Let me share with you the captivating history of your family, the Homes. Your family hails from the Borders region of Scotland and holds an incredible legacy of power. It is believed that your ancestors are the descendants of the Saxon Princes of Northumberland, tracing their lineage through Cospatrick, Earl of Dunbar. Around 1225, William, a kinsman of Waldegrave and the 4th Earl of Dunbar, married his cousin Ada. As part of her dowry, she brought the lands known as ‘Home’.

Sir Alexander Home of Dunglass, a prominent figure in your family’s history, was captured at the Battle of Homildon in 1402 and met his fate on the battlefield in France in 1424. He left behind three sons, from whom the majority of the notable branches of your family would descend. His eldest grandson was granted the title of Lord Home and became a member of the Parliament in 1473. He participated in the rebellion against James III, which ultimately resulted in the king’s murder. Alexander, the second Lord Home, led the vanguard of Scots knights during the conflict. While he managed to escape the carnage, many of his family members and supporters were not as fortunate.

Both Lord Home and his brother were arrested for treason and executed in October 1516. However, the title and estates were later restored to another brother, George Home. The political landscape during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots was intricate, leading the Homes, like many others, to shift their allegiances multiple times. Lord Home initially supported the marriage of Mary to Bothwell but later fought against the queen at the Battle of Langside in 1568. Fortunes continued to fluctuate, and in 1573, he was arrested and ultimately convicted of treason against the young James VI. Only when his health had deteriorated did he gain release from Edinburgh Castle, passing away shortly thereafter. Despite the politically varied history of his father, Alexander, the sixth Lord Home remained steadfast in his loyalty to James VI. As a result, in 1605, he was elevated to the peerage, becoming the Earl of Home.

The third Earl of Home stood as a supporter of Charles I, although the allegiances of the Homes wavered during the Jacobite uprisings. The seventh Earl faced imprisonment in Edinburgh Castle in 1715, and his brother, James Home of Ayton, had his estates confiscated due to his involvement in the rebellion. When the ‘Young Pretender’ asserted his father’s claim in 1745, the eighth Earl sided with the Government forces. The 14th Earl, in a unique turn of events, relinquished his hereditary peerage for his own lifetime to become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, known as Sir Alec Douglas Home. The grand family estate is located at the magnificent border estate of the Hirsel.