Haddingtonshire (Parliament of Scotland constituency)

Last updated November 10, 2019

Before the Act of Union 1707, the barons of the constabulary of Haddington (now called East Lothian) elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.

East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was also known as Haddingtonshire.

The Parliament of Scotland was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland. The parliament, like other such institutions, evolved during the Middle Ages from the king's council of bishops and earls. It is first identifiable as a parliament in 1235, during the reign of Alexander II, when it was described as a "colloquium" and already possessed a political and judicial role. By the early fourteenth century, the attendance of knights and freeholders had become important, and from 1326 commissioners from the burghs attended. Consisting of the "three estates" of clergy, nobility and the burghs sitting in a single chamber, the parliament gave consent for the raising of taxation and played an important role in the administration of justice, foreign policy, war, and all manner of other legislation. Parliamentary business was also carried out by "sister" institutions, such as General Councils or Convention of Estates. These could carry out much business also dealt with by parliament – taxation, legislation and policy-making – but lacked the ultimate authority of a full parliament.

After 1708, Haddingtonshire returned one member to the House of Commons of Great Britain and later to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Haddingtonshire was a Scottish county constituency represented in the House of Commons of Great Britain and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1708 to 1918.

The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant changes brought about by the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The House of Commons, officially the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster. Owing to shortage of space, its office accommodation extends into Portcullis House.

List of commissioners

1593 parliament and convention: — Hepburn, laird of Waughton ^[1]
1594 parliament and convention: — Hepburn, laird of Waughton^[1]
1598 convention: — Hepburn, laird of Waughton^[1]
1599 convention: — Hepburn, laird of Waughton^[1]
1605: Sir Archibald Douglas of Whittingehame^[2]^[3]
1605: William Douglas of Whittingehame^[3]^[4]
1605 parliament and convention: — Hepburn, laird of Waughton^[1]
1607: Sir Archibald Douglas of Whittingehame^[2]^[3]
1608: Sir Archibald Douglas of Whittingehame^[2]^[3]
1609 convention: — Hepburn, laird of Waughton^[1]
1612: Sir James Douglas of Spott^[5]
1612: Sir Alexander Hamilton of Innerwick^[6]
1617 parliament and convention: Sir John Home of North Berwick^[7]
1617 parliament and convention: Sir William Seton^[8]
1621: Sir Robert Hepburn^[1]
1622: John Hamilton of Preston^[9]
1625 convention: Archibald Acheson of Gosford^[10]^[11]
1625 convention: Sir John Seton^[12]
1628–1633: John Hamilton of Preston^[9]
1628–1633: Sir Patrick Murray of Elibank^[13]
1630 convention: Sir Robert Richardson of Pencaitland^[14]
1639–1641: Sir John Hamilton of Preston^[9]
1639–1641: Sir Patrick Hepburn of Waughton ^[1]
1640–1641: Sir Patrick Murray of Elibank^[13]
1643–1644 convention: Sir Adam Hepburn of Humbie^[1]
1643–1644 convention: Sir Patrick Hepburn of Waughton ^[1]
1644–1645: Sir John St Clair of Hermistoun^[15]
1644–1647: — Cockburn, laird of Clerkington (possibly son of Sir Richard Cockburn of Clerkington)^[16]
1644–1647: Sir William Scott of Clerkingtoun^[17]
1645–1647: Sir John Hamilton of Biel^[18]
1648: Sir Adam Hepburn of Humbie^[1]
1648: Sir William Scott of Clerkingtoun^[17]
1648–1649: John Cockburn of Ormiston^[19]
1649–1651: Robert Hepburn of Keith^[20]
1650: John Hepburn of Waughton^[1]
1650: Sir Alexander Hope of Grantoun^[21]
1650–1651: Sir Adam Hepburn of Humbie^[1]
1661–1663: Sir Thomas Hamilton of Preston^[22]
1661–1663: Sir Peter Wedderburn of Gosford^[23]
1665 convention: Sir Thomas Hamilton of Preston^[22]
1665 convention: Sir Peter Wedderburn of Gosford^[23]
1667 convention: Sir Thomas Hamilton of Preston^[22]
1667 convention: Sir Peter Wedderburn of Gosford^[23]
1669–1674: Sir James Hay of Linplum^[24]^[25]
1669–1674: Sir Peter Wedderburn of Gosford^[23]
1669–1674: John Hay, sheriff-depute^[26]
1678 convention: Adam Cockburn of Ormiston^[16]
1678 convention: James Fletcher of Salton^[27]
1681–1682: Adam Cockburn of Ormiston^[16]
1681–1682: Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun^[28]
1685–1686: Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall^[29]^[30]
1685–1686: John Wedderburn of Gosford^[23]
1689 convention: Adam Cockburn of Ormiston^[16]
1689 convention: Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenston^[31]
1689–1692: Adam Cockburn of Ormiston (vacated on appointment as Lord Justice Clerk, 28 November 1692)^[16]
1689–1702: Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenston^[31]
1690–1702: Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall^[29]^[30]
1690–1702: William Morison of Prestongrange^[32]
1693–1702: William Hepburn of Beinstoun^[20]
1702–1707: Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun^[28]
1702–1707: John Cockburn, younger of Ormiston^[33]
1702–1707: Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall^[29]^[30]
1702–1707: William Nisbet of Dirleton^[34]

Waughton Castle is a ruined castle, dating from the fourteenth century, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north of East Linton, and 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Whitekirk in East Lothian, Scotland. It is a scheduled monument.

Sir Archibald Acheson of Glencairn, 1st Baronet, was a Scottish jurist.

Patrick Murray, 1st Lord Elibank, known as Sir Patrick Murray, 1st Baronet, from 1628 to 1643, was a Scottish peer.

