(151) Carmichael-Anstruther of Elie House and Carmichael House, baronets

Anstruther of that Ilk

Carmichael of Carmichael

The Anstruther family trace their lineage back to one William de Candela, who was lord of Anstruther in the East Neuk of Fife and died in about 1153. His grandson, Henry de Candela, dropped his patronymic in favour of the territorial name Anstruther, which his descendants have borne ever since. The outline genealogy of the family given in Burke's Peerage and Baronetage is clearly defective, or at least incomplete, for the period before the late 15th century, but Henry de Candela (fl. 1221) and a descendant of the same name (fl. 1292) were both patrons of Dryburgh Abbey in the Borders, and the second Henry went on crusade with King Louis IX. Andrew Anstruther (fl. 1483-1513) was granted a charter of his lands at Anstruther in 1483 and fought at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. His grandson, another Andrew Anstruther (d. 1547) was killed at the Battle of Pinkie in the lifetime of his father. The Anstruther estate descended to his son, John Anstruther, who gave it to his son, Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606) in 1571.  Sir James was appointed Hereditary Grand Carver by King James VI of Scotland in 1585 and Master of the Royal Household in Scotland in 1595; offices still held by the family today. His son, Sir William Anstruther (d. 1649), came south with King James and was one of his Gentlemen of the Bedchamber. At this time, the principal seat of the Anstruthers was a square tower known as Dreel Castle, which stood between Castle Wynd and the Dreel Burn in Anstruther, and which was probably built or rebuilt in the 16th century.  To provide more up-to-date accommodation, Sir William acquired the Easter Anstruther manse as a new manor house in 1637; after his death it was used by his sister and in 1713 it was sold to the town council and returned to use by the minister.

The Anstruther manse, used as a manor house by the Anstruthers 1637-1713, from an old postcard.

Sir William's brother, Sir Robert Anstruther (d. 1644/5) settled at Wheatley (Yorks) on an estate which he inherited from his wife's family. He was also a Gentleman of the Bedchamber, and served as a diplomat across Europe between 1612 and 1638. His son, Sir Philip Anstruther (c.1630-1702), was an active Royalist during the Civil War, and inherited the Anstruther estates when his uncle died in 1649. He was captured after the final Royalist defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, fined, and had his estates sequestrated.  Dreel Castle may have been slighted during the Commonwealth period and was not re-occupied after Sir Philip recovered the estates at the Restoration, and the Manse was occupied by his aunt.  He therefore built a new house called Anstruther Place in Anstruther Easter in 1663. The contract for building the house was made with Alexander Nesbit and provided for a four storey tower, 76 x 24 feet, with walls 4 feet thick. This castle was demolished in 1811 and its site is now occupied by the Clydesdale Bank.

Sir Philip Anstruther (c.1630-1702) had seven sons, five of whom were knighted or became baronets. The eldest, Sir William Anstruther (d. 1711), was an MP from 1681-1707 and a Lord of Session as Lord Anstruther. He was responsible for buying an estate at Elie and building Elie House as the family's first proper country house, and at much the same time his younger brother bought the Balcaskie estate. Elie descended to Sir William's son, Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754), 1st bt., whose marriage to Lady Margaret Carmichael in 1717 eventually brought the Carmichael estates in Lanarkshire to their descendants a hundred years later. His son was Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt, who made a major addition to Elie House and carried out a landscaping scheme in about 1771 that involved the building of the surviving summerhouse known as the Lady's Tower, and the clearance of a hamlet called Balclevie to improve the view.  It is said that an old woman whose home was demolished for these works cursed the family that only six generations of the family would live at Elie, which turned out to be true, but this was a decidedly procrastinated revenge, as Elie was not in fact sold until 1853!

Sir John's heir was his son, Sir Philip Anstruther-Paterson (1752-1808), 3rd bt., who added his wife's surname to his own on inheriting her family estate at Eccles in Berwickshire, which he later sold. He died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother, Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th bt., who had already been made a baronet of Great Britain on retiring from Parliament to become Chief Justice of Bengal in 1798. His eldest son, Sir John Anstruther (d. 1818), 5th bt., came into the Carmichael estates on the death of the 6th Earl of Hyndford in 1817, and the family thereafter became the Carmichael-Anstruthers*. The 5th baronet died young and his widow produced their only son and heir a few days later; tragically, he died in a shooting accident while at Eton in 1831, so the title and estates reverted to his uncle, Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt.  During a long life of expensive self-indulgence and financial incompetence he was bankrupted five times. He sold Elie House to the industrialist William Baird in 1853 and moved the focus of the family's interests to Lanarkshire, where Carmichael House was an eccentrically planned, because incomplete, 18th century house. He lived, however, mainly at Westraw House on the estate, and it was probably his son who added the Victorian shaped gables to Carmichael House.

