Alexander Belsches, Lord Tofts MP (c. 1610 – 1656) was a 17th-century Scottish judge and Senator of the College of Justice.

Life

He was son of John Belsches (1580-1631) an advocate, and his wife, Janet Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig of Riccarton, Lord Advocate of Scotland. In 1621 his father purchased the estates of Over Tofts and Nether Tofts in

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

. In 1625 his father remarried (Janet presumably being dead) to a Marjory Kae. He inherited the Tofts estates (east of

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...

) in 1631. In 1644 Alexander was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census reco ...

. In July 1646 he was knighted by

Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

and created a Senator of the College of Justice taking the title Lord Tofts. In December 1648, from

Carisbrooke Castle Carisbrooke Castle is a historic motte-and-bailey castle located in the village of Carisbrooke (near Newport), Isle of Wight, England. Charles I was imprisoned at the castle in the months prior to his trial. Early history The site of Carisb ...

on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, King Charles wrote from his imprisonment pre-execution to gran Belsches a pension of £200 per annum. In September 1650 he became Sheriff of

. He died in 1656.

Family

He married Jean Skene daughter of John Skene of Hallyards, a Clerk of Session. They had no children. His brother John Belsches inherited the Tofts estates but had to sell it off in sections to repay Alexander's debts. The bulk of the estate was bought by Sir William Purves (

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

) in 1673 who renamed the estate as Purves Hall.

Artistic recognition

He was portrayed by Sir John Baptist de Medina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belsches, Alexander 1610s births 1656 deaths Senators of the College of Justice