The Viscount of Primrose
Arms: Or a lion rampant Vert armed and langued Gules overall on a fess Purpure three primroses of the field.
Creation: 30 Nov 1703, with this being the last Viscounty created in the Scots Peerage.
Sir James Primrose of Carrington was born about 1680 and succeeded his father as Baronet in 1687 at age 7. He was a member of Parliament for the county of Edinburgh in the Parliament of 1703 and on 30 Nov 1703, he was created Viscount of Primrose, Lord Primrose and Castlefield with remainder to the heirs-male of his body, whom failing, to the heirs-male of the body of his father. He did not live long dying on 13 June 1706.
He was succeeded by his eldest son, Archibald Primrose, as 2nd Viscount of Primrose, served heir of his father 25 Oct 1708, but died under age, and unmarried, 19 June 1716.
He was succeeded by his younger brother, Hugh Primrose, as 3rd Viscount of Primrose, served heir to his brother, 5 July 1716. He became an Army officer, described in the contemporary death notices as Lt. Colonel of General Dalziel’s Regiment. He died on 8 May 1741 at age 39. He was married but without issue. On the death of the Viscount, owing to the failure of male issue of his father and grandfather, the Baronetcy and the family estates, and perhaps the Peerage also, devolved upon his cousin and heir-male, the 2nd Earl of Rosebery. ( source: Page 111, Vol. VII, “The Scots Peerage”, 4th Ed., Sir James Balfour Paul, 1910. )
The Viscounty of Primrose then became a subsidiary title of the Earl of Rosebery.
The Viscounty of Primrose is listed in Appendix B, The Union Role of 1960. (Page 160, “The Sixteen Peers of Scotland”, Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran, Bt., 1960 )
Sources: BLG, 19th Ed.; “The Sixteen Peers of Scotland” by Fergusson; Various Wikipedia articles; “The Scots Peerage” 1904-1914 by Paul; “Debrett’s Peerage” of 1904; “An Ordinary of Arms”, 2nd Ed. By Paul; and “Roll of Scottish Arms” 1964-1969 by Gayre.
The artwork is a rendering by John Hamilton Gaylor.
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