Sir James Shaw, 1st Baronet (26 August 1764 – 22 October 1843), became

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

in 1805. (Requires login or UK library card for access) From humble beginnings in a farming family in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, he became a successful merchant and politician; he was a relation of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

and used his wealth to support Burns's orphaned children. As Lord Mayor of London, he led the funeral procession of

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

in 1806, having established his right to do so and was created

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

twice, in 1809 and 1813. While later

Chamberlain of London The Chamberlain of the City of London is an ancient office of the City of London, dating back to at least 1237. The Chamberlain is the finance director of the City of London Corporation. The Chamberlain is responsible for making arrangements for ...

, he almost lost his own fortune due to injudicious investments, and died, exonerated, in 1843.

Early life and career

Shaw was born on 26 August 1764, in Riccarton,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

, Scotland, the son of a "respectable farmer", John Shaw, whose family had farmed the area of Mosshead for over 300 years, and Hellen Sellars. On the death of his father, the family moved to Kilmarnock, and Shaw studied at the local

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

. At the age of 17, he followed his elder brother to America to seek work, returning after three years to take up a position in the same company's London offices and becoming a junior partner in the firm. He became a wealthy merchant and financially assisted the children of

after Burns's death in 1796. He was elected

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for

Portsoken Portsoken, traditionally referred to with the definite article as the Portsoken, is one of the City of London, England's 25 ancient wards, which are still used for local elections. Historically an extra-mural ward, lying east of the former Lond ...

in 1798 and became

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

and Middlesex in 1803.

Lord Mayor of London

Sir James Shaw A worthy alderman of London

Shaw had developed a reputation as a "gentleman and a citizen" and was sponsored for the office of

by the

Scriveners' Company The Worshipful Company of Scriveners is an ancient Livery Company of the City of London. Originally known as the ''Mysterie of the Writers of the Court Letter'' and, since its incorporation, as the ''Master Wardens and Assistants of the Company ...

, and became only the second member of that

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

to achieve that honour. Having taken office in 1805, Shaw determined to re-establish the tradition whereby the Lord Mayor took precedence in public processions within the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

over all except the reigning monarch, and took the opportunity of the funeral of

in 1806 to do so. According to one account, Shaw discussed the matter with the Prime Minister,

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. Before becoming Prime Minister he had been Foreign Secretary, ...

, who was aware that the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

would be attending the funeral, but did not seem willing to take action. Shaw then offered to visit the King himself at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

to resolve the matter, and Liverpool said that he would see what could be done. By the following day, the

Royal Warrant of Precedence A royal warrant of precedence is a warrant issued by the monarch of the United Kingdom to determine precedence amongst individuals or organisations. Most warrants of this type are issued to grant a rank to a member of the nobility or gentry th ...

had been granted, and Shaw duly led the procession.

Baronetcy and later career

Shaw was created Baronet, of Kilmarnock, in the County of Ayr by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

in 1809, and re-created in 1813 by a second

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

to include a

future interest In property law and real estate, a future interest is a legal right to property ownership that does not include the right to present possession or enjoyment of the property. Future interests are created on the formation of a defeasible estate; t ...

for his nephew. As such, he was appointed a Member of Parliament for London until 1818, but thereafter sat as an

until he resigned in May 1843. In 1831 he was also appointed

, and was almost ruined as he inadvertently invested £40,000, then a huge sum, of city funds in fake Exchequer bills. On discovering his error, he began to liquidate all his property to repay the sum, but was cleared by a commission of enquiry. Shaw resigned all his positions in 1843 due to long-term illness and died some six months later on 22 October. Shaw was unmarried, and normally his baronetcy would have become extinct on his death, but because of the second patent, the title passed to his nephew, John Shaw. Shaw was also President of

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...

from 1806 to 1831 and President of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

from 1829 to 1843.

Legacy

Shaw is commemorated in

town centre by a statue of Carrara marble, about 17 feet tall, on a base of Aberdeen granite, executed by sculptor James Fillans (1808–52). The cost was defrayed by public subscription, which raised almost £1000. It was unveiled on 4 August 1848 and was originally located at the Kilmarnock Cross. On 28 March 1929 the statue was moved to the area of The Dick Institute just off the London Road because of the increase in traffic around the centre of the town. It was described as His portrait (''pictured above'') is also shown in the

Guildhall, London Guildhall is a municipal building in the City of London, England. It is off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. The current building dates from the 15th century; however documentary evidence suggests that a ...

References

External links