Father Hay, Prior of St Pieremont, acquired a particular interest in
Rosslyn Castle and in the Sinclairs of Rosslyn through the second
marriage of his mother, Jean Spotswood Hay, to James Saintclair of
Roslyn. Through this marriage Hay acquired access to the muniment room
of Rosslyn and from those records, often inaccurately copied, he
compiled a genealogical history of this ancient family and of its
association with office of Grand Master Mason of Scotland. This office
was thought hereditary in the family from the time of King James II,
but upon the death of William Saintclair on 4 January 1778 without male
heirs the office was vacated by the Saintclairs. Whether the office
indeed was given to the Sinclairs at that early date is one of the
issues in debate in this history. In 1736 William St. Clair resigned
into the hands of the Scottish lodges the right to nominate their own
Grand Master. This work, though, is a more extensive genealogical
history of the larger Sinclair family and of its association with
Rosslyn and the succession to the estates upon the death of William
Saintclair. Of greater importance than these earlier genealogical
disputes were Hay's descriptions of the Chapel and Castle. Included as
well is bibliographical information on published works which show
engravings of the chapel and castle.
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