Hercules Robertson, Lord Benholme

Hercules James Robertson, Lord Benholme (13 October 1795 – 15 September 1874)[1] was a Scottish judge. He became a Senator of the College of Justice in 1853.

Life

76 Great King Street, Edinburgh

Born in Edinburgh, he was the son of George Robertson – Scott and his wife Isabella Scott.[2]

Robertson was educated at the High School and then studied law at the University of Edinburgh.[2] He was called to the Scottish bar in 1817.[2] Robertson was Sheriff of Renfrewshire in 1842 and was appointed a Lord of Session assuming the judicial title Lord Benholme, after his mother's family seat.[3]

He lived with his family at 76 Great King Street, a very large Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh's Second New Town.[4]

He died in Edinburgh on 15 September 1874.

Family

On 7 July 1829, he married Ann Wilhelmina Hope (died 1842), the daughter of Charles Hope, Lord Granton.[5] They had four sons and two daughters.[1][5]

His son David Robertson became a minister and married Eleanor Charlotte Dalrymple-Fergusson, daughter of Sir Charles Dalrymple Fergusson, 5th Baronet of Kilkerran.[6]

His son George Robertson (1830–1896) became a civil engineer in charge of the expansion of Leith Docks. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts from 1866 to 1868. [7]

Arms

Coat of arms of Hercules Robertson, Lord Benholme

Crest A lion's head erased Gules langued Azure. Escutcheon Argent three lions' heads erased Gules within a bordure of the second charged with six fleur-de-lys of the first. Motto Me Fortem Reddit Deus[8]

References

1. Watt, James Crabb (1893). John Inglis, Lord Justice-General of Scotland: A Memoir. W. Green & Sons. pp. 489.
2. Dod, Robert P. (1860). The Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Whitaker and Co. p. 114.
3. Anderson, William (1863). The Scottish Nation. Vol. III. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton & Co. p. 412.
4. Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1857-8
5. Debrett, John (1870). Robert Henry Mair (ed.). Debrett's House of Commons and Judicial Bench. London: Dean & Son. pp. 428–429.
6. "Person Page". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
7. Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0-902-198-84-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
8. Debrett's Judicial Bench. 1869.