Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield (4 May 1722 – 30 May 1799) was a Scottish advocate and judge.

Life

McQueen was born at Braxfield House near

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

on 4 May 1722, son of John McQueen. He studied law at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

and was admitted to 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 constit ...

in 1744. In 1759 he was appointed an Advocate Depute appearing for the Crown in prosecutions. He often appeared in more than 15 cases per day and earned £1900 in a single year. He became a judge in 1776 and took the title Lord Braxfield. In 1788 he became

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 ...

, the second most senior judge in Scotland. Explicitly taking the view that "Government in this country is made up of the landed interest, which alone has a right to be represented" he took an active role in the suppression of the

Friends of the People Society The Society of the Friends of the People was an organisation in Great Britain that was focused on advocating for Parliamentary Reform. It was founded by the Whig Party in 1792. The Society in England was aristocratic and exclusive, in contrast ...

in the trials and sentences passed on Thomas Muir and others. To accomplish this he "invented a crime of unconscious sedition". A famous quote of his in this respect was "Let them bring me prisoners, and I will find them law." In 1795 he oversaw the trial and imprisonment of Sir Archibald Gordon Kinloch of Gilmerton for the murder of his half-brother Sir Francis Kinloch. This rare event saw one man kill another at least in part to inherit his baronetcy. He died at home in

George Square, Edinburgh George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for E ...

, on 30 May 1799, aged 77, and was buried in the family vault at Lanark on 5 June. After his death his widow moved from George Square to 97 Princes Street. Braxfield House was later the home of Robert Owen and

New Lanark New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometres) from Lanark, in Lanarkshire, and some southeast of Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1785 and opened in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and hou ...

was built nearby.

Family

He married, firstly, Mary Agnew, daughter of Major James Agnew of the 7th Dragoon Guards, and niece of Sir Andrew Agnew of Lochnaw, Wigtownshire, bart. They had four children: * Robert Dundas, who died on 5 August 1816, * John, captain in the 28th regiment of foot, who died on 2 February 1837, * Mary, who married in 1777

Sir William Honyman, Lord Armadale Sir William Honyman, 1st Baronet (December 1756 – 5 June 1835), also known by his judicial title Lord Armadale, was a Scottish landowner, and judge from Orkney. On his lands in Sutherland he was one of the first landlords to evict tenants in ...

, * Katherine, who married John Macdonald, chief of Clanranald, in 1786. Lord Braxfield married secondly, Elizabeth Ord, daughter of

Robert Ord The Right Hon. Lord Robert Ord FRS MP (1700 – 12 February 1778) was a British lawyer and politician. Life Ord was born the son of John Ord, Under-Sheriff of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, of Newbiggin, Fenham and Newminster, Northumberland, and his wi ...

, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer for Scotland. They had no further children.

Influence

Sir

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...

painted his portrait shortly before his death. Braxfield has a notoriety in Scotland, due to the harsh way that he dealt with those who appeared before him, most famously in telling a defendant that "Ye're a vera clever chiel, man, but ye wad be nane the waur o' a hanging". In a recent survey of Scottish historians, Braxfield was identified as one of the "vilest villains" in Scotland's history. He is thought to be the model for the judge in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's unfinished novel ''

Weir of Hermiston ''Weir of Hermiston'' (1896) is an unfinished novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is markedly different from his previous works in style and has often been praised as a potential masterpiece. It was cut short by Stevenson's sudden death in 18 ...

''. Braxfield Row in

his named after his estate. He was Trustee for the University of Edinburgh and South Bridge

References

;Attribution

External links

Portrait by Raeburn in the National Galleries of Scotland

Braxfield's testament
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braxfield, Lord 1722 births 1799 deaths People from South Lanarkshire Braxfield Members of the Faculty of Advocates People educated at Lanark Grammar School 18th-century Scottish judges Alumni of the University of Edinburgh