John Hay, 4th Marquess of Tweeddale, (16959 December 1762) was a Scottish nobleman.

Early life

He was the eldest son of Charles Hay, 3rd Marquess of Tweeddale and the former Lady Susan Hamilton, the widow of John Cochrane, 2nd Earl of Dundonald, the second daughter of William Douglas-Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, and Anne Hamilton, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' Duchess of Hamilton (eldest daughter and co-heiress of

James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (19 June 1606 – 9 March 1649), known as the 3rd Marquess of Hamilton from March 1625 until April 1643, was a Scottish nobleman and influential political and military leader during the Thirty Years' War and ...

). His paternal grandparents were John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale and the former Lady Mary Maitland (a daughter of

John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of Scotland, PC (24 May 1616 – 24 August 1682) was a Scottish statesman and peer. Background Maitland was a member of an ancient family of both Berwickshire an ...

and the former Anne Home). His uncle, Lord John Hay, commanded the famous regiment of dragoons, afterwards called the

Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

, at the

Battle of Ramillies The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand AllianceAustria, England, and the Dutch Republicthe battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of K ...

. His paternal aunts were Lady Anne Hay (the third wife of

William Ross, 12th Lord Ross William Ross, 12th Lord Ross (c.1656 – 15 March 1738), was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Origins Ross was born in about 1656. He was the son and heir of George Ross, 11th Lord Ross, who died in 1682, by Grizel, daughter of W ...

) and Lady Jean Hay (wife of John Hamilton-Leslie, 9th Earl of Rothes).

Career

Tweeddale had legal knowledge, and was appointed an Extraordinary Lord of Session in 1721, the last person to hold this office. He was one of the

Scottish representative peer This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Scotland to sit in the House of Lords after the Acts of Union 1707 abolished the unicameral Parliament of Scotland, where all Scottish Peers had been entit ...

s from 1722 to 1734 and from 1742 to 1762. On the downfall of

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 Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

in February 1742,

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, (22 March 16847 July 1764) was an English Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and peer who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons from 1707 to 1742 when he was r ...

had the office of

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...

revived (it had been in abeyance since 1739), and the Marquess of Tweeddale appointed to it, also making Tweeddale Principal Keeper of the Signet 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 ...

. English members of the Government rejected the idea that a Jacobite insurrection was at hand. Tweeddale, who was in London in 1745, was also sceptical, and even after he was aware that the Highlanders had left

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in their march to the south, he wrote to the Lord Advocate, "I flatter myself they have been able to make no great progress", on the day when the

Young Pretender Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

entered the

Palace of Holyroodhouse 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 ...

. In February 1746, when the rebellion was still active, a ministerial crisis took place. When the King refused to admit Pitt to the Government,

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who serv ...

, the Prime Minister resigned, along with the members of the administration who supported him. When

Earl Granville Earl Granville is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is now held by members of the Leveson-Gower family. First creation The first creation came in the Pee ...

and Tweeddale unsuccessfully attempted to form a Ministry, Pelham returned to office. Granville and Tweeddale were excluded from the reconstructed Government. The office of Secretary of State for Scotland was abolished a second time, and Tweeddale resigned his office of Keeper of the Signet. Tweeddale was Governor of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...

from 1742 and

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

in 1761 until his death in London in 1762. During this period he built or converted a large mansion in Edinburgh between Hyndfords Close and St Marys Wynd: an area noe called Tweedale Court, which had long gardens running down to the

Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...

Personal life

He married Lady Elizabeth (or Frances) Carteret, daughter of

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763 and worked closely with the ...

in 1748, and they had four daughters and two sons. The eldest son died in infancy; the younger, George, became fifth Marquess, and died in 1770 at age 13. The title then devolved on his uncle, George Hay. Frances was described by Horace Walpole and the Earl of Morton as merry, good company, and able to sing French, Greek, and Scotch songs.

Free Gardener

Hay was a Free Gardener. He was Initiated in the

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

Lodge of Free Gardeners in 1721 and was immediately made Chancellor (Master) of the Lodge. His interest in the Lodge of Free Gardeners was an abiding one for he was again recorded as being Chancellor of the Lodge in 1742. There is no record of him becoming a Freemason.Freemasons, Templars & Gardeners. Robert L D Cooper. 2005. Ed. Tony Pope. pp. 40–41. .

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, John 4th Marquess Of Tweeddale 1695 births Tweeddale, John Hay, 4th Marquess Tweeddale, John Hay, 4th Marquess Tweeddale, John Hay, 4th Marquess Tweeddale, John Hay, 4th Marquess Lords Justice-General Governors of the Bank of Scotland Tweeddale Tweeddale 4 Free Gardeners