The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

Alexander Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank of Garvock and Pitliver

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FSA (Scot) The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

(2 March 1777–30 November 1861), was a Scottish

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, judge, landowner and politician. After 1854 he took the surname Maconochie-Welwood.

Life

Maconochie was born on 2 March 1777 in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh, ...

, the eldest son of Elizabeth Welwood of Garvock and

Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank The Hon Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank FRSE FSA (Scot) (1748–1816) was a Scottish advocate, academic jurist, judge and agriculturalist. Life The only son of Alexander Maconochie of Meadowbank, Kirknewton, Midlothian, by his wife Isabella, ...

. He was educated at the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

, and probably at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He was admitted as an

in 1799, and in 1800 admitted to the Highland Society. He served as

Sheriff of Haddington The Sheriff of Haddington, or Sheriff of East Lothian, was historically the royal official responsible for enforcing law and order in Haddington, Scotland. Prior to 1748 most sheriffdoms were held on a hereditary basis. From that date, following t ...

from 1810 and

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 ...

from 1813, and as

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

from 1816 to 1819. He was Member of Parliament for

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, England, from 1817–1818, and for the

Kilrenny Kilrenny ( gd, Cill Reithnidh) is a village in Fife, Scotland. Part of the East Neuk, it lies immediately to the north of (but inland and separate from) Anstruther on the south Fife coast. The first element of the name is from the Scottish Ga ...

district of Anstruther Burghs from 1818 to 1819. He made his Parliamentary debut during a period of considerable unrest in both Scotland and England in 1817, choosing to mark it by announcing the existence of a seditious conspiracy of weavers in the suburbs of Glasgow. The ensuing prosecutions were spectacularly unsuccessful, however, and caused considerable embarrassment, both to the government and to Maconochie himself, who, as Lord Advocate, was directly responsible. In 1817 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Sir

William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet Sir William Arbuthnot, 1st Baronet of Edinburgh FRSE (24 December 1766 – 18 September 1829) was a Scottish landowner and politician. He served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh. Life William was the s ...

, Thomas Allan,

Sir David Brewster Sir David Brewster KH PRSE FRS FSA Scot FSSA MICE (11 December 178110 February 1868) was a British scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. In science he is principally remembered for his experimental work in physical optics, ...

and Sir

Henry Jardine Sir Henry Jardine of Harwood WS FRSE (30 January 1766 – 11 August 1851) was a solicitor, antiquarian and a founder member of the Bannatyne Club in 1823, with his friend Sir Walter Scott. Life He was born in Edinburgh on 30 January 1766. He ...

. He served as a Councillor of the Society during 1822-5 (Literary section) and 1835–7. In the 1830s, his address is listed as 13 Royal Circus

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

. In part because of his rather indifferent record, especially after further embarrassment in the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

in 1819, he was appointed a lord of session and justiciary as ''Lord Meadowbank'' 1819, and resigned in 1843. With the same title as his father, he was subject of one of Scots law's better puns. When he quizzed one advocate as to the difference between 'likewise and also', he received the reply that just as his father had been Lord Meadowbank, so was he, 'also but not likewise'. He assumed the additional surname of ''Welwood'' on succeeding to his cousin's estates in 1854. Maconochie-Welwood died on 30 November 1861 at Meadowbank House (now named Kirknewton House), Kirknewton, West Lothian, and was interred at a private burial ground at Meadowbank House.

Artistic Patronage

He was patron to the Edinburgh artist

William Crawford William Crawford may refer to: Entertainment * William Broderick Crawford (1911–1986), American film actor * Bill Crawford (cartoonist) (1913–1982), American editorial cartoonist * William L. Crawford (1911–1984), U.S. publisher and editor ...

Family

In 1805 he married Anne Blair the daughter of

Robert Blair, Lord Avontoun Robert Blair of Avontoun FRSE (1741–1811) was a Scottish advocate and judge who served as Solicitor General for Scotland from 1789 to 1806, Dean of the Faculty of Advocates from 1801 to 1808, and Lord President of the Court of Session from 1808 ...

. The couple had children included Allan Alexander Maconochie

(1806–1885). His daughter Mary Anne Maconochie married Steuart Bayley Hare of Calderhall, father of Lt Col Hare.Logie: A Parish History Menzies Fergusson 1905

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maconochie, Alexander 1777 births 1861 deaths 19th-century Scottish judges People from Midlothian People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Scottish sheriffs Lord Advocates Solicitors General for Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fife constituencies Scottish antiquarians Meadowbank Scottish landowners UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland