Arms Intro
THE BARONY OF
Kellie

Fife | unknown

Kellie is an area in the East Neuk of Fife a few miles inland from the village of Pittenweem. After King Malcolm Canmore came to the Scottish throne in the eleventh century, he awarded the lands of Kellie and Pitforthie in Fife to a Saxon noble named Siward. This was in return for Siward helping him wrest the crown from King MacBeth. The land remained in the family for the next 300 years.

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History 1
During the wars of independence, Sir Richard Siward sided with the English King Edward I
and fought at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298.

He was captured and imprisoned by the new King of Scots, Robert the Bruce. His widow was a member of the prominent Oliphant family, and the lands of Kellie passed to them. The lands and titles remained under the control of the Oliphants until they were sold to the Erskines in 1613.

History 2
Thomas Erskine, Viscount Fenton, later 1st Earl of Kellie,
was a lifelong friend of King James VI and one of his Privy Counsellors.

He was with the king during the infamous Gowrie Conspiracy, when John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his brother supposedly attempted to kidnap or assassinate the king. Erskine was rewarded afterwards with some of the lands confiscated from the family.

History 3
Alexander, 3rd Earl of Kellie, was a firm Royalist during the civil wars.
He fought for King Charles II at the disastrous Battle of Worcester in 1651,

after which he was taken prisoner and held in the Tower of London. The Earls of Kellie continued to support the House of Stuart, and Alexander, 5th Earl of Kellie, was a Jacobite who joined the rising of Bonnie Prince Charlie and fought at the battle of Culloden in 1746. It is said that he hid in the stump of a tree for the whole summer following the battle. His son, Thomas, 6th Earl of Kellie, was a famous musician and composer.

History 4
The lands and Barony of Kellie were sold in 1769 to Sir John Anstruther, 3rd Baronet.
In 1784, Sir John sold the lands and barony to Roger Hog of Newliston.

The Hog family retained the estates until 1953. One of the most interesting features relating to the barony is Kellie Castle, whose earliest parts date from the fourteenth century, around the time that the Barony of Kellie passed from the Siwards to the Oliphants. The castle was expanded in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to include the north tower, and in 1606 work was completed on a large L-shaped block. The ceiling of the Great Hall was painted by DeWitt. The gardens were redesigned by the Lorimers, a famous artistic family who acquired the castle in the 1800s.

Tour Another Barony
Arms Intro
History 1
History 2
History 3
History 4
Arms Intro
Forum for the Scottish Baronage monogram
THE BARONY OF
Kellie

Fife | unknown

Kellie is an area in the East Neuk of Fife a few miles inland from the village of Pittenweem. After King Malcolm Canmore came to the Scottish throne in the eleventh century, he awarded the lands of Kellie and Pitforthie in Fife to a Saxon noble named Siward. This was in return for Siward helping him wrest the crown from King MacBeth. The land remained in the family for the next 300 years.

Click icons to learn more
History 1
During the wars of independence, Sir Richard Siward sided with the English King Edward I
and fought at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298.

He was captured and imprisoned by the new King of Scots, Robert the Bruce. His widow was a member of the prominent Oliphant family, and the lands of Kellie passed to them. The lands and titles remained under the control of the Oliphants until they were sold to the Erskines in 1613.

History 2
Thomas Erskine, Viscount Fenton, later 1st Earl of Kellie,
was a lifelong friend of King James VI and one of his Privy Counsellors.

He was with the king during the infamous Gowrie Conspiracy, when John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, and his brother supposedly attempted to kidnap or assassinate the king. Erskine was rewarded afterwards with some of the lands confiscated from the family.

History 3
Alexander, 3rd Earl of Kellie, was a firm Royalist during the civil wars.
He fought for King Charles II at the disastrous Battle of Worcester in 1651,

after which he was taken prisoner and held in the Tower of London. The Earls of Kellie continued to support the House of Stuart, and Alexander, 5th Earl of Kellie, was a Jacobite who joined the rising of Bonnie Prince Charlie and fought at the battle of Culloden in 1746. It is said that he hid in the stump of a tree for the whole summer following the battle. His son, Thomas, 6th Earl of Kellie, was a famous musician and composer.

History 4
The lands and Barony of Kellie were sold in 1769 to Sir John Anstruther, 3rd Baronet.
In 1784, Sir John sold the lands and barony to Roger Hog of Newliston.

The Hog family retained the estates until 1953. One of the most interesting features relating to the barony is Kellie Castle, whose earliest parts date from the fourteenth century, around the time that the Barony of Kellie passed from the Siwards to the Oliphants. The castle was expanded in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to include the north tower, and in 1606 work was completed on a large L-shaped block. The ceiling of the Great Hall was painted by DeWitt. The gardens were redesigned by the Lorimers, a famous artistic family who acquired the castle in the 1800s.

Tour Another Barony
Arms Intro
History 1
History 2
History 3
History 4
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