Sir Windham was succeeded his elder son, Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1825-98), 8th & 5th bt., who appears to have let Carmichael House. When he died the ownership passed in quick succession to his son, Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt., and his grandson, Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt., who died without issue.  The heir in 1928 was a grandson of the 8th baronet's younger half-brother, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt., who unroofed Carmichael House in 1954 and lived at East End House.  When he died, the Scottish baronetcy passed to Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. of Balcaskie; the British baronetcy created in 1798 became extinct. The Carmichael estate, however, and the Chieftainship of the Carmichael clan, passed to Richard Carmichael, who traces his descent from James Carmichael (d. 1737), 2nd Earl of Hyndford.
* An account of the Carmichael family, Earls of Hyndford, is reserved for a future post.

Elie House, Fife

Elie House from the south, showing the original house of 1697 and, at the left, the end of the 18th century block.

Elie House: east front, showing the main block of c.1697 on the left, the rear of the 18th century block,
and the Victorian alterations.

The core of the house is a plain block of rubble stone with roll-moulded windows, built by Sir William Anstruther after he bought the estate in 1697, on the site of an earlier mansion house built by Sir William Scott in the late 16th century; some of the windows on the south elevation were apparently re-used from the earlier house, most of which was however retained as outbuildings until it was demolished in 1854-55.  William Adam made some minor changes to the house in about 1740, including the addition of a carved pediment, but his scheme for rebuilding the house (illustrated in Vitruvius Scoticus) was not carried out. However, about 1762 a large ashlar-faced north-west wing was added to the design of George Paterson of Edinburgh, with a nine bay main front to the west that has a three bay centre and a central pediment: perhaps the one which Adam supplied, re-used. Inside, the south-west room on the principal floor has Rococo plasterwork.

Elie House: the west front of the new block added about 1770.

After Elie House was sold to William Baird, alterations were made in 1854-55, including the reconstruction of the east side with a new entrance porch and ogee-topped tower; the provision of an imperial stair to the original front door on the west, and the addition of Scots Baronial dormerheads on the south side.  In the 1950s the house became a Retreat house for the Marie Reparatrice order of Nuns, and a large chapel was built for their use by Peter Whiston in 1958, as well as other utilitarian additions. In 2000, Elie was sold to a property developer who restored the house and converted it into 13 apartments: conversion and restoration was completed in 2012. The Elie estate with the exception of Elie House is owned and managed by the Trustees of the Elie Estate Trust under the stewardship of Sir Michael Nairn (4th Bt) and his son Alex Nairn, who now lives on the Estate with his wife and two young children.

Descent: Sir William Scott (fl. early 17th cent.)... Sir William Anstruther (d. 1711), kt.; to son, Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754), 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Philip Anstruther (later Anstruther-Paterson) (1752-1808), 3rd bt.; to brother, Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt.; to son, Sir John Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (d. 1818), 5th & 2nd bt.; to son, Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther (1818-31), 6th & 3rd bt.; to uncle, Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt., who sold 1853 to William Baird (d. 1864); to son, William Baird (1848-1918); to son, William James Baird (1893-1961), who sold 1928 to Sir Michael Nairn (1874-1952), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Michael George Nairn (1911-84), 3rd bt., who sold c.1953 to Marie Reparatrice Order, while retaining the estate; sold 2000 to a property developer who converted the house to flats.  The Elie estate is owned by the Trustees of the Elie Estate Trust under the stewardship of Sir Michael Nairn (b. 1938), 4th bt. and his son, Alex Nairn.

Carmichael House, Lanarkshire

Carmichael House: the ruins of the west wing and central tower and corridor.

The Carmichaels held the lands from the 13th century and in 1710 there was a "good substantious old house, much repaired and well finished of late, very well planted, with a noble avenue from the house to the church". This house was demolished by John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford (1701-67), who built the five-bay two-storey west wing of an intended new house in about 1754 and the matching east wing shortly before his death; his architect is unknown. The main block that would have connected them was never built, but instead a long connecting corridor was built, with a central tower pavilion. The present shaped and ogee gables with finials and urns are presumably a Victorian jazzing-up of the original plain hipped-roofed blocks, and give the building a rather exotic air.

The house was occupied into the 20th century, but was unroofed in 1954-55. It now stands as a consolidated shell in the middle of a commercial forestry plantation.  In the 1980s, the house was inherited by an accountant from New Zealand who established his claim to be chief of the Carmichael clan and pledged 'to restore the capot of my barony of Carmichael and the spiritual heartland of all Carmichaels worldwide' so that it will again become 'a modern baronial house for the future chiefs of Carmichael for the next few hundred years'. Since then, the plans have become a little more realistic, and in the mid-1990s there were plans for converting the house into holiday accommodation. However nothing has been done and the house is now on the buildings at risk register.

Descent: Sir John Carmichael, kt.; to cousin, James Carmichael (1579-1672), 1st Lord Carmichael; to grandson, John Carmichael (1637/8-1710), 2nd Lord Carmichael & 1st Earl of Hyndford; to son, James Carmichael (d. 1737), 2nd Earl of Hyndford; to son, John Carmichael (1701-67), 3rd Earl of Hyndford; to widow, Jean Carmichael, Countess of Hyndford (d. 1807); to her husband's cousin, Thomas Carmichael (c.1750-1811), 5th Earl of Hyndford; to son, Andrew Carmichael (d. 1817), 6th Earl of Hyndford; to kinsman, Sir John Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (d. 1818), 5th & 2nd bt.; to son, Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther (1818-31), 6th & 3rd bt.; to uncle, Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt.; to son, Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1825-98), 8th & 5th bt.; to son, Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt.; to son, Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt.; to second cousin, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt., who unroofed the house; to Richard Carmichael (b. c.1948).

