A clan or family chief is recognised by the Lord Lyon (representing the British Sovereign) as ‘the Chief of the Name and Arms’ of that clan or family and as history dictates, there is only ever been one clan/family of Carruthers recognised. At this ceremony, hosted by the Carruthers’ Shennachie, the Chief of Carruthers will receive his Letters Patent from the Lord Lyon’s representative, Albany Herald Extraordinary, Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw Bt LVO KC.
But who is the man behind the title:
A good family man, Peter is an articulate and highly intelligent man, very analytical and thorough in his approach to life and decision making, while retaining a good sense of humour. His Christian values are always apparent and his clan and his responsibilities as Chief are always at the forefront of his mind.
His proven ancestral line goes back as far as Carruthers records go, and it is fair to state that he is highly respected in any circle he moves in. As Chief and where appropriate, his representation carries the Carruthers name forward with great dignity which is reflected in such roles as his hereditary seat on the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
He is married to Judith, Madam Holmains, a lovely and very pleasant individual who is very supportive of Peter’s role in our family. Between them they have two children. Asher the son and ‘younger of Holmains‘ is a pilot for a commercial airline and involved in the Chief’s Heir’s Project run by Charles Lord Bruce, eldest son of the Earl of Elgin and heir to the hereditary chiefship of Bruce. His daughter Abigail, also involved in the project is the younger of the two and is a researcher in genetics progressing her PhD at Glasgow University.
Peter himself was born in India as an only child to British parents overseas. Places such as India, Ceylon and Burma etc were therefore the focus of large British expat communities who worked and lived in south east Asia in the 1800’s and early to mid 1900’s and included many of our own.
The Chief’s grandfather was Col. Nigel L. Carruthers, 2x great grandson of John the 12th, last Chief of Carruthers prior to its dormancy. Nigel served as an officer in the British Army in India and his great uncle, Nigel’s elder brother, was the world-renowned British explorer, naturalist and cartographer, Alexander Douglas Carruthers.
Peter’s father was an officer in the Royal Marine Commandos during the Second World War (1939-1946) and was reputedly the first to lead his men on shore during the repatriation of Hong Kong. Having been involved in other campaigns during the war, happily his final command as an officer was just as Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945.
His mother, Molly had lived in Burma with her British parents and to escape the Japanese invasion of that country in 1942, took the treacherous Naga trail, also called the ‘Road of Death’ along with the remnants of the British forces This was not an easy route out of Burma into India and they were continually hounded by the Japanese who were after total destruction of civilians and troops alike. Although helped by the Naga people along the way and with fatigue, disease and starvation biting, many brave souls didn’t survive to tell the tale, thankfully Molly did and more importantly made it home.
Simon and Molly Carruthers were married in St Jude’s Church, South Kensington in London in 1951. Following in the footsteps of his father, Col Nigel Carruthers of the British Army in India, and many other family members before him to include the parents of the Rev William Mitchell-Carruthers, after being emplyed by a British Tea Company, they moved back to India in 1948 to work.
Feeling that they wished bring their child up in Britain, Simon and Molly returned home to the UK with their son, now 6 months old. Dr Carruthers known as Peter, spent both his childhood and his informative years in Britain where, having lived here throughout his adult life he was educated to doctorate level achieving a PhD as well as other post graduate qualifications.
Standing with other Chiefs, Peter is 6th from the left, resplendent in the Carruthers tartan. L-R Jamie Macnab of MacNab, Sir John McEwen (Commander), Angus McLaine (Younger), Michael Buchanan, Peter Carruthers of Holmains, Donald Maclaren, Sir Crispin Agnew, George MacMillan, Madam Pauline Hunter and James Graham, Duke of Montrose and far right Malcolm Buchanan, Herald of Clan Buchanan.
As an agricultural scientist Peter has a background in agricultural research and education, and rural policy and environmental education, with further qualifications in management and theology. For many years he was on the staff of the Centre for Agricultural Strategy at the University of Reading and researched and lectured on the same. Subsequently, he was Managing Director of an independent consultancy organisation providing contract research in agriculture, environment and rural affairs, while also working with other organisations within the public and third sectors in the development of values-centred strategy and leadership.
Currently, he is Director of a Christian charity that supports the rural church and is a co-founder and former Chairman of Farm Crisis Network, now the Farming Community Network, an organisation and charity that supports farmers and families within the farming community in the UK. He is also is a member of the Royal Society of Biology and now retired from academia was made an Honorary University Fellow at the University of Exeter and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Worcester during his working life.
