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There has been one creation of a baronetcy with the surname Clerk (as distinct from Clark, Clarke and Clerke). It was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia by Letters Patent dated 24 March 1679, for John Clerk of Pennycuik (or Penicuik; see Penicuik House), whose father, also John Clerk of Penicuik, had returned from Paris in 1647 with a considerable fortune and purchased the lands of Penicuik in Midlothian. The 1st Baronet acquired the lands of Lasswade, Midlothian, in 1700. The second Baronet built Mavisbank House near Loanhead between 1723 and 1727.
The 3rd Baronet, James, laid out plans for a new town in 1770, inspired by the local plans for a New Town in Edinburgh which were by then coming into reality. The rebuilding included a new church, St Mungos, in 1771, reputedly by Sir James himself.
The family are said by Anderson (1867) to date from at least 1180 AD when one of them appeared as a witness to a donation to Holyrood Abbey by William The Lion. John Scougal is known to have painted at least two portraits of the first baronets.
A number of the lineage are buried in Penicuik Old Parish Churchyard, with both a memorial gateway and a mausoleum to their memories.