History of the Barony and Lordship of Leslie

A Norman Legacy in Fife, Scotland

Leslie House, Fife, as depicted in an 1836 engraving, reflecting the historic grandeur of the seat of the Barony and Lordship of Leslie.

​Nestled in the lush heart of Fife, Scotland, the Barony and Lordship of Leslie traces an uninterrupted lineage stretching back to the Norman era. First created in 1282, it is today one of the oldest and still extant in the Baronage of Scotland. The barony takes its name from the village of Leslie, a historic parish situated on a steep bank above the River Leven Valley, today part of a public park known as “Riverside Park”, just west of the modern city of Glenrothes. The current baron is the Much Hon. Giacomo Merello, Baron and Lord of Leslie.

Origins in the Norman Period​

​The origins of the barony is traditionally traced to the Norman period. According to legend, the progenitor of the family was Bartholf (or Bartholomew), an originally hungarian nobleman in the retinue of Queen Margaret who arrived in Scotland around 1057. In reward for his service, Bartholf was knighted by King Malcolm III and granted extensive lands in Scotland, including estates in Fife, the Mearns, Angus, and the Garioch of Aberdeenshire. In time, these estates were erected into separate baronies with different holders. Bartholf’s descendants adopted the name “de Leslie” (possibly from the castle of Lesselyn in the Garioch where he first settled) and became established members of the Lowland nobility.

​Creation of the Barony and Lordship of Leslie

By the 13th century, the Leslie family had acquired a foothold in Fife. In 1283 a royal charter from King Alexander III granted Norman de Leslie the lands of Fettykill (Fythkill, or Fytekill) in Fife, the village now known as the town of Leslie. At that time “Fettykill” was a wooded area with a small settlement, and the name survives today in “Fettykil Mill”, as well as in local establishments like the “Fettykill Fox” pub and inn. Sometimes in the mid-14th century, the family’s domain in Fife was formally erected into a feudal barony. The Barony and Lordship of Leslie, with this name, therefore dates back at least to 1382, according to historic records, making it one of the older baronial titles in Scotland still extant today; although the terms "of Leslie", "Lord of Leslie" or "Lord of Fythkill" were still used interchangeably. On the 22 of July 1452 for example, Sir Georgie Leslie styled as "Lord of Fythkill" is recorded giving a grant of certain lands to his brother John, but in 1455 the village that had grown at Fettykill was renamed “Leslie” in honor of the family’s laird. Shortly thereafter, on the 21st of March 1458, King James II granted the town of Leslie full status of a “burgh of barony” – allowing markets and certain self-governing rights – coinciding with Sir George Leslie’s elevation to the peerage as the first Earl of Rothes. These milestones cemented the Leslies’ stature: they were both feudal barons in local right and powerful nobles on the national stage.

​The Earldom and Dukedom Periods

​For centuries, the Leslie family held the barony and lands of Leslie in Fife, intertwining its fate with the title Earl of Rothes. The earldom of Rothes, named after Rothes in Moray, another of the family’s holdings at the time, became the chief title of the clan’s head in 1458. From that point on the Earls of Rothes, as well as the Chiefs of Clan Leslie, were the traditional Barons (Lords) of Leslie in Fife as well. The Leslies of Rothes were deeply involved in Scottish high affairs. They fought in major battles (the 3rd Earl fell at Flodden in 1513) and held important offices. One Leslie Earl was tried (and acquitted) for his part in the dramatic 1546 assassination of Cardinal Beaton, while others served as Lords of Session and Privy Councillors. The family’s prominence peaked in the 17th century with John Leslie, 7th Earl of Rothes – a key statesman during the Restoration. John Leslie was appointed Lord High Treasurer of Scotland (1663) and then Lord Chancellor to King Charles II (1667–1681), effectively the highest political official in Scotland. In recognition of his status, Charles II bestowed upon him even greater honors: in 1680 he was created Duke of Rothes, Marquess of Bambreich, and Earl of Leslie, among other titles. The dukedom was a special creation that, however, expired when John died without a son in 1681, but the earldom and barony continued through his daughter’s line, as was possible under Scots Law. It was during this era of ducal grandeur that the family undertook to build a splendid new seat at Leslie that would reflect their power and refinement.

​Leslie House: “The Palace of Fife”

​The crowning architectural jewel of the barony is Leslie House, an imposing mansion that served as the baronial seat and home of the Leslies for over 250 years. Constructed in the late 17th century, Leslie House was the largest and earliest Restoration-style house in Fife. It was built between 1667 and 1674 for John, Duke of Rothes, at the height of his influence as Scotland’s Lord Chancellor. The celebrated architect Sir William Bruce had a hand in its design as well, adding a grand new wing in 1667. When completed, the mansion was a four-sided palace in the Restoration manner – a quadrangular residence enclosing a great central courtyard. It was soon nicknamed “Villa De Rothes”, and became the vibrant heart of life in Leslie. In fact, Leslie House earned the sobriquet “the Palace of Fife” for its sheer size and splendor, which contemporaries likened to a royal residence. The writer Daniel Defoe, visiting Fife, pronounced it “the Glory of the Place, and indeed of the whole Province of Fife”.
As the seat of a ducal family, Leslie House was designed for both luxury and prestige. Its original layout featured stately corner pavilions and formal gardens terracing down toward the Leven – a Baroque display intended to impress. Inside, the house was filled with art and heraldry reflecting the Leslies’ noble connections. A long picture gallery was hung with ancestral portraits – from the early Leslie lairds to famous in-laws like the Duchess of Lauderdale – and by one account this gallery was three feet longer than the one at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, a proud boast of the family’s status. Leslie House was not just a private home – it was the ceremonial caput (head or “seat”) of the Barony and Lordship of Leslie, the place from which the baron’s authority radiated. The estate’s grounds, known as the “policies” in Scots tradition, included avenues of trees, hunting parks, and a formal terraced garden – one of the finest 17th-century landscape designs in Scotland. Here the Earls of Rothes would host grand fêtes and political gatherings, reinforcing their role as Fife’s premier aristocrats.

​Fire, Rebuilding, and Life through the 18th–19th Centuries

 ​The glory days of Leslie House in its original form lasted about a century. Tragically, in December 1763 a disastrous fire broke out and destroyed three sides of the quadrangle. The conflagration consumed much of the mansion’s eastern, southern, and northern ranges, along with their contents. Only the west wing survived relatively intact. Instead of rebuilding the entire palace, the family decided to demolish the ruined portions and restore the remaining wing as a more manageable (if still substantial) country house. By 1745–1747 (dates recorded in some accounts for the reconstruction), the single wing had been refitted as the residence that stands to this day. Externally, the repaired Leslie House became a long, plain Georgian block – “a plain building, with no particular architectural features,” as one 19th-century gazetteer described it. Gone was the cour d’honneur of the old quadrangle; yet the interior remained “comfortable, and the principal rooms are fine”. The great picture gallery was preserved in the surviving wing and continued to impress visitors with its length and the illustrious portraits lining its walls. Generations of Leslies would walk those halls, surrounded by the faces of their ancestors and reminders of Scotland’s turbulent history (one relic long displayed was the very dagger supposedly used by Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes, in the murder of Cardinal Beaton in 1546). Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Leslie House remained the beloved seat of the barony. The family had other estates (such as Barnes in Aberdeenshire and later Castle Leslie in Ireland via marriage, which split out also as separate feudal lands and titles), but Leslie in Fife was a principal home and the center of their local influence. The Leslies were active in Fife’s civic life, serving also as county sheriffs with an hereditary title still extant today as the “Sheriff of Fife”, and Lord-Lieutenants. They were also significant landowners across Fife – in the 1880s the Countess of Rothes held over 3,500 acres in the county. One of the later family members to reside at Leslie House was Henrietta Leslie, 17th Countess of Rothes, who as a rare female heir, absolutely possible within the Scottish nobiliar hereditary system, inherited the earldom in her own right in 1868 (“Countess” is the female version of “Earl”; “Count” is not used in the British systems). It was noted that “her seat, Leslie House,” provided a stately home for the countess and her family, who were popular local figures. By this time, the village of Leslie had grown into a modest town partly under the patronage of the family – they encouraged industries like linen weaving, flax spinning and papermaking along the River Leven (the Fettykil Paper Mill operated just downstream from the House). The Leslies often acted as benefactors, donating land for churches, schools, and civic improvements in Leslie. One particularly storied resident of Leslie House was Noëlle Leslie, the Countess of Rothes, wife of the 19th Earl. From 1904 to 1919, Lady Rothes made Leslie House her home. She gained international fame in 1912 as a heroine of the Titanic disaster – after that ill-fated ship struck an iceberg, the Countess of Rothes helped command Lifeboat No. 8, steering and rowing through the freezing night to keep her passengers’ spirits up. Her courage under duress earned her lasting praise. Back in Fife during World War I, the Countess continued her pattern of service: she converted a wing of Leslie House into a hospital for wounded soldiers returning from the Front. Dozens of convalescing Highlanders and Fife men were cared for in the grand old rooms of Leslie House, with the Countess herself and local nurses tending to their needs. This period exemplified the estate’s role in the community – not just a symbol of aristocracy, but a haven in times of crisis.

