, a Fess chequy Azure and Argent within a Double-Tressure flory counterflory Gules (for Stuart); 2nd & 3rd,, Argent a Lion rampant Azure (for Crichton).
Supporters
Dexter: A Stag proper, attired and gorged with an Earl's Coronet Or, having therefrom a chain reflexed over the back Gules; Sinister: A Horse Argent, bridled Gules.
Motto
Over the centre Crest: NOBILIS EST IRA LEONIS (The wrath of the lion is noble),
Over the dexter Crest: GOD SEND GRACE,
Over the sinister Crest: Avito viret honore (To flourish in an honourable ancestry)
Other elements
Behind the shield placed in saltire, a Key Or, having within its handle a Fess chequy Azure and Argent, and a Rod Gules, surmounted with a Tower Argent, masoned Sable, conically capped loopholes and port Gules (being the Insignia of the Office of the Hereditary Keeper of Rothesay Castle).[1]
Seat
Mount Stuart House
Mount Stuart House is the seat of the family of the Stuarts of Bute, on land which has been in the family since 1157, on the Isle of Bute.
James Stuart, 2nd Earl of Bute, built a new Georgian house here which was finished in 1719. In 1877, this was damaged by fire, although the walls and most of the contents survived the blaze. A new Victorian Mount Stuart House was then built[10] and was the first in Scotland to have electric lighting throughout, as well as having the world's first heated pool.[11]
Although Mount Stuart House is the family seat of the Marquesses of Bute, the Mount Stuart Trust has operated it as a business since 1989.[12]
Because of maintenance problems, in 2003 the 7th Marquess decided to sell Dumfries House and to send the contents to auction. However, Charles III, (then)-Prince of Wales was able to arrange for the sale of the house, its contents, and its 2000-acre estate to a consortium of organisations, including the Scottish government, the Art Fund, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Monument Trust, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and Save Britain's Heritage. The Prince's Charities Foundation borrowed much of the £45m total sale price.[17][18]
Cardiff Castle
The 3rd Marquess worked with the architect William Burges in creating two Gothic revival castles in south Wales. The Work of William Burges at Cardiff Castle[19] has been remodeled from the original Roman fort and the later Norman motte-and-bailey; it has since passed through the hands of many noble families until in 1766, it passed by marriage to the Bute family.
The 2nd Marquess of Bute was key in developing south Wales into one of the biggest coal exporters in its time by developing the port and Cardiff docks. Cardiff castle was inherited by his son John, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, who was extremely wealthy.[19] The project begun in 1866 with the architect William Burges who transformed the castle grounds. Within the two towers one of which is a clock, he also designed expert interiors, with murals, stained glass, marble, gilding and elaborate wood carvings. The rooms included are the Mediterranean gardens and Italian, then also Arabian winter smoking room within the Herbert tower.
Despite both previous Marquesses dying in their 50's, the project was completed by the 4th Marquess. Then after death of the 4th Marquess of Bute, the family gave away the castle and its surrounding parks to city of Cardiff. For a quarter of a century, the Castle was leased by the National College of Music and Drama, and since 1974 Cardiff Castle has become one of Wales’s most popular tourist destinations.[19]
The 3rd Marquess of Bute, another John Crichton-Stuart, inherited Castell Coch and the family estates as a child in 1848.[23][24] On his coming of age, Bute's landed estates and industrial inheritance made him one of the wealthiest men in the world.[25] He had a wide range of interests including archaeology, theology, linguistics and history.[25] In 1850 the antiquarian George Clark surveyed Castell Coch and published his findings, the first major scholarly work about the castle.
Castell Coch[26] has been used for over 700 years, the previous owner were the De Clare Family. The castle was rarely used and given to the British government by the 5th Marquess in 1950.
John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 8th Marquess of Bute (born 1989)
Present peer
John Bryson Crichton-Stuart, 8th Marquess of Bute (born 21 December 1989) is the son of the 7th Marquess and his wife Carolyn E. R. M. Waddell. He was styled as Lord Mount Stuart from 1993.[27]
On 22 March 2021 he succeeded his father as Marquess of Bute (G.B., 1796), Earl of Dumfries (S., 1633), Earl of Bute (S., 1703), Earl of Windsor (G.B., 1796), Viscount Ayr (S., 1622), Viscount Kingarth (S., 1703), Viscount Mountjoy (G.B., 1796), Lord Crichton of Sanquhar (S., 1488), Lord of Sanquhar (S., 1622), Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock (S., 1633), Lord Mountstuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock (S., 1703), Baron Mount Stuart of Wortley (G.B., 1761), and Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle (G.B., 1776).
