John Hamilton, Lord Magdalens (1561–1632) was a 16th/17th century Scottish judge and

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 ...

Life

He was the son of Thomas Hamilton, Lord Priestfield, 3rd Laird of Priestfield, and his second wife, Elizabeth Murray, daughter of Sir Andrew Murray of Black Barony. His elder brothers included

Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas t ...

and Andrew Hamilton, Lord Redhouse. He owned the Magdalens estate, east of

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

. He later also had a house near

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( , Scots: ''The Pans'') is a mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the council area of East Lothian. The population as of is . It is near the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans (first ...

. In July 1622 he was created a

: an Ordinary

Lord of Session 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 ...

. He was also

Lord Clerk Register The office of Lord Clerk Register (Scottish Gaelic: ''Clàr Morair Clèireach'') is the oldest remaining Great Officer of State in Scotland, with origins in the 13th century. It historically had important functions in relation to the maintenanc ...

of Scotland. In 1626 he built Preston House in Preston village in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

, south of Prestonpans, sometimes then called "Lord Magdalens House". The house is now called the "Hamilton House". He died at

Holyrood House The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has ...

(prior to it becoming a royal palace) on 28 November 1632 and is buried in

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a List of British royal residences, royal r ...

. His position as

was filled by John Hay, Lord Barra.

Trivia

Dying with no sons the Magdalens estate was sold to the Dundas family. The estate is now home to the St Magdalene distillery. His house in East Lothian was taken over by the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

in 1937.Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam

Family

In 1602 he married his cousin, Agnes Hamilton. They had two daughters: Anna and Elizabeth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, John 1561 births 1632 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh Senators of the College of Justice Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630