Edmund Chisholm Batten (sometimes written Chisholm-Batten)

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". ...

(1817–1897) was an antiquarian and author of legal treatises.

Life

He was educated at

Sherborne School Sherborne School is a full-boarding school for boys aged 13 to 18 located beside Sherborne Abbey in the Dorset town of Sherborne. The school has been in continuous operation on the same site for over 1,300 years. It was founded in 705 AD by Ald ...

, where he was Head Boy, and then sent north to Edinburgh to train as a barrister. Here he became a friend of Prof

James David Forbes James David Forbes (1809–1868) was a Scottish physicist and glaciologist who worked extensively on the conduction of heat and seismology. Forbes was a resident of Edinburgh for most of his life, educated at its University and a professor ...

, a relationship which lasted for life. On qualifying he went to London to serve as a barrister at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. However, he is largely remembered as an author on both legal proceedings and upon historical places (especially priories). 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 ...

in 1858. Through an ancestor, Robert Batten, he inherited the Thornfalcon Estate and lived there for most of his life. He also (through his wife) inherited

Erchless Castle Erchless Castle is an L-plan castle in northern Scotland, near Struy, Highland. The current building was built in about 1600.Beauly Beauly ( ; ; ) is a village in Scotland's Highland (council area), Highland area, on the River Beauly, west of Inverness by the Far North Line, Far North railway line. The town is historically within Kilmorack Parish of the County of Inverness. ...

, west of

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

. He died at Thornfalcon in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

on 13 February 1897 and is buried in the local churchyard there.

Publications

*''A Practical Treatise of Law Relating to the Specific Performance of Contracts'' *''A Treatise on the Jurisdiction, Pleadings and Practice of the County Courts in Equity'' *''The Charters Priory of Priory'' *''The Charters of the Priory of Beauly'' *''On the Cause of the Heat in the Bath Waters'' (1878) *''The Register of Richard Fox While Bishop of Bath and Wells'' (1894)

Family

On 1 August 1843 he married Jemima Chisholm, sister of the Chisholm clan chief, Roderick Chisholm, usually referred to simply as "The Chisholm". From 1858, on the death of the clan chief, his sister inherited all titles and estates and from thence onward he was known as Edmund Chisholm Batten. From 1858 until 1896 he made annual trips to the Highlands of Scotland with his wife, in the role of visiting the

Clan Chisholm Clan Chisholm ( ; , ) is a Highland Scottish clan. History Origins According to Alexander Mackenzie (historian), Alexander Mackenzie, the Clan Chisholm is of Normans, Norman and Anglo-Saxons, Saxon origin. Tradition stating that the Chisholms w ...

. They had seven children, including Admiral Alexander William Chisholm-Batten.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batten, Edmund Chisholm 1817 births 1897 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at Sherborne School People from South Somerset (district) British antiquarians