In 1917, ArthurJamesBalfour, British foreign secretary, submitted a declaration of intent, known as the Balfour Declaration, to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
The Valuation Rolls show that The Right Honourable ArthurJamesBalfour of Whittinghame owned 235 properties in Scotland, in East Lothian and Berwickshire, while Keir Hardie owned just one property at Holmhead, in the parish of Old Cumnock.