Sir James Shaw, 1st Baronet (26 August 1764 – 22 October 1843), became

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

in 1805. (Requires login or UK library card for access) From humble beginnings in a farming family in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of ...

, he became a successful merchant and politician; he was a relation of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

and used his wealth to support Burns's orphaned children. As Lord Mayor of London, he led the funeral procession of

Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought a ...

in 1806, having established his right to do so and was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

twice, in 1809 and 1813. While later

Chamberlain of London The Chamberlain of the City of London is an ancient office of the City of London, dating back to at least 1237. The Chamberlain is the finance director of the City of London Corporation. They are the financial adviser, accountant, receiver and pa ...

, he almost lost his own fortune due to injudicious investments, and died, exonerated, in 1843.

Early life and career

Shaw was born on 26 August 1764, in

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scotlan ...

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

, Scotland, the son of a "respectable farmer", John Shaw, whose family had farmed the area of Mosshead for over 300 years, and Hellen Sellars. On the death of his father, the family moved to Kilmarnock, and Shaw studied at the local

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

. At the age of 17, he followed his elder brother to America to seek work, returning after three years to take up a position in the same company's London offices and becoming a junior partner in the firm. He became a wealthy merchant and financially assisted the children of

after Burns's death in 1796. He was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

for

Portsoken Portsoken, traditionally referred to with the definite article as the Portsoken, is one of the City of London's 25 ancient wards, which are still used for local elections. Historically an extra-mural Ward, lying east of Aldgate and the City wall ...

in 1798 and became

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

and Middlesex in 1803.

Lord Mayor of London

Sir James Shaw A worthy alderman of London

Shaw had developed a reputation as a "gentleman and a citizen" and was sponsored for the office of

by the

Scriveners' Company The Worshipful Company of Scriveners is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. The Scriveners Company was originally known as the ''Mysterie of the Writers of the Court Letter'' and, since its incorporation, as ''Master Wardens ...

, and became only the second member of that

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometim ...

to achieve that honour. Having taken office in 1805, Shaw determined to re-establish the tradition whereby the Lord Mayor took precedence in public processions within the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

over all except the reigning monarch, and took the opportunity of the funeral of

in 1806 to do so. According to one account, Shaw discussed the matter with the Prime Minister,

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He held many important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secret ...

, who was aware that the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illne ...

would be attending the funeral, but did not seem willing to take action. Shaw then offered to visit the King himself at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

to resolve the matter, and Liverpool said that he would see what could be done. By the following day, the Royal Warrant of Precedence had been granted, and Shaw duly led the procession.

Baronetcy and later career

Shaw was created Baronet, of Kilmarnock, in the County of Ayr by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1809, and re-created in 1813 by a second

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

to include a

future interest In property law and real estate, a future interest is a legal right to property ownership that does not include the right to present possession or enjoyment of the property. Future interests are created on the formation of a defeasible estate; t ...

for his nephew. As such, he was appointed a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for London until 1818, but thereafter sat as an

until he resigned in May 1843. In 1831 he was also appointed

, and was almost ruined as he inadvertently invested £40,000, then a huge sum, of city funds in fake Exchequer bills. On discovering his error, he began to liquidate all his property to repay the sum, but was cleared by a commission of enquiry. Shaw resigned all his positions in 1843 due to long-term illness and died some six months later on 22 October. Shaw was unmarried, and normally his baronetcy would have become extinct on his death, but because of the second patent, the title passed to his nephew, John Shaw. Shaw was also President of

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (die ...

from 1806 to 1831 and President of the Honourable Artillery Company from 1829 to 1843.

Legacy

Shaw is commemorated in

town centre by a statue of Carrara marble, about 17 feet tall, on a base of Aberdeen granite, executed by sculptor James Fillans (1808–52). The cost was defrayed by public subscription, which raised almost £1000. It was unveiled on 4 August 1848 and was originally located at the Kilmarnock Cross. On 28 March 1929 the statue was moved to the area of The Dick Institute just off the London Road because of the increase in traffic around the centre of the town. It was described as His portrait (''pictured above'') is also shown in the

Guildhall, London Guildhall is a municipal building in the Moorgate area of the City of London, England. It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The building has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and ...

References

External links