Alexander Morison (or Morrison), Lord Prestongrange (1579–1631) was a 17th-century Scottish judge,

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

and

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. T ...

Life

He was the son of John Morison of

Saughton Saughton () ( sco, Sauchtoun) ( gd, Baile nan Seileach) is a suburb of the west of Edinburgh, Scotland, bordering Broomhouse, Stenhouse, Longstone and Carrick Knowe. In Lowland Scots, a "sauch" is a willow. The Water of Leith flows by here ...

hall (1558–1615), a burgess and treasurer of the city of

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

, and his wife, Katherine Preston, daughter of

John Preston John Preston may refer to: Politicians * John Preston (died 1434), Member of Parliament (MP) for Sussex * John Preston (c. 1578 – c. 1642), MP for Lancaster * John Preston (alderman) (1611–1686), mayor of Dublin in 1654 * John Preston (died ...

. He was born in 1579 probably in Saughton Hall, just west of Edinburgh. John Preston (his grandfather) had built

Prestongrange Prestongrange is a place in East Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, situated between Musselburgh to the west, and Prestonpans to the east. The place name derives from "Preston", meaning "priest's town", and a grange (or granary) which was worke ...

, a fine mansion west of

Prestonpans Prestonpans ( gd, Baile an t-Sagairt, Scots: ''The Pans'') is a small mining town, situated approximately eight miles east of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the Council area of East Lothian. The population as of is. It is near the site of the 1745 ...

, and this house came to belong to Alexander through inheritance around 1600. He trained as a lawyer at

Edinburgh University 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 i ...

under

Henry Charteris Henry Charteris the younger (1565–1628) was a Scottish minister and Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1599 to 1620. Life He was the eldest son of Henry Charteris, Printer to the King in Scotland (this status allowed printing of Bib ...

, graduating MA in 1598, and passed the Scottish bar as an advocate in 1604. In February 1626 he was elected a

and took the title Lord Prestongrange. In 1627 he was elected

Rector of the University of Edinburgh The Lord Rector of The University of Edinburgh is elected every three years by the students and staff at The University of Edinburgh. Seldom referred to as ''Lord Rector'', the incumbent is more commonly known just as the ''Rector''. Role Th ...

in place of Andrew Ramsay. He died at home in Preston Grange in

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the hi ...

on 20 September 1631.

Family

In 1610 he married Eleanor Maule daughter of William Maule of Glaster. They had four daughters and one son, Alexander, who inherited the Preston Grange estate. One daughter Bethia married Sir

Robert Spottiswoode Sir Robert Spottiswood (Spottiswoode, Spotiswood, Spotswood), Lord Newabbey of New Abbey and Dunipace (1596 – 20 January 1646), was a Scottish lawyer, Lord President of the Court of Session and member of the Privy Council to James VI of Sc ...

. His sister Catherine, married

William Scott, Lord Clerkington Sir William Scott, Lord Clerkington (died 1656) was a Scottish politician and judge. Scott owned Malleny House and Garden which later passed to several generations of his descendants via his son John. Life He was the eldest son of Laurence Scot ...

Trivia

Saughton Hall stood in 98 acres of ground and was demolished by Edinburgh Council in 1952 to make way for housing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morison, Alexander 1579 births 1631 deaths Lawyers from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Senators of the College of Justice