![Alexander Murray of Elibank by Allan Ramsay 1742](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Alexander_Murray_of_Elibank_by_Allan_Ramsay_1742.jpg)
Alexander Murray of Elibank (9 December 1712 – 27 February 1778) was the fourth son of
Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank and brother of
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank (1703–1778) was a Scottish soldier, lawyer, author and economist.
Life
He was the son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank (1677-1736), and his wife Elizabeth (née Stirling; died 1756), daughter of George St ...
.
[Hugh Douglas, â]
Murray, Alexander, of Elibank, Jacobite earl of Westminster (1712–1778)
€™, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 14 June 2013. Horace Walpole
Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician.
He had Strawb ...
said that Murray and his brother were "both such active
Jacobites
Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to:
Religion
* Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include:
** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...
, that if the Pretender had succeeded, they could have produced many witnesses to testify their zeal for him; both so cautious, that no witnesses of actual treason could be produced by the government against them".
Early life
Murray took a commission in the
26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot
The 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the Scots Army and subsequently a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army, active from 1689 to 1881. Although the regiment took the name of its first colonel as The Earl of ...
on 11 August 1737, eventually becoming a lieutenant.
A marriage of convenience gave him an annual income of £3,000. This enabled him to lend to
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
hundreds of pounds at high interest at a time when Charles was short of money. This also led him into Charles' inner circle.
He took no part in the
Jacobite rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theà rlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...
.
In January 1751 during a by-election to Parliament, Murray supported the opposition Whig candidate
Sir George Vandeput, 2nd Baronet. It was claimed that Murray encouraged mob violence by shouting: "Will no one have courage enough to knock the dog down?" In February Murray was summoned before the House of Commons and sent to
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
. When he was in the House of Commons and ordered to kneel down to receive his sentence, Murray refused, saying: "Sir, I beg to be excused; I never kneel but to God". He was returned to Newgate for two months for contempt, and he was refused release when brought before the House again. He tried to obtain a writ of ''
Habeas corpus
''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...
'' but was released on 25 June as Parliament was prorogued. Upon release he was driven to his brother's house in Henrietta Street near Covent Garden, being cheered by a numerous crowd carrying a banner with the words "Murray and Liberty" inscribed.
Elibank Plot
In 1751-1752 Murray became involved in a Jacobite plot that came to bear his name. The plan was to kidnap
King George II and other members of the Royal Family on 10 November 1752 and place them on a boat in the Thames that would sail to France. Detailed analysis of the sentry system at
St James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...
was taken down and two or three hundred men were chosen to congregate at Westminster, though to avoid suspicion they would lodge at separate properties. On the night that the King would be abducted, they would assemble at pre-planned locations, with St James's being seized, the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
's gates opened, the guards overwhelmed and the Royal Family smuggled to France. Murray suggested that the Royal Family be murdered, perhaps by poison. Charles rejected this, however.
The plot foundered on its participants' pessimism and Murray announced a postponement of the operation, travelling to Paris to inform Charles.
[McLynn, p. 408.]
Later life
Murray remained in exile for the next twenty years. In 1759
James Francis Edward Stuart
James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...
created him Earl of Westminster. In April 1771 he was allowed to return to Britain. He died at
Taplow
Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
.
Notes
References
*Hugh Douglas, â
Murray, Alexander, of Elibank, Jacobite earl of Westminster (1712–1778)€™, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 14 June 2013.
*Frank McLynn, ''Charles Edward Stuart. A Tragedy in Many Acts'' (London: Routledge, 1988).
*Horace Walpole, ''Memoirs of King George II. I: January 1751–March 1754'' (Yale University Press, 1985).
*
Further reading
*
Charles Petrie, ‘The Elibank plot, 1752–53’, ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', 4th series, 14 (1931), pp. 175–96
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Alexander
1712 births
1778 deaths
Scottish soldiers
Cameronians soldiers
Scottish Jacobites
Westminster, Alexander Murray, 1st Earl of
Younger sons of barons