Archibald Stewart of Mitcham MP (1697–1780) was an 18th-century Scottish merchant and politician who served as

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...

during the critical Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. He was imprisoned in 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 sep ...

for over a year owing to his alleged negligence.

Life

He was born in 1697 the son of

Sir Robert Steuart, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Steuart (or Stewart), 1st Baronet of Allanbank (1643 – 1707) was a Scottish politician who represented North Berwick in the Parliament of Scotland from 1698 to 1702. Early life Steuart was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1643. He was ...

of Allanbank near

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

(at that time simply called Berwick). His mother was Steuart's second wife, Jean Cockburn, daughter of Sir Archibald Cockburn baronet of

Langton Langton may refer to: Places ;Canada *Langton, Ontario ;England *Church Langton, Leicestershire *East Langton, Leicestershire *Great Langton, North Yorkshire *Langton, Cumbria *Langton, County Durham *Langton, Lincolnshire *Langton, North Yorkshi ...

. Around 1715 he began trading as a wine merchant on the Royal Mile in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. In 1718 he was admitted as a

burgess __NOTOC__ Burgess may refer to: People and fictional characters * Burgess (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Burgess (given name), a list of people Places * Burgess, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Burgess, Missouri, U ...

on the Edinburgh town council. In 1741 he was elected (as an opposition Whig) as MP for

. He was one of the "Duke of Argyll's gang" voting against the Hanoverians in 1744. Spending more time in London due to his parliamentary duties, in 1743 he opened a wine shop at 11 Buckingham Street on The Strand. In 1744 he succeeded John Coutts as

. His most infamous reputation during his period as Lord Provost was the "surrender" (or welcoming depending on one's politics) of the city of Edinburgh to the Jacobite Army of

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

on 17 September 1745. Stewart had received a royal warrant requiring him to raise a resistance force on 26 June and had raised a militia of around 300 men. However, this force was not put into operation, and the Jacobite force received little resistance. Supplementing the volunteers two brigades of Dragoons were dispatched to Coltbridge on the west of the city (known as the Coltbridge Canter, and often erroneously connected to the later

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile C ...

). This force did not fight with the rebels, but were instead ordered to retreat, first to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

, then right out of the city to

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots language, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the si ...

(which is where the confusion of events arises). Despite Edinburgh's "official allegiance" to England at the time, it may be safely assumed that the majority of the politicians (and perhaps the general population) sympathised with the Jacobite cause. The Jacobite army were safely accommodated within Edinburgh. For this treasonous act Stewart was arrested and had to appear before the Privy Council in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 7 December 1745 charged with "neglect of duty". Ironically the larger blame (if any were due) lay on the shoulders of the elderly General Joshua Guest, who had control of Edinburgh Castle and direct command of the dragoons. On 10 December he was ordered to be detained by the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. T ...

and was accordingly detained in the

from 13 December. He was released from the Tower on 23 January 1747 following payment of £15,000 bail (a truly huge sum in the 18th century). Returning to Edinburgh he was retrialed under

Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton Andrew Fletcher, Lord Milton (1692 – 13 December 1766) was a notable Scottish judge and Lord Justice Clerk. Family Andrew Fletcher was born at Saltoun Castle near Pencaitland, east of Edinburgh, the son of Henry Fletcher of Saltoun (d.1733 ...

and found not guilty on 2 November 1747. This seemed to centre on the warrant requiring him to raise a militia but did not require him to use it in any stipulated manner. He afterwards returned to London to continue business on the Strand, living in the Mitcham district. Grant states that Stewart lived in the house at the foot of the West Bow, facing onto the

Grassmarket The Grassmarket is a historic market place, street and event space in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In relation to the rest of the city it lies in a hollow, well below surrounding ground levels. Location The Grassmarket is located direct ...

during his period as Lord Provost and describes it as full of "secret stairs and trapdoors". He was succeeded as Lord Provost by

George Drummond George Drummond (1688–1766) was accountant-general of excise in Scotland and a local politician, elected Lord Provost of Edinburgh a number of times between 1725 and 1764. Life Drummond was born at Newton Castle in Blairgowrie, Perthshire ...

in 1746. It was Stewart not Drummond who remained Provost at the time of the

, but (as stated above) the "capture" of Edinburgh is often muddled around the date of that battle. In 1773 he (or possibly his son) is listed as a merchant living and working at Parliament Close on the Royal Mile. He died in Bath on 24 January 1780 aged 82.

Family

In or before 1728 he married Grizel Gordon, daughter of John Gordon an Edinburgh wine merchant. They had four sons and five daughters. His daughter Grizel Stewart married Edward Marjoribanks of Hallyards and Lees, parents of

Sir John Marjoribanks, 1st Baronet Sir John Marjoribanks, 1st Baronet (13 January 17635 February 1833) was a Scottish MP and twice Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Life He was born on 13January 1763, the eldest son of Edward Marjoribanks, of Hallyards and Lees, a prominent wine merchan ...

of Lees, Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1814/1815.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Archibald 1697 births 1780 deaths People from North Berwick Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Lord Provosts of Edinburgh People of the Jacobite rising of 1745 Prisoners in the Tower of London Younger sons of baronets British MPs 1741–1747