Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet

Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet (1681–17 April 1771) was a Scottish aristocrat, lawyer and agricultural reformer.

Life

Hope was born in 1681 at Rankeillor House near Monimail in Fife. He was the son of Margaret, the daughter of Sir John Aytoun of Aytoun and Sir Archibald Hope, Lord Rankeillor.[1] His grandfather was Sir John Hope, Lord Craighall, 2nd Baronet Hope of Craighall.[1] The Hope baronetcy of Craighall in the county of Fife was created in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia on 19 February 1628 for Thomas Hope, a Scottish lawyer, and advisor to Charles I.[2]

Like his ancestors, Hope studied the law. He was admitted as an advocate 8 July 1701 and served as an MP for Fifeshire from 1706 to 1707.[1] He opposed the Treaty of Union 1707 and left politics at that point. In 1723 he founded the Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agriculture.[3] He served as the first president of this society with Robert Maxwell of Arkland as its secretary.[4]

In 1741 Hope engaged in correspondence with James Erskine, Lord Grange, with a view to ending the incarceration on the island of Hirta of his wife, Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange, proposing that she be allowed to live with relatives in Aberdeenshire. His efforts were unsuccessful.[5]

Hope succeeded to the baronetcy on 5 June 1766 on the death of his cousin Lieutenant-General Sir John Bruce Hope, 7th Baronet (c. 1684 – 5 June 1766).[1]

He was an early promoter of agricultural improvement and land improvement. One of his ambitious projects was the draining of the Borough Loch and adjacent marshy land south of Edinburgh which was then put to use as common grazing land.[6] Today that area is known as The Meadows, but historically was often referred to as Hope Park.[6] He built a villa, Hope House, in 1770 on the east side of the reclaimed land.[7]

Sir Thomas died 17 April 1771[1] and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson, Sir Archibald Hope, 9th Baronet.

Family

Sir Thomas married Margaret Lowis, the eldest daughter of James Lowis[8] of Merchiston on 16 March 1702.[1] The couple had the following children:[8][9][10]

  • Archibald, married Catherine Todd, eldest daughter of Hugh Todd.[11] Died young and the baronetcy passed to his son, Sir Archibald Hope, 9th Baronet
  • James, of London, merchant, governor of Cape Coast Castle
  • Thomas, physician to the English factory at Cartagena
  • John, a merchant, married Isabel, daughter of Sir Alexander Bannerman, Bannerman Baronet of Elsick
  • Charles, a captain of marines, died unmarried
  • Margaret, died unmarried
  • Agnes, died unmarried
  • Helen, died unmarried

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Creations By Charles I". Complete Baronetage: English, Irish and Scottish, 1625-1649. W. Pollard & Company, Limited. 1902. pp. 343–345. Retrieved 23 July 2017. Sir Thomas Hope, Baronet [S 1628] of Rankeillor, cousin and heir male, being 2nd but 1st surviving son and heir of Sir Archibald Hope of Rankeillor, by Margaret, daughter of Sir John Aytoun, of Aytoun, which Archibald, who was a Lord of Session [S], 1669, under the designation of Lord Rankeillor, and who died 10 October 1706, aged 67, was younger son of the 2nd Baronet. He was admitted Advocate [S] 8 July 1701; was M.P. [S] for Fifeshire 1706-07; succeeded to the Baronetcy, when very old, 5 June 1766. He was a great agriculturist and in his honour Hope Park, near Edinburgh, was so named. He married 16 March 1702, Margaret, 1st daughter of James Lowis, of Merchiston. He died 17 April 1771.
  2. ^ "Creations by Charles I; Hope". Complete Baronetage: English, Irish and Scottish, 1625-1649. W. Pollard & Company, Limited. 1902. pp. 343–345. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Sir Thomas Hope of Rankeillor from the Gazetteer for Scotland".
  4. ^ The Rise of Economic Societies in 18th Century by K Stapelbroek and J Marjanen
  5. ^ Lady Grange in the Island of St. Kilda, in Proceedings of the Society of the Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol. XI, 1877
  6. ^ a b William Anderson (1867). The Scottish Nation: Or the Surnames, Families, Literature, Honours, and Biographical History of the People of Scotland, Volume 2. Fullarton. p. 491. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  7. ^ Edinburgh: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, by Charles McKean ISBN 0 9501462 4 2
  8. ^ a b Sir Robert Douglas (1798). The Baronage of Scotland. Edinburgh, Scotland. pp. 58–61. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  9. ^ "Peerage and Baronetage". Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. Burke's Peerage Limited. 1914. pp. 1034–1035. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  10. ^ Joseph Foster (1881). The baronetage and knightage. Nichols and Sons. pp. 326–327. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  11. ^ Church of England, Diocese of Carlisle (2015). "Introduction". The Diocese of Carlisle, 1814-1855: Chancellor Walter Fletcher's 'Diocesan Book', with Additional Material from Bishop Percy's Parish Notebooks. England: Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. xxv. ISBN 9780854440740. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by Baronet
(of Craighall)
1766–1771 		Succeeded by