Eastend House, Lanarkshire

East End House: the south front is now mainly 18th century but masks a 16th century or earlier core

On the southern boundary of the Carmichael estate, Eastend House was originally a separate estate occupied by a branch of the Carmichael family who separated from the senior line around 1500. It comprises a 37 room mansion house of four floors with the oldest visible part of the building, which is claimed to have a much more ancient nucleus, being an early 16th century keep. To this were added tall crowstepped wings to the east and west in 1673, and these in turn were joined up on the south by a typical 18th century bow-fronted addition which completely obscured the keep on that side. In the mid 19th century large “Scottish baronial” extensions were added to the west. Because of an outbreak of dry rot, the house is not currently habitable.

Anstruther, later Carmichael-Anstruther, family of Elie House, baronets

Anstruther, Sir James (d. 1606), kt. Son of John Anstruther (d. 1610) of Anstruther and his wife Margaret, daughter of George Clephane of Carslogie, born c.1550. He was knighted and appointed Hereditary Grand Carver, 1585 and Master of the Royal Household, 1595, by King James VI of Scotland. He married, 1571 (contract 7 November), Jean, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Abbotshall and had issue:
(1) Sir William Anstruther (c.1575-1649), kt. (q.v.);
(2) Jean Anstruther (d. c.1663); married 1st, 1609, as his third wife, James Douglas, son of 6th Earl of Morton and had issue a daughter; married 2nd, Sir William Riddell, and had issue a daughter; in the 1650s she apparently lived in the former manse house at Anstruther Easter which had been bought by her brother; died c.1659-63;
(3) Elizabeth Anstruther; married 1st, Archibald Heryng of Drums; married 2nd, James Forret of Fingask;
(4) Sir Robert Anstruther (1578-1645), kt. (q.v.);
(5) James Anstruther (b. 1579), born 23 August 1579;
(6) Agnes Anstruther (b. 1583), born 9 June and baptised 9 July 1583; married James Tweedie of Dryness;
(7) Margaret Anstruther (b. 1588), born 12 November 1588; married James Tweedie of Drumelzier;
(8) Grizel Anstruther (b. 1591; fl. 1638), born 2 November 1591; married Robert Alexander of Anstruther Easter and had issue;
(9) Catherine Anstruther; married Robert Clephane.
He was gifted the Anstruther estate and Dreel Castle by his father in 1571.
He died in 1606, in the lifetime of his father.

Anstruther, Sir William (c.1575-1649), kt. Elder son of Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606), kt., and his wife Jean, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Abbotshall, born about 1575. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1609). In 1594 he so offended King James VI that he was sent into exile abroad, but he regained favour and was made a Knight Banneret, 1603, and appointed a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King James VI & I and a Gentleman Usher of the Bedchamber to King Charles I. He married, 1601, Euphemia, daughter of Sir Andrew Wemyss of Myrecairney (Fife) and a lady-in-waiting to the Queen (Anne of Denmark), and had issue:
(1) Anne Anstruther.
He inherited the Anstruther estate and Dreel Castle from his father in 1606, and in 1637 bought the manse of Anstruther Easter as a new manor house.
He died in 1649.

Anstruther, Sir Robert (1578-1645), kt. Younger son of Sir James Anstruther (d. 1606), kt., and his wife Jean, daughter of Sir Thomas Scott of Abbotshall, baptised at Anstruther Wester, 23 April 1578. Educated partly at the Danish court, where he was sent as a page, 1598, and in 1603 he was sent to Scotland with a gift of falcons by King Christian IV. From 1612-38 he was fairly continuously employed as an ambassador in diplomatic missions across Europe by King James VI & I and King Charles I; he also had the confidence of King Christian IV. On one celebrated evening, about 1620, Christian IV was so pleased with Anstruther that he resigned the Danish Crown to him with which he was invested for the duration of a feast*. He married, 22 April 1617 as a child bride, Mary (d. 1652), daughter of Sir Robert Swift, kt., of Doncaster, and had issue, perhaps among other children who died young:
(1) William Anstruther (b. 1625; d. by 1644), born 5 February 1625; educated at Aberdeen University (admitted 1641); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father;
(2) Christian Anstruther (b. 1627), baptised in English church at Hamburg (Germany), 12 July 1627; probably died young;
(3) Robert Anstruther (b. c.1629; fl. 1657) of Wheatley; married, before 1652, Anne alias Jane, daughter of Sir John Corbet, bt. of Stoke-upon-Tern (Salop) and had issue a daughter;
(4) Sir Philip Anstruther (c.1630-1702), kt. (q.v.);
(5) Elizabeth (alias Ursula?) Anstruther (fl. 1657); married George Austen of Shalford;
(6) Sarah Anstruther (b. c.1644; fl. 1657), possibly the person of that name baptised at Doncaster, 29 October 1644;
(7) Sophia Anstruther (d. by 1652).
He inherited an estate at Wheatley near Doncaster (Yorks) in right of his wife, and passed this to his eldest son.
He died 6 January 1644/5 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, 9 January 1644/5. His widow died in London, 1652.
* A more elaborate version of this story, which reports that Anstruther kept the King drunk for three days and took advantage of his incapacity to pass a number of laws, is no doubt apocryphal!

