Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian


Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He became the first Earl of Lothian in 1606.

Family

He was a member of the "famous border family" of Ker of Cessford. He was the son of Mark Kerr, abbot of Newbattle Abbey, Midlothian, and Helen Leslie, sister of the Earl of Rothes. The House of Kerr was of Anglo-Norman lineage, and the Kerrs of Fernihirst settled in Scotland in the 13th century. Kerr and his family lived in Newbattle Abbey, a mansion occupying the site of a Cistercian abbey founded in 1140.

Career

Kerr was named Vicar of Linton in 1567. He was appointed Master of Requests in 1577, a role he held until 1606. He was a gentleman of the king's chamber in 1580. In 1581, he succeeded his father as Commendator of Newbottle.
Like his father, Mark Kerr was an Extraordinary Lord of Session under king beginning in 1584, with his lands in Newbottle made into a Barony.
On 28 October 1587, he was made a Lord of Parliament as Lord Newbottle, or possibly 15 October 1591. In 1587 he was made a baron and Privy Counsellor in 1587, and in 1604 he. He acted as interim Lord Chancellor of Scotland.
He was created Earl of Lothian on 10 July 1606, and resigned the office of Master of Requests in the same year.
An English list of the Scottish nobility states his residences were "Morphele" and Prestongrange.

Marriage and family

He married Margaret Maxwell, a daughter of John Maxwell, Lord Herries. Kerr and his wife were said to have 31 children. Their children included:
He died on 8 April 1609.
His wife Margaret Maxwell was accused of causing his death through witchcraft. She died at Prestongrange House on 8 January 1617.
He was succeeded by his son Robert, 2nd Earl of Lothian. The second earl had no sons, and the title passed to his daughter Anne, as Countess of Lothian, and subsequently in 1631 her husband was created William Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian.