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 ...
in
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
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
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 ...
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