Interestingly and as an aside, Peter has within his line a famous British Major General, who became part of the British diplomatic corps and also has links through his paternal grandmother cescended from the Jameson Irish Whiskey brand and distillery.
The brand was started by John Jameson, originally a lawyer from Alloa, Clackmannanshire in Scotland but found the Jameson Distillary in Dublin in 1780. Prior to this, John married the eldest daughter of John Haig of Haig Scottish Whisky fame, distilled here in Scotland since the early 1720’s. Jameson himself had four sons who followed him into the distillery business.
Andrew the fourth son, went into business in a small distillery in Wexford in south-east Ireland and was the grandfather of Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of wireless telegraphy. Marconi’s mother was Annie Jameson, Andrews daughter. Jameson’s are still considered the most important distilling family in the whole Ireland.
Further, Peter’s 4x great grandfather John 12th of Holmains and 8th Baron married Charlotte, the second daughter of Sir Robert Laurie, Baronet of Maxwelton. Sir Robert was the nephew of Annie Laurie, immortalised in Scottish song from the poem by William Douglas of Dumfriesshire about his love for her. The tune was added in the early mid 1800’s by Alicia Scott. His first cousin Cécilia, is a direct descendent through her granmother to Sholto Douglas, the Marquis of Queensbury
Peter is quoted as saying; “The Carruthers are a unique and special family. There are many more of us in Scotland, the UK, and around the globe, than people realise! And over the centuries, we have had many distinguished family members, some known and some unsung, who have served their countries and contributed to human flourishing and the common good. It is therefore a great privilege and a sober responsibility, to have inherited the position of Chief of Carruthers, and I will do my best to lead and serve the family in our future together.”
Why is Dr Peter Carruthers of Holmains, our chief and not someone else?
Dealing with the second part of the question has partially been covered before but below we touch only on his right to inherit the title of Chief i.e the legal bit and the genealogy to support it.
Photo of the Charter that was the kernal which began the House of Holmains estates, dated 1361
Although some may claim and rightly so, that the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon is retained through the rights of the British Monarch only in all things dealing with Scottish heraldry, the laws of inheritance remain paramount and in any western country they follow a similar pattern. What that means is that Lyon has the right to grant new arms to an individual if the proofs are deemed acceptable or allow the matriculation (the right) to bear the arms of an ancestor, in this case the undifferenced arms of the Chief of Carruthers, which must follow the law of inheritance of the same and be proven to do so.
Therefore to make a claim within the laws of Scotland, especially of a title ie Chief of a Name, the claim must be proven. This evidence must in turn pass muster with and be accepted by the Lord Lyon, a member of the Scottish judiciary and as such and in cases of this nature, be supported by solid documented genealogical evidence, which in itself supersedes all else. This includes a family gathering held either inside or outside of Scotland, as such in our case, none was ever required.
Therefore if you are, lets say a retired American truck driver, a Canadian banker, an Australian financier or even a Scottish Lord you cannot simply claim that your are a Chief of a Scottish clan or family unless the evidence to inherit a title/arms is a) recognised as such by the Lord Lyon and the British Crown and b) the inheritance laws are fully satisfied.
The title is in itself an accepted entity in Scots law and carries with it the legal right to use the undifferenced Chief’s arms of that clan or family through the auspices, and only through the auspices of the Lord Lyon here in Scotland. Therefore to attain legal recognition to a claim of being a Scottish Chief, the process is long and onerous which in turn requires much effort and time. This process is time served and is in place to ensure that the unscrupulous or uneducated whether by accident or design through ego or agenda are not permitted to dilute the heritage and history of either the Scottish people or its diaspora, for their own ends.
As such the inauguration of the Carruthers Chief in August 24-25 in Annan, Scotland, having gone throgh the full process of confirmation by the Lord Lyon is a very important and historic occasion for our family and more so as it takes place on our ancestral lands. Well worth the visit.
So what evidence legally supports the right to be called Chief of Carruthers?
Well, our own Chief’s proven and documented ancestry goes back as far as the records of our family goes along the chiefly line, and looking at it in depth it remains quite impressive. However for the sake of brevity, today we will only deal with the salient points, in order to answer the second part of the question in the heading.
We accept that as a starting point William de Carruthers, in the reign of Alexander II (1214-1249), is the first recorded use of our name and he died circa 1245. We now also accept through our DNA research that he was the great grandfather of Thomas first of the House of Carruthers of Mouswald. Mouswald are considered our first chiefs, who received their charter from Robert the Bruce in 1320. The Barony of Mouswald continued until it became extinct in 1548 when the then Chief was killed in a border raid, leaving no male heirs.
So then what, did the chiefly line die out?
