John Cockburn ( ; – 12 November 1758) of
Ormiston
Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about .
The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 ...
,
East Lothian, was a
Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
from 1702 to 1707 and as a Whig in the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
for 34 years from 1707 to 1741.
Life
Cockburn was the nephew of
Adam Cockburn of Ormiston
Adam Cockburn, Laird of Ormiston, Lord Ormiston (1656 – 16 April 1735), was a Scottish administrator, politician and judge. He served as Commissioner for Haddington Constabulary in the parliaments of 1681-2 and 1689, and in the conventions ...
,
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 ...
, who had no male heir and from whom he inherited the Ormiston estate in 1735. In 1736 he laid out the "model village" of
Ormiston
Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about .
The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 ...
which was set up to encourage craft industries such as brewing, distilling and weaving. However, this, and his improvements to the estate as a whole, bankrupted Cockburn, and he was forced to sell the entire estate and village to the Charles Hope, the
Earl of Hopetoun.
[Scottish Garden Buildings by Tim Buxbaum p.11]
He is known as the father of Scottish
husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...
.
In 1702, Cockburn became a
Shire Commissioner
A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other ...
for
Haddington in the
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
and took an active interest in accomplishing the union.
He was the first representative of
East Lothian in the parliament of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain
United may refer to:
Places
* United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community
* United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
Arts and entertainment Films
* United (2003 film), ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film
* United (2011 film) ...
.
He continued to hold that seat in all successive parliaments until 1741. He was one of the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...
.
Cockburn built
Ormiston Hall on his estate at
Ormiston
Ormiston is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, near Tranent, Humbie, Pencaitland and Cranston, located on the north bank of the River Tyne at an elevation of about .
The village was the first planned village in Scotland, founded in 1735 ...
. This last Cockburn of Ormiston was an enthusiastic entrepreneur and eventually ruined himself as a result of which his estates were sold to the Earl of Hopetoun.
Cockburn died in his son's house in the
Navy Office, London, England. He had firstly married Beatrix, daughter of
John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Hyndford
John Carmichael, 1st Earl of Carmichael (28 February 1638 – 20 September 1710), known as Lord Carmichael between 1672 and 1701, when he was created the 1st Earl of Hyndford, was a Scottish nobleman and politician.
He succeeded his grandfather, J ...
, by whom he had no issue and secondly married Arabella, the daughter and coheiress of Anthony Rowe of Muswell Hall, Middlesex, with whom he had a son. His natural son,
George Cockburne (d.1770), was a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
in the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
, and married Caroline, daughter of George Forrester, 5th Lord Forrester, with female issue.
References
External links
ElectricScotland Profile* ''The House of Cockburn of that Ilk and Cadets Thereof'', by Thomas H. Cockburn-Hood (Edinburgh, 1888), page 156.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, John
17th-century births
1758 deaths
People from Ormiston
Lords of the Admiralty
Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
British MPs 1707–1708
British MPs 1708–1710
British MPs 1710–1713
British MPs 1713–1715
British MPs 1715–1722
British MPs 1722–1727
British MPs 1727–1734
British MPs 1734–1741
Politics of East Lothian
Scottish agronomists
Scottish businesspeople
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...