Robert Douglas (c.1630–1716) was a 17th and early 18th Church of Scotland minister who rose to be Protestant Bishop of Dunblane.

Life

He was the son of Robert Douglas of Nether Kilmonth, and grandson of James Douglas of Glenbervie, both relatives of the Earls of Angus. He was educated at King's College, Aberdeen, graduating MA in 1647, before beginning life as a preacher around 1650. He became the minister of Laurencekirk in the Mearns in January 1657, then

Bothwell Bothwell is a conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, east-south-east of Glasgow city centre. Description and history An ancie ...

in 1665 and

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

in 1669. After the Restoration, King Charles II presented him to the

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically own ...

of Hamilton, a position which came with the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Glasgow. In 1682 he became

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Brechin or angus, Scotland, Angus, based at Dundee. Brechin Cathedral, Brechin is a parish church of the established (presbyterian) Church of Scotland. The diocese had a long-es ...

, holding that bishopric for two years before being translated to the Bishop of Dunblane in August 1684. Douglas was Bishop of Dunblane until the abolition of Episcopacy in Scotland following the Revolution which then deprived Douglas and all other Scottish bishops of their

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

s. He died on 22 April 1716 in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, at "the uncommon age of 92".Keith, ''Historical Catalogue'', p. 183.

Family

He married twice. Firstly to Miss Irvine of Drum, by whom he had Rev Robert Douglas, minister of Bothwell. He next married Elizabeth Lammy daughter of Rev Sylvester Lammy of Glamis. Their children included: *Sylvester Douglas of Whiteriggs in the Mearns *William Douglas (1666–1746), later became Provost of Forfar *George *James *Katherine, married Dr George Reid of

*Susanna, married Charles White of

*A daughter, married Provost Dean of Forfar

Notes

References

* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) 1716 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Bishops of Brechin (Church of Scotland) Bishops of Dunblane 17th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Scottish Episcopalian deans Year of birth unknown Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1685–1686 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Scottish Restoration bishops Year of birth uncertain {{Bishop-stub