Scottish writer and Jacobite politician
Sir George Lockhart
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Sir_George_Lockhart_of_Carnwath.png/220px-Sir_George_Lockhart_of_Carnwath.png) Portrait by Sir John Baptiste de Medina
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In office
1708
?
1715
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Preceded by
| New constituency
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Succeeded by
| John Baird
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In office
1708
?
1708
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Preceded by
| New constituency
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Succeeded by
| William Cochrane
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In office
12 November 1702 ? 25 March 1707
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Succeeded by
| Constituency abolished
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Born
| 1673
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Died
| 17 December 1731 (aged 58)
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Political party
| Tory
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Other political
affiliations
| Squadrone Volante
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Profession
| Politician
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Sir
George Lockhart of Lee
(1673 ? 17 December 1731), of
Carnwath
,
South Lanarkshire
, also known as
Lockhart of Carnwath
, was a Scottish writer and
Jacobite
politician who sat in the
Parliament of Scotland
from 1702 to 1707 and as a
Tory
in the
House of Commons
from 1708 to 1715. He was a member of the Commission on the Union before 1707 but acted as an informant to his Jacobite colleagues and later wrote an anonymous memoir of its dealings. He supported the Stuart cause in the
Jacobite rising of 1715
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Lockhart was the son of
Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath
and his second wife Philadelphia Wharton, daughter of
Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton
and sister of
Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton
one of the leaders of the
Whig Junta
. After his father’s death, Lockhart succeeded to a sizable estate at the age of eight years. His Whiggish guardians removed his tutor, John Gillane, the family’s episcopalian chaplain. His education was placed in the hands of Presbyterian tutors who also tutored
John Campbell
. Lockhart and Argyll became friends as children, and remained friends into adulthood despite political differences. Campbell became one of Scotland's leading Whigs, while Lockhart came to have a profound dislike of Presbyterianism . By 1695 he had obtained the appointment of episcopalian guardians and had begun to manage his own financial affairs. He developed the estate and exploited the coal reserves to become one of the wealthiest of Scottish commoners, and gathered a major electoral interest in Lanarkshire and Midlothian. He married Lady Euphemia Montgomerie (d. 1738), daughter of a leading Episcopalian peer
Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglintoun
on 30 April 1697.
[1]
The Parliament of Scotland and the Treaty of Union
[
edit
]
In 1702, Lockhart became
shire commissioner
for the
shire of Edinburgh
in the
Parliament of Scotland
.
[2]
He joined the cavalier wing of the Country party. He was made a privy councillor in 1703 as part of the Court’s attempt to woo the cavaliers. He was attracted to a political alliance in the hope of achieving legal toleration for Episcopalians but as this was not forthcoming, he went into opposition, and remained disaffected with the Court for the rest of his time in the Scottish parliament. He denounced the defection from the Country party of the so-called ‘New Party’ (later
Squadrone
) in 1704. He had a close connection with the Duke of Hamilton, although he was frustrated at the Duke’s unwillingness to pursue Jacobite objectives. After he voted for Hamilton’s motion for deferring a decision on the succession, he was removed from the privy council in December 1704. In 1705, to his annoyance, he was appointed a commissioner for arranging the
union with England
apparently through the influence of Wharton. Initially he decided not to accept the post, but was persuaded by Jacobite colleagues that it would be useful for him to report back to them on the proceedings. He avoided signing the treaty, and in Parliament became one of the most vigorous opponents of the Union. Although he had some support for the article on communication of trade, he usually voted with the opposition, and abstained from voting on ratification.
[1]
British parliament and attempt to repeal the Union
[
edit
]
After the union Lockhart was not one of the but he decided to seek election to Westminster to serve the Jacobite cause, and to distract the ministry from suspicion about the intended invasion. He gave his interest in Lanarkshire to Lord Archibald Hamilton and was returned as
Member of Parliament
for
Edinburgh
. He was also returned for
Wigtown burghs
where he stood as an insurance.
[1]
In 1713 he took part in an abortive movement aiming at the
repeal
of the union. He was deeply implicated in the rising of 1715, the preparations for which he assisted at Carnwath and at Dryden, his Edinburgh residence. He was imprisoned in
Edinburgh Castle
, but probably, through the favour of
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
, he was released without being brought to trial; but his brother Philip was taken prisoner at the
Battle of Preston
and condemned to be shot, the sentence being executed on 2 December 1715.
[3]
Lockhart continued to act on behalf of
James III
; his letters were intercepted by the government in 1727 but he was warned of his imminent arrest by Charles Erskine, a senior government legal officer and managed to escape to the Continent.
[4]
Death
[
edit
]
Argyll's influence was again exerted in Lockhart's behalf, and in 1728 he was permitted to return to Scotland, where he lived in retirement until his death in a duel on 17 December 1731.
[3]
Writings
[
edit
]
The "Lockhart Papers" are a significant authority for the history of the
Jacobites
. Lockhart was the author of
Memoirs of the Affairs of Scotland
, dealing with the reign of
Queen Anne
up to the union with England, first published in 1714. These
Memoirs
, together with Lockhart's correspondence with the Pretender, and some other papers of minor importance, were published again in the two volumes of
Lockhart Letters
(1817), edited by
Anthony Aufrere
.
[5]
[3]
Lockart was the source of intelligence revealing the extensive bribery of Scottish parliamentarians prior to the Treaty of Union, giving rise to the famous
Robert Burns
line:
"bought and sold for English gold".
He published a list of bribes paid by the English
Treasury
.
Family
[
edit
]
Lockhart belonged to the
Lockharts of Lee
, who were active in
Scots law
and
politics
during the 17th century. He married Eupheme Montgomerie, daughter of
Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton
, by whom he had a large family.
[3]
He had 2 sons one being
Alexander Lockhart, Lord Covington
, and the older, more reclusive brother, Henry Lockhart (1690-1787), who had 1 son with his wife Mary Lockhart (1692-1780)
His daughter Grace Lockhart married
John Gordon, 3rd Earl of Aboyne
.
[6]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"LOCKHART, George (1681-1731), of Carnwath, Lanark., and Dryden, Edinburgh"
. History of Parliament Online
. Retrieved
19 June
2019
.
- ^
Foster, Joseph, ed. (1882),
Members of Parliament, Scotland 1357-1882
, Hazell, Watson and Viney
, retrieved
27 June
2019
- ^
a
b
c
d
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
McNeill, Ronald John
(1911). "
Lockhart, George
". In
Chisholm, Hugh
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 852?853.
- ^
Szechi, Daniel, Sankey, Margaret (November 2001). "Elite Culture and the Decline of Scottish Jacobitism 1716-1745".
Past & Present
(173): 127.
JSTOR
3600841
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
- ^
Stephen, Leslie
, ed. (1885).
"Aufrere, Anthony"
.
Dictionary of National Biography
. Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^
"Grace Gordon"
. February 2023.
External links
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