Sir Andrew Leith Hay of Rannes (17 February 1785 – 13 October 1862) was a Scottish soldier, Whig politician and writer on architecture.

Biography

Andrew Leith Hay was the eldest son of General

Alexander Leith Hay thumb General Alexander Leith-Hay 'formerly'' Alexander Leith(1758 – 16 May 1838), was a British Army officer. Life Hay was born in Aberdeen on 21 December 1758, the second son of John Leith (1731–1763) of Leith Hall, Aberdeenshire and his ...

of Rannes and Mary Forbes of Ballogie (died 1824), and was born at

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

on 17 February 1785. He entered the army as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the

72nd Foot The 72nd Highlanders was a British Army Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line. Raised in 1778, it was originally numbered 78th, before being redesignated the 72nd in 1786. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 78th (Highlanders) ...

on 8 January 1806, went to the Peninsula in 1808 as aide-de-camp to his uncle, General Sir James Leith, and served through the war until 1814. He was much employed in gaining intelligence, and was present at many of the actions from Corunna to the storming of San Sebastian. Wherever he went he made sketches, and in 1831 worked up these materials into two volumes, entitled ''A Narrative of the Peninsula War''. On General Leith being appointed to the governorship of Barbadoes in 1816, his nephew accompanied him, and discharged the duties of military secretary and also those of assistant quartermaster-general and assistant adjutant-general. As

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 2nd Foot he served from 21 November 1817 to 30 September 1819, when he was placed on half-pay. He had previously been named a knight commander of the order of Charles III of Spain, and a member of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Having retired from the army he turned his attention to politics, took part in the agitation preceding the passing of the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

, and became member for the Elgin burghs on 29 December 1832. Shortly after entering parliament his readiness as a speaker and his acquaintance with military affairs attracted the notice of

Lord Melbourne Henry William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (15 March 177924 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served as the Home Secretary and twice as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His first premiership ended when he was dismissed ...

, who conferred on him the lucrative appointment of

Clerk of the Ordnance {{Infobox official post , post = Office of the Clerk of the Ordnance , body = , nativename = , insignia = File:Badge of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps on a RML 10 inch 18 ton gun in Gibraltar.jpg , insigniasize ...

on 19 June 1834, and also appointed him a Knight of the

Royal Guelphic Order The Royal Guelphic Order (), sometimes referred to as the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, is a Kingdom of Hanover, Hanoverian order of chivalry instituted on 28 April 1815 by the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It takes its name from the House ...

. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in December 1834. On 6 February 1838, on being appointed to the governorship of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

, he resigned his seat in parliament. Circumstances, however, arose which prevented him from going to Bermuda, and on 7 July 1841 he was again elected for the Elgin burghs, and continued to sit till 23 July 1847. At the election in the following month he was displaced, nor was he successful when he contested the city of

on 10 July 1852. To county matters he paid much attention, more especially to the affairs of the

county of Aberdeen Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen (, ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. The county gives its name to the modern Aberdeenshire Council areas of Scotland, council area, which covers a larger area than the historic count ...

. His most interesting and useful book, entitled ''The Castellated Architecture of Aberdeenshire,'' appeared in 1849. The work consists of

lithographs Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

of the principal baronial residences in the county, all from sketches by himself; the letterpress, which contains a great amount of information, being also from his pen. Leith Hall - geograph

He died at

Leith Hall Leith Hall is a country house in Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It was built in 1650, on the site of the medieval Peill Castle, and was the home of the Leith-Hay family for nearly three centuries. Since 1945 it has been run by the N ...

near Aberdeen on 13 October 1862.

Publications

*''Narrative of the Peninsular War'' (1831) *''Castellated Architecture of Aberdeenshire'' (1849)

Family

His wife, whom he married in 1816, was Mary Margaret Clark, daughter of William Clark of Buckland House, Devonshire. She died on 28 May 1859. His eldest son, Colonel Alexander Sebastian Leith-Hay (1819–1897), C.B., was well known by his service in the Crimea and India. His younger brother Rear-Admiral John James Leith married Margaret Forbes, daughter of Alexander Forbes of Blackford.

References

;Attribution *

External links

General Alexander Leith-Hay of Rannes and Leith Hall at the Leith-Hay family site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Andrew Leith 1785 births 1862 deaths 19th-century Scottish writers Politicians from Aberdeen Military personnel from Aberdeen Writers from Aberdeen 72nd Highlanders officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Whig (British political party) MPs for Scottish constituencies Politics of Moray Queen's Royal Regiment officers British architecture writers Scottish knights British military writers Scottish non-fiction writers UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847