John Nisbet, Lord Dirleton, by John Scougall

Nisbet of Dirleton's house on the Canongate

John Nisbet, Lord Dirleton (c. 1609–1687) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

judge remembered for his prosecution of the

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covena ...

Life

He was the son of Sir Patrick Nisbet, Lord Eastbank, a Lord of Session, in turn son of Henry Nisbet of Dean,

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...

in 1597. John Nisbet was admitted as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

in 1633, he was sheriff-depute of Edinburghshire from 1639. In 1634 he acted for John Toash, the master of household to James Crichton of Frendraught. He was accused of burning down Frendraught Castle. Nisbet argued successfully that the case against Toash was disproved by the conviction of another suspect, John Meldrum. He defended

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet and soldier, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three ...

in 1641. He was appointed

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 ...

and raised to the bench with the judicial title Lord Dirleton in 1664. He severely persecuted the

Covenanter Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covena ...

s. He was a commissioner for the union of Scotland and England in 1670, and was forced to resign his position as Lord Advocate in 1677. In 1663, he purchased the estate of

Dirleton Dirleton is a village and civil parish in East Lothian, Scotland approximately east of Edinburgh on the A198. It contains . Dirleton lies between North Berwick (east), Gullane (west), Fenton Barns (south) and the Yellowcraigs nature reserve, ...

, in

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 hist ...

, which included

Dirleton Castle Dirleton Castle is a medieval fortress in the village of Dirleton, East Lothian, Scotland. It lies around west of North Berwick, and around east of Edinburgh. The oldest parts of the castle date to the 13th century, and it was abandoned by the ...

, and constructed Archerfield House not far distant. His Edinburgh townhouse was on the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. It began ...

at the head of Reid's Close, built in 1624 by his father, and distinguished by a square turret projecting over the pavement.Cassell's Old and New Edinburgh vol.III p.10

Publications

He was author of the legal work "Law Doubts" also known as "Dirleton's Doubts".

References

* 1600s births 1687 deaths 17th-century Scottish judges Lord Advocates

Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1667 {{UK-law-bio-stub

Life

Publications

See also

References