
Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath (c. 1630 – 1689) was a Scottish
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barri ...
, judge and
commissioner to parliament who was murdered.
Life
In 1644 he purchased from Sir Thomas Hope the mansion of
Robert Gourlay on the
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
in Edinburgh, very close to the Law Courts.
The second son of Sir
James Lockhart of Lee, laird of Lee, he was admitted as an
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barri ...
in 1656. He was knighted in 1663, and was appointed Dean of the
Faculty of Advocates in 1672. He was celebrated for his persuasive eloquence. In 1674, when he was disbarred for alleged disrespect to 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 ...
in advising an appeal to parliament, fifty advocates showed their sympathy for him by withdrawing from practice. Lockhart was readmitted in 1676, and became the leading advocate in political trials, in which he usually appeared for the defence.
He lived on Mauchine's Close, previously the home of Sir Thomas Hope (and later swept way by the construction of Melbourne Place on
George IV Bridge).
He was a
Commissioner to the Scottish Parliament
A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other cou ...
for
Lanarkshire in 1681/82 and 1685/86. He was appointed
Lord President of the Court of Session in 1685, and a
Privy Counsellor and a
commissioner of the Exchequer in 1686. Lockhart purchased the extensive estates of the
Earls of Carnwath in Lanarkshire, which were inherited by his eldest son,
George Lockhart of Lee (1673–1731), whose mother was Philadelphia, daughter of
Lord Wharton.
Lockhart was murdered in Edinburgh returning from church on
Easter Sunday, 31 March 1689, the service being by
William Hay, Bishop of Moray, by John Chieslie of
Dalry, the father of
Lady Grange
Rachel Chiesley (baptised 4 February 1679 – 12 May 1745), usually known as Lady Grange, was the wife of James Erskine, Lord Grange, Lord Grange, a Scottish lawyer with Jacobitism, Jacobite sympathies. After 25 years of marriage and ...
, and older brother to
Robert Chieslie, a future
Lord Provost of Edinburgh. Chiesley had been unhappily married to Margaret Nicholson, mother of their ten children. Margaret took her husband to court for
aliment. She was awarded 1,700
merks
The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...
by Sir George. Furious with the decision, Chiesley decided to kill Lockhart.
The Chiesleys attended the same Easter Sunday service as Lord Carnwath. John followed Lord Carnwath, who was accompanied by his cousins, John Lockhart (Lord Castlehill) and Daniel Lockhart, from
St Giles Cathedral
St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...
, up the
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
a short distance, and down Mauchine's Close to Lockhart's house. Here Chieslie shot him in the back, just outside his house.
[Margaret Macauley, ''The Prisoner of St Kilda: The true story of the unfortunate Lady Grange''. Edinburgh: Luath, 2009. )] The assailant made no attempt to escape and confessed at his trial, held before the
Lord Provost, Magnus Prince (or Prize), the next day. Two days later he was taken from the
Tolbooth to the
Mercat Cross on the High Street. His right hand was cut off here, and then nailed onto the gates of West Port.
[
He was then taken to the gibbet at the Gallowlee (the junction of Pilrig Street and Leith Walk) where he was then hanged, and the pistol he had used for the murder was placed round his neck.
Lockhart is buried in the distinctive domed mausoleum of Sir George Mackenzie on the south side of Greyfriars Kirkyard.][Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland: The Caledonian Society of Scotland]
See also
* Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange
Notes
Sources
*Concise Dictionary of National Biography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, George
1689 deaths
Lords President of the Court of Session
Year of birth uncertain
Deans of the Faculty of Advocates
Scottish knights
Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland
Members of the Privy Council of Scotland
Scottish murder victims
17th-century Scottish judges
17th-century Scottish people
English MPs 1659
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682
Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1685–1686
Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard