Shipley Erskine, 14th Earl of Buchan

"Horsey". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1884

Shipley Gordon Stuart Erskine, 14th Earl of Buchan, JP, DL (27 February 1850 – 16 April 1934), styled Lord Cardross from 1857 until 1898, was a Scottish nobleman and racehorse owner.

Biography

Newmarket. Caricature by Prosperi published in Vanity Fair in 1885

Cardross was the eldest son of David Stuart Erskine, 13th Earl of Buchan and Agnes Graham Smith, daughter of James Smith, of Craigend Castle, Stirlingshire.[1][2] He was named after his great-grandfather, Maj.-Gen. Sir Charles Shipley.[3] He was educated at Harrow.[4]

Buchan was Conservative in politics but spent most of his life involved in equestrian and leisurely pursuits.[5] He was thoroughly involved with the turf, owning several notable racehorses, and spent much time at Newmarket. While there he resided at his Exning estate.[5] He was also an early member of the "Happy Valley set" in Kenya and in 1911 acquired 4,000 acres of farmland in Nyeri.[6][7]

Buchan was a member and supporter of the antisemitic group "The Britons", donating the equivalent of £2000 in 1922.[8]

Buchan held the office of Justice of the peace and Deputy lieutenant for both Cambridgeshire and Linlithgowshire.[3] He owned 3,000 acres in Linlithgowshire and Midlothian.[9]

He died on 16 April 1934 in Chelsea, London.[10]

Family

Rosalie Sartoris, Countess of Buchan

On 9 November 1876, Cardross married Rosalie Louise Sartoris (1859–1943), daughter of Capt. Jules-Alexandre Sartoris, of Hopsford Hall, Coventry, son of the Swiss Huguenot banker Peter Urban Sartoris. They had four children:[3]

Lady Cardross, as La Duchesse de Lavis, attended the Devonshire House Ball of 1897.[13] She was a famed beauty; likewise, Lord Cardross was known as the "Pocket Adonis".[14] She died on 29 January 1943 at Almondell House, near Broxburn, Linlithgowshire.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Burke's Peerage (repr. 2003). Vol. 1. p. 567.
  2. ^ Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1895). Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, and a Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, and Being the First Attempt to Show which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority. Edinburgh: Jack.
  3. ^ a b c Lodge, Edmund (1907). "Buchan". The Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Companionage of the British Empire for 1907. Kelly's Directories. p. 356.
  4. ^ Cokayne, G.E. (1889). Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, Or Dormant. G. Bell & sons. p. 58.
  5. ^ a b "Lord Cardross". Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes. Baily bros. 1886. pp. 57–58.
  6. ^ The Agricultural Journal of British East Africa. Agricultural Department. 1908.
  7. ^ Kenya (1914). "Statement of Land Grants". Blue Book: British East Africa.
  8. ^ Toczek, Nick (2015). Haters, Baiters and Would-Be Dictators: Anti-Semitism and the UK Far Right. Routledge. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-317-52588-2.
  9. ^ The great landowners of Great Britain and Ireland
  10. ^ "Obituary: Earl of Buchan". East African Standard. Nairobi. 21 April 1934.
  11. ^ "LADY MARJORIE ERSKINE'S DEATH". Evening News. 31 August 1910. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  12. ^ "LORD MOYNE ASSASSINATED". Daily Mercury. 8 November 1944. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Lady Cardross at the Devonshire House Ball 1897, by Lafayette". lafayette.org.uk.
  14. ^ Tatler & Bystander. Tatler Publishing Company. 1914. p. 255.
  15. ^ "Almondell House | Canmore". canmore.org.uk.
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by Earl of Buchan
1898–1934 		Succeeded by