Earl of Middleton

Earl of Middleton
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Title	Earl of Middleton
Creation date	1660
Peerage	Peerage of Scotland
First holder	John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton
Last holder	Charles Middleton, 2nd Earl of Middleton
Status	Forfeited 1695

Earl of Middleton

The title Earl of Middleton was a noble title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1660 for John Middleton in the Restoration era. The earldom was associated with the Scottish nobility and intertwined with figures and events across the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the Restoration of Charles II, the Glorious Revolution, and Anglo-Scottish politics. Holders played roles in military campaigns, diplomatic affairs, and royal service until the title was forfeited after the Jacobite crises.

Creation and Background

The earldom was created by Charles II in 1660 as part of a wider program of rewards following the Restoration of Charles II, reflecting the crown’s reconciliation with former Royalist and Scottish figures. The first holder, a veteran of the Bishops' Wars, the English Civil War, and various Scottish campaigns, had earlier been involved with the Covenanters and later shifted allegiance to the Royalist cause, interacting with actors such as James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, Oliver Cromwell, and George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle. The creation occurred amid negotiations shaped by treaties and proclamations like the Declaration of Breda and the political settlements that followed the Interregnum.

Holders of the Title

John Middleton, elevated as the 1st Earl, had been a commander during the Bishops' Wars and served under commanders linked to the Scottish Covenanters and later to the restored monarchy. His son, Charles Middleton, succeeded as the 2nd Earl and was active in diplomatic circles tied to James II and later to Jacobite networks. The line produced figures who engaged with contemporaries including John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, William of Orange, and other Scottish and English peers. Succession intersected with marriages and alliances connecting families like the House of Stuart, the Hamilton family, and the Grahams.

Political and Military Roles

Holders and family members participated in major military episodes such as the Battle of Worcester, the suppression and later support of uprisings like the Jacobite rising of 1689, and campaigns in the Franco-Dutch War context through continental alliances. They held offices and commissions associated with commissions of militia, regimental commands, and diplomatic missions that linked them to figures including Charles II, James II, William III, and ministers like James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde and Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. Their activities brought them into contact with naval and continental personalities such as Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Louis XIV, and into the legal-political disputes adjudicated by tribunals influenced by statutes like the Act of Indemnity 1660 and the various Scottish parliamentary acts of the 1660s and 1680s.

Forfeiture and Attainder

The title was forfeit following allegiance decisions during the Glorious Revolution and subsequent Jacobite alignments. The 2nd Earl’s support for James II and participation in Jacobite diplomacy and military efforts led to attainder proceedings in the Parliament of England and associated Scottish measures, culminating in forfeiture in 1695. The legal processes invoked peers and legal authorities including the Court of Session and parliamentary committees, intersecting with the wider politics of exile, attainder, and forfeiture affecting other Jacobite peers such as James Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater and William Maxwell, 5th Earl of Nithsdale.

Legacy and Extinction

After forfeiture, the earldom ceased to be recognized in the official rolls of the Peerage of Scotland, though descendants and Jacobite sympathizers maintained claims and associations within exiled Stuart circles centered around figures like the Old Pretender and later Charles Edward Stuart. The Middleton title’s extinction in practice reflects patterns seen in other forfeited peerages after the Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite risings, and its history features in studies of Restoration patronage, Scottish martial aristocracy, and the legal consequences of attainder. Archival materials and contemporary accounts touch on interactions with institutions such as the Privy Council of Scotland, the Scottish Parliament, and military correspondence preserved in collections related to the National Records of Scotland and private family papers of the Scottish nobility.

Category:Peerage of Scotland