Rt Hon John Inglis, Lord Glencorse

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 ...

DCL LLD (21 August 1810 – 20 August 1891) was a Scottish politician and judge. 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 ...

(1867–1891).John Inglis Lord Glencorse
University of Glasgow (see "summary" for birth/death dates)

Life

The youngest son of Maria Moxham Passmore and Rev John Inglis DD (1761–1834), minister of Old

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Kirk ( gd, Eaglais nam Manach Liath) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edi ...

, Inglis was born on 21 August 1810 at 43 George Square in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He attended the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Edinburgh. He then studied law 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 whence he went to

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

. He graduated with a BA in 1834 and an MA in 1836. He was admitted a member of 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 constitu ...

in 1835, and in 1852 he was made

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 Lord Derby's first ministry, three months later becoming

Lord Advocate , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC.png , incumbent = Dorothy Bain KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , appointer = Monarch on the advice ...

, a post he held from May to December of that year. In the summer of 1857, he famously served as counsel for

Madeleine Smith Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. Background Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...

, a Glasgow socialite who was the defendant in a sensational murder trial. Smith was freed with a verdict of "not proven". In March 1858 he resumed this office in Lord Derby's second administration, being returned to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as member for Stamford. Again his tenure was brief, leaving office in July 1858. He was responsible for the

Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, and in the same year he was elevated to the bench as

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 ...

, with the judicial title ''Lord Glencorse''. In 1867 he was made

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 ...

of Scotland and Lord President of the Court of Session. He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1859, and awarded a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) by the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1859. Outside his judicial duties he was responsible for much useful public work, particularly in the department of higher education. In 1869 he was elected

Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh The chancellor is the titular head of the University of Edinburgh. Their duties include conferring degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering its interests, both within Scotland and beyond. The position was cr ...

against

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, having already been

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in 1857–1860 and

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

in 1865. He was President of Scottish Texts Society and published ''Historical Study of Law'' 1863. His Edinburgh address in later life was 30 Abercromby Place in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

. He died at Loganbank, a villa in

Glencorse Glencorse is a parish of Midlothian, Scotland, lying south of Edinburgh.Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Glencorse. Places are presented alphabetically It is bounded on the north-west by the former p ...

south of Edinburgh on 20 August 1891, the day before his 81st birthday. He is buried in his family vault in

New Calton Cemetery New Calton Burial Ground is a burial ground in Edinburgh. It was built as an overspill and functional replacement to Old Calton Burial Ground and lies half a mile to its east on Regent Road in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south-east slopes of Ca ...

Family

In 1842 he was married to Isabella Mary Wood (1820–1855), daughter of

Alexander Wood, Lord Wood The Hon Alexander Wood of Woodcote, Lord Wood FRSE (12 November 1788 – 18 July 1864) was a 19th-century Scottish lawyer who became a Senator of the College of Justice. Life He was born on Blair Street, off the Royal Mile, Edinburgh on 12 ...

(1788–1864), a law lord and one of his senior colleagues. She bore him a son, John David Inglis (1843–1861) and another, Harry Herbert Inglis WS (1848–1907). He employed Rev Robert Keith Dick Horne as private tutor to his children. Horne was later minister of Corstorphine Old Parish Church in west Edinburgh.

Memorials

A memorial to Lord Glencorse (in the Jacobean style) stands in the south-east corner of

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

in Edinburgh, above the stairway from the church to the crypt, near the entrance to the

Thistle Chapel The Thistle Chapel, located in St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, Scotland, is the chapel of the Order of the Thistle. At the foundation of the Order of the Thistle in 1687, James VII ordered Holyrood Abbey be fitted out as a chapel for the Knigh ...

. A bust of Lord Glencorse, sculpted by Charles McBride, is held by 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 ...

Notable cases

*In 1857 Inglis defended

in a sensational murder trial. *In 1865 Inglis presided over the case of the poisoner,

Edward William Pritchard Edward William Pritchard (6 December 1825 – 28 July 1865) was an English doctor who was convicted of murdering his wife and mother-in-law by poisoning them. He was also suspected of murdering a servant girl, but was never tried for this crime. ...

, the last person to be publicly hanged in Glasgow.

References

*This article includes material drawn from Concise

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, 1939

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inglis, John 1810 births 1891 deaths Politicians from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Lord Advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies

UK MPs 1857–1859 Chancellors of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Aberdeen Rectors of the University of Glasgow Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice-General Members of the Faculty of Advocates Burials at the New Calton Burial Ground Solicitors General for Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Lawyers from Edinburgh