1st Marquess of Linlithgow

THE MARQUESSES OF LINLITHGOW WERE THE LARGEST LANDOWNERS IN LINLITHGOWSHIRE, WITH 11,870 ACRES

The Surname of HOPE is one of great antiquity in Scotland; and the ancestor of the present family, JOHN DE HOPE, is said to have come from France in the retinue of Madeleine, Queen Consort of JAMES V, King of Scots, in 1537, and settling in Scotland, left a son, EDWARD HOPE, who was one of the most considerable inhabitants of Edinburgh in the reign of QUEEN MARY; and being a great promoter of the Reformation, was chosen one of the commissioners for the metropolis to the parliament in 1560.

He left a son,

HENRY HOPE (c1533-91), a very eminent merchant, who wedded a French lady, Jacqueline de Tott, and had two sons; the elder of whom,

SIR THOMAS HOPE, being bred to the Scottish bar, first attained eminence in 1606, by his defence of the six ministers (clergymen) tried for high treason, for denying that the King possessed authority in matters ecclesiastical; and acquired, eventually, the largest fortune ever accumulated by a member of the legal profession in Scotland.

He was subsequently appointed King's Advocate, and created a baronet in 1628.

Sir Thomas left a very large family; from the eldest son of which descend the Hopes of Craighall.

The fourth son,

SIR JAMES HOPE (1614-61), of Hopetoun, a member of the Scottish bar, marrying Anne, only daughter and heir of Robert Foulis, of Leadhills, Lanarkshire, acquired the valuable mines there, and applying himself to mineralogy, brought the art of mining to the highest perfection ever known before in Scotland.

Sir John was appointed, in 1641, Governor of the Mint, and constituted a Lord of Session in 1649.

His eldest surviving son,

JOHN HOPE (1650-82), of Hopetoun, took up his residence at Niddry Castle, the barony of which he purchased from Lord Winton; and he also purchased, about the same time (1678) the barony of Abercorn, with the office of Heritable Sheriff of the County of Linlithgow, from Sir Walter Seton.

Mr Hope, who represented Linlithgowshire in Parliament, 1684, married Margaret, eldest daughter of John, 4th Earl of Haddington, by whom he had a son and a daughter.

Mr Hope having embarked with the Duke of York, and several other persons of distinction, in HMS Gloucester, 1682, was lost in the wreck of that vessel, a few days after going abroad, aged 32.

His son,

CHARLES HOPE (1681-1742), who was born in the previous year, succeeded to the family estates, and was elevated to the peerage, in 1703, in the dignities of Lord Hope, Viscount Aithrie, and EARL OF HOPETOUN.

His lordship was installed as a Knight of the Thistle at Holyrood House in 1738.

He espoused, in 1699, Henrietta, only daughter of William, 1st Marquess of Annandale, and had thirteen children, of whom the eldest son,

JOHN (1704-81), 2nd Earl wedded thrice; and was father of

JAMES (1741-1816), 3rd Earl, who, at the demise of his great-uncle, George, Marquess of Annandale, in 1792, inherited the large estates of that nobleman, and the earldoms of Annandale and Hartfell, neither of which dignities, however, did he assume, but simply added the family name of the deceased lord, JOHNSTONE, to that of HOPE.

His lordship was nominated Lord-Lieutenant and Hereditary Sheriff of Lochmaben Castle.

He wedded, in 1766, Elizabeth, eldest daughter of George, 6th Earl of Northesk, by whom he had five daughters, though no male issue.

The honours, therefore, devolved upon his half-brother,

SIR JOHN HOPE (1765-1823), 4th Earl, KB, PC, then Lord Niddry, General in the army, Colonel, 42nd Regiment of Foot, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, who, for his gallant achievements in the Peninsular War, had been elevated to the UK peerage, in 1814, as Baron Niddry.

His lordship married twice: firstly, in 1798, Elizabeth, youngest daughter of the Hon Charles Hope Weir, of Craigiehall, by whom he had no issue; and secondly, in 1803, Louisa Dorothea, third daughter of Sir John Wedderburn Bt, by whom he had issue,

JOHN, his successor;
James;
Charles;
George;
Henry;
William;
Lewis;
Thomas;
Adrian;
Alicia; Jane.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN, 5th Earl (1803-43), who espoused, in 1826, Louisa, eldest daughter of Godfrey, 3rd Lord Macdonald, and had issue,

JOHN ALEXANDER, 6th Earl (1831-73), who wedded, in 1860, Etheldred Anne, eldest daughter of Charles Thomas Samuel Birch-Reynoldson, of Holywell Hall, Lincolnshire, and had issue,

JOHN ADRIAN LOUIS, his successor;
Charles Archibald;
Estrella; Dorothea Louisa.

His lordship was succeeded by his eldest son,

JOHN ADRIAN LOUIS, 7th Earl (1860-1908), KT GCMG GCVO PC, who wedded, in 1886, Hersey Alice, third daughter of the 4th Baron Ventry.

His lordship was advanced to the dignity of a marquessate, in 1902, as MARQUESS OF LINLITHGOW.

John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess (1860–1908);
Victor Alexander John Hope, 2nd Marquess (1887–1952);
Charles William Frederick Hope, 3rd Marquess(1912-87);
Adrian John Charles Hope, 4th Marquess (b 1946).

The heir apparent is the present holder's eldest son, Andrew Christopher Victor Arthur Charles Hope, styled Earl of Hopetoun (b 1969).

The heir apparent's heir apparent is his elder son, Charles Adrian Bristow William Hope, styled Viscount Aithrie (b 2001).

Lord Aithrie served as one of the Queen's Pages of Honour at the 2014 State Opening of Parliament.

HOPETOUN HOUSE, Linlithgowshire, is the ancestral seat of the Marquesses of Linlithgow.

It is located near South Queensferry to the west of Edinburgh.

Hopetoun was built in 1699-1701 and designed by Sir William Bruce.

The mansion was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748, being one of his most notable projects.

The interior was completed by his sons, John and Robert Adam.

The grand entrance hall dates from 1752.

The parklands in which it lies were laid out in 1725, also by William Adam.

The east front centres on the distant isle of Inchgarvie and North Berwick Law.

The walled garden dates from the late 18th century.

In the grounds an 18th-century mound was excavated in 1963 to reveal the remains of the earlier manor house, Abercorn Castle, dating from the 15th century.

The Hope family acquired the land in the 17th century.

Other former seats ~ Raehills, Dumfriesshire; Ormiston Hall, Haddingtonshire.

First published in February, 2014.