Material relating to Sir Thomas Hope, of Craighall, and Sir Thomas Hope, junior, of Kerse

Manuscript book. [Major Practicks]. The 'Practiques and decisiones of the Lords of sessions, with sev[er]all Collectiones out of the booke of the Majestie, Burrow Lawes, Acts of Parlia[men]t and bookes of Sederunt Collected (as is supposed) by Sir Thomas Hope elder whose the Observationes of the practiques are when he was Kings advocat putt in order and addit unto, by his sonne Sir Thomas Hope Junior of Carse'. The book bears the arms or book plate of Dundas of Arniston, front cover, and on the rear cover a book plate bearing 'Charles Felix O. V. G. J. A. Hope-Nicholson his Book'.

Manuscript notebook. [Minor Practicks]. 'Sir Thomas Hop of Craighall Advocat to the Kings Majestie his Observationes of the practick of the Sessions of Scotland and utherwayes 1667'.

Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet, Craighall, (1573–1646) was a Scottish lawyer. He was admitted as an advocate in 1605, and he made his reputation by defending John Forbes (1568?-1634), and other ministers at Linlithgow in 1606. In 1625, he prepared the deed revoking the grants of church property made by James VI.

Hope was appointed Lord Advocate in 1626, and held the office until 1641. He was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1628. Hope conducted the case against John Elphinstone, 2nd Lord Balmerino in 1634. As Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1643, he maintained the king's temporizing policy. In 1645 Hope was appointed one of the Commissioners for managing the Exchequer, but died the following year.

Sir Thomas Hope of Kerse (1606–1643) was a Scottish judge and politician. He was the second son of Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall. Hope was prominent in opposing Charles I's demand for a public inquiry into 'The Incident' which was a Royalist plot to kidnap a group of