The current Duke of Buccleuch,
Richard Scott, the 10th Duke, is one of the largest private landowners in Scotland with some 200,000 acres (over 80,000 hectares) and chairman of the Buccleuch Group, a holding company with interests in commercial property, rural affairs, food, and beverages. The title originally comes from a holding in the
Scottish Borders, near
Selkirk. The
family seats are
Bowhill House, three miles from Selkirk, representing the Scott line;
Drumlanrig Castle in
Dumfries and Galloway, representing the Douglas line; and
Boughton House in Northamptonshire, England, representing the Montagu line. These three houses are still lived in by the family and are also open to the public. The family also owns
Dalkeith Palace in
Midlothian, which is let, and has owned several other country houses and castles in the past.
London residences Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch came into possession of a grand London standalone mansion
Montagu House, Whitehall through his marriage to
Lady Elizabeth Montagu. Lady Elizabeth's grandfather
John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu had acquired the House in 1731, and she inherited the property following the deaths of her mother
Mary, Duchess of Montagu in 1775 and her father
George Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu in 1790. and continued to serve as the London residence of the Dukes and their families until 1917, when the British government requisitioned the House during the First World War, after which it was occupied by the
Ministry of Labour. Alice also asserted that the Duke's architect William Burn had encouraged the 5th Duke to purchase the freehold of Chesterfield House rather than renewing the lease of Montagu House. which had previously been used as the London townhouse of the
Dukes of Northumberland from 1873 until c. 1917. This continued to be the London residence of the Dukes of Buccleuch until
Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch handed over use of the property to the
London Association of Scottish Societies to be used as a London headquarters and social centre for all Scotsmen serving in the armed forces during the Second World War. By 1946 No. 2 Grosvenor Place had been leased to
Imperial Chemical Industries for an annual rent of just under £10,000.
Montagu House, Whitehall was demolished in 1949-50. Following the conclusion of the Second World War, by 1950
Walter Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 8th Duke of Buccleuch had taken an apartment at No. 15
Grosvenor Square as his London residence, which he continued to occupy in 1970. By 1970 his son
John Scott, Earl of Dalkeith and his wife
Jane Scott, Countess of Dalkeith maintained a London residence at No. 46
Bedford Gardens, Kensington. Following Lord Dalkeith's accession as
9th Duke of Buccleuch in 1973, he continued to maintain the house as a London residence, and reportedly owned both No. 44 and No. 46 Bedford Gardens by 1988. == List of title holders ==