CHAMBERS(1869) p095 HOUSE OF ROBERT GOURLAY

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

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

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

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*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

Life

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