Sir James Colville of Easter Wemyss (died 1540) was a Scottish administrator,

lord of session 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 ...

and diplomat.

Life

He was the elder son of Robert Colville of

Ochiltree Ochiltree is a conservation village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, near Auchinleck and Cumnock. It is one of the oldest villages in East Ayrshire, with archaeological remains indicating Stone Age and Bronze Age settlers. A cinerary urn was found i ...

and Margaret Logan. He was one of the commissioners to parliament on 15 February 1525. He was appointed to the office of

comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

by 1525, when he made an account of household expenses for

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV a ...

. In 1529 he exchanged the lands of Ochiltree with James Hamilton of Finnart for the lands of Easter Wemyss and Lochorshyre in Fifeshire. The same year he was appointed a director of the chancery. He was one of the commissioners to parliament on 24 April and 13 May 1531, 15 December 1535, and 29 April 1536. He was nominated a lord of the articles on 13 May 1532 and 7 June 1535, and at the latter date was chosen a commissioner for the taxation of £6,000 voted by the three estates to

on his approaching marriage. On the institution of the

College of Justice The College of Justice () includes the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and its associated bodies. The constituent bodies of the national supreme courts are the Court of Session, the High Court of Justiciary, the Office of the Accountant of Court, ...

in 1532, Colville was appointed one of the

judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

on the temporal side of the bench, and was knighted. He was one of the commissioners at the truce of Newcastle on 8 October 1533, and was sent again into England to treat for peace in the following year. For siding with the Douglases he was in 1538 deprived of the office of comptroller. In November, the English border official Thomas Wharton heard that the secretary

Adam Otterburn Sir Adam Otterburn of Auldhame & Scoughall, Auldhame and Redhall (died 6 July 1548) was a Scottish lawyer and diplomat. He was Lord Advocate, king's advocate to James V of Scotland and secretary to Mary of Guise and Regent Arran. In 1527 Otterb ...

Auldhame Auldhame and Scoughall are hamlets in East Lothian, Scotland. They are close to the town of North Berwick and the village of Whitekirk, and are approximately east of Edinburgh. Saint Baldred's legacy It is said that the 8th-century Christi ...

was imprisoned at

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

for speaking with the banished Douglas family and James Colville was in prison for "his accomptes".''State Papers Henry VIII'', vol. 5 (London, 1836), p. 141. David Wood of Craig was made comptroller in his place. On 30 May 1539 a summons of treason was executed against him for affording them countenance and assistance. He appeared to answer to the charge before the parliament on 18 July 1539, when the only charge persisted in against him was that while comptroller he, on 14 July 1528, had made a pretended assignation for the benefit of Archibald Douglas of Kilspindy, when he knew that a summons of treason against him had been at that time executed. For this he was ordered on 21 August to enter himself in ward in

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Falkirk, Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by George Crichton, 1st Earl of Caithness ...

. He disobeyed this order, and, back in England, associated with

Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (c. 148922 January 1557) was a Scottish nobleman active during the reigns of James V and Mary, Queen of Scots. He was the son of George, Master of Angus, who was killed at the Battle of Flodden, and succ ...

, and his brother in treason attempts against the Scottish king. Colville died in 1540. On 10 January 1541, a summons was executed against his widow and children, on account of his having incurred the crime of ''

lèse-majesté ''Lèse-majesté'' or ''lese-majesty'' ( , ) is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a mod ...

''. His estate was annexed to the crown, but was then bestowed on Norman Leslie of Rothes. The forfeiture was rescinded in parliament on 12 December 1543, under the direction of Cardinal Beaton.

Family

Colville was twice married: *first, to Alison, eldest daughter of Sir David Bruce of

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; , perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. The town is within ...

, and, *second, to Margaret Forrester, who survived him. Colville had a son and a daughter by each marriage, the son of the second marriage being Alexander Colville, the lord of session. He had also an illegitimate son, Robert, ancestor of the Lord Colvilles of Culross and current Viscount Colville of Culross .

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Colville, James Year of birth missing 1540 deaths 16th-century Scottish people Senators of the College of Justice Scottish diplomats Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland 16th-century Scottish judges Comptrollers of Scotland James