As in all forms of inheritance the title is passed to the closest living relative and in those days to a male heir. But what does the evidence actually say.
Firstly it needs to be stated that Mouswald has been legally considered extinct since 1548 and as such moving to the closest male heir would be the norm. So who was the closest male heir? For that we need to look at the brothers of Thomas 1st of Mouswald who had three brothers; William, John and Nigel.
William, became 2nd of Mouswald after Thomas lost his title and lands having bent the knee to Edward III in 1334, possibly only to save his own life. Never the less, he was removed as Chief and head of the family. The youngest brother Sir Nigel was a knight of the realm and held the office of Chamberlain to the Scottish Regent. He was killed at the Battle of Durham fighting for his King and country on October 17, 1346, leaving no issue.
It is now accepted that John Carruthers, Thomas’s second younger brother and Kings Chancellor for Annandale was the progenitor (direct ancestor) of the House of Carruthers of Holmains. Therefore being the senior cadet line off Mouswald in 1548 the then head of the House of Holmains, John Carruthers 5th of Holmains and 1st Baron took on the mantle of Chief. It was John 9th who in 1672 matriculated (ie there being an existing set of arms from an ancestor) the ensign armorial/Chiefly Arms of the House of Holmains in the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland.
The Barony of Holmains continued until 1772 when, due to a financial disaster, the estates were lost leaving only the Charter Chest of Holmains, the contents of which are now in Scotland’s National Records Office and other family heirlooms. The then chief John 12th of Holmains and 8th Baron died in 1809 leaving no male heir, with his will stating that his inheritance would be through either the male or female line ie ‘of his body‘; found in 1) a Crown Charter of 1755 and 2) his Marriage Contract with Charlotte Laurie of 1762). However, even with this proviso, no one took up the mantle of Chief, although we now know that Carruthers-Wade did try in his 1876 martriculation for arms, but was unsucessful and Mitchell-Carruthers could have as heir to the Name and Arms, but for some reason didn’t and chose the quartered arms instead, while retaining the Carruthers arms in dominance.
The Chiefship of Carruthers therefore lay dormant for 210 years after the death of Jogn 12th of Holmains.
We then need to look at the line from John 12th of Holmains into the current era.
John had 9 children, 2 sons and seven daughters, both sons died before their father.
As lineage and inheritance of title goes, the succession of the chiefly line first passed to Rachel, second daughter of John 12th of Holmains, as established by the 1854 matriculation of John Peter CarruthersWade (2nd Inventory No. 2) – that this line is extinguished is proven by the 1876 matriculation, which records that the only descendant of Rachel died without issue; the 1876 matriculation of William Mitchell-Carruthers, grandson of Susan Carruthers, narrates his descent from Maj Gen William St Leger Mitchell and “Susan his wife and third daughter and co-heir of John Carruthers of Holmains and Kirkwood”.
The matriculation also refers to John Peter Carruthers-Wade, (son of Susan’s elder sister Rachel) who died without issue (1854 matriculation, 2nd Inventory No. 2) thus establishing that Susan’s descendant was the eventual heir of her elder sister, Rachel. Accordingly, there is a clear reference to the Holmains Arms matriculated c. 1672 and the licence to use them. It is through Susan that the current chief has direct lineage to John Carruthers, 12th of Holmains as the senior member of our family
Simon Peter Carruthers’ descent as heir of John Carrruthers 12th of Holmains is further established by the documentation lodged in his petition to the Lord Lyon, which shows that;
- a) Simon Peter Carruthers is the heir male of William Mitchell-Carruthers (who matriculated Arms in 1876);
- b) William Mitchell-Carruthers was the heir of John Carruthers 12th of Holmains through his grandmother Susan, third daughter, the eventual heir of John Carruthers 12th of Holmains, as set out in the 1876 matriculation;
- (c) as such, Simon Peter Carruthers is heir of the said John Carruthers 12th of Holmains; and
- (d) the said John Carruthers 12th of Holmains was the heir male of John Carruthers 9th of Holmains, who matriculated the ensigns armorial of Carruthers of Holmains in the Public Register c. 1672.
To that end, the lineage of our Chief is well charted and evidenced through the House of Holmains to the House of Mouswald and beyond to the origins of our name.
On November 2019, as clarification and as a reflection of the Chief’s status by the Crown, the Lord Lyon granted additaments to the Chiefly arms of two fallow bucks rampant Proper as supporters on a compartment of heathland strewn with the Carruthers clan plant of Gorse bushes in flower (Ulex europaeus).
George Carruthers FSA Scot
Promptus et Fidelis