Anstruther, Sir Philip (c.1630-1702), kt. Second son of Sir Robert Anstruther (1578-1645), kt., and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Swift, kt., of Doncaster, born about 1630. An active Royalist during the Civil War, he was knighted at Perth, October 1650, but after being captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1651, he was fined by the Commonwealth authorities, and his estates sequestrated until the Restoration. MP for Fifeshire in Scottish Parliament, 1665, 1667, 1678. Lt-Col. in Fife and Kinross Militia, 1682. He married, 1647 (contract 15 July), Christian, daughter of Gen. Sir James Lumsden of Innergelly, a military commander under King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and had issue:
(1) Sir William Anstruther (c.1655-1711), kt. (q.v.);
(2) Sir James Anstruther (c.1656-82), kt., of Airdrie, Crail (Fife); Principal Clerk of the Bills; married Katherine (who m2, 1683 (contract 19 December), Maj. Andrew White (d. 1686), Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and had issue; m3, c.1687, Lord Edward Murray and had further issue), daughter of John Skene of Hallyards, and had issue one son (General Philip Anstruther (1682-1760), who enlarged Airdrie House to the design of William Adam but died without issue, leaving the Airdrie estate to Sir John Anstruther, 2nd bt., for whom see below) and one daughter; died by December 1682;
(3) Sir Robert Anstruther (1658-1737), 1st bt., of Balcaskie; for whom see my post on that family;
(4) Sophia Anstruther (b. 1660), baptised 7 August 1660;
(5) Sir Philip Anstruther (1661-1722) of Anstrutherfield, baptised 24 December 1661; Capt. in Earl of Tullibardine's regiment; married, 24 December 1699 at Edinburgh, Elizabeth Hamilton and had issue one son and three daughters (including Jean/Jane Anstruther, who married George Ainslie of Bordeaux and Pilton); died 1722;
(6) Anna Anstruther (b. 1663), baptised 2 February 1663;
(7) Mary Anstruther (b. 1664), baptised 13 August 1664;
(8) Sir Alexander Anstruther (d. 1743) of Newark, St Monans (Fife); advocate and joint Clerk of the Bills; also merchant and smuggler, in which capacity he was prosecuted in 1719 for 'man-stealing' (i.e. kidnapping) witnesses against him, but acquitted; he got into further difficulties over Government funds placed in his hands to be employed in giving bounties on the curing of herring in St Monans, and in 1725 was obliged to assign his estate, and also his Clerkship of the Bills, to his nephew, Sir John Anstruther of Elie, in payment of £11,000 "advanced to procure his pardon for certain alleged offences for which he had been lately committed"; again detained as a debtor in the Kings Bench and later the Fleet Prison, London, 1736-39; married, 1694 (contract 8 March), Jean (1670-1739/40), daughter of David Leslie, 2nd Lord Newark (who claimed and used her father's title after his death), and had issue three sons and six daughters (two of the sons in turn also used the title); died 1743
(9) twin, David Anstruther (b. 1669), baptised 10 April 1669; died young;
(10) twin, John Anstruther (b. 1669), baptised 10 April 1669; died young.
He inherited the Anstruther estates from his uncle in 1649. Dreel Castle appears to have been slighted in the 1650s and he built a new house, Anstruther Place, in 1663. He purchased the Airdrie estate between Anstruther and Crail (Fife) in 1674 and left this to his second son.
He died in 1702.

Lord Anstruther

Anstruther, Sir William (c.1655-1711), kt., Lord Anstruther. Eldest son of Sir Philip Anstruther (d. 1702), kt., and his wife Christian, daughter of Gen. Sir James Lumsden of Innergelly, born about 1655.  MP for Fifeshire, 1681-1707, in the Scottish Parliament; Commissioner of Supply for Fife, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1704; Commissioner of the Exchequer, 1687; JP for Fife, 1690. For his loyalty to the Protestant, Williamite cause he was appointed a Lord of Session as Lord Anstruther, 1689, despite an apparent lack of legal training; and later sworn of the Privy Council, 1692. He was a great book collector, whose library remained at Elie until 1832, and he published, against the advice of his friends who thought poorly of the quality, a volume of essays and verse entitled Essays, Moral and Divine, 1701; after his death his son purchased the unsold copies and suppressed them. He married, 1677 (contract 5 July 1677), Lady Helen Hamilton (1656-1708), daughter of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington, and had issue:
(1) Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754), 1st bt. (q.v.).
He purchased the Elie estate in 1697 and built a new house there shortly afterwards. He inherited the Anstruther estates from his father in 1702.
He died 24 January 1711 and was buried at Holyrood Church, Edinburgh; his will was proved 19 September 1711. His wife was buried 25 April 1708.

Sir John Anstruther, 1st bt.

Anstruther, Sir John (1678-1754), 1st bt. Only recorded child of Sir William Anstruther (d. 1711), Lord Anstruther of Elie House (Fife) and his wife Lady Helen, daughter of John Hamilton, 4th Earl of Haddington, baptised 19 April 1678. He was created a baronet of Nova Scotia (as 'of Anstruther'), 6 January 1700. He travelled abroad for his health in 1711-13, visiting Ghent, Aix-la-Chapelle, Paris, Turin and Venice. Whig MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1702-07 in the Scottish Parliament and 1708-11, 1713-15 in the British Parliament; and for Fifeshire, 1715-41; Master of the Kings Works in Scotland, 1727-43 (then largely a sinecure); a police commissioner for Scotland from 1743. He married, 24 January 1716/7 at Edinburgh, Lady Margaret Carmichael (d. 1721), eldest daughter of James Carmichael (d. 1737), 2nd Earl of Hyndford, and had issue:
(1) Helen Anstruther (b. 1717), baptised 6 November 1717;
(2) Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt. (q.v.);
(3) James Anstruther (b. 1720), baptised 11 June 1720; died young.
He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1711.
He died 21 September 1753 and was buried with his wife at Elie; his will was proved 28 August 1754. His wife died 6 November 1721 and was buried at Elie.

Anstruther, Sir John (1718-99), 2nd bt. Only surviving son of Sir John Anstruther (1673-1754) and his wife Lady Margaret, daughter of James Carmichael, 2nd Earl of Hyndford, baptised 27 December 1718. Educated at Glasgow University (admitted 1733) and probably undertook a Grand Tour c.1739, when he visited Turin. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 21 September 1753. MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1766-74; 1780-82, 1790-93. His interests included numismatics and the improvement of his estates, and with his brother-in-law, Robert Fall, he founded the Anstruther Whale Fishing Co. in 1756. His wealth, arrogance, and extravagant building projects made him locally unpopular in Fife. At the end of his life he published two treatises on agriculture, Drill Husbandry, 1796, and Hoeing Husbandry, 1798. He married, 4 October 1750, Janet (d. 1802), daughter of James Fall of Dunbar, merchant and MP (known as Jenny Fa'a, described as "a coquette and a beauty" and as a lady of great ability). They had issue:
(1) Sir Philip Anstruther (later Anstruther-Paterson) (1752-1808), 3rd bt. (q.v.);
(2) Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th and 1st bt. (q.v.);
(3) James Anstruther (b. 1754), baptised 18 July 1754; died young;
(4) William Anstruther (b. & d. 1756), baptised 17 February 1756; died in infancy and was buried 19 February 1756;
(5) Col. Robert Anstruther (1757-1831), baptised 31 December 1757; educated at Harrow, 1770-71; served in 4th Horse, 1779-91 (Lt., 1783) and 7th Dragoons (Capt., 1788); retired, 1791; MP for Anstruther Easter, 1793-94; Colonel of Loyal Tay Fencibles, 1795; Lt-Col of East Fife Volunteers, 1803; Col. of 2nd Fife Militia, 1808; married, 9 May 1801, Anne (d. 1804), daughter of Col. John Nairne and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 7 March 1831;
(6) Margaret Anstruther (1759-61), baptised 17 July 1759; died young and was buried at Anstruther Easter, 29 December 1761.
(7) Jean (alias Jane) Anstruther (1760-1819), baptised 13 August 1760; married, 10 September 1785 at St. Marylebone (Middx), Charles Parker (c.1755-95) of Harefield (Middx) and had issue one son and four daughters; buried 23 November 1819 at Harefield.
He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1754, and in 1760 he inherited the Airdrie estate (between Anstruther and Crail (Fife)) from his cousin, Gen. Philip Anstruther (sold 1783). He entailed his other estates in 1778. He was responsible for major additions to Elie House and for landscaping the grounds there c.1771; works which involved the clearance of Balclevie hamlet to improve the view.
He died 4 July 1799; his will was proved later that month. His widow died 17 February 1802, aged 85.

Anstruther (later Anstruther-Paterson), Sir Philip (1752-1808), 3rd bt.  Eldest son of Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Janet (d. 1802), daughter of James Fall of Dunbar, born 12 and baptised 13 January 1752 in Edinburgh. Educated at St. Andrews University. Served in 1st Dragoon Guards, 1770-75 (Lt., 1773); MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1774-77. He changed his name to Anstruther-Paterson in 1782 on inheriting the Eccles estate from his father-in-law. He succeeded his father as 3rd bt., 4 July 1799. He married, 17 February 1778 at Eccles (Berwicks), Anne (d. 1822), only child of Sir John Paterson, 3rd bt. and his wife (later Baroness Polwarth in her own right), but died without issue.
He inherited the Eccles estate in Berwickshire in right of his wife in 1782, but sold it before his death; he inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1802.
He died 5 January 1808. His widow successfully claimed the Barony of Polwarth in 1818, and died 11 March 1822.

Sir John Anstruther, 4th & 1st bt.

