Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland (11 May 1736 – 16 March 1795) was a Scottish judge and politician.
Life
Born at
Murrayfield
Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...
House west of
Edinburgh's Old Town on 11 May 1736, he was the son of Archibald Murray of Cringletie, an advocate.
He studied law at the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
, and was called to the
Scottish bar
The Faculty of Advocates () is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a consti ...
on 7 March 1758, and succeeded his father as
sheriff-depute of Peebles in 1761, and as one of the commissaries of Edinburgh in 1765.
He inherited the estate of Henderland in
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway (; ) is one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, located in the western part of the Southern Uplands. It is bordered by East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, and South Lanarkshire to the north; Scottish Borders to the no ...
around 1760.
On 24 May 1775 Murray was appointed
solicitor-general for Scotland, and at the general election in September 1780 was returned to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
for
Peeblesshire
Peeblesshire (), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a Counties of Scotland, historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lanarkshire ...
. The only speech he is recorded to have made in parliament was in opposition to
Sir George Savile's motion relating to the petition of the delegated counties for a redress of grievances.
Murray succeeded
Henry Home, Lord Kames
Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–27 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher and judge who played a major role in Scottish Agricultural Revolution, Scotland's Agricultural Revolution. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, ...
, as an
ordinary lord of session
The Outer House (abbreviated as CSOH in neutral citations) is one of the two parts of the Scottish Court of Session, which is the supreme civil court in Scotland. It is a court of first instance, although some statutory appeals are remitted to ...
and a commissioner of the
court of justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary () is the Supreme Courts of Scotland, supreme Scottish criminal law, criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a court of first instance, trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Cour ...
, and took his seat on the bench with the title of Lord Henderland on 6 March 1783. He took part in the trials for sedition at Edinburgh in 1793, and died of
cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
at Murrayfield on 16 March 1795.
He is buried in
St Cuthberts Churchyard in Edinburgh, beneath a huge monument, to the north side of the church.
Recognition
The district of
Murrayfield
Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...
takes the name of his family, as does the street name of Henderland Road within that district.
Works
Murray's ''Disputatio Juridica . . . de Divortiis et Repudiis'' was published in 1758 (Edinburgh).
Family
On 15 March 1773 he married Katherine Lindsay (1737-1828), daughter of
Sir Alexander Lindsay, 3rd Baronet of
Evelick,
Perthshire
Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
. Their children included
Sir John Archibald Murray, Lord Murray. Henderland was joint clerk of the pipe in the court of exchequer, an office which, through the influence of
Lord Melville, was subsequently conferred on his two sons.
His sister Susan married
Sir Ilay Campbell.
Notes
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Alexander
1736 births
1795 deaths
Politicians from Edinburgh
Scottish sheriffs
Henderland
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
Solicitors general for Scotland
British MPs 1780–1784
Deaths from cholera in the United Kingdom
Lawyers from Edinburgh