Sir James Spittal (1769 to 25 September 1842) was a Scottish silk merchant who was

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

1833 to 1837. Spittal Street in the west of Edinburgh is named after him. He was a strong Whig politician who campaigned for election reforms to increase democracy.

Biography

The name James Spittal does not appear in Edinburgh street directories until 1810, when he is listed as a

haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...

with a shop at 55 South Bridge, living at 59 South Bridge. Spittal later ran a successful silk and shawl shop at 12

St Andrew Square St Andrew Square is a garden square in Edinburgh, Scotland located at the east end of George Street. The construct of St Andrew Square began in 1772,Lang, p.124 as the first part of the New Town, designed by James Craig. Within six years of ...

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original Neoclassicism, neo-classical and Georgian architecture, Georgian period architecture. Its ...

. In September and October 1815, Spittal took a tour of Europe, which he documented in a diary. This appeared to concentrate on sites connected to the recently concluded

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Spittal stood for election as Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1833 in succession to

John Learmonth John Learmonth of Dean, DL FRSE (26 May 1789 – 17 December 1858) was Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1831 to 1833. He was co-funder of the Dean Bridge project in western Edinburgh and gives his name to many of the streets in Comely Bank, the ...

of Dean. He stood against James Aytoun (an advocate and uncle of

William Edmondstoune Aytoun William Edmondstoune "W. E." Aytoun FRSE (21 June 18134 August 1865) was a Scottish poet, lawyer by training, and professor of rhetoric and belles lettres at the University of Edinburgh. He published poetry, translation, prose fiction, criticis ...

) in the important first election following the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833. In the election campaign of 1833, there were both pro-Spittal and anti-Spittal election songs created. The pro song was entitled "Huzza for Provost Spittal". Unsurprisingly the opposing song was "Huzza for Provost Aytoun". The song alludes to his having recently purchased a country house called Justice Hall in Lauder in Berwickshire from James Justice Esq. At this time he is living separate from his family at 11 Nicholson Square in south Edinburgh. He was succeeded as Lord Provost by

Sir James Forrest, 1st Baronet Sir James Forrest, 1st Baronet of Comiston FRSE (1780-1860) was a Scottish baronet and Whig politician who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1837–1843. The family crest is three oak trees. Forrest Road in Edinburgh is named in his honour. ...

of Comiston. Whilst serving as Provost he was painted by

John Watson Gordon Sir John Watson Gordon (1788 – 1 June 1864) was a Scottish Portrait painting, portrait painter and president of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Gordon was born in 1788, in Edinburgh, the eldest son of Captain Watson, R.A., a cadet ...

, a copy of this painting by David Alison (1882-1995) is held by the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Dhùn Èideann'') is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the built-up area of Edinburgh, capital of Sco ...

Personal life

He was the son of James Spittal senior as his name appears as James Spittal Jr in some documents. He was married twice: firstly to Marion Brown (1772-1824) and secondly to Lady Mary Wightman Ker Spittal (1799-1862), thirty years his junior. Children of the first marriage included James Spittal (1797-1844,. Joseph Mack Spittal, Dr Robert Spittal

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". ...

( d.1852). Helen (1800-1812), and Marion (1805-1893) (who married Dr John Taylor FRCPE (1805-1856) and is buried with him in

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 ...

). Children of the second marriage (c.1825) were Elisabeth Ker Spittal (1827-1841) and John, later Rev John Spittal, who was only nine years old when James Spittal died. His granddaughter Etheldred Spittal married Percival Stacy Waddy. He died at home at 3 Minto Street in south-east Edinburgh on 25 September 1842. He is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

. The grave lies within the western extension.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spittal, James 1769 births 1842 deaths Lord provosts of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard