James Pringle FRSE

FRSGS The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

(1822–1886) was a Scottish rope manufacturer who served as Provost of

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

1881 until 1886.

Life

The grave of James Pringle, Warriston Cemetery

He was born in 1822 the son of William Murray Pringle of the Edinburgh Naval and Military Academy. The family lived at 23 Bread Street. James was educated at the High School in Edinburgh. He was at the school during its relocation from High School Yards to

Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...

in 1829. In 1840 his father was working from the Adjutant General's Office at 1 Grove Street in Edinburgh. From 1841 he worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Rope Company on the north side of

Leith Links Leith Links ( gd, Fìghdean Lìte) is the principal open space within Leith, the docks district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park is divided by a road into two main areas, a western section and an eastern section, both being largely flat ...

. He was then living at 15 Thomsons Place in Leith. By 1855 it had become Edinburgh Ropery and Sailcloth Manufactury and he had become Manager. He was by this time living at a relatively new villa, designed by Thomas Hamilton, facing over Leith Links to his place of work, from Claremont Park. He entered Leith Town Council in 1881 and became Provost later in the same year. He was a strong advocate of the Leith Improvement Scheme. begun by his predecessor, John Henderson. In 1885 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Dr Thomas Williamson, Sir

James Falshaw Sir James Falshaw, 1st Baronet JP, DL, FRSE (21 March 1810 – 14 June 1889), was a British railway engineer and politician. Life He was born in Leeds, of an "old yeoman family" and was the son of William Falshaw, wool merchant, and Hanna ...

, James Grant and Sir

Thomas Grainger Stewart Sir Thomas Grainger Stewart (23 September 1837, in Edinburgh – 3 February 1900, in Edinburgh) was an eminent Scottish physician who served as president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (1889–1891), president of the Medico-C ...

. He was also elected Deputy Lieutenant of Edinburgh in the same year. He died at home, 7 Claremont Park on

on 11 December 1886. He is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

against the southern wall of the main cemetery. The grave lies immediately to the right of the huge monument to David Low.

Family

He was married to Christina Lauder Hutchison (d.1890). His wife continued to live at Claremont Park until 1890. They had two daughters, Christina, Helen and Jane (who married Edwin Hirst). Their sons were David, Murray, James Hay and William Alexander. Their grandson Lt James Pringle White served in the

Liverpool Scottish The Liverpool Scottish, known as "the Scottish", was a unit of the British Army, part of the Army Reserve (formerly the Territorial Army), raised in 1900 as an infantry battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment). The Liverpool Scottish became af ...

and was killed at Hooge in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Artistic recognition

His portrait as Provost was painted by John A. Horsburgh in 1885 and is now held by the City of Edinburgh Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, James 1822 births 1886 deaths Politicians from Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Burials at Warriston Cemetery