George BAILLIE b. ABT 1600 d. 1646 : British Roots

1600 - 1646

Home Search Print Login Add Bookmark

Personal Information | Notes | Sources | All | PDF

Birth Abt 1600

Gender Male

Fact 1 1636

Purchased Jerviswood ,Lanarkshire

Fact 2 1642 Mellerstain Estate,Berwickshire [1]

Estate granted by Royal Charter

Originally, the estate of Mellerstain was known as Whiteside, the lands of which were given by King James II (1437-60) to Patrick Haliburton, son of Lord Haliburton. They subsequently passed into the hands of the Haitlie family, who may have been responsible for the building of Whiteside Tower, a sixteenth-century fortified house which survives in fragmentary form to the south of Whiteside Plantation.

In 1642, the lands of Mellerstain were granted by King Charles I to an Edinburgh burgess, George Baillie of Jerviswood. They have remained in the hands of his descendants ever since, save for a brief period in the 1680s when they were forfeited following the arrest of Robert Baillie in 1684 for his involvement in the Rye House Plot to assassinate King Charles II. Robert Baillie was subsequently hanged, and his family fled to Europe.

Robert Baillie's son, George, was restored to his lands in 1688 when William, Prince of Orange, was crowned King William III. In 1690, George Baillie married Lady Grisel Hume, daughter of the Earl of Marchmont, a friend of his father's who had also been exiled during the 1680s. It was during their lifetimes that the initial work on Mellerstain House was undertaken, with William Adam being commissioned to design both the house itself and the surrounding policies.

Work on the building of Mellerstain House ceased with the death of George Baillie in the 1730s. The estate passed, in 1759, via the marriage of George Baillie's second daughter, Rachel, to George, Lord Binning, second son of the Earl of Haddington. He changed his name to Baillie, and it was he who commissioned William Adam's famous son, Robert, to complete the work his father had started nearly 50 years before. .

Today Mellerstain is home to John Baillie-Hamilton, the 13th Earl of Haddington, who in 1986 placed the ownership of Mellerstain in the hands of a charitable trust to ensure its future

_UID 3588E365D1EA4626A2EFD184F2B54FC6CE1D

Died 1646

Person ID I5333 British Roots

Last Modified 10 Dec 2009

Children

>	1. Robert BAILLIE, of Jerviswood, b. 1634, d. 1684

Family ID F1711 Group Sheet

Notes	The name Ballie comes from the Norman name Balliol. Due to the unpopularity of the name Balliol after the ascension of Robert the Bruce to the Scottish crown, many changed it to Ballie. At the start of the 14th century, William de Baliol acquired the property of Lamington in Lanarkshire. His son, Sir William Baillie, was granted a charter confirming the ownership in 1358. Sir William helped re-establish the family's fortune and from him descend the branches of Carphin, Park, Jerviston, Dunrogal, Carnbroe, Castlecarry, Provand, and Dochfour. A younger brother, Alexander Baillie was appointed constable of Inverness Castle by the Earl of Huntly. The family's fortunes began to decline after their lands were held as forfeith for their part in the Battle of Langside on the side of Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1636, George Baillie of St. John's Kirk (a branch of the Lamington Ballies) bought the lands of Jerviswood, Lanarkshire, and the estate of Mellerstain, Berwickshire, in 1643. His son Robert Baillie of Jerviswood (1623-84), was the civil and religious reformer executed for his views. His family were forced to flee to Holland. Robert's son, George Baillie of Jerviswood and Mellerstain (1664-1738), married Lady Grisell Hume (1665-1746) in 1691. They started the building of Mellerstain House and are the ancestors of the present earls of Haddington. Baillie Tartan Swatch

Sources

[S492] http://www.aboutbritain.com/Mellerstain.htm.
First mentioned in 1451, the Mellerstain estate was granted by Royal Charter to George Baillie of Jerviswood in 1642. His descendant, George Baillie and his wife lady Grisell Baillie commissioned the design of the present house.

The interior decoration is outstanding - the ceilings are especially worthy of note, having been preserved in the original Adam colours. The Library is a masterpiece of Classical Decoration and colour - fine detailed plaster work incorporating marble busts by Roubiliac.

Mellerstain houses a superb collection of paintings including works by Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Ramsay, Aikman and Nasmyth and many lovely pieces of period furniture. The portraits on show in the house depict many members of the family.

The house stands in beautiful parkland - the Italian-styled terraced garden was laid out in 1909 by Sir Reginald Blomfield and commands a glorious view overlooking the Lake to the Cheviot Hills in the distance. There is an unusual Thatched Cottage and Tea Room.