12/02/2023
Clan Kerr - History & Origins of the Name:
The origins of the name Kerr are disputed as being either:
Caer (British for “fort”)
Ciar (Scottish Gaelic for “dusky”)
Ceàrr (Scottish Gaelic for “left handed” - carrie handit in Lowland Scots)
Mac Ghiolla Cheara (Irish language)
Kjrr (Old Norse for “marsh dweller”)
Asked how to say his name, Admiral Mark Kerr told The Literary Digest “In Scotland the name rhymes with care. Since many of the family have come to England the pronunciation in this country rhymes with car, which we have entirely submitted to.” (Charles Earle Funk, What’s the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.)
Origins of the Clan:
The great Clan Kerr is well remembered in Scotland as one of the most loyal but warlike Clans of the turbulent Border territories. The Kerrs arrived in Britain after William I’s conquest of England in 1066, and the Clan Kerr descend from two brothers, Ralph and John Ker, who settled in Jedburgh around 1330. The Clan soon grew and prospered, building themselves a position of influence through their sheer strength and tenacity. The Clan Kerr controlled two castles on the border with England, and were quick to fend off any intrusion by the Southerners, but were not indisposed to a quick venture across the divide whenever they fancied some prime English beef for their tables. Rival Scottish border clans included Clan Heron and Clan Scott.
15th Century:
By the 15th Century the Clan Kerr were considered highly important Crown vassals, and with loyalty came rich rewards. In 1451 Andrew Kerr was granted the barony of Old Roxburgh, and by 1457 had been created the Warden of the Marches. By the close of the 15th Century, the Clan Kerr held the honours of possessing the Castle and Barony of Cessford, and the Barony of Oxnam, a considerable achievement for any Border Clan.
The Kerrs were often at feud with other Scottish border clans including Clan Scott and Clan Heron. They would meet for battle at a place called Bellendean. The feuding would cost the lives of both the Clan Kerr and Clan Scott Chief.
16th Century, Clan Conflicts & Anglo-Scottish Wars:
In 1502 the barony of Oxnam became Sir Andrew Kerr of Ferniehurst’s by royal charter and he became warden of the middle marches. A few years before the Battle of Flodden Field three Englishmen killed Sir Robert Kerr, a former warden of the middle march, while he was attending a march across the Border, and his son tracked down one of the murderers and gave him what was known as “Jeddart justice”.
Clan Kerr fought against the English at the Battle of Flodden Field during the Anglo-Scottish Warsin 1513. The Clan Kerr’s faithfulness to the Crown of Scotland continued throughout the centuries. The Kerrs fought under their chief, Sir Andrew Kerr, at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513, standing beside King James IV of Scotland in his conflict with the English armies. Once when defending one of the Border Country Castles from an English attack, it is said that the English besiegers believed the Kerrs defending were being aided by the ‘devil himself’, as they fought so ferociously.
After the Battle of Flodden Field, some of the Leddesdale clans put themselves under the Kerr of Ferniehurst’s protection, but in 1523 his castle was taken by the English after a protracted defence. The Chief Kerr of Cessford, who had worked as warden for peace and co-operation with England, was killed by a follower of Clan Scott of Buccleuch in the attempt to rescue King James V of Scotland from the Clan Douglas. Thirteen years after the Battle of Flodden Field, Sir Andrew died in defence of the infant King James V of Scotland when the royal procession was attacked on the way to Edinburgh Castle.
The feud between the Clan Scott and Clan Kerr continued and in 1552 the Chief of Clan Scott of Buccleuch was killed by the Kerrs of Cessford in Edinburgh. Fighting between the two clans continued until a peace agreement was signed in 1602.
Honours continued to be heaped upon the Clan down through the years, with the titles bestowed on the Kerrs including the Barony of Newbattle, the Earldom of Lothian, the Lordship of Jedburgh, the Earldom of Ancram, and the Dukedom of Roxburghe.
Mark Kerr, had his lands of Newbattle and Prestongrange erected into the barony of Newbattle by a charter of 1591
17th Century, Earldoms and Lordships:
In 1606 Mark Kerr was created Earl of Lothian. This title failed when his son died in 1624 with a male issue also his daughter died in 1626 when giving birth to twins. Sir Andrew Kerr of the Ferniehurst line was created Lord Jedburgh in 1621.
The third peerage to come to the family was the earldom of Ancram, which was bestowed upon Sir Robert Kerr who was descended from a younger son of Sir Andrew Kerr of Ferniehurst. Sir Robert of Cessford, who now spelt his surname with a single ‘r’, was created Earl of Roxburghe in 1616. To add to the plethora of honours showered on the family, Sir William Kerr, son of the Earl of Ancram, was granted a new earldom of Lothian in 1631. His son, Robert, who was advanced to the rank of Marquess, also succeeded to the earldom of Ancram on the death of his uncle.
During the Civil War the Clan Kerr supported the Parliamentry Covenantor army of General David Leslie. In 1649 a rebellion took place in the north by the Covenantors of the Clan MacKenzie who were opposed to Leslie’s parliamentry forces. As a result Leslie’s forces under Colonel Kerr took the MacKenzie’s Redcastle, demolished it and hanged the garrison.
Castles:
Ferniehirst Castle is where the 12th Marquess of Lothian resides. Although the principal seat of Clan Kerr is considered to be the fabulous mansion of Monteviot. Ferniehirst Castle (sometimes spelt Ferniehurst) was built around 1470. It has been occupied in this century as a Youth Hostel for fifty years. It was built to hold the gate for Scotland and to serve as a base for military raids and cattle-lifting forays. It commands the road to Otterburn and Newcastle.
Newbattle Abbey or Newbattle Castle near Edinburgh became a secular lordship for the last commendator, Mark Kerr, 1st Earl of Lothian (Ker) in 1587.
Floors Castle is another great monument to the Kerr’s success.
Roxburgh Castle is just across the Tweed from Floors Castle.
Castle Holydean was destroyed in 1276 and very little of it now remains.
Left-Handed Kerrs
The Kerrs have typically been associated with left-handedness; some of their buildings, such as Ferniehirst Castle, have been explicitly designed with this in mind. There is an anecdotal link between the Kerrs and left-handedness, although it is unclear whether or not present-day individuals with the surname of Kerr have a higher incidence of left-handedness than the general population. An article appearing in the BMJ circa 1972 confirmed that about 30% of those with the surname Kerr were left-handed as opposed to a background 10% of the population. However, a 1993 study found no statistically significant increase in left-handedness among people with the family name Kerr or Carr.
Clan Chief:
The current Chief of Clan Kerr is Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian
Clan Profile:
Motto: Dexter, Sero sed serio (Late but in earnest)
Motto: Sinister, Forward in the name of God
Family Creed: Late but in Earnest
Badge: A Kerr knot Or
Plant Badge: Bog Myrtle
Arms: Quarterly, 1st & 4th, Azure, the sun in his splendour Or (for the peerage of Lothian); 2nd & 3rd, Gules, on a chevron Argent, three mullets of the field (Kerr)
Gaelic Names: Cearr (Surname), MacGhillechearr (Surname), Cearrach (Singular), Na Cearraich (Collective) and Clann ‘icGhillechearr (Collective).
Clan Tartans
Clan Kerr has two recognized tartans:
Kerr (Modern)
Kerr (Hunting)
Clan Seat:
The 12th Marquess of Lothian resides at Ferniehirst Castle, although the principal seat of Clan Kerr is considered to be the fabulous Monteviot Mansion, Roxburgh, Scotland.
Branches:
Ker of Cessford
Kerr of Ferniehurst
Kerr of Linton
Ker of Kersland
