Baron (Lord) Hume of Berwick is a title which has been created twice in the Peerages of England (or Scotland) and Great Britain.
First creation
The title was first created as Baron Hume of Berwick in the peerage of England on July 7, 1604, for George Home, Lord Treasurer of Scotland, member of the English Privy Council, and Keeper of the Great Wardrobe [1]. (In 1605 he was further created Earl of Dunbar). [2]
Some older sources cite the title as being extinct [3] [4] [5].
But the 2003 edition of Debretts reflects an opposing view when it states: "The Lordship of Home (or Hume) of Berwick, cr by patent 1604 upon George Home... with remainder to his heirs for ever, is held to have descended to the Earls of Home through lady Anna Home"[6].
The question of the continued existence of the title became one of considerable constitutional importance in 1963 when the Prime Minister, Alec Douglas-Home, 14th Earl of Home, was required to renounce all of his peerages under the new Peerages Act, in order to sit in the House of Commons. Douglas-Home signed the historic 'Instrument of Disclaimer' on October 23 1963, in which this peerage was inserted, along with all of his other peerages. [7] [8] Upon his death in 1995, his son David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home continued in his claim to the title of Lord Hume of Berwick, along with all his other peerages.
Dugdale and others [9] [10] [11] [12] have maintained that the title was created in the Peerage of England.
Other sources state it is more likely to belong to the Peerage of Scotland given its unusual remainder[13]. To circumvent this uncertainty with relation to Douglas-Home's disclaimer, the Lord Chancellor's office listed both "The Lordship of Hume of Berwick in the peerage of Scotland" and "The Barony of Hume in the Peerage of England" in the instrument of disclaimer. [1] [14]
Second creation
On May 14, 1776, Alexander Hume-Campbell, son and heir of Hugh, 3rd Earl of Marchmont, was created Baron Hume of Berwick, in the Peerage of Great Britain, [2] but he died without issue when the title became extinct. [15]
Notes
- ^ Kirk, J., George Home, Earl of Dunbar, R & R Clark Ltd., Edinburgh, 1918: 7 - 8
- ^ Stephen, Sir Leslie, & Lee, Sir Sidney, editors, The Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 1973 reprint, vol. IX: 1124
- ^ Nicolas, Sir Harris, revised by William Courthope, Somerset Herald, The Historic Peerage of England, London, 1857
- ^ Burke's Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, London, 1883, 289
- ^ Kirk, Rev J., George Home, Earl of Dunbar, Edinburgh, 1918
- ^ Kidd, Charles, & Williamson, David, editors, Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage, Macmillan, London, 2003: 808
- ^ Young, K. (1971). Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Fairleigh Dickinson, p.174
- ^ Thorpe, D.R. (1996). Alec Douglas-Home, Sinclair-Stevenson
- ^ Dugdale, William, Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary, The Baronage of England, London, 1676
- ^ Stephen, Sir Leslie, & Lee, Sir Sidney, editors, The Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 1973 reprint, vol. IX: 1124
- ^ Playfair, William, British Family Antiquity & Nobility of the United Kingdom, London, 1811, vol.VIII: cccx - cccxii
- ^ Anderson, William, The Scottish Nation, Edinburgh, 1867, vol.IV
- ^ Kidd, Charles, & Williamson, David, editors, Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage, Macmillan, London, 2003: 808
- ^ The Uncommon Commoner: A Study of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Pall Mall, pp.194-6
- ^ Nicolas, Sir Harris, revised by William Courthope, Somerset Herald, The Historic Peerage of England, London, 1857