He also became the 14th Stuart baronet in the baronetage of Nova Scotia (1627).[28]
William Crichton 1578–1643 1st Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Sanquhar, and Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, 9th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar
William Crichton 1598–1691 2nd Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Sanquhar, and Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, 10th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar
James Dalrymple 1619–1695 1st Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple
James Stuart 1661–1710 1st Earl of Bute, Viscount of Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock
Charles Chricton styled Lord Crichton
John Dalrymple 1648–1706/1707 1st Earl of Stair, Viscount of Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 2nd Viscount of Stair and Lord Glenluce and Stranraer
James Dalrymple d. 1719 1st Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun [Nova Scotia]
James Stuart d. 1722/1723 2nd Earl of Bute, Viscount of Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock
John Dalrymple 1673–1747 2nd Earl of Stair, Viscount of Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 3rd Viscount of Stair and Lord Glenluce and Stranraer
Penelope Crichton 1682–1741/1742 suo jure4th Countess of Dumfries, Viscountess of Ayr, Lady of Sanquhar, and Lady Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, 12th Lady Crichton of Sanquhar,
William Crichton d. 1694 3rd Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Sanquhar, and Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, 11th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar
George Dalrymple 1680-1745
John Dalrymple d. 1743 2nd Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
John Stuart 1713–1792 3rd Earl of Bute, Viscount of Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock
Elizabeth Crichton Dalrymple
James Dalrymple d. 1760 3rd Earl of Stair, Viscount of Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 4th Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair
William Dalrymple-Crichton 1699–1768 5th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Stair, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Sanquhar, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 4th Earl of Stair, Viscount Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 12th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar
John Dalrymple 1720–1789 5th Earl of Stair, Viscount of Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 6th Viscount of Stair, and Lord Glenluce and Stranraer
John Stuart 1744–1814 1st Marquess of Bute, 4th Earl of Bute, 1st Earl of Windsor, 4th Viscount of Kingarth, 4th Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock
Patrick McDouall-Crichton 1726–1803 6th Earl of Dumfries, 6th Viscount of Ayr, 13th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 6th Lord Sanquhar, 6th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock
John Dalrymple 1749–1821 6th Earl of Stair, 6th Viscount of Stair, 6th Viscount of Dalrymple, 6th Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer
John William Henry Dalrymple 1784–1840 7th Earl of Stair, 8th Viscount of Stair, 7th Viscount of Dalrymple, 7th Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer
John Hamilton Dalrymple 1771–1853 8th Earl of Stair, 9th Viscount of Stair, 8th Viscount of Dalrymple, 8th Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer (1703), 9th Lord Glenluce and Stranraer (1690), 5th Baronet Dalrymple, 9th Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 1st Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun in the County of Edinburgh
North Hamilton Dalrymple 1776–1864 9th Earl of Stair, 10th Viscount of Stair, 9th Viscount Dalrymple, 2nd Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun, 9th Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 10th Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, 10th Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 6th Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
John Crichton-Stuart 1793–1848 2nd Marquess of Bute, Earl of Windsor, and Viscount Mountjoy, 5th Earl of Bute, Viscount Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock, 7th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Sanquhar, and Baronet Stuart of Bute, 14th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 3rd Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley, 2nd Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle
John Hamilton Dalrymple 1819–1903 10th Earl of Stair, Viscount Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 11th Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 3rd Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun, 7th Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart 1847–1900 3rd Marquess of Bute, Earl of Windsor, Viscount Mountjoy, and Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle, 6th Earl of Bute, Viscount Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, 8th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Sanquhar, and Baronet Stuart of Bute, 15th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 4th Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley, Cumra and Inchmarnock
John Hew North Gustav Henry Hamilton-Dalrymple 1848–1914 11th Earl of Stair, Viscount Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, 12th Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 4th Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun, Glenluce and Stranraer, 8th Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
John Patrick Crichton-Stuart 1881–1947 4th Marquess of Bute, Earl of Windsor, Viscount Mountjoy, and Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle, 7th Earl of Bute, Viscount Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock, 9th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Sanquhar, and Baronet Stuart of Bute, 16th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 5th Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley
John James Hamilton Dalrymple 1879–1961 12th Earl of Stair, Viscount Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 13th Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 5th Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun, 9th Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
John Crichton-Stuart 1907–1956 5th Marquess of Bute, Earl of Windsor, Viscount Mountjoy, and Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle, 10th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Sanquhar, and Baronet Stuart of Bute, 8th Earl of Bute, 8th Viscount Kingarth and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock, 17th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 6th Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley
John Aymer Dalrymple 1906–1996 13th Earl of Stair, Viscount Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 14th Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 6th Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun, 10th Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
John Crichton-Stuart 1933–1993 6th Marquess of Bute, 6th Earl of Windsor, 6th Viscount Mountjoy, 6th Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle, 9th Earl of Bute, 9th Viscount Kingarth, 9th Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock, 11th Earl of Dumfries, 11th Viscount of Ayr, 11th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, 11th Lord Sanquhar, 11th Baronet Stuart of Bute, 18th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 7th Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley
John Colum Crichton-Stuart 1958–2021 7th Marquess of Bute, Earl of Windsor, Viscount Mountjoy, and Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle, 10th Earl of Bute, Viscount Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock, 12th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Sanquhar, and Baronet Stuart of Bute, 19th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 8th Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley
John David James Dalrymple b. 1961 14th Earl of Stair, Viscount Dalrymple, and Lord Newliston, Glenluce and Stranraer, 15th Viscount of Stair, Lord Glenluce and Stranraer, and Baronet Dalrymple of Stair, 7th Baron Oxenfoord of Cranstoun, 11th Baronet Dalrymple of Cranstoun
Caroline Crichton-Stuart b. 1984 Heir presumptive to the Earldom of Dumfries
John Bryson Crichton-Stuart b. 1989 8th Marquess of Bute, 8th Earl of Windsor, Viscount Mountjoy, and Baron Cardiff of Cardiff Castle, 11th Earl of Bute, Viscount Kingarth, and Lord Mount Stuart, Cumra and Inchmarnock, 13th Earl of Dumfries, Viscount of Ayr, Lord Crichton of Sanquhar and Cumnock, Lord Sanquhar, and Baronet Stuart of Bute, 20th Lord Crichton of Sanquhar, 9th Baron of Mount Stuart of Wortley
Arthur Alec Crichton-Stuart b. 2001
John James Thomas Dalrymple b. 2008 styled Viscount Dalrymple Heir apparent to the Earldom of Stair
^ abStewart Clan Scots Connection (accessed 12 March 2008)
^Anderson, William, The Scottish Nation: or The Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland (vol. I, ABE-CUR, Edinburgh, A. Fullarton & Co., 1862) pp 514–515, The Scottish nation Google Books, (accessed 12 March 2008)
^Mosley, Charles, ed. (1999). "Bute". 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. 437–446. ISBN2-940085-02-1.