James Erskine, Lord Barjarg and Alva (20 June 1722 – 13 May 1796) was an 18th-century Scottish lawyer who rose to be a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice 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 of Session); ...

. For convenience his name was usually contracted to James Erskine, Lord Alva.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, the son of

Charles Erskine, Lord Tinwald Charles Erskine also spelled Areskine (1680 – 5 April 1763), of Tinwald and Barjarg, Dumfries, and Alva, Clackmannan was Lord Advocate, a Scottish judge, and a politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1742. Life Erskine ...

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

of Scotland, and his wife, Grisel Grierson. He became an advocate in 1743 and made Sheriff-Depute of Perthshire in 1748. In 1754 he became a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...

and in 1758

Knight Marshal The Knight Marshal is a former office in the British Royal Household established by King Henry III in 1236. The position later became a Deputy to the Earl Marshal from the reign of King Henry VIII until the office was abolished in 1846. The Kni ...

of Scotland. In 1761 he replaced Patrick Boyle, Lord Shewalton as a

. On the death of his father in 1763 he inherited both his Edinburgh property, Drumsheugh House, and Alva House in

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the hi ...

. In 1772, he changed his title to Lord Alva when he inherited the estate of the Erskines of

Alva, Clackmannanshire Alva (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ailbheach'', meaning rocky) is a small town in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is one of a number of towns situated immediately to the south of the Ochil Hills, collectively referred to as th ...

. He lived at Drumsheugh House in western Edinburgh. In 1758, he was appointed

Knight Marischal The office of Knight Marischal was first created for the Scottish coronation of Charles I in 1633, at Scone. Unlike the separate office of Marischal, the office of Knight Marischal is not heritable, and has continued to be filled up to the deat ...

. He died on 13 May 1796 at Drumsheugh House in western Edinburgh and was buried in St Cuthberts Churchyard. The grave lies on the first dividing wall north of the church, just west of the large monument to

Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland Alexander Murray, Lord Henderland (11 May 1736 – 16 March 1795) was a Scottish judge and politician. Life Born at Murrayfield House west of Edinburgh's Old Town on 11 May 1736, he was the son of Archibald Murray of Cringletie, an advocate. ...

. His place as Senator was filled by Robert Cullen, Lord Cullen. Drumsheugh House was demolished around 1860 to build the link road between the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Back ...

and the Haymarket area, now called Drumsheugh Gardens.

Family

He was married to Jean Stirling (1719–1797), daughter of John Stirling of Herbertshire.Grave of James Erskine, St Cuthbert's Churchyard, Edinburgh Their daughter, Isabella Erskine (d.1827), married Lt Col Patrick Tytler, son of Lord Alva's legal colleague,

William Tytler William Tytler WS FRSE (1711–1792) was a Scottish lawyer, known as a historical writer. He wrote ''An Inquiry into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots'', against the views of William Robertson. He discovered the manuscript the ''"Kingis Q ...

and grandson of Alexander Fraser Tytler. His older brother was

Charles Erskine (1716–1749) Charles Erskine (21 October 1716 – 25 June 1749) was a Scottish lawyer and politician. He sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1747 to 1749. The oldest son of Charles Erskine, Lord Tinwald, he was educated at Corpus Christi Colle ...

but as Charles died before the father he inherited neither title nor land.

References

1722 births 1796 deaths 18th-century Scottish judges Senators of the College of Justice Lawyers from Edinburgh

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

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