Sir Crispin Hamlyn Agnew of Lochnaw, 11th Baronet, (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish advocate, herald and former explorer. He is the chief of the ancient Agnew family, and the eleventh holder of the Agnew baronetcy, created in 1629. He was elected a member of the Royal Company of Archers, the King's Body Guard for Scotland in 1975.
Agnew is the only son of Sir Fulque Agnew and his wife Swanzie Erskine, granddaughter of St Vincent Whitshed Erskine, latterly Professor of Geography at the University of Malawi. He succeeded his father in 1975.
Sir Crispin was born in Edinburgh, but emigrated to South Africa with his parents aged 3 year. At the age of 12 he was sent back to school in the UK. He was educated at Uppingham School from 1958 to 1962. He was a member of the British Schools Exploring Society (now British Exploring Society) Arctic Scandinavia Expedition 1961. He attended RMA Sandhurst (Intake 33 1962-1964), before being commissioned into the Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1964. He served in Germany, Cyprus, Northern Ireland and the UK. As an active climber and mountaineer and member of the Army Mountaineering Association and the Alpine Club (UK) he was involved with the army's policy of developing adventurous training for soldiers of all ranks. He took part in or led a number of expeditions, including expeditions to Api (mountain) in 1980, Everest in 1976, Nuptse Himal in 1975, Northern Patagonian Ice Field in 1973, Elephant Island in 1970, and Greenland in 1968 and 1966. He retired as a major in 1981.
Agnew is a King's Counsel and was in practice at the Scottish Bar with Westwater Advocates before going non-practising in April 2020. He was ranked by Chambers & Partners UK 2018 as a "Star Individual" in Agriculture and Rural Affairs and "Band 1" in Planning and Environment. He specialised in rural property, planning & environmental, and public law. He was made an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Dundee in 2020. He is the author of legal textbooks on agriculture, crofting, land obligations and liquor licensing as well as articles in academic journals. He served as a part-time judge of the Upper Tribunal (formerly Social Security Commissioner) (2000 to 2018) and was part-time legal chairman of the Pension Appeal Tribunal (2002 to 2012). He is a legal convenor of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (2018-).
His heraldic career began in 1978 when he was appointed Slains Pursuivant by Merlin, Earl of Erroll. In 1981, he was appointed Unicorn Pursuivant at the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. In 1986, he was promoted to Rothesay Herald, a position he held until 31 August 2021, when he became Albany Herald Extraordinary.
He was appointed Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO) in the 2021 Birthday Honours.
In 1980 he married Susan Rachel Strang Steel, PgDip (2010), MSc (2025), an academic skills adviser Edinburgh Napier University until 2025, also a careers adviser with The Career Place, Edinburgh and formerly a journalist and broadcaster, the daughter of Jock Wykeham Strang Steel and Lesley Graham. Agnew and his wife have a son and three daughters: Mark, Isabel, Emma and Roseanna. Adventurer Mark Agnew is the Younger of Lochnaw, and the heir to the chiefship and baronetcy.
Selected works
BOOKS
Agnew, Sir Crispin and Baillie H.M. (1984 - 2002), Alan & Chapman’s Annotations of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1976, WGreen, 2nd (1984) to 5th (2002) Editions. 5th Ed ISBN 0414 014 88X
Agnew, Sir Crispin (2000), Crofting Law, T & T Clark. ISBN 056700547X
Agnew, Sir Crispin (1999), Variation and Discharge of Land Obligations, WGreen. ISBN 0414012267
Agnew, Sir Crispin (1996), Agricultural Law in Scotland, Butterworths. ISBN 0406115141
Agnew, Sir Crispin and Rennie D.G. (1996), Connell on the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Acts 7th Ed, T & T Clark. ISBN 0567005143
ARTICLES
Agnew, Sir Crispin, “The Baronets of Nova Scotia.” The Double Tressure, Journal of the Heraldry Society of Scotland (1979); No. 1 pp 35 to 43.
Agnew, Sir Crispin. “Who were the Baronets of Nova Scotia”. The Scottish Genealogist (1980); Vol. XXVI No. 3 September 1980 pp 90 – 111.
Agnew, Crispin. (1988). The Conflict of Heraldic Laws. The Juridical review. 1988 Pt 1. 61–76.
Agnew, Sir Crispin . “Baronial heraldic additaments”, 2004 Scots Law Times (News) 179.
Agnew, Sir Crispin, and Roseanna CN Agnew. "Protecting badger setts–Where law and science clash." Environmental Law Review 18.1 (2016): 8-24.
Agnew, Sir Crispin, Thomas Appleby, and Emma Bean. "The ownership of inshore fisheries in Scotland: An opportunity for community ownership?" Journal of Water Law 26.2 (2018).