Christopher Nicholson Johnston, Lord Sands

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(18 October 1857 – 26 February 1934) was a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice in Scotland 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 ...

in Scotland and

Unionist Party (Scotland) The Unionist Party was the main centre-right political party in Scotland between 1912 and 1965. Independent of, although associated with, the Conservative Party in England and Wales, it stood for election at different periods of its history ...

MP for the Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities constituency between two by-elections in 1916 and 1917. He was an expert on Church Law and represented the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

on many occasions.

Life

He was born on 18 October 1857 in Kincardine, the son of Margaret Nicholson, daughter of Reverend Nicholson of

Whithorn Whithorn (; ), is a royal burgh in the historic county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, "White/Shining House", built by ...

, and James Johnston of Mansionhouse of Sands (in

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

). He studied law at

Madras College Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell. History Madras Col ...

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

, the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. After training as a lawyer he made rapid progress in the profession: Advocate (1880); Advocate Depute (1892); Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney & Zetland (1899–1900); Sheriff of Inverness, Elgin & Nairn (1900–1905); Sheriff of Perthshire (1905–1916); Kings Counsel (10 June 1902). He was

Procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Procurator to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the principal legal advisor to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The holder of the office is invariably a King's Counsel in Scotland. Day-to-day advice is given by th ...

(1907–1918). He became a judge in 1908. He served as an MP representing St Andrews and Edinburgh Universities 1916–17. In 1917 he was created a

and given the title Lord Sands. From 1919 he was President of the Scottish

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

. From 1921 he chaired the Carnegie Trust for University Education. He was awarded several honorary doctorates by the Scottish Universities including being created a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

by the

. In 1925 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

. His proposers were Sir James Alfred Ewing, Sir Edmund Whittaker, Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer, and Sir Thomas Hudson Beare. He served as the society's vice-president 1932–4. He died in Edinburgh on 26 February 1934, aged 76. He is buried in the modern extension to

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

off Queensferry Road in western Edinburgh. His grave lies against the north wall in the modern equivalent of ''Lord's Row'' in the original cemetery, forming one off a group of senators of the college of justice buried together. His wife lies with him.

Family

In 1898 he married Agnes ("Nancy") Warren Dunn (1868–1955) of Dunmullin. They had two daughters and two sons, including

James Wellwood Johnston James Wellwood Johnston (5 April 1900 – 18 September 1958) was a British lawyer and politician.. Early life The elder son of Christopher Johnston, Lord Sands, he was educated at Rugby School and New College, Oxford. He was called to the Scot ...

and Alice Crawford Johnston CBE. They lived at 4

Heriot Row Heriot Row is a highly prestigious street in central Edinburgh, virtually unchanged since its original construction in 1802. From its inception to the present day in remained a top address in the city and has housed the rich and famous of the ci ...

in Edinburgh's New Town.

Publications

* * * * * * * * * * * short stories * * * *

References

External links

*
Mystery Short Fiction: 1990-2007
mentions Johnston {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Christopher Nicholson 1857 births 1934 deaths Sands Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Scottish sheriffs Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities UK MPs 1910–1918 People educated at Madras College Burials at the Dean Cemetery