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 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 ...

. His mother was Helen Wallace, and his father, Archibald Campbell of Succoth, Principal Clerk of Session to the Scottish Courts. He attended Mundell's School in

and then 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 , ...

to study law, graduating in 1751. An advocate from 1757, he was engaged in the Douglas peerage case from 1764 to 1769. He was appointed

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 ...

in 1783 and

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...

in 1784. He became

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 o ...

for Glasgow Burghs in the same year. He was

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

and

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

from 1789 to 1808, where he sat as ''Lord Succoth''. On his resignation in 1808, he was created a baronet, and resided at Garscube House, about four miles from Glasgow on the banks of the river

Kelvin The kelvin, symbol K, is the primary unit of temperature in the International System of Units (SI), used alongside its prefixed forms and the degree Celsius. It is named after the Belfast-born and University of Glasgow-based engineer and phy ...

. There he engaged in the management of his estate, and the performance of his duties as a country gentleman. Lord Cockburn says of him that "he lived like a patriarch in a house overflowing with company, beloved by troops of relations, and courted for his character and hospitality by many friends." Campbell was awarded an honorary doctorate (LLD) from the University of Glasgow in 1784, and elected Lord Rector of the university in 1799. He died at Garscube in 1823 aged 89. Campbell was succeeded by his son

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...

, also a Senator of the College of Justice under the same title of ''Lord Succoth''. It is worth observing that the title "Lord Succoth" derived from the 1st and 2nd baronets' status as

law lords Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

rather than as

Lords of Parliament A Lord of Parliament ( sco, Laird o Pairlament) was the holder of the lowest form of peerage, entitled as of right to take part in sessions of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland. Since that Union in 1707, it has been the lowest rank of the ...

. As such, the title "Lord Succoth" was not hereditable. The honorific "

The Much Honoured The Much Honoured (abbreviated to The Much Hon.) is an honorific style applied to the holders of certain Scottish feudal baronies. Overview There were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early fifteenth century and these c ...

" references a feudal barony ("of Succoth"). Sir Ilay's descendants remained baronets until the extinction of the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 2017.

Family

Campbell married Susan Mary Murray of

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 con ...

, sister of

Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland (11 May 1736 – 16 March 1795) was a Scottish judge and politician. Life Born at Murrayfield House west of Edinburgh's Old Town on 11 May 1736, he was the son of Archibald Murray of Cringletie, an advocate. ...

in 1766. She lived until 1815. Their daughter, Margaret Campbell, married Sir John Connell, Judge of the Admiralty Court, and their son, Arthur Connell FRSE (Campbell's grandson) was a chemist who discovered connellite. Their daughter Elizabeth Campbell (d.1853) married William Dalziell Colquhoun. Their daughter Mary Frances Campbell died in 1870 without marrying. These two sisters are buried in Dean Cemetery. Their daughter Susan married Crauford Tait WS of Harvieston and they were parents to

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bo ...

who became Archbishop of Canterbury.

Positions of note

* Founder member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1783) * Director of the Highland Society (1784) * Trustee for the University of Edinburgh and South Bridge

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Ilay 1734 births 1823 deaths Succoth Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies Rectors of the University of Glasgow Lords President of the Court of Session People educated at James Mundell's School Scottish knights Alumni of the University of Glasgow Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 18th-century Scottish judges 19th-century Scottish judges Members of the Faculty of Advocates Solicitors General for Scotland Lord Advocates Politics of Glasgow British MPs 1784–1790 People from Bearsden