Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland (11 May 1736 – 16 March 1795) was a Scottish judge and politician. Lord Henderland Martin

The monument to Lord Henderland, St Cuthberts, Edinburgh

Life

Born at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...

House west of

Edinburgh's Old Town The Old Town ( sco, Auld Toun) is the name popularly given to the oldest part of Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh. The area has preserved much of its medieval street plan and many Reformation-era buildings. Together with the 18th/19th-cent ...

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 ( 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 ...

, 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 constitu ...

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 ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

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 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. ...

for

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a 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 Lan ...

. 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 (169627 December 1782) was a Scottish writer, philosopher, advocate, judge, and agricultural improver. A central figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, a founding member of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, and a ...

, as an

ordinary lord of session A Lord Ordinary is any judge in the Outer House of the Scottish 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 H ...

and a commissioner of the

court of justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

, 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 strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

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

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 Sir Alexander Lindsay of Evelick, 3rd Baronet (11 May 1683, Dunfermline – 6 May 1762, Evelix) was a Scottish baronet from the Lindsay of Evelick family. He married into Clan Murray by his marriage with Amelia Murray, daughter of David Murray, ...

of Evelick,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. 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 Sir Ilay Campbell, 1st Baronet, Lord Succoth, (1734–1823) was a Scottish advocate, judge and politician. He rose to be Lord President of the Court of Session. Life Campbell's birthplace is given as either Argyll or Edinburgh. His mother was ...

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 Lawyers from Edinburgh