Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Kinross elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

and in the Convention of the Estates.

History of the constituency

The small barons and

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England * Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

ers were first authorised to elect "commissioners of the shire" to represent them in Parliament by an act of

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

in 1428; the sheriffdom of Kinross was to be represented by one commissioner. This act, however, remained inoperative, and the representation of the shires was not established until 1587. For many years the majority of Kinross-shire was owned by the

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morto ...

and the Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who already sat in Parliament as peers. There was therefore no commissioner for the shire, except during the

Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

when the sheriffdoms of Fife and Kinross were jointly represented by one Member of Parliament at Westminster from 1654 to 1659. This situation continued until the 1670s when Lord Morton's estate of

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are conn ...

, comprising most of the shire, was purchased by

Sir William Bruce Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet (c. 1630 – 1 January 1710), was a Scottish gentleman-architect, "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland," as Howard Colvin observes.Colvin, p.172–176 As a key figure in introduc ...

of Balcaskie. Having been elected commissioner, Bruce was allowed to represent the shire according to former custom, by Royal Letter of 13 August 1681.

List of shire commissioners

* 1681–82 and 1685–86:

G. E. C., ''The Complete Baronetage'', volume IV (1904
pp. 269

270
* 1689 convention and 1689–1690, 1700–1702: Sir David Arnot of Arnot''Complete Baronetage'', volume II (1902
p. 365
* 1702–07:

John Bruce John Bruce may refer to: * Sir John Bruce, 2nd Baronet (before 1671–1711), Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland; MP * John Bruce (historiographer) (1745–1826), Scottish politician, East India Company historiographer and Secretary to the ...

of KinrossD. W. Hayton
BRUCE, John (d. 1711), of Kinross House, Kinross.
in ''

The History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1690-1715'' (2002).

After the Union

The commissioner for Kinross, John Bruce (son and later heir of Sir William) was chosen as one of the

Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain The Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain, serving from 1 May 1707 to 26 May 1708, were not elected like their colleagues from England and Wales, but rather hand-picked. The forty five men sent to London in 1707, to t ...

, sitting from 1707 until the general election of 1708. After 1708

Kinross-shire The County of Kinross or Kinross-shire is a historic county and registration county in eastern Scotland, administered as part of Perth and Kinross since 1930. Surrounding its largest settlement and county town of Kinross, the county borders Per ...

and

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 ...

were alternately represented by one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Great Britain.

History of the constituency

List of shire commissioners

After the Union

References

See also