Henry Moncreiff-Wellwood 8th Baronet of Tullibole

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 ...

(6 February 1750–9 August 1827) was both a baronet in the

Baronetage of Nova Scotia Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

and minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in 1785. At age only 35 he was one of the youngest-ever moderators. He served as Chaplain to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Life

St Cuthberts Church, Edinburgh as seen from north-west

The Grave of Sir Henry Moncrieff-Wellwood, St Cuthbert's Churchyard

He was born Henry Wellwood Moncreiff at Blackford manse near

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

on 6 February 1750, the eldest son of Catherine Wellwood and Sir William Moncreiff, Baronet, who equally had the dual claim to fame of being minister of the parish. After a local education he studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1763. He then studied divinity 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 ...

. On the death of his father it was established that he should fill the role of minister in his stead but he was not yet old enough. In 1768 he removed to the University of Edinburgh to complete his studies. He was ordained by the Presbytery of

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Th ...

on 15 August 1771 aged 21 and began preaching in Blackford. His talent outstripped this tiny parish and in 1775 he successfully obtained the patronage of his uncle to take over as minister of

St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh. Probably founded in the 7th century, the church once covered an extensive parish around the burgh of Edinburgh. The church's current building was ...

(then generally called the West Kirk). He was first suggested as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

in 1780, but lost to the much older Rev Harry Spens. He was, however, elected moderator in 1785 still aged only 35. In 1793 he was made Chaplain in Ordinary to

in Scotland. In 1796 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

Andrew Dalzell Andrew Dalzell (sometimes shown as Andrew Dalzel or Andrew Dalziel) FRSE (1742–1806) was a Scottish scholar and prominent figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. In 1783 he was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Life He wa ...

, James Gregory and Rev William Greenfield. He was a member of the

Sons of the Clergy Clergy Support Trust is a charity which was formerly (between 2012 and 2019) known as Sons & Friends of the Clergy. The full official name of the charity is Governors of the Charity for Relief of the Poor Widows and Children of Clergymen. The pres ...

. He lived his later life at 13 Queen Street. He died at

Bruntsfield Links Bruntsfield Links is of open parkland in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, immediately to the south-west of the adjoining Meadows. Unlike The Meadows, which formerly contained a loch drained by the end of the 18th century, Bruntsfield Links has always ...

on 9 August 1827 following a long illness (compounded by the death of his wife). He is buried in the north-west corner of the northern section of St Cuthbert's Churchyard.

Family

In November 1772, Sir Henry was married to Susan Robertson Barclay (d.1826), his cousin and the daughter of James Robertson Barclay WS of Cavell. Their eldest son, William Moncrieff-Wellwood LLD, was Advocate for the Admiralty and died in Malta in 1813. Their daughter

Isabella Moncrieff Lady Isabella Moncrieff (1775–1846), who wrote under the name of Martha Blackford, was a Scottish writer who wrote numerous children books. Biography Isabella Moncrieff was the daughter of Reverend Henry Moncrieff-Wellwood and Susan Barc ...

was a writer of children books who married

John Stoddart Sir John Stoddart (6 February 1773 – 16 February 1856) was an English journalist and lawyer, who served as editor of '' The Times''. Biography Stoddart, who was born at Salisbury, was the eldest son of John Stoddart, who was a lieutenan ...

(later Sir John Stoddart of the Admiralty). On his death, the baronetcy passed to his second son, James Moncrieff-Wellwood (b.1776). His sister, Susan Moncreiff, married Rev William Paul, his counterpart in the collegiate section of St Cuthberts.

Publications

*''Sermons Preached 1805-1806'' *''Discourses on the Evidences of the Jewish and Christian Revelations'' (1815) *''A Life of Dr John Erskine'' (1818)

Artistic recognition

He was painted by Sir

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a fo ...

and an engraving was made by Thomson for wider use of the image.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moncrieff-Wellwood, Henry 1750 births 1827 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland