Rt Hon John Inglis, Lord Glencorse FRSE DCL LLD (21 August 1810 – 20 August 1891) was a Scottish politician and judge. He was

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. The L ...

(1867–1891).John Inglis Lord Glencorse
University of Glasgow (see "summary" for birth/death dates)

Life

The youngest son of Maria Moxham Passmore and Rev John Inglis DD (1761–1834), minister of Old

Greyfriars Kirk Greyfriars Kirk ( gd, Eaglais nam Manach Liath) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edin ...

, Inglis was born on 21 August 1810 at 43 George Square in

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

. He attended the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Edinburgh. He then studied law at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from whence he went to Balliol College, Oxford. He graduated with a BA in 1834 and an MA in 1836. He was admitted a member of the

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. The Faculty of Advocates is a constit ...

in 1835, and in 1852 he was made

Solicitor General for Scotland , body = , insignia = Crest of the Kingdom of Scotland.svg , insigniasize = 110px , image = File:Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png , incumbent = Ruth Charteris KC , incumbentsince = 22 June 2021 , department = Crown Office and ...

in Lord Derby's first ministry, three months later becoming

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), 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 p ...

, a post he held from May to December of that year. In the summer of 1857, he famously served as counsel for

Madeleine Smith Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. Background Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...

, a Glasgow socialite who was the defendant in a sensational murder trial. Smith was freed with a verdict of "not proven". In March 1858 he resumed this office in Lord Derby's second administration, being returned to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

as member for Stamford. Again his tenure was brief, leaving office in July 1858. He was responsible for the

Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, and in the same year he was elevated to the bench as

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 ...

, with the judicial title ''Lord Glencorse''. In 1867 he was made

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of Scotland and Lord President of the Court of Session. He was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1859, and awarded a Doctor of Civil Law (DCL) by the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1859. Outside his judicial duties he was responsible for much useful public work, particularly in the department of higher education. In 1869 he was elected Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh against Gladstone, having already been Rector of the University of Aberdeen in 1857–1860 and

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

in 1865. He was President of Scottish Texts Society and published ''Historical Study of Law'' 1863. His Edinburgh address in later life was 30 Abercromby Place in Edinburgh's New Town. He died at Loganbank, a villa in

Glencorse Glencorse is a parish of Midlothian, Scotland, lying south of Edinburgh.Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Glencorse. Places are presented alphabetically It is bounded on the north-west by the former p ...

south of Edinburgh on 20 August 1891, the day before his 81st birthday. He is buried in his family vault in New Calton Cemetery.

Family

In 1842 he was married to Isabella Mary Wood (1820–1855), daughter of Alexander Wood, Lord Wood FRSE (1788–1864), a law lord and one of his senior colleagues. She bore him a son, John David Inglis (1843–1861) and another, Harry Herbert Inglis WS (1848–1907). He employed Rev Robert Keith Dick Horne as private tutor to his children. Horne was later minister of Corstorphine Old Parish Church in west Edinburgh.

Memorials

A memorial to Lord Glencorse (in the Jacobean style) stands in the south-east corner of St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, above the stairway from the church to the crypt, near the entrance to the Thistle Chapel. A bust of Lord Glencorse, sculpted by Charles McBride, is held by the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Notable cases

*In 1857 Inglis defended

in a sensational murder trial. *In 1865 Inglis presided over the case of the poisoner, Edward William Pritchard, the last person to be publicly hanged in Glasgow.

References

*This article includes material drawn from Concise Dictionary of National Biography, 1939

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inglis, John 1810 births 1891 deaths Politicians from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Lord Advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies

UK MPs 1857–1859 Chancellors of the University of Edinburgh Rectors of the University of Aberdeen Rectors of the University of Glasgow Lords President of the Court of Session Lords Justice-General Members of the Faculty of Advocates Burials at the New Calton Burial Ground Solicitors General for Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Lawyers from Edinburgh