Stirling of Keir

Identity area

Type of entity

Family

Authorized form of name

Stirling of Keir

Parallel form(s) of name

  • Stirling of Keir and Cawder

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

    Other form(s) of name

      Identifiers for corporate bodies

      Description area

      Dates of existence

      c. 1395 -

      History

      Clan Stirling is a lowland Scottish clan and the Stirlings of Keir track their ancestry back to some of the earliest progenitors of the surname Stirling, and have records dating back to the early 15th century. Over the centuries, the Stirling of Keir family were significantly involved in Scottish politics and history.

      The first Stirling Laird of Keir, Lukas Strivelyng (as his name was spelt at the time), son of William, created the barony of Keir after purchasing half of the Keir estate between 1395 and 1414 from Laird George Leysly (Leslie) of Lewyn. Lukas traded some lands in Fife for the lands of Keir. These lands were in the Stirling Family until the late 1970s, a period of over 570 years. Lukas had a son, Sir William De Striveline (an additional spelling of the surname) of Ratherne and Keir, who purchased the second half of the Keir estate in 1455. William greatly added to the lands of Keir by purchasing the area known as Haldane, which he acquired from Lady Janet Kinross of Kippencross. He also acquired the Charters and Title to the lands of Schanraw, Garnotore and Lytel and Mikle Kinibuck from Alexander de Kinbuck in 1468, and, later, the lands of Glassingall.

      William died in 1471 and was succeeded by his eldest son, also named Sir William and great supporter of King James IV. This support led to William being knighted in 1489 and receiving £1000, which was used to build upon Keir House to what it is today. William died in 1503 and was succeeded by his son Sir John, a rather controversial figure due to his political activity and death at Stirling Bridge in 1539.

      In 1579, the estate of the family moved from the hands of Sir James Stirling to his son, Sir Archibald Stirling. Archibald's son and then heir, James, was killed in 1614 during a fight in Dunblane with William Sinclair over who owned the lands of Auchinbie. Upon Archibald's death in 1630, the estate was passed down to his grandson, Sir George. George was married four times throughout his life, firstly to Dame Margaret Ross, the daughter of Lord James Ross and Dame Margaret Scott, who died after giving birth to a daughter also named Margaret at the age of seventeen. The child died less than three months after her mother. George later married Margaret Napier, the daughter of Archibald First Lord Napier by Margaret Graham, the sister of the great Marquis of Montrose in 1637. George married his third wife in 1654, Anna Nicolson, the second daughter of Sir Thomas Nicolson of Carnock, before marrying for a final time in 1666, to Lady Margaret Livingston, the eldest daughter of Alexander Livingston, the 2nd Earl of Linlithgow & Lady Mary Douglas. George died less than a year later in Jun 1667, after which Lady Margaret Livingston-Stirling married George’s cousin Sir John Stirling of Keir. With the direct line of the Stirling of Keir family ending with George, the estate was passed down to his cousin, Sir Archibald Stirling.

      Archibald was also very active in Scotland's political affairs during his lifetime and was Lord of the Articles in 1661 and 1663. He married Elizabeth Murray, the daughter of Sir Patrick Murray of Elibank and Dame Elizabeth Dundas in 1637, and later married Mause Murray, the daughter of Sir James Murray of Kilbaberton and Dame Katherine Weir, then Lady Elibank in 1646. He died in Apr 1668 and was succeeded by his son John (b. 13 Apr 1638) of his first marriage. Sir John was the head of the Keir estate from 1668 until his death in 1684. He was followed by his second son, also named Sir John (b. 26 Oct 1677) and only a young boy at the time. Sir John died on Oct 1693 at the age of fifteen and was succeeded by his younger brother Sir James, (b. 01 Nov 1679) who oversaw the grounds during the Jacobite period.

      James and his wife Marion Stuart, the eldest daughter of Alexander Stuart, Lord Blantyre and Anne Hamilton, had a 14 sons and 8 daughters together. Several members of the family relocated to Jamaica due to political tensions in Scotland and made a great fortune in the sugar cane and rum industries. Archibald Stirling (b. 1710) was one such family member who made a great deal of money in Jamaica before returning to Scotland in 1748 when he succeeded his brother John (b. 18 Nov 1704), who died unmarried on 07 Jul 1757.

      Archibald died without an heir on 03 Nov 1783 and was succeeded by his brother William, who in turn died very suddenly on 22 May 1793. He was succeeded by the eldest son of his first marriage, James Stirling (b. 08 Oct 1766). James was very active in the military and fought in Sicily. He died unmarried on 26 Jul 1831 and was succeeded by his brother Archibald (b. 02 Aug 1769 ), who died on 9 Apr 1847 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir William (b. 1818). Sir William was a member of Parliament for Perthshire form 1852 - 1868 and from 1874 until his death in 1878. Sir William’s second son Archibald then inherited the estate of Keir.

      General Archibald Stirling of Keir was succeeded by his son Colonel William Stirling, who in 1975 sold Keir House to Mahdi al-Tajir, the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Court of St. James, for £2 million. Archibald Hugh Stirling of Keir, known as Archie Stirling, is the current Laird of Keir.

      Places

      Lecropt, Stirling

      Legal status

      Functions, occupations and activities

      Mandates/sources of authority

      Internal structures/genealogy

      General context

      Relationships area

      Access points area

      Subject access points

      Occupations

      Control area

      Authority record identifier

      F0012

      Institution identifier

      GB224

      Rules and/or conventions used

      ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

      Status

      Draft

      Level of detail

      Partial

      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      Created 19 Jan 2021

      Language(s)

        Script(s)

          Maintenance notes