George Lockhart 1681-1731

George LOCKHART of Carnwath 1681-1731

One of Lockhart's bookplates (British Museum Franks Collection *546)

Biographical Note

First son of Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath (1685–9), a lawyer who became lord president of the Scottish Court of Session. He was a member of the Scottish Parliament from 1702 to 1707 and of the United Kingdom Parliament from 1708 to 1715. He had a dislike of Presbyterianism and strong support for the Jacobite cause, and he also opposed the Act of Union. Lockhart was the presumed author of an anonymous work detailing the inner workings of the campaigning for and against the proposed Union.

He was involved in an unsuccessful attempt to repeal the Union in 1713 and was closely involved in the preparation for the Jacobite uprising of 1715 when he was briefly imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle. He continued to support the Jacobite cause and in 1727 fled to the continent to escape impending arrest. He was permitted to return to Scotland the following year. He retired to his estates but was killed in a duel with an unidentified opponent in 1731.

Books

Used engraved bookplates:

Franks 18566/*546 Lockhart, George, of Carnwath

Franks 18567 Lockhart, George, of Carnwath. (a smaller plate); Franks 18568 Lockhart, George, of Carnwath (the last plate reworked.)

Examples: St John's College, Cambridge (H.10.66)

The extent and disposition of his library is not known.

Sources

• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903.
• History of Parliament