Allan Ramsay (1713-1784) (after) - Charles Erskine (1680–1763), Lord Tinwald, MP - 959492 - National Trust

Charles Erskine also spelled Areskine (1680 – 5 April 1763), of Tinwald and Barjarg, Dumfries, and Alva, Clackmannan was

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 ...

, a Scottish judge, and a politician who sat in 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. ...

from 1722 to 1742.

Life

Erskine was the fourth son of

Sir Charles Erskine, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, of

Alva, Clackmannanshire Alva (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ailbheach'', meaning rocky) is a small town in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is one of a number of towns situated immediately to the south of the Ochil Hills, collectively referred to as th ...

and his wife Christian Dundas, daughter of Sir James Dundas, Lord Arniston. His older brothers included

Robert Erskine Robert Erskine (1735–1780) was a Scottish inventor and engineer who came to the British colonial Province of New Jersey in 1771 to run the ironworks at Ringwood, New Jersey. He subsequently became sympathetic to the movement for independen ...

, physician to Peter the Great. Charles was educated at the High School of Edinburgh and studied Law at

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

from 1693. At the age of 20 he was a candidate for the office of one of the four Regents of 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 after an examination with several competitors obtained that appointment on 26 November 1700 until 17 October 1707. On 7 November he was appointed the first

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Public Law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

in the university in 1707, despite the protests of the council. He was at Utrecht in about 1710 and became a member of the

Faculty of Advocates 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 14 July 1711. Erskine was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

in 1722, 1727 and 1734, for the Dumfries Burghs in 1734, for the Tain Burghs in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. * February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...

. He was

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 2 June 1725,

from 20 January 1737 to 1742. He was raised as a

Lord 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 Cour ...

, and also to the bench on 23 November 1744 as Lord Tinwald. He was also

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

from 15 June 1748 until his death. In 1749 he purchased Alva House from his nephew and enlarged and remodelled the property. His Edinburgh property at this time (required to attend the Edinburgh courts) was at Mylne's Square, opposite the

Tron Kirk The Tron Kirk is a former principal parish church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a well-known landmark on the Royal Mile. It was built in the 17th century and closed as a church in 1952. Having stood empty for over fifty years, it was used ...

200m east of the courts. In 1755 he purchased Drumsheugh House west of Edinburgh. He commissioned James Adam to extend the property and refront in a more modern idiom. The house was two storey and basement in form.Kirkwood's Plan of the New Town 1819 The house was demolished to create Drumsheugh Place.

Family

He married Grizel Grierson, daughter of John Grierson of Barjarg on 21 December 1712. Through whom he inherited

Barjarg Tower Barjarg Tower is an L-plan tower house probably dating from 1680, four miles south-east of Penpont, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.Lindsay, Maurice (1986) ''The Castles of Scotland''. Constable. p.74 It is attached to a 19th-century mansion. History Th ...

. Erskine married as his second wife Elizabeth Maxwell, widow of Dr. William Maxwell of Preston, Lancashire, and daughter of William Harestanes of Craigs, Kirkcudbright on 26 August 1753. He died at Edinburgh on 5 April 1763 leaving two sons by his first wife: *

James Erskine, Lord Alva James Erskine, Lord Barjarg and Alva (20 June 1722 – 13 May 1796) was an 18th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a Senator of the College of Justice. For convenience his name was usually contracted to James Erskine, Lord Alva. Life He ...

* Charles Erskine (1716–1749) was also a lawyer, and MP for Ayr Burghs from 1747 to 1749. Erskine's brother Sir John Erskine was also an MP.

In Fiction

Charles Erskine, Lord Tinwald, features as a character in Andrew Drummond's fantasy novel, "The Books of the Incarceration of the

Lady Grange Rachel Chiesley (baptised 4 February 1679 – 12 May 1745), usually known as Lady Grange, was the wife of James Erskine, Lord Grange, Lord Grange, a Scottish lawyer with Jacobitism, Jacobite sympathies. After 25 years of marriage and ...

'' (2016).

References

* ''An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice of Scotland'', by Sir David Dalrymple of Hailes, Bt., with some further editing and additions, Edinburgh, 1849. 1680 births 1763 deaths 17th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish people Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Lord Advocates Tinwald Academics of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Faculty of Advocates Solicitors General for Scotland Younger sons of baronets

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

{{Scotland-law-bio-stub