| Clan Boyle | |
|---|---|
 Crest: Adouble headed eagle displayed, parted per pale embattled Gules and Argent | |
| Motto | Dominus providebit ("The Lord will provide.") |
| Profile | |
| Region | Lowlands |
| District | North Ayrshire |
| Chief | |
 | |
| The Rt. Hon. Patrick Boyle | |
| The 10thEarl of Glasgow | |
| Seat | Kelburn Castle |
Clan Boyle is aScottish clan of theScottish Lowlands.[1]
The name Boyle comes from theNorman town of Beuville nearCaen.[1] In 1164 David de Boivil appears as a witness to a charter.[1] In 1275 Richard de Boyville held the lands ofKelburn inAyrshire.[1] In around 1291 Henry de Boyville was keeper ofDumfries Castle,Wigtown Castle andKirkcudbright Castle.[1] Richard de Boyvil and Robert de Boyvil both appear on theRagman Rolls in 1296 submitting toEdward I of England.[1] Richard Boyle married a daughter ofSir Robert Comyn.[1]
Six generations after Richard Boyle, John Boyle, his descendant, was killed at theBattle of Sauchieburn, fighting in support ofJames III of Scotland in 1488.[1] The family estates were forfeited but his son, also called John, had them restored byJames IV of Scotland.[1]
When Elizabeth I was on the throne of England, the Boyles supportedMary, Queen of Scots.[1]
During the 17th century the Boyles supportedCharles I of England and they suffered hardships as a result.[1] However the family fortunes were later restored when John Boyle of Kelburn was elected as a Commissioner of Parliament.[1] John's eldest son,David Boyle also became a Commissioner of Parliament andPrivy Councillor.[1] In 1699 David was raised to thePeerage as Lord Boyle of Kelburn.[1] In 1703 he was createdEarl of Glasgow.[1] He was also one of the commissioners for theTreaty of Union.[1] During theJacobite rising of 1715 he was a staunch supporter of the British-Hanoverian government and even raised and armed troops at his own expense.[1]
John Boyle, 3rd Earl of Glasgow followed a military career and he was wounded at theBattle of Fontenoy in 1745 and later again at theBattle of Lauffeld in 1747.[1] He was appointed Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and held the office for nine consecutive years.[1]
David Boyle, a grandson of the second Earl, was a distinguished solicitor and in 1807 was appointedSolicitor General for Scotland.[1] He was raised to the bench, and in 1841 was appointedLord Justice General.[1] He retired in 1852 after forty-one years of legal service.[1]
George Boyle, 4th Earl, also took up military service, rising to colonel andLord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire in 1810.[1] His eldest son, John, was a naval officer captured by the French offGibraltar in 1807.[1] His brother, James, succeeded as the fifth Earl in 1843.[1] He had also served in theRoyal Navy and was also made Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire.[1]
James was succeeded by his half brother, George Frederick Boyle, which proved to be a disaster for the family.[1] George Boyle had been educated atOxford and was passionately interested in art and architecture.[1] He became obsessed by thePre-Raphaelite notions of form and beauty and began a monumental building program, renovating Kelburn and funding churches across Scotland.[1] In 1888 he had bankrupted the estate and the assets were sold, Kelburn was only saved by the purse of his cousin, David, later to become theDavid Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow.[1]
David Boyle, succeeded as Earl in 1890 and wasGovernor of New Zealand from 1892 to 1897.[1] In 1897 he was created Baron Fairlie and was raised to thePeerage of the United Kingdom.[1] (the Earldom of Glasgow and all other titles being in thePeerage of Scotland. This was done to ensure him a seat on theHouse of Lords as, at that time, only a small number of Scottish peers could sit, known asScottish representative peer.[1]
The current chief of the clan and 10th Earl of Glasgow was a naval reserve officer and assistant TV director[citation needed] who succeeded his father in 1984. He resides in Kelburn Castle, which has been held by the family since the 13th century.
