James Erskine, Lord Grange
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James Erskine, Lord Grange (167920 January 1754) was a Scottish
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, ...
, judge and politician. He served as
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 ...
and a
Lord of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cour ...
. The son of
Charles Erskine, Earl of Mar Charles Erskine, Earl of Mar (19 October 165023 May 1689) was a Scottish nobleman. He is regarded as both the 22nd earl (in the 1st creation) and the 5th earl (in the 7th). He raised the 21st Regiment of Foot, or Royal Scots Fusiliers, in 1679, ...
, by his spouse Lady Mary, eldest daughter of George Maule, 2nd
Earl of Panmure Earl of Panmure was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1646 for Sir Patrick Maule, a former Gentleman of the Bedchamber to James VI and loyal follower of Charles I. He was made Lord Brechin and Navar at the same time, also in ...
, he was also brother of
John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar 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 * Second ...
. Educated 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, ...
, he was raised to the bench on 18 October 1706. He was nominated a Lord of Justiciary in place of David Home, Lord Crocerig on 6 June the same year, and took the title Lord Grange. On 27 July 1710 he succeeded
Adam Cockburn of Ormiston Adam Cockburn, Laird of Ormiston, Lord Ormiston (1656 – 16 April 1735), was a Scottish administrator, politician and judge. He served as Commissioner for Haddington Constabulary in the parliaments of 1681-2 and 1689, and in the conventions ...
as
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 ...
. He took no part in the
Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...
, although there is little doubt that at times he was in communication with the
Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometime ...
; but was rather known for his piety and for his sympathy with the
Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
. In 1724 he, and
David Erskine, Lord Dun David Erskine, Lord Dun (1670–1758), 13th Laird of Dun, was a Scottish advocate, judge and commissioner to parliament. Erskine, son of David Erskine of Dun, near Montrose, in Angus, studied at the universities of St. Andrews and Paris. He be ...
purchased the forfeited
Earldom of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. Th ...
from the government, which they promptly reorganised, and sold off. He is more famous, however, owing to the story of his wife's disappearance. This lady, Rachel Chiesley, was a woman of disordered intellect; probably with reason she suspected her husband of infidelity, and after some years of unhappiness Grange arranged a plan for her seizure. In January 1732 she was conveyed with great secrecy from Edinburgh to the
Monach Islands The Monach Islands, also known as Heisker ( gd, Eilean Heisgeir / , ), are an island group west of North Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The islands are not to be confused with Hyskeir in the Inner Hebrides, or Haskeir which is also o ...
for two years, thence
Hirta Hirta ( gd, Hiort) is the largest island in the St Kilda archipelago, on the western edge of Scotland. The names (in Scottish Gaelic) and ''Hirta'' (historically in English) have also been applied to the entire archipelago. Now without a perman ...
in St Kilda, where she remained for about ten years, thence she was taken to
Assynt Assynt ( gd, Asainn or ) is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with ...
in
Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
, and finally to
Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...
. To complete the idea that she was dead her funeral was publicly celebrated, but she survived until May 1745.Macaulay, Margaret (2010), ''The Prisoner of St. Kilda: The True Story of the Unfortunate Lady Grange'', Luath Press Ltd., Edinburgh Meanwhile, in 1734 Grange resigned his offices in the
Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...
and Justiciary, and became 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 of ...
where he was a bitter opponent of
Sir Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leade ...
. His objective of being appointed
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...
was a failure. For a short time after leaving parliament he returned to the
Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
. Erskine stood in opposition to the
Witchcraft Act 1735 The Witchcraft Act 1735 (9 Geo. 2 c. 5) was an Act of the Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1735 which made it a crime for a person to claim that any human being had magical powers or was guilty of practising witchcraft. With this, t ...
, which – unlike previous laws – did not assume that witches actually existed and made pacts with Satan, but rather assumed that anyone who claimed to be actually practising
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
was a cheater seeking to defraud people. The only figure to offer significant opposition to the Act was Erskine. Erskine not only fervently believed in the existence of witchcraft, but, it has been argued, also held beliefs that were deeply rooted in "Scottish political and religious considerations" and which caused him to reject the Act. His objection to the Act "marked him out as an eccentric verging on the insane" among Members of Parliament, and in turn his political opponents would use it against him; one of his staunchest critics,
Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...
, who was then the ''de facto'' Prime Minister of the country, allegedly stating that he no longer considered Erskine to be a serious political threat as a result of his embarrassing opposition to the Act. Davies 1999. p. 2. He died in London on 20 January 1754, aged 75 years.


In Fiction

James Erskine, Lord Grange, features as a character in Andrew Drummond's fantasy novel. ''The Books of the Incarceration of the Lady Grange'' (2016).


References

* * '' Edinburgh Magazine'', 1817. * ''An Historical Account of the Senators of the College of Justice of Scotland'', by Sir David Dalrymple of Hailes, Bt., with some further editing and additions, Edinburgh, 1849.


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, James 1679 births 1754 deaths Protestant Jacobites Scottish Jacobites Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies
Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...
Younger sons of earls Members of the Faculty of Advocates 18th-century Scottish judges Scottish Protestants British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747