In February 1707, Cockburn and Nisbet were elected by the other shire commissioners to serve among the Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain.^[35]

The Scottish representatives to the first Parliament of Great Britain, serving from 1 May 1707 to 26 May 1708, were not elected like their colleagues from England and Wales, but rather hand-picked.

Related Research Articles

John Cockburn of Ormiston, East Lothian, was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the Parliament of Scotland from 1702 to 1707 and as a Whig in the British House of Commons for 34 years from 1707 to 1741.

Humbie village in East Lothian, Scotland, UK

Humbie is a hamlet and rural parish in East Lothian, Scotland lying in south-east of the county, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Haddington and 15 miles (24 km) south-east of Edinburgh. Humbie as it is known today was formed as the result of the union between Keith Marischal and Keith Hundeby in 1618.

Adam Cockburn, Laird of Ormiston, Lord Ormiston, was a Scottish administrator, politician and judge. He served as Commissioner for Haddington Constabulary in the parliaments of 1681-2 and 1689, and in the conventions of 1678 and 1689. He was appointed Lord Justice Clerk on 28 November 1692.

Sir Patrick Hepburn of Waughton and Luffness, Knt., was a Scottish laird and notable Covenanter from East Lothian. In 1639-1641 Sir Patrick was a member for Haddingtonshire in the Scottish Parliament.

Before the Act of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Forfar elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1693.

Before the Act of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Clackmannan elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of Estates. After 1708, Clackmannanshire and Kinross-shire alternated in returning one member to the House of Commons of Great Britain and later to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Banff was a burgh constituency that elected one commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland and to the Convention of Estates.

Before the Act of Union 1707, the barons of the sheriffdom or shire of Berwick elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.

Before the Act of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Bute elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of Estates. After 1708, Buteshire and Caithness alternated in returning one member the House of Commons of Great Britain and later to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

Sutherland was a constituency that returned shire commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland and to the Convention of the Estates.

North Berwick in Haddingtonshire was a royal burgh that returned one commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland and to the Convention of Estates.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Stirling elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Roxburgh elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Aberdeen elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Linlithgow elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Inverness elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Renfrew elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to three in 1690.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Peebles elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates.

Before the Acts of Union 1707, the barons of the shire of Perth elected commissioners to represent them in the unicameral Parliament of Scotland and in the Convention of the Estates. The number of commissioners was increased from two to four in 1690.

References

Joseph Foster, Members of Parliament, Scotland (2nd edition, 1882)

Joseph Foster was an English genealogist whose transcriptions of records held by the Inns of Court and the University of Oxford are still important historical resources.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Foster, p. 178.
1 2 3 Foster, p. 99.
1 2 3 4 G. Harvey Johnston, The Heraldry of the Douglases (1907) p. 68.
↑ Foster, p. 102.
↑ Foster, p. 101.
↑ Foster, p. 169.
↑ Foster, p. 182.
↑ Foster, p. 312.
1 2 3 Foster, p. 170.
↑ Foster, p. 4.
↑ George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Baronetage, volume II (1902) p. 334.
↑ Foster, p. 311.
1 2 Foster, p. 270.
↑ Foster, p. 295.
↑ Foster, p. 315.
1 2 3 4 5 Foster, p. 73.
1 2 Foster, p. 308.
↑ Foster, p. 171.
↑ Foster, p. 74.
1 2 Foster, p. 179.
↑ Foster, p. 184.
1 2 3 Foster, p. 173.
1 2 3 4 5 Foster, p. 354.
↑ Foster, p. 175.
↑ Complete Baronetage, vol. IV (1904) p. 260.
↑ Foster, p. 176.
↑ Foster, p. 138.
1 2 Foster, p. 137.
1 2 3 Foster, p. 208.
1 2 3 Complete Baronetage, vol. IV, p. 361.
1 2 Foster, p. 317.
↑ Foster, p. 258.
↑ Foster, p. 75.
↑ Foster, p. 275.
↑ Scotland in The History of Parliament Online. Accessed 9 April 2014.

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[foster178-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Foster, p. 178.

[foster99-2] 1 2 3 Foster, p. 99.

[Johnston-3] 1 2 3 4 G. Harvey Johnston, The Heraldry of the Douglases (1907) p. 68.

[4] Foster, p. 102.

[5] Foster, p. 101.

[6] Foster, p. 169.

[7] Foster, p. 182.

[8] Foster, p. 312.

[foster170-9] 1 2 3 Foster, p. 170.

[10] Foster, p. 4.

[11] George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Baronetage, volume II (1902) p. 334.

[12] Foster, p. 311.

[foster270-13] 1 2 Foster, p. 270.

[14] Foster, p. 295.

[15] Foster, p. 315.

[foster73-16] 1 2 3 4 5 Foster, p. 73.

[foster308-17] 1 2 Foster, p. 308.

[18] Foster, p. 171.

[19] Foster, p. 74.

[foster179-20] 1 2 Foster, p. 179.

[21] Foster, p. 184.

[foster173-22] 1 2 3 Foster, p. 173.

[foster354-23] 1 2 3 4 5 Foster, p. 354.

[24] Foster, p. 175.

[25] Complete Baronetage, vol. IV (1904) p. 260.

[26] Foster, p. 176.

[27] Foster, p. 138.

[foster137-28] 1 2 Foster, p. 137.

[foster208-29] 1 2 3 Foster, p. 208.

[p361-30] 1 2 3 Complete Baronetage, vol. IV, p. 361.

[foster317-31] 1 2 Foster, p. 317.

[32] Foster, p. 258.

[33] Foster, p. 75.

[34] Foster, p. 275.

[35] Scotland in The History of Parliament Online. Accessed 9 April 2014.