Alexander Moncrieff, Lord Moncrieff FRSE (14 August 1870 – 5 August 1949), was a Scottish lawyer and judge, who was created a Senator of the College of Justice.

Life

Alexander Moncrieff was the third son Alexander Moncrieff, Advocate and Sheriff of Ross and Cromarty, and Hope Margaret, née Pattison.[1]

Moncrieff studied law at the universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.[2]

In 1894 Moncrieff was called to the Scottish bar and in 1912 he became a King's Counsel.[3] At this time he was living at 11 Lynedoch Place in Edinburgh's West End.[4]

In January 1926 he was created a Senator of the College of Justice with the title of Lord Moncrieff.[5] He was the judge for the original trial in Donoghue v. Stevenson.

In 1941 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Thomas Graham Robertson, Lord Robertson, Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker, John Alexander Inglis and Sir Ernest Wedderburn.[6]

He became Lord Justice Clerk in February 1947, succeeding Lord Cooper,[2][7] but resigned later that year on the grounds of ill-health.[8] In May 1947, he became a Privy Counsellor.

He died at his home in Edinburgh on 5 August 1949.[1]

Personal life

In 1913, Moncrieff married a widow, Helen Spens (née McClelland Adams). They had three children: Helen Margaret Moncrieff (who went on to become well known as a cellist), Hugh, and Philip.[1]

Moncrieff's daughter, Margaret Moncrieff, married the well-known Scottish pianist Alexander Kelly; and they had two daughters, Catriona Helen Moncrieff Kelly and Alison Mary Moncrieff Kelly. Catriona is Professor of Russian at New College, Oxford; and Alison is a cellist. Alison has two children, Alexander Davan Wetton and Camilla Davan Wetton.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lord Moncrieff". The Times. No. 51454. London. 8 August 1949. p. 7. Retrieved 30 January 2025 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  2. ^ a b "New Lord Justice-Clerk". The Guardian. London. 21 February 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 30 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "No. 28605". The London Gazette. 7 May 1912. p. 3280.
  4. ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911-12
  5. ^ "New Scottish Judges Installed". The Times. No. 44162. London. 6 January 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 30 January 2025 – via The Times Digital Archive.
  6. ^ 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 6 October 2017.
  7. ^ "No. 16416". The Edinburgh Gazette. 28 February 1947. p. 79.
  8. ^ "Lord Moncrieff Resigns". Daily Record. Glasgow. 7 October 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 30 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
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