​Twentieth Century Transitions

​The end of World War I also marked the end of an era for Leslie. Maintaining such a large house had grown difficult, and the fortunes of many aristocratic families declined after the war. In 1919, the Right Hon. Norman Evelyn Leslie, 19th Earl of Rothes (and Lady Noëlle’s husband) made the poignant decision to sell Leslie House and its estate, thus ending over five centuries of continuous Leslie family ownership of the barony’s seat. The property was briefly bought by a Captain Alexander Crundall, together with the barony and lordship lands and titles, and within the same year it was acquired by Sir Robert Spencer-Nairn, a Fife industrialist. The Spencer-Nairn family thus became lairds of Leslie House, though not of the barony title itself which remained in the Crundall family. Sir Robert and his wife made Leslie House their residence for a time, but by mid-century they chose to dedicate the mansion to a higher cause. In 1952, Sir Robert Spencer-Nairn gifted Leslie House to the Church of Scotland. The grand house was thus repurposed as a church-run “eventide home” – a residential care home for the elderly. To suit this new use, the interior was substantially altered, carving the spacious chambers into smaller rooms and adding modern amenities for its senior residents. For several decades, many of Fife’s older citizens spent their twilight years under the eaves of Leslie House, perhaps enjoying the tranquil riverside grounds much as the Earls had, albeit in humbler fashion.
By the turn of the 21st century, however, Leslie House faced new challenges. The Church of Scotland closed the home in the early 2000s, and in 2005 the property was sold to a developer with plans to restore the house and convert it into luxury flats. As a Category A listed historic building, any redevelopment required careful planning. Unfortunately, disaster struck again: in February 2009 a severe fire broke out during the renovation works, gutting much of the house’s interior and roof. The blaze (uncomfortably reminiscent of 1763) left Leslie House a blackened shell, its windows boarded and its future uncertain. For years after, the mansion stood empty and on the official Buildings at Risk Register, a sad sight of charred timbers behind a tarp-covered facade. Local conservationists and the wider heritage community grew concerned that “the Palace of Fife” might be lost forever if action was not taken. The Barony and Lordship of Leslie feudal titles, in the meantime, passed to Capt. Crundall's son, Mr William A. Crundall in 1957, and subsequetly to his grandson, Mr William Patrick Alexander Crundall. The Crundall family briefly conveyed them to Mr Sheldon Gustav Franco-Rooks, a sport personality, in 2000, before the latter assigning all remaining feudal lands, titles and the few feudal legacy privileges still attached to them at the time (such as the ancient right to organise a market day in the town of Leslie once per week) to famed Canadian scholar and adventurer Sir Christopher Ondaatje. In 2004, with the final entrance in force of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act 2000, Scotland's feudal system ended, including all ancient rights or powers over the connected and underlying lands; however by express will of the legislator all of the originally feudal titles, some of which are part of the Royal Family titles, were preserved in full as “dignities”, with an express and literal definition that saved all their original "qualities, precedence and heraldic privileges".

