William Grant, Lord Prestongrange
Encyclopedia
William Grant Lord Prestongrange, was a Scottish politician and judge.
The second son of Sir Francis Grant, Lord Cullen, he was admitted as an advocate
in 1722, was procurator for the Church of Scotland
and Clerk to the General Assembly
in 1731. He campaigned against patronage in the Church. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland
in 1737 and promoted to Lord Advocate
in 1746.
He was Member of Parliament
for Elgin Burghs from 1747 to 1754, and carried bills for the abolition of heritable jurisdictions
, wardholding and for annexation of forfeited estates to the Crown.
William Grant of Prestongrange is known in history as the chief prosecutor of "James of the Glen” Stewart for aiding and abetting “The Appin Murder
” -- the May 1752 ambush and murder of Colin “The Red Fox” Campbell.
Lee Holcombe, Ph.D., Ancient Animosity, The Appin Murder and the End of Scottish Rebellion, p 356 (Author House; Bloomington, IN; 2004), wrote:
“The person with chief responsibility for developing and conducting the case against James Stewart was Lord Advocate William Grant of Prestongrange. [A] man of fifty-one [in 1752], he could look back on a distinguished career and forward to still further advancement in his profession. The second son of a country gentleman of Banffshire, Prestongrange had decided … to pursue a legal career. He studied law at Edinburgh University and then at the Middle Temple in London; admitted as an advocate in 1722, he quickly built up a large practice. In 1731 he was named procurator (legal adviser) for the Church of Scotland and principal clerk of its general assembly, lucrative and influential positions he would hold for fifteen years. In 1737 Prestongrange became solicitor general …. In 1746 … Prestongrange became lord advocate…. As lord advocate and member of Parliament for the Elgin Burghs, Prestongrange played leading roles in prosecuting Jacobite rebels after the Forty-five and presenting in Parliament such important reform legislation as the act abolishing heritable jurisdictions and … the act annexing some of the forfeited Jacobite estates to the Crown. Two years after James Stewart’s trial, Prestongrange would be elevated to the bench as a lord of session and lord of justiciary, and would serve ably until his death in 1764.
“By all contemporary accounts Prestongrange was a man of unquestioned honour and integrity and deservedly a distinguished ornament of his profession. A colleague [Henry Home of Kames] penned this tribute: ‘There was in him a rectitude of moral feeling, and a principle of virtuous integrity, which regulated the whole of his conduct…. He performed his public duties conscientiously, with a mind ‘superior to all the illberable prejudices that are the offspring of party spirit,’ and in prosecuting criminals, ‘if at any time he allowed his passions to influence his conduct, it was ever on the side of mercy and humanity.’”
He was appointed a Lord of Session and Justiciary
as Lord Prestongrange in 1754, and a Commissioner of annexed estates in 1755.
He is described - simply as Lord Prestongrange - in famous Robert Louis Stevenson
's novel Catriona
.
The second son of Sir Francis Grant, Lord Cullen, he was admitted as an advocate
Faculty of Advocates
The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...
in 1722, was procurator for the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
and Clerk to the General Assembly
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
in 1731. He campaigned against patronage in the Church. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland
Solicitor General for Scotland
Her Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Government on Scots Law...
in 1737 and promoted to Lord Advocate
Lord Advocate
Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...
in 1746.
He was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Elgin Burghs from 1747 to 1754, and carried bills for the abolition of heritable jurisdictions
Heritable jurisdictions
Heritable jurisdictions were, in the law of Scotland, grants of jurisdiction made to a man and his heirs.They were a usual accompaniment to feudal tenures, and the power which they conferred on great families, being recognized as a source of danger to the state, led to frequent attempts being made...
, wardholding and for annexation of forfeited estates to the Crown.
William Grant of Prestongrange is known in history as the chief prosecutor of "James of the Glen” Stewart for aiding and abetting “The Appin Murder
Appin Murder
The Appin Murder occurred on May 14, 1752 near Appin in the north-west of Scotland, and it resulted in what is often held to be a notorious miscarriage of justice...
” -- the May 1752 ambush and murder of Colin “The Red Fox” Campbell.
Lee Holcombe, Ph.D., Ancient Animosity, The Appin Murder and the End of Scottish Rebellion, p 356 (Author House; Bloomington, IN; 2004), wrote:
“The person with chief responsibility for developing and conducting the case against James Stewart was Lord Advocate William Grant of Prestongrange. [A] man of fifty-one [in 1752], he could look back on a distinguished career and forward to still further advancement in his profession. The second son of a country gentleman of Banffshire, Prestongrange had decided … to pursue a legal career. He studied law at Edinburgh University and then at the Middle Temple in London; admitted as an advocate in 1722, he quickly built up a large practice. In 1731 he was named procurator (legal adviser) for the Church of Scotland and principal clerk of its general assembly, lucrative and influential positions he would hold for fifteen years. In 1737 Prestongrange became solicitor general …. In 1746 … Prestongrange became lord advocate…. As lord advocate and member of Parliament for the Elgin Burghs, Prestongrange played leading roles in prosecuting Jacobite rebels after the Forty-five and presenting in Parliament such important reform legislation as the act abolishing heritable jurisdictions and … the act annexing some of the forfeited Jacobite estates to the Crown. Two years after James Stewart’s trial, Prestongrange would be elevated to the bench as a lord of session and lord of justiciary, and would serve ably until his death in 1764.
“By all contemporary accounts Prestongrange was a man of unquestioned honour and integrity and deservedly a distinguished ornament of his profession. A colleague [Henry Home of Kames] penned this tribute: ‘There was in him a rectitude of moral feeling, and a principle of virtuous integrity, which regulated the whole of his conduct…. He performed his public duties conscientiously, with a mind ‘superior to all the illberable prejudices that are the offspring of party spirit,’ and in prosecuting criminals, ‘if at any time he allowed his passions to influence his conduct, it was ever on the side of mercy and humanity.’”
He was appointed a Lord of Session and Justiciary
Court of Session
The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....
as Lord Prestongrange in 1754, and a Commissioner of annexed estates in 1755.
He is described - simply as Lord Prestongrange - in famous Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's novel Catriona
Catriona (novel)
Catriona is a novel written in 1893 by Robert Louis Stevenson as a sequel to his earlier novel Kidnapped...
.