George Cranstoun, Lord Corehouse (28 November 1770 – 26 June 1850) was a Scottish advocate, judge and satirist.

Life

Cranstoun was likely born at his father's estate, Longwarton. He was baptised in

Ancrum Ancrum ( gd, Alan Crom) is a village in the Scottish Borders, Borders area of Scotland, 5 km north west of Jedburgh. The village — which currently has a population of around 300 — is situated just off the A68 road, A68 trunk road on the ...

, Roxburghshire, Scotland, the second son of the Hon. George Cranstoun of Longwarton, seventh son of William Cranstoun, 5th Lord Cranstoun, and Maria, daughter of Thomas Brisbane of Brisbane, Ayrshire. He was originally intended for the military profession, however was admitted to 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 constit ...

on 2 February 1793, was appointed a depute-advocate in 1805, and sheriff-depute of Sutherland in 1806. He was chosen

dean of the Faculty of Advocates The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, also known as the Dean of Faculty, is the head of the Faculty of Advocates, the independent body for advocates in Scotland. The Dean is elected by the whole membership. List of deans of Faculty * 1582 to ??? ...

on 15 November 1823, and was raised to the bench on the death of Lord Hermand in 1826, under the title of Lord Corehouse, from his residence

Corehouse Corehouse is a country house and estate, located to the south of Lanark, Scotland. The estate is by the Corra Linn Falls on the River Clyde, and close to the World Heritage Site of New Lanark. The house was designed by Sir Edward Blore for G ...

near the fall of Corra Linn on the River Clyde. In 1832–3 Lord Corehouse is listed as living at 12 Ainslie Place on the Moray Estate 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 ...

's fashionable west end. In January 1839, while apparently in perfect health, he was suddenly struck with paralysis, which compelled him to retire. He died 26 June 1850. Corehouse18

Associations and works

His accomplishments as a Greek scholar secured him the friendship of Lord Monboddo. While attending the civil law class in 1788 Cranstoun met

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

, and a friendship continued through life. Scott read the opening stanzas of the ''

Lay of the Last Minstrel ''The Lay of the Last Minstrel'' (1805) is a narrative poem in six cantos with copious antiquarian notes by Walter Scott. Set in the Scottish Borders in the mid-16th century, it is represented within the work as being sung by a minstrel late i ...

'' to William Erskine and Cranstoun. While practising at the bar Cranstoun wrote a satire, 'The Diamond Beetle Case,’ in which he caricatured the manner and style of several of the judges in delivering their opinions.

Family

His second sister, Jane Anne, afterwards Countess of Purgstall, was a correspondent of Walter Scott, and his youngest, Helen D'Arcy, author of ''The Tears I shed must ever fall'' and wife of

Dugald Stewart Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hut ...

References

1770 births 1850 deaths 18th-century Scottish people 19th-century Scottish people Place of birth missing

Scottish satirists Deans of the Faculty of Advocates Scholars of Greek language Scottish scholars and academics Scottish sheriffs {{Scotland-law-bio-stub