Anstruther, Sir John (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt. Second son of Sir John Anstruther (1718-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Janet (d. 1802), daughter of James Fall of Dunbar, born 27 March 1753 at Elie House. Educated at Glasgow University; admitted to Faculty of Advocates, 1774; and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1774; called to bar, 1779; bencher, 1793; treasurer, 1807); Receiver General of Bishops' Rents in Scotland, 1780-1811; Solicitor General to Prince of Wales, 1793-95; circuit judge, North Wales circuit, 1793-97; counsel to Board of Control, 1794-97; Whig MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1783-90, 1796-97, 1806-11, and for Cockermouth, 1790-96; while in Parliament he took a leading part in the impeachment proceedings against Warren Hastings; knighted, 4 October 1797 and created a baronet of Great Britain (as 'of Fort William, Bengal'), 18 May 1798; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bengal (India), 1798-1806;  appointed Privy Councillor, 1806; succeeded his brother as 4th bt. of Anstruther in 1808. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Oxford (DCL), 1810. He married, 14 August 1784, Maria Isabella (d. 1833), daughter of Edward Brice of Berners St., London and had issue:
(1) Sir John Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (1785-1818), 5th & 2nd bt. (q.v.);
(2) twin, Sir Windham Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther) (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt. (q.v.);
(3) twin, Alexander Anstruther (b. & d. 1793), born 6 March and died 24 May 1793;
(4) Marianne Anstruther (1797-1859), born 18 January 1797; married, 27 March 1828, her cousin James Anstruther WS (1803-67) (who m2., 11 October 1866, Annabella Agnes Anderson), and had issue; died 19 June 1859 and was buried in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh.
He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his brother in 1808.
He died 26 January 1811. His widow died 14 June 1833.

Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther), Sir John (1785-1818), 5th & 2nd bt. Elder son of Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt., and his wife Marcia, daughter of Edward Brice of Berners St., London, born in Lincolns Inn Fields, London, 1 June and baptised 4 July 1785 at St George's Bloomsbury, London. Educated at Eton, 1799-1802, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1803; BA 1806) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1806). Receiver General of Bishops' Rents in Scotland, 1811-18. Succeeded his father as 5th and 2nd baronet, 26 January 1811. MP for Anstruther Easter Burghs, 1811-18. He married, 11 January 1817,  Jessie (c.1795-1881), daughter of Maj-Gen. David Dewar of Gilston House (Fife), and had issue:
(1) Sir John Carmichael-Anstruther (1818-31), 6th & 3rd bt., born posthumously, 6 February 1818 and succeeded to the baronetcies at birth; educated at Eton, where he was accidentally shot and killed by a schoolfellow, 31 October 1831; buried in chapel of Merton College, Oxford, 12 November 1831.
He inherited the Elie and Anstruther estates from his father in 1811, and the Carmichael House and Westraw estates (Lanarks) on the death of Andrew Camichael, 6th Earl of Hyndford, in 1817.
He died of typhus, 28 January 1818; administration of his effects was granted in 1821. His widow married 2nd, 27 March 1828 in Edinburgh, Rev. Robert Bullock Marsham DCL (c.1786-1880) of Caversfield (Oxon), Warden of Merton College, Oxford, and died 10 November 1881, aged 86.

Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther

Anstruther (later Carmichael-Anstruther), Sir Windham (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt.  Younger son of Sir John Anstruther (1753-1811), 4th & 1st bt., and his wife Marcia, daughter of Edward Brice of Berners St., London, born in Lincolns Inn Fields, London, 6 March 1793. Educated at Eton, 1808. An officer in the Coldstream Guards, 1810-17 (Capt.); he served in the Peninsula Wars, but was led into debt by his 'fashionable and expensive follies' and bankrupted in 1828; he then for some years supported himself as an actor in provincial theatre at Margate and other south coast resorts. He unexpectedly succeeded his nephew in the family baronetcies and estates, 31 October 1831, and at the time it was noted that the estates were worth £15,000 a year and that he inherited a considerable capital accumulated during his nephew's minority. Within three years he had run through this inheritance and accumulated debts of nearly £100,000, and he was bankrupted again in 1834, 1838 and 1847; in 1832 he also sold the library formed by his ancestor, Sir William Anstruther, in the late 17th century.  His financial position must have been eased when he succeeded in breaking the entail on the Elie and Anstruther estates and selling them in 1853 for £145,000, but in the 1850s and 1860s he had periods of residence at Boulogne, the traditional home of the impecunious Briton, and he was bankrupted again in 1862. Despite his financial embarrassments, he served in the Lanarkshire County Militia from 1831 (Major, 1846) and was appointed JP and DL for Lanarkshire, 1846; when in England he also served on a number of honorary committees for charities. He married 1st, 24 July 1824 at Dover (Kent), Meredith Maria (1807-41), daughter of Charles Wetherell; 2nd, 10 May 1841, Anne Constance (c.1811-56), daughter of Allen Williamson Grey; and 3rd, 30 September 1859 at St Pancras (Middx), Mary Anne (c.1823-1905), daughter of John Parsons, and had issue:
(1.1) Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1824-98), 8th & 5th bt. (q.v.);
(2.1) Marianna Constance Carmichael-Anstruther (c.1841-83), baptised 17 January 1842; lived at Bournemouth; died unmarried, 2 November 1883; her will was proved 20 February 1884 (estate in England, £1,745);
(2.2) Marian Alice Carmichael-Anstruther (1844-1929), baptised 5 August 1844; married, 18 February 1875, Capt. Charles Roger (d. 1907) of Chiefswood, Melrose but had no issue; died 2 April 1929 at Montreux (Switzerland);
(2.3) Windham George Conway Carmichael-Anstruther (1845-98) (q.v.).
He inherited the Elie, Anstruther and Carmichael House estates from his nephew in 1831, but broke the entail on the Elie and Anstruther estates and sold them in 1853. When in Britain he lived mainly at Westraw House (Lanarks), a secondary house on the Carmichael estate.
He died at Boulogne (France), 8 September 1869 and was buried 15 September in Kensal Green Cemetery; his will was proved 27 July 1870 (effects under £2,000). His first wife died 10 April 1841 at Brighton. His second wife died 21 June 1856 at Boulogne (France). His widow died 31 December 1905.

Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Charles James (1824-98), 8th & 5th bt. Only son of Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt., and his first wife, Meredith Maria, daughter of Charles Wetherell, born 8 October 1824 in Brussels (Belgium). Educated at Merton College, Oxford (matriculated 1843). He succeeded his father in the family estates and baronetcies, 15 September 1869. Conservative MP for South Lanarkshire, 1874-80; Convenor of Lanarkshire, 1894; DL and Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, 1890-98. Listed his recreations as golf, curling and shooting and established a curling rink at Carmichael; was patron of the Carmichael Hare Coursing Meeting and a steward of the Lanark Races. He married, 4 September 1872 at Harthill (Cheshire), Janetta (1839-91), only daughter of Robert Barbour of Bolesworth Castle (Cheshire) and had issue:
(1) Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt. (q.v.).
He inherited the Carmichael House estate from his father in 1869. In 1883 the estates consisted of 11,814 acres in Lanarkshire and 584 acres in Ayrshire, worth £9,534 a year. He was probably responsible for making alterations to Carmichael House.
He died at Carmichael House, 26 January 1898; his will was proved March 1898 (estate £312,298). His wife died at Carmichael House, 11 September 1891.

Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Robert (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt. Only son of Sir Windham Charles James Carmichael-Anstruther (1824-98), 8th & 5th bt., and his wife Janetta, daughter of Robert Barbour of Bolesworth Castle (Cheshire), born 26 March 1877. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (BA 1898). 2nd Lieutenant in Lanarkshire Imperial Yeomanry; JP for Lanarkshire, 1900-03. He succeeded his father in the family estates and baronetcies, 26 January 1898. Like his father, he was a patron of hare coursing. He married, 16 April 1901 at St Michaels, Chester Square, London, Frederica Sylvia (d. 1958), youngest daughter of Sir Frederick Darley KCMG, Lt-Governor of New South Wales, and had issue:
(1) Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt. (q.v.).
He inherited the Carmichael House estate from his father in 1898.
He died 26 October 1903; his will was proved in November 1903 (estate £85,584). His widow married 2nd, 2 December 1905, Maj. Hon. Algernon Henry Charles Hanbury-Tracy (d. 1915), second son of 4th Baron Sudeley and had issue one son and one daughter; she died 5 September 1958.

Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Frederick (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt. Only son of Sir Windham Robert Carmichael-Anstruther (1877-1903), 9th & 6th bt., and his wife Frederica Sylvia, daughter of Sir Frederick Darley KCMG, Lt-Governor of New South Wales, born 30 April 1902. He succeeded his father in the family estates and baronetcies, 26 October 1903. Educated at Oxford. He married, 23 July 1925, Katherine Mary (1900-73), daughter of Daniel Arthur Neilson of Wentbridge House, Pontefract (Yorks WR), but had no issue.
He inherited the Carmichael House estate from his father in 1903 and came of age at 25 in 1927. At his death the estate and titles passed to his second cousin, Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt.
He died 29 November 1928; his will was proved May 1929 (estate £1,292). His widow married 2nd, 25 September 1930 (div. 1940), John Robert Follett (d. 1953), only son of Brig-Gen. Gilbert Burrell Spencer Follett and had issue; she died in 1973.

