Arms Intro
THE LORDSHIP AND BARONY OF
Halydean

Roxburghshire | 1128

The Lordship and Barony of Halydean (pronounced ‘Hollydeen’, and also spelled ‘Holydean’) is a Scottish feudal Crown Barony in Roxburghshire in the neighbourhood of Kelso along the River Tweed. This area along the Tweed is home to the Scottish border clans, including the Armstrongs, Douglases, Elliots, Johnstones, Kers, Moffats, and others.

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History 1
The Lordship and Barony of Halydean
is one of the oldest Norman feudal baronies in Scotland which has a living claimant.

The first Lord Halydean was created by King David I when he erected the Lordship and Barony of Halydean on 3 May 1128 in regnum & peerum. It is hard to imagine when one sees the fragmentary remains of Kelso Abbey today, but it was once the richest and most influential abbey in the Borders. The Abbot of Kelso was the local lord, who ruled one of the most powerful ecclesiastical burghs in all of Scotland. This burgh was rivaled only by the burgh of St. Andrews.

Barony of Balvaird, 1896 map Perth and Clackmannan
History 2
David I had previously brought monks from Tiron in the Picardy region of France to Selkirk.
He had them transferred to Kelso Abbey.

King David's new Royal Burgh of Roxburgh was intended as the administrative centre for southern Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, and the abbey's location led it to become the most powerful in the Borders. The barony owned huge estates, and the wealth poured in. The ecclesiastical Barons of Halydean had 34 churches under their control, and owned granges, mills, fisheries, salt-works, and breweries in estates stretching from Aberdeen to Ayr. These abbot-barons were part of the peerage of Scotland.

Barony of Balvaird, 1896 map Perth and Clackmannan

Crown Charter David I (courtesy Baron of Halydean)

History 3
Unfortunately, that prosperity was not to last.
The abbey's location close to the English border made Kelso an easy target

for the armies that fought back and forth across the region during the early 14th century Wars of Independence. The abbey had to be repaired on several occasions after military action. There were further English attacks in the 16th century as Henry VIII pursued his 'Rough Wooing' of Scotland. The abbey was badly damaged by Henry's troops under the Earl of Hertford as part of a deliberate campaign targeting the major monasteries of the Borders. Then in 1560 the Scottish Reformation effectively ended monastic houses in Scotland.

History 4
In 1607, the last Commendator of the Abbey, Robert Ker, was granted the lordship and barony as a secular estate.
He was at the time Lord Roxburghe, and in 1616, was created 1st Earl of Roxburghe.

One of his successors was created Duke of Roxburghe for the important role he played in bringing about the Acts of Union of 1707, uniting England and Scotland as a single country. The Lordship and Barony of Halydean remained a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Roxburghe for a number of generations. Eventually the Lordship and Barony of Halydean passed by assignation in the traditional Scottish manner to a member of Clan Moffat, a Scottish border clan. Taylor Moffitt of Halydean is the present Baron of Halydean, the 15th since secularization in 1602. The heir apparent is Ewan Moffitt of Halydean.

Barony of Balvaird, 1896 map Perth and Clackmannan
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Arms Intro
Forum for the Scottish Baronage monogram
THE LORDSHIP AND BARONY OF
Halydean

Roxburghshire | 1128

The Lordship and Barony of Halydean (pronounced ‘Hollydeen’, and also spelled ‘Holydean’) is a Scottish feudal Crown Barony in Roxburghshire in the neighbourhood of Kelso along the River Tweed. This area along the Tweed is home to the Scottish border clans, including the Armstrongs, Douglases, Elliots, Johnstones, Kers, Moffats, and others.

Click icons to learn more
History 1
The Lordship and Barony of Halydean
is one of the oldest Norman feudal baronies in Scotland which has a living claimant.

The first Lord Halydean was created by King David I when he erected the Lordship and Barony of Halydean on 3 May 1128 in regnum & peerum. It is hard to imagine when one sees the fragmentary remains of Kelso Abbey today, but it was once the richest and most influential abbey in the Borders. The Abbot of Kelso was the local lord, who ruled one of the most powerful ecclesiastical burghs in all of Scotland. This burgh was rivaled only by the burgh of St. Andrews.

Barony of Balvaird, 1896 map Perth and Clackmannan
History 2
David I had previously brought monks from Tiron in the Picardy region of France to Selkirk.
He had them transferred to Kelso Abbey.

King David's new Royal Burgh of Roxburgh was intended as the administrative centre for southern Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Tweed and Teviot, and the abbey's location led it to become the most powerful in the Borders. The barony owned huge estates, and the wealth poured in. The ecclesiastical Barons of Halydean had 34 churches under their control, and owned granges, mills, fisheries, salt-works, and breweries in estates stretching from Aberdeen to Ayr. These abbot-barons were part of the peerage of Scotland.

Barony of Balvaird, 1896 map Perth and Clackmannan

Crown Charter David I (courtesy Baron of Halydean)

History 3
Unfortunately, that prosperity was not to last.
The abbey's location close to the English border made Kelso an easy target

for the armies that fought back and forth across the region during the early 14th century Wars of Independence. The abbey had to be repaired on several occasions after military action. There were further English attacks in the 16th century as Henry VIII pursued his 'Rough Wooing' of Scotland. The abbey was badly damaged by Henry's troops under the Earl of Hertford as part of a deliberate campaign targeting the major monasteries of the Borders. Then in 1560 the Scottish Reformation effectively ended monastic houses in Scotland.

History 4
In 1607, the last Commendator of the Abbey, Robert Ker, was granted the lordship and barony as a secular estate.
He was at the time Lord Roxburghe, and in 1616, was created 1st Earl of Roxburghe.

One of his successors was created Duke of Roxburghe for the important role he played in bringing about the Acts of Union of 1707, uniting England and Scotland as a single country. The Lordship and Barony of Halydean remained a subsidiary title of the Dukes of Roxburghe for a number of generations. Eventually the Lordship and Barony of Halydean passed by assignation in the traditional Scottish manner to a member of Clan Moffat, a Scottish border clan. Taylor Moffitt of Halydean is the present Baron of Halydean, the 15th since secularization in 1602. The heir apparent is Ewan Moffitt of Halydean.

Barony of Balvaird, 1896 map Perth and Clackmannan
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