AIRD, Sir John, 4th baronet (1940-2023)

[Netty Leistra]

AIRD John George died on 4th May 2023, aged 83. Greatly loved husband of Fen and father of Rebecca, Belinda and James and of seven grandchildren. Funeral will be at noon on Friday 26th May at St Edward’s Church, Church Lane, Evenlode.

Source: Times, 9 May 2023

Sir John Aird, 4th baronet, born 1940.

[Henry W]

Subject to proving his claim he is succeeded by his son Sir James John AIRD, 5th baronet (born 1978), married with 2 sons and 1 dau.

Worth noting that Sir John was lately co-heir presumptive to his maternal cousin the 28th Baroness WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY (born 1934), and to a 1/4 share of the Lord Great Chamberlainship (this share will divide into 1/8 shares on the 28th Baroness' death)

[marquess]

Interesting, I wonder who those vast Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby estates will go to on the death of 28th holder of the barony? Also who is likely to succeed to that ancient peerage?

[colinp]

Sir John was page to the Earl of Ancaster (Bearer of St Edward's Staff) at the 1953 Coronation

7 grandchildren are mentioned in the death notice but only 5 listed on DPB online - perhaps the "missing" two are children of Belinda Aird  shown as unm on DPB

[malcolm davies]

Marquess,

                  On the death of the present Lady Willoughby d'Eresby the title will fall into abeyance between the issue of the daughters of the 2nd Earl of Ancaster,namely Lady Catherine  and Lady Priscilla,both of whom are deceased.Lady Catherine had one daughter Carola Ramsden now deceased who had one son from each of her two marriages,Sebastian St Maur Miller and James Philippi.Lady Priscilla, also deceased, had one son John and three daughters Susan,Petra & Amanda.If the barony is to be called from abeyance,the new Aird baronet James has a greater share of the abeyance than each of the Ramsden descendants and may be preferred for that reason(see what happened to the Herbert barony on the death of the 10th Duke of Beaufort).The third baronet's service to the Crown as equerry will do no harm to any such  decision.

  I don't know what will happen to the estates.I imagine that the houses (Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle) will or have already become charitable trusts.

[Henry W]

The co-heirs presumptive to the Barony WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY are:

- (Sir) James AIRD, 5th Baronet

- Sebastian St Maur MILLER

Each would have a 1/2 share.

James PHILIPPI is not a co-heir - his elder half brother (Sebastian) inherited the entire share from their mother Carola RAMSDEN.

There have been no terminations of abeyance by the Crown since 2004.  There is no immediate prospect of this likely abeyance terminating "naturally" by there being one heir only.

The fact that the WILLOUGHBY DE ERESBY barony has a unique connection to the Lord Great Chamberlain title may mean that the Crown is more likely to terminate the abeyance, which may at least mean this prerogative of the Crown does not fall into abeyance (the irony!).  The 1/4 share of the LGC title held by the 28th Baroness is due to "get it's turn" at exercising the LGC role in the anticipated reign of Prince GEORGE OF WALES (assuming no accidents!). Both the heirs are slightly older than WILLIAM, PRINCE OF WALES, but I think there will be an attempt to resolve this all in advance of George's accession.

[colinp]

From a Country LIfe article (30 Jan 2021) on Drummond Castle Gardens -  Drummond Castle Gardens in winter: The winter beauty of the gardens made famous by Outlander - Country Life

The wider estate at Drummond is owned by Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, who inherited from her father, the 3rd (and last) Earl of Ancaster, but the castle, which is not open to visitors, gardens and immediate parkland are run by the Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle Trust, set up in 1978.

Lady Willoughby, who has no children, is the chair and Lt-Col Sebastian Miller, her first cousin once removed and heir presumptive (together with Sir John Aird), is managing trustee and accompanies us as we walk round the garden. Brought up at Ardverikie, on Loch Laggan, he would come to Drummond during school holidays

Grimsthorpe and Drummond Castle Trust is a registered charity  - 507478 (England) and SC039364 (Scotland)   Charity overview, GRIMSTHORPE AND DRUMMOND CASTLE TRUST LIMITED - 507478, Register of Charities - The Charity Commission

The last annual report states that the Grimsthorpe Estate (Lincs) including the castle and garden is owned by the Trust

The CL article states that Lady Willoughby was the Chair of the Trust but the last annual report states that  Sir Mark Jones is now the Chair.

 Sebastian Miller and his family live at Grimsthorpe Castle - Behind the scenes of Grimsthorpe Castle | Hambleton Hall

[marquess]

One gets the impression that the estates will be divided between the two families. Thanks for the article.