​Revival and Renewal in the 21st Century

Happily, the story of Leslie House did not end in ruins. After lengthy negotiations, a rescue plan emerged. In 2017, a new developer (Byzantian Developments) purchased the property and secured planning permission to restore Leslie House and adapt it into several dwellings. Skilled craftsmen and conservation architects began painstaking work to stabilize the structure and revive its 17th-century appearance, while carefully introducing modern building systems. By 2021, full restoration was underway, with support from heritage bodies and the local council. As of 2025, the project was completed – the once-burned-out shell has been transformed into a small number of elegant flats within the historic walls, including the famed winter garden or "Orangery" of the Palace, complemented by a small enclave of new houses in the surrounding grounds. The exterior has regained its Georgian symmetry and sandstone dignity, ensuring that Leslie House will once again be a landmark in the Leven valley. There is hope that the formal gardens too will be fully rehabilitated, so that the estate’s landscape can flourish for public enjoyment or private stewardship. This careful restoration not only saves an architectural gem, but also symbolically reestablishes Leslie House as the living seat of the Barony and Lordship of Leslie, bridging past and present.
As the bricks and mortar of Leslie House were being renewed, the title of Baron and Lord of Leslie found new life as well. In November 2024, Dr Giacomo Merello succeeded to the Barony and Lordship of Leslie from Sir Christopher Ondaatje, becoming the latest in a long line of barons to hold, safeguard and preserve this historic title. A legal professional, diplomat and heritage enthusiast, the current baron represents the modern renaissance of Scotland’s baronial tradition and was granted as such by Warrant of the Court of the Lord Lyon an appropriate Coat-of-Arms. The current baron is keenly aware of the legacy he has inherited. In fact, he has made Leslie House his personal residence in Scotland, re-establishing the tangible link between the title and its ancestral seat.  

Giacomo Merello, Baron of Leslie at the entrance of Leslie House, Seat of the Barony

Other related and connected titles

Today, there are several different, but all validly concurrent and extant titles that share common origins to the Barony and Lordship of Leslie.

Within the Baronage of Scotland, the Earldom of Rothes is currently held by H.E. Ambassador Dario Item, Prince of St. Rosalie and Earl of Rothes. The Earl also still holds the hereditary title of Sheriff of Fife. Separately, there is a barony (not erected as a lordship) of Leslie in Aberdeenshire in the Garioch, currently held by another baron who also owns the originally related seat, Leslie Castle, run as a hospitality establishment.

In the Peerage of Scotland, the Right Hon. James Malcolm David Leslie is Earl of Rothes; the heir apparent to the peerage title (currently the Earl's brother) also uses the courtesy title of Lord Leslie, which however has a separate and successive origin and derives from a specific peerage erection of Sir George Leslie as a Lord of Parliament, with the title of "Lord Leslie upon Leven". The current seat of the peerage family is in Littlecroft, near West Milton, in Dorset (England).

Sources

The historical narratives and records presented in this account are compiled from a number of authoritative and reputable sources, including:

1. Gazetteer for Scotland – Comprehensive historical, geographical, and cultural details regarding Leslie, Fife, and surrounding areas. Available at: Gazetteer for Scotland - Leslie
2. Historic Environment Scotland – Official listings and architectural details of Leslie House, including its Category A listing, renovation history, and detailed records of past restoration efforts. Accessible via: Historic Environment Scotland - Leslie House
3. Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage – Recognized reference on the nobility and baronial dignities of Scotland, specifically covering feudal baronies and their historical significance. Refer to: Debrett’s - Scottish Feudal Barons
4. Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage – Historical lineage and genealogical information regarding the Leslie, Merello and Item families, including the Earls of Rothes and associated feudal titles. Detailed family records and heraldic histories available via: Burke’s Peerage
5. Court of the Lord Lyon – Official grants and heraldic warrants, specifically the armorial bearings and heraldic privileges conferred upon Dr Giacomo Merello, current Baron of Leslie. Documentation accessible through: Court of the Lord Lyon
6. The Scots Peerage (edited by Sir James Balfour Paul) – A definitive genealogical history detailing the Leslie family, their lands, and titles, providing critical context for events from the medieval through early modern periods. Available online: The Scots Peerage, Vol. VII - Rothes
7. Leighton, John M., History of the County of Fife (1840) – Historical descriptions of Leslie House, the Barony and Lordship of Leslie, and local community impacts, available via historical archives: Leighton’s History of Fife
8. Groome, Francis H., Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-1885) – Detailed geographical, historical, and cultural insights on Leslie, Fife, and its baronial seat Leslie House. Digitally accessible: Groome’s Ordnance Gazetteer
9. Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland – Documented updates and official reports detailing Leslie House’s condition post-2009 fire, restoration initiatives, and conservation efforts. Accessible at: Buildings at Risk Register - Leslie House
10. Local Scottish News Archives – Including comprehensive reports on the 2009 fire, subsequent redevelopment plans, and restoration progress as covered by outlets such as The Scotsman, Fife Today, and BBC Scotland.
11. Clan Leslie Society International – Insights into the Leslie family history, genealogical records, heraldic symbols, and clan history resources. Refer to: Clan Leslie Society
12. Official records of the Scottish Parliament – Legal details and historical context of the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 and subsequent preservation of dignities. Full legislative text: Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act 2000
13. Public Registers and Announcements – Details regarding recent transitions of the title, including conveyances from the Crundall family to Sheldon Franco-Rooks, subsequently to Sir Christopher Ondaatje, and then to the current Baron, Dr Giacomo Merello are available in our Documents and Archives section.

Understanding Scottish Titles and Dignities

In Scotland, noble titles were originally all feudal and tied to territorial designations (Stair). Over the centuries, some were further elevated to peerage, meaning they became personal status conveyed solely by blood inheritance and separate from any land. Baronies, instead, remained purely feudal dignities, still legally recognised with minor nobility precedence (nobiles minores), while distinct from peerage dignities in British law, and known collectively as the "Baronage of Scotland"; this includes also certain dignities in the Baronage such as lordships, earldoms, marquisates, and dukedoms who are “but more noble titles of the genus barony,” (Bankton) sharing the same feudal effects while conferring higher rank and precedence among other barons (Erskine). Under the Abolition of Feudal Tenure (Scotland) Act 2000, these dignities were expressly preserved as incorporeal heritable property with the same "qualities, precedence, and heraldic privileges" as before, including the right to bear a baronial helm, mantling, and other additaments under the jurisdiction of the Court of the Lord Lyon. Scottish barons retain the traditional right to wear the baron’s ermine cape at appropriate ceremonial events and may, in the United Kingdom and in other Countries and territories where is permitted, use their titles on official documents. While peerage titles hold higher precedence and transfer solely by inheritance, Scottish baronies continue to transfer by either assignation or inheritance, maintaining their place within Scotland’s system of honours. Notably, HRH Prince William, as the incumbent Prince of Wales (in England) and Duke of Rothesay (in Scotland), currently holds the Barony of Renfrew and the Lordship of the Isles within the Baronage of Scotland, reflecting the continuity of these dignities within the royal family. Together, these titles form part of Scotland’s enduring heritage, honouring traditions that continue to enrich its cultural and civic landscape.

Sources:

1. Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia “Barony”: authoritative analysis on the nature, transmission, and recognition of baronial titles in Scotland today.
2. The Scottish Legal System Ch. 8, Sources of Law: this chapter outlines the foundations of Scots law, including the historical statutes and customary practices that underpin the legal recognition of baronial and territorial dignities in Scotland.
3. The Scots Peerage Vol I, Introduction:  a comprehensive overview of the feudal hierarchy and the evolution of Scottish baronies within the broader peerage system.
4. Scottish Heraldry pp. 18–22, 80–85: clear insights into the evolution of arms in Scotland, including baronial heraldry, the symbolism behind common charges, and the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon King of Arms.
5. Debrett’s Peerage Intro to Scottish Peerage: explaining the differences between Clan Chiefs and barons.
6. AFT(S)A 2000 Section 63: confirming by law expressly the full retaining of each barony, as a dignity, all original qualities, precedence and heraldic privileges
7. Craig, Jus Feudale: “Dukes, marquesses, and earls are all comprehended among the barons, and originally they were all known under the latter description...”
8. Erskine, Institutes: on feudal effects being the same across dignities, whether baron or earldom.
9. Bankton, Institutes: on all higher dignities in the Baronage being “but more noble titles of a barony.”
10. Stair, Institutions: confirming that these dignities arose from feudal landholding.
11. Douglas, The Baronage of Scotland
    

The Orangery in Leslie House, Fife – the historic mansion that served as the ancestral seat of the Barony and Lordship of Leslie for centuries.

The Territorial Designation