Sir Godfrey McCulloch, 2nd Baronet of Myretoun (c. 1640 – 26 March 1697) was a Scottish politician who was executed for

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

Biography

In 1678 McCulloch served as a

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

for

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...

at the

Convention of Estates The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edi ...

(Scottish Parliament).

Murder and execution

In 1684, he shot William Gordon in the leg, partly as a result of a long-standing feud (rising from a land dispute) between his family and the Gordon family. Gordon later died of the infection caused by the wound. McCulloch was found guilty and sentenced to death. Although he initially escaped to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, he was captured when he returned to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1697 and beheaded at the

Mercat Cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...

. McCulloch had been living in Scotland since 1694 under the alias "Mr. Johnstoune". He was the last man to be executed on the

Maiden Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

. Following his death, much of his family emigrated to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and Cardoness Castle, which had been owned by the family since c. 1470, was abandoned.

Legend

There is also a legend (quoted by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, a distant relation) that McCulloch was in fact saved from execution by a gnome whom he had done a favour for earlier in life, and that he was never seen again. Another story tells that after his beheading, his headless body ran 100 yards down the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

. Given his sensational trial and the number of witnesses present, either story is unlikely at best.

References

1697 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Scottish people convicted of murder People executed by the Kingdom of Scotland by decapitation 17th-century executions by Scotland Year of birth uncertain Executed Scottish people 17th-century Scottish people Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Politics of Dumfries and Galloway Scottish knights Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678 Scottish politicians convicted of crimes {{NovaScotia-baronet-stub

Biography

Murder and execution

Legend

See also

References