Carmichael-Anstruther, Windham George Conway (1845-98). Only son of Sir Windham Carmichael-Anstruther (1793-1869), 7th & 4th bt., and his second wife, Anne Constance, daughter of Allen Williamson Grey, born 30 July and baptised 25 August 1845. Educated at Rugby School; served briefly in 85th Foot (Ensign, 1865-66). He married, 14 February 1867 at St Pancras (Middx), Ellen Anne Katherine (1847-1938), elder daughter of John Adam, a surgeon in the East India Company's service, and had issue:
(1) Maud Ellen Constance Carmichael-Anstruther (1868-1925), born 22 January 1868; married, 6 February 1888 (div. 1898), Maj-Gen. John Christopher Swann (d. 1939) of Indian Army, son of Very Rev. Robert Swann, Dean of Nassau, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 25 January 1925; will proved 17 April 1925 (estate £204);
(2) Gerald Yorke Carmichael-Anstruther (1871-1910) (q.v.);
(3) Mildred Helen Mary Carmichael-Anstruther (1873-1939), born 16 February 1873 at Dinard (France); married, 19 December 1895, John Christopher Nevile, son of Rev. Christopher Nevile of Thorney Hall (Notts), and had issue; died 24 May 1939; will proved 11 March 1940 (estate £203);
(4) Eric George Basil Carmichael-Anstruther (1874-1934), born 10 February 1874 at Dinard (France); in the 1890s he grew fruit in California and tea in Ceylon before volunteering during Boer War and serving in the ranks in the Army Service Corps; he later worked in the South African Civil Service before taking up farming in the Cape Colony; married, 22 March 1902 at St James, Fulham, Adelaide Elizabeth (c.1878-1938), daughter of William Barnfather, gent., and had issue one son; died 7 January 1934; will proved 7 February 1934 (estate £117);
(5) Hugh John Elphinstone Carmichael-Anstruther (1875-1960), born 27 November and baptised 24 December 1875; civil engineer; Capt. in Royal Welsh Fusiliers and Assistant Provost-Marshal in Matabeleland; served in Boer War and First World War; in Home Guard in Second World War; married, 11 September 1906 at St John, Putney, Ada Marie (d. 1958), daughter of Thomas Clark of Putney and had issue one daughter; died 6 January 1960; will proved 22 March 1961 (estate £662);
(6) Muriel Vere Carmichael-Anstruther (1881-1942), born 10 April 1881; married, 17 January 1912, Harold Adam Whyte (d. 1932), son of Robert Whyte of Forfar; died 4 October 1942.
He died 13 September and was buried 19 September 1898 at Folkestone (Kent). His wife died 29 March 1938.

Carmichael-Anstruther, Gerald Yorke (1871-1910). Eldest son of Windham George Conway Carmichael-Anstruther (1845-98) and his wife Ellen Anne Katherine, daughter of John Adam HEICS, born 24 January 1871. Educated at Shrewsbury School and subsequently entered the insurance business with Standard Life Assurance Co.; emigrated to South Africa, where he became an accountant; returned to UK, 21 June 1910 but died a week later. He married, 1900 at Port Elizabeth (South Africa), Ellen Caroline (d. 1902), daughter of J. Milne of Cape Colony, and had issue:
(1) Sir Windham Eric Francis Carmichael-Anstruther (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt. (q.v.).
He died 28 June 1910 in London. His wife died in 1902 in South Africa.

Sir W.E.F. Carmichael-Anstruther

Carmichael-Anstruther, Sir Windham Eric Francis (1900-80), 11th & 8th bt. Only son of Gerald Yorke Carmichael-Anstruther (1871-1910) and his wife Ellen Caroline, daughter of J. Milne of Cape Colony, born 29 May 1900 in South Africa. Orphaned at the age of 10 and was brought up by relatives in England. Educated at Marlborough College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst, but the First World War having ended before he completed his training, he became an explorer and surveyor in Canada until he succeeded his second cousin in the family baronetcies and estate, 29 November 1928. DL for Lanarkshire, 1940. Served in Second World War with Royal Observer Corps (Commandant of 34 and 38 Group). He married 1st, 4 April 1932 (div. 1948), Fay Sibyl Marie, only child of Ernest Rechnitzer of London and Warninglid Grange (Sussex); and 2nd, 26 July 1948 (div.), Joanne (c.1919-2006), daughter of William Coates of Brighton (Sussex), but had no issue.
He inherited the baronetcies and Carmichael House estate from his second cousin, Sir Windham Frederick Carmichael-Anstruther (1902-28), 10th & 7th bt., in 1928, but unroofed the house in 1954. At his death the Carmichael House estate passed to Richard Carmichael, a descendant in the female line of the 2nd Earl of Hyndford. 
He died 8/9 April 1980, when the baronetcy of Nova Scotia passed to his distant kinsman, Sir Ralph Hugo Anstruther (1921-2002), 7th bt. of Balcaskie, and the baronetcy of Great Britain became extinct. His first wife published Poland's part in the War, 1943 and Old Polish Legends, 1945 and married 2nd, 1948, Capt. Jerzy Bondorowski (b. 1910); her date of death is unknown. His second wife died 24 April 2006, aged 86.

Sources

Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 2003, pp. 111-14; W. Wood, The East Neuk of Fife: its history and antiquities, 1887, p. 356 ff; A.W. Anstruther, History of the family of Anstruther, 1923; J. Gifford, The buildings of Scotland: Fife, 1988, pp. 72, 211; M. Dean & M. Miers, Scotland's Endangered Houses, 1990, p. 103.

Location of archives

Carmichael-Anstruther family, baronets: estate papers, 17th-20th cent. [Private Collection; contact National Register of Archives for Scotland]

Coat of arms

Quarterly, 1st and 4th, argent, three piles sable (for Anstruther); 2nd & 3rd, argent, a fess wreathed azure and gules (for Carmichael).

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 28 December 2014, and was revised 13 April 2018.