David Stuart Moncreiff of

Moredun Moredun is a district in the south-east of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is east of Liberton, while Craigour is situated just to its north. The estate of Gut-tres or Goodtrees was the family home of James Stewart but it was renamed ...

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". ...

(1710-1790) was an 18th-century Scottish advocate, landowner and agricultural improver. In 1783 he was a joint founder 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 name is occasionally given as David Stewart Moncreiff.

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...

appears to occasionally have written under his name. As they clearly were acquainted this appears mischievous rather than a nom de plume.

Life

He was born in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

on 8 September 1710 the second son of Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 2nd Baronet (d.1738) and his wife, Margaret Smythe. Trained as a lawyer he qualified as an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

in 1736. In 1743 he became a Deputy King's Remembrancer to the Exchequer and Secretary of Scottish Affairs to the Prince of Wales. In 1766 he became Solicitor of Taxes for Scotland. In 1769 he demolished the former mansion of Goodtrees (originally given a more Germanic spelling of Gut-Tres) and built a new mansion which he called

in memory of a hill on his

estate. Moredun House was acquired in 1923 to convert into a convalescent home for ex-servicemen but was instead demolished and a new facility created known as the Murray Homes. In 1781 he succeeded John Maule as a

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was ...

alongside other notables such as

Cosmo Gordon Cosmo Gordon of Cluny Castle, Cluny FRSE (1736–1800) was a Scottish politician, agricultural improver and co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He sat in the House of Commons from 1774 to 1777 and was a Baron of the Exchequer (Scotlan ...

. On his death he was succeeded in this role by

Archibald Cockburn Archibald Cockburn (1738 in Edinburgh, Midlothian – 20 June 1820) was a Scotland, Scottish judge. He lived at Caroline Park House north of Edinburgh. Family Son of Archibald Cockburn (surname), Cockburn of Cockpen and wife (m. 17 August 1735) ...

. He died at Moredun on 17 April 1790 and was buried in the Chapel Royal at

Holyrood Abbey Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a List of British royal residences, royal r ...

. He did not marry and had no children.

References

1710 births 1790 deaths People from Perthshire Scottish landowners Barons of the Exchequer Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-bio-stub