Thomas Maitland, Lord Dundrennan (9 October 1792 – 10 June 1851) was a Scottish

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

. He was

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

between 1840 and 1841 and again between 1846 and 1850. He was also Member of Parliament for

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ) or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an ...

between 1845 and 1850. In 1850 he was raised to become one of the Lords of Session and the Justiciary, as Lord Dundrennan.

Biography

Maitland, eldest son of Adam Maitland, was born at his father's seat, Cumstoun House,

, on 9 October 1792. He studied at Edinburgh, and was called to the Scottish bar in December 1813. After practising successfully for a quarter of a century, he was on 9 May 1840 appointed solicitor-general in

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

's administration. He vacated the office in September 1841 on the accession of the Tories under Peel to power. On the death of his father in July 1843 he succeeded to the family estates, and sat in parliament for Kirkcudbrightshire from 1845 to 1850.

Lord John Russell John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and again from 1865 to 186 ...

reappointed him solicitor-general on 6 July 1846, and he remained in office until January 1850. After Jeffrey's death he was on 6 February 1850 named a lord of the court of session, and took the title of Lord Dundrennan. While his own residence was being repaired, he went to stay with his brother, Edward Francis Maitland, Lord Barcaple, in 31 Melville Street, Edinburgh, and died there of paralysis on 10 June 1851.

Works

Dundrennan was devoted to antiquarian literature, and possessed a large library – "a monument", according to Cockburn, "honourable to his taste and judgment". The collection was dispersed by sale on 10 November 1851 and eight following days. Lord Jeffrey was an intimate friend, and in 1843 Dundrennan selected and arranged the volume of Jeffrey's contributions to the ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'', which was published in November of that year. Dundrennan also issued in limited editions reprints of works by Geoffrey Mynshull,

John Bellenden John Bellenden or Ballantyne ( 1533–1587?) of Moray (why Moray, a lowland family) was a Scottish writer of the 16th century. Life He was born towards the close of the 15th century, and educated at St. Andrews and Paris. At the request of ...

Marlowe Marlowe may refer to: Name * Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters with the surname or given name * Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator * Pat Marlowe (1933–1962), English socialite * Phili ...

, Bishop Hall, and

Thomas Carew Thomas Carew (pronounced as "Carey") (1595 – 22 March 1640) was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets. Biography He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife Alice, daughter of Sir John Rive ...

, and prepared for publication the ''Works'' of

Robert Herrick Robert Herrick may refer to: * Robert Herrick (novelist) (1868–1938), American novelist * Robert Herrick (poet) Robert Herrick (baptised 24 August 1591 – buried 15 October 1674) was a 17th-century English lyric poet and Anglican cleric. H ...

, with a biographical notice, (1823, 2 vols.), and for the

Maitland Club The Maitland Club was a Scottish historical and literary club and text publication society A text publication society is a learned society which publishes (either as its sole function, or as a principal function) scholarly editions of old works of ...

, the ''Poems'' of

William Drummond of Hawthornden William Drummond (13 December 15854 December 1649), called "of Hawthornden", was a Scottish poet. Life Drummond was born at Hawthornden Castle, Midlothian, to John Drummond, the first laird of Hawthornden, and Susannah Fowler, sister of the ...

(1832) the ''Works'' of Sir Thomas Urquhart (1834), and the ''Works'' of

George Dalgarno George Dalgarno (c. 1616 – 1687) was a Scottish intellectual interested in linguistic problems. Originally from Aberdeen, he later worked as a schoolteacher in Oxford in collaboration with John Wilkins, although the two parted company intellectu ...

of Aberdeen (1834

Family

On 3 July 1815 Maitland married Isabella Graham, fourth daughter of James McDowall of Garthland, Renfrewshire. By her he had four sons and two daughters. The Scottish judges, Henry Thomas Cockburn and John, Lord Fullerton, were his brothers-in-law, being married to sisters of his wife.

Notes

References

External links

* 1792 births 1851 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 Solicitors general for Scotland Dundrennan {{Scotland-UK-MP-stub