Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (later styled

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

) and 2nd Earl of Elgin, PC, FRS (ca. March 1626 – 20 October 1685), was a Scottish

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1660 to 1663, when he inherited his father's title as

Earl of Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...

Life

Robert Bruce was the son of Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin by his first wife, Anne Chichester. His portrait, as "Lord Kinloss" at the age of 9 was painted by Cornelius Johnson. He went on a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

in Europe in the years 1642 to 1646. Coats of Arms of the Earl of Elgin

During his father's lifetime, Lord Bruce, as he was styled, was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

in the Convention Parliament in 1660 and the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

in 1661, until he succeeded to his father's titles, becoming the 2nd Earl of Elgin in 1663.History of Parliament Online - Robert, Lord Bruce
/ref> The following year, he was created Earl of Ailesbury on 18 March 1664, as well as Viscount Bruce of Ampthill and Baron Bruce of Skelton, for his services in procuring the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...

. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire. Since 1711, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Bedfordshire. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton 1549–1551 *Oliver St John, 1st Baron St ...

from 1660 with the Earl of Cleveland, and solely, from 1667 to his death. In October 1678, Lord Ailesbury was invested as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

(PC) and a

Gentleman of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Households of the United Kingdo ...

. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representative in the counties of the United Kingdom. Lord Lieutenants are supported by an appoint ...

and

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

from 1681 to his death. In 1685, he was invested as a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...

on 30 July 1685. Robert Bruce died in 1685, aged 58, at Houghton House, just north of Ampthill, Bedfordshire, and was buried on 26 October of that year, at

Maulden Maulden is a village and civil parish located in the county of Bedfordshire. The village is located 1.5 miles east of Ampthill and about south of Bedford. It has about 1,250 homes and 3130 residents. Maulden is referred to in the Domesday Bo ...

. His widow, the Dowager Countess of Ailesbury, built

Ampthill House Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also ...

nearby in 1686, originally as a

dower house A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish or Welsh estate. The widow, often known as the "dowager", usually moves into the dower house from the larger family h ...

. By this time, the Bruce family had extensive estates, among them were:

Whorlton Castle Whorlton Castle is a ruined medieval castle situated near the abandoned village of Whorlton (at grid reference NZ4802) in North Yorkshire, England. It was established in the early 12th century as a Norman motte-and-bailey associated with the ...

West Tanfield West Tanfield is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated approximately six miles north of Ripon on the A6108, which goes from Ripon to Masham and Wensleydale. The parish incl ...

Manfield Manfield is a village and civil parish in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, England. It is a parish in the wapentake of Gilling East. The closest major town is Darlington, which is east of Manfield. It is close to the River T ...

, and

Clerkenwell Priory Clerkenwell Priory was a priory of the Monastic Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, in Clerkenwell, London. Run according to the Augustinian rule, it was the residence of the Hospitallers' Grand Prior in England, and was ...

Marriage and progeny

Robert Bruce married Lady Diana Grey, daughter of

Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford ( 1599 – 21 August 1673), known as the Lord Grey of Groby from 1614 to 1628, was an English nobleman and military leader. He was the eldest son of Sir John Grey and Elizabeth Nevill. His mother was probably a ...

and Lady Anne Cecil, on 16 February 1645. They had seventeen children, nine of whom seem to have survived to adulthood: *Hon. Edward Bruce (b. 1644/5, d. 1662) * Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury (b. 1656, d. 16 December 1741) *Hon. Henry Bruce (b. 1656?, d. young) *Lady Diana Bruce (d. 15 July 1672), married firstly, Sir Seymour Shirley, 5th Baronet, on 29 January 1666; married secondly, on 10 November 1671, John Manners, Lord Roos, who became

Duke of Rutland Duke of Rutland is a title in the Peerage of England, named after Rutland, a county in the East Midlands of England. Earldoms named after Rutland have been created three times; the ninth earl of the third creation was made duke in 1703, in whos ...

after her death. *Lady Mary Bruce (b. 31 December 1657, bur. 15 May 1711), married Sir William Walter, 2nd Baronet. *Lady Christiana (or Christian) Bruce (b.1658), married firstly, on 4 June 1677 at

Ampthill Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also ...

, John Rolle (d.1689), eldest son and heir apparent of Sir John Rolle of Stevenstone, Devon (d.1706), with whom she had two sons, Robert Rolle (c.1677-18 November 1710) and John Rolle (1679–1730); married secondly, Sir Richard Gayer (or Geyer/Gere) of

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common. Etymology In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (pl ...

, Buckinghamshire. *Lady Anne Bruce (1st Anne, b. ca. 1660, d. before 1717), married Sir William Rich, 2nd Baronet in 1672. *Hon. Robert Bruce (1st Robert?, d. 1652) *Hon. Charles Bruce (d. 1661) *Hon. Bernard (or Barnard) Bruce (b. 1666, d. 1669) *Lady Arabella Bruce (d. young) *Lady Anne Charlotte Bruce (2nd Anne, d. 13 March 1713), married Sir Nicholas Bagenal of

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...

, a grandson of Henry Bagenal.Stirnet: Bagnall01 (Sir Nicholas Bagnall/Bagenall of Newry)
/ref> *Lady Henrietta Bruce, married Thomas Ogle. *Hon. Robert Bruce (2nd Robert?, d. 1728) *Hon. James Bruce (d. 1738) *Lady Christian Bruce (2nd Christian?, d. young). *Lady Elizabeth Bruce (d. young).

Notes

References

External links

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ailesbury 1626 births 1685 deaths 2

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Lord-Lieutenants of Bedfordshire Lord-Lieutenants of Cambridgeshire Lord-Lieutenants of Huntingdonshire Members of the Privy Council of England English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679