Gordon-Lennox family, Dukes of Richmond and Gordon

Charles Lennox, a natural son of King Charles II, was created Duke of Richmond in 1675 and granted lands in Scotland and Yorkshire (later sold). Through his grandmother, the Duchess of Portsmouth (d. 1734), the 2nd Duke inherited the French estate of Aubigny (divided among members of the family in the 1830s). The Sussex estate, beginning with a small purchase in 1695, was greatly enlarged by the 3rd Duke between 1750 and 1806.

The Gordon (formerly Seton) family rose to prominence in Scottish affairs in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were created Earls of Huntly c.1445, Marquesses of Huntly in 1599 and Dukes of Gordon in 1684. On the death of the 5th Duke in 1836 his extensive estates centred on Gordon Castle and Glenlivet (Morayshire and Banffshire), Huntly (Aberdeenshire) and Badenoch and Lochaber (Inverness-shire) passed mainly to his nephew, the 5th Duke of Richmond, the dukedom of Gordon being revived for the 6th Duke of Richmond in 1876. The Gordon Castle and other estates were sold to the Crown in 1937.

Estates in 1883: 17,117 acres in Sussex; 2 acres in Yorkshire; 159,952 acres in Banffshire; 69,660 acres in Aberdeenshire; 27,409 acres in Inverness-shire; 12,271 acres in Morayshire; worth a total of £79,683 a year.