Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd, (born Andrew Greenfield; 21 June 1791 – 13 December 1854) 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 ...

advocate, judge and politician.

Early life

Rutherfurd was born at Bristo Port (near

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

) in Edinburgh on 21 June 1791 to Janet Rutherfurd Bervie, and Reverend William Greenfield. In 1799, after his father was disgraced in a sex scandal, the family changed their name to Rutherfurd, his maternal grandmother's maiden name. His main house was

Lauriston Castle Lauriston Castle is a 16th-century tower house with 19th-century extensions overlooking the Firth of Forth, in Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies on Cramond Road South, between Cramond, Davidson's Mains, and Silverknowes. The substantial grounds, La ...

near

Cramond Cramond Village (; ) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman activity. In modern ...

just north-west of the city. His sister married John Gordon

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

, father of John Thomson Gordon

. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Edinburgh's Old Town, then studied law at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

in 1812.

Career

In the 1830s, he was listed as an advocate living at 9, St Colme Street, on the Moray Estate in Edinburgh's west end. His house was remodelled by

William Notman William Notman (8 March 1826 – 25 November 1891) was a Scottish-Canadian photographer and businessman. The Notman House in Montreal was his home from 1876 until his death in 1891, and it has since been named after him. Notman was the fi ...

in 1835, whilst working in the offices of

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and many of Edinb ...

. He was appointed

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 ...

from 1837, becoming

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

in 1839 and Member of Parliament for Leith burghs in the same year. He was appointed Lord Advocate of Scotland in 1839, passing bills including removal of the restriction of the printing of Bibles to license holders only, and Bibles could be printed without restriction for the first time. He resigned office as MP in September 1841 on William Peel's accession to power. He was appointed Rector of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in December 1844, adopting the role from January 1845.Omond, George William Thomson: ''The Lord Advocates of Scotland: 2d Series, 1834–1880'', A. Melrose Ltd, 1914, pp. 47–49. He played an active part in parliamentary proceedings relating to Scotland, and proposed the repeal of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

in 1846. He was reappointed Lord Advocate in 1846, and was responsible for legislation and amending the law of entail in Scotland in 1848. He served on the Royal Commission on the British Museum (1847–49). On 2 January 1849 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, his proposer being John Russell. He was appointed a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court ...

in place of Lord Moncreiff, as Lord Rutherfurd and a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in May 1851. From 1851 to 1854 he was a Lord of Session.

Personal life

In 1822, Rutherfurd married Sophia Frances Stewart, one of three daughters and two sons born to Mary Susanna ( Whaley) Stewart (a daughter of Richard Chapell Whaley, MP of Whaley Abbey) and Sir James Stewart, 7th Baronet, MP for Donegal. They had no children. His wife died in 1852 and was buried in Dean Cemetery under a spectacular red granite pyramid. Lord Rutherfurd died on 13 December 1854 at 9 St Colme Street, his Edinburgh townhouse. He is buried with his wife at

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

in western Edinburgh. He had no children and his estates passed to a nephew Andrew Clark, who conditionally changed his name to Andrew Rutherfurd-Clark.

Legacy

At Dean Cemetery, he was buried on Lord's Row, against the western wall, beneath a red granite pyramid designed by

and built by Stewart McGlashan. The monument is inscribed: ("Andrew Rutherfurd, surviving against his will, placed this tomb in mourning to his most beloved wife, and to himself, 1852".)

Artistic Recognition

A full length portrait by

John Watson Gordon Sir John Watson Gordon (1788 – 1 June 1864) was a Scottish Portrait painting, portrait painter and president of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Gordon was born in 1788, in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Captain Watson, R.A., a cadet ...

was commissioned by Leith Town Council and hung in the Leith Chambers on Queen Charlotte Street.Antiquities of Leith vol.2 by J Campbell Irons

Galley

File:Sir John Watson Gordon - Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd, 1791 - 1854. Judge - PG 710 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, Portrait of Lord Rutherfurd, by Sir

, File:Grave of Andrew, Lord Rutherford, Dean Cemetery Edinburgh.jpg, Grave in the Dean Cemetery File:Andrew Rutherfurd and his wife, Sophia.jpg, Andrew Rutherfurd and his wife, Sophia File:Bust of Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd, by William Theod Rome (1837) Old College, Edinburgh University.jpg, Bust of Rutherfurd, by William Theod Rome (1837) Old College, University of Edinburgh File:9 St Colme Street, Edinburgh.JPG, Rutherfurd's home at 9 St Colme Street, Edinburgh (centre: blue door)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutherfurd, Andrew 1791 births 1854 deaths Rutherfurd Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies Members of the Faculty of Advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 People associated with the British Museum Burials at the Dean Cemetery Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Solicitors general for Scotland Lord advocates Politics of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Glasgow Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies