John Cockburn of Ormiston (died 1623) was a Scottish lawyer and landowner.

Career

He was the son of

John Cockburn of Ormiston John Cockburn, (d. 1583) laird of Ormiston, East Lothian, Scotland, was an early supporter of the Scottish Reformation. He was the eldest son of William Cockburn of Ormiston and Janet Somerville. John was usually called "Ormiston." During his lif ...

and Alison Sandilands (died 1584), a daughter of Sir John Sandilands of Calder. His older brother Alexander Cockburn died in 1563, his epitaph by

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

recording his travels and achievements engraved on a brass plate is at the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

. John Cockburn succeeded his father as laird 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 East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

in 1583.

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

came to Ormiston to hunt deer on 22 November 1588. Cockburn was a member of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

and the council ruling Scotland when

was in Norway and Denmark. He was knighted at the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

on 17 May 1590 and at Parliament in 1592. Cockburn was

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 ...

after

Lewis Bellenden Sir Lewis Bellenden of Auchnole and Broughton (c. 1552 – 27 August 1591, in Edinburgh), was the eldest son of Sir John Bellenden of Auchnole & Broughton, whom he succeeded as Lord Justice Clerk on 15 March 1577. Career He was knighted about 1577 ...

. On 26 October 1591, during the

North Berwick witch trials The North Berwick witch trials were the trials in 1590 of a number of people from East Lothian, Scotland, accused of witchcraft in the St Andrew's Auld Kirk in North Berwick on Halloween night. They ran for two years, and implicated over seventy ...

James VI gave him a commission to torture and punish those accused of witchcraft who refused to confess. Cockburn questioned David Graham of Fintry about the

Spanish Blanks The Spanish blanks plot was an alleged pro-Spanish Catholic conspiracy in Scotland, discovered in late 1592. A number of letters to Spain were discovered, which included blank sheets signed by prominent nobles. Background The Spanish Armada had f ...

affair in February 1593. An English diplomat Robert Bowes noted that Cockburn had hosted the Earls of Angus, Huntly, Errol, and Sir James Chisholme at Ormiston on 11 October 1593. The Earls met the King on the road at

Fala The Armed Forces of the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Forças Armadas de Libertação de Angola) or FALA was the armed wing of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), a prominent political faction during the Angolan Civil ...

the next day. As a member of the Privy Council, Cockburn went with others to

Stirling Castle Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland, both historically and architecturally. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological ...

in May 1603 to discuss and investigate a controversy involving

who wished to take custody of her son,

Prince Henry Prince Henry (or Prince Harry) may refer to: People *Henry the Young King (1155–1183), son of Henry II of England, who was crowned king but predeceased his father *Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal (1394–1460) *Henry, Duke of Cornwall (Ja ...

. In December 1593, Cockburn was appointed to a committee to audit the account of money spent by the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, John Maitland of Thirlestane, on the royal voyages. The funds in question came from the English subsidy and the dowry of Anne of Denmark.

Later years

In old age Cockburn lost his eyesight and mobility, and in December 1622 there were discussions about a replacement in the role of Lord Justice Clerk. He died in June 1623 according to Balfour, but his will gives his date of death as October 1626.

Marriage and family

He married Janet Home, a daughter of Alexander Home of

Manderston Manderston House, Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, is the home of The Rt Hon. The 4th Baron Palmer. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor, Sir James Miller, 2 ...

, and sister of the royal favourite Sir George Home. Janet Home was one of the women invited to attend

at her coronation in May 1590. Their children included: * Patrick Cockburn, whose son George Cockburn became laird of Ormiston * Margaret Cockburn, who married

Patrick Sinclair, 9th Lord Sinclair Patrick Sinclair (died 1617) was a Scottish nobleman and the 9th Lord Sinclair. In ''The Scots Peerage'' by James Balfour Paul he is designated as the 8th Lord Sinclair in descent starting from William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness, William Sinc ...

* Catherine Cockburn, who married James MacGill of Cranstoun-Riddill, later made Viscount Oxenfurd * Helen Cockburn, who married William Hay of Linplum * Jean Cockburn, married (1) John Murray of Touchadam, (2) William Lauder of

Haltoun Haltoun House, or Hatton House (or occasionally Argile House), was a Scottish baronial mansion set in a park, with extensive estates in the vicinity of Ratho, in the west of Edinburgh City Council area, Scotland. It was formerly in Midlothian, ...

He married, secondly, Elizabeth Bellenden, a daughter of John Bellenden of Auchnoule and Janet Seton, and widow of James Lawson of Humbie.Thomas Cockburn-Hood, ''House of Cockburn of that Ilk'' (Edinburgh, 1888), p. 142.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, John People from East Lothian

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 ...

1623 deaths 17th-century Scottish people 16th-century Scottish people Lords Justice Clerk 17th-century Scottish landowners