Fenton

This family held the lands bearing their own name at Dirleton in East Lothian. They were powerful nobles, and the castle at Dirleton remains one of the finest examples of thirteenth-century fortified architecture. Sir William Fenton, styled ‘Lord of Beaufort’, was one of the auditors at Berwick of the com-peting claims for the Scottish throne between Bruce and Balliol. According to Nisbet, this noble, or perhaps his son, married Cecilia Bisset, co-heiress of William Bisset, Lord of Lovat. The principal seat of Lord Lovat, near Beauly, is still known as Beaufort Castle. The lowland Fentons ended in an heiress who married Whitelaw of that Ilk. Sir Thomas Erskine, first Earl of Kellie, received the titles of ‘Viscount Fenton’ and ‘Baron Dirleton’ as reward for rescuing James VI from the Gowrie conspirators. The title is still borne by the present Earl of Mar and Kellie, chief of the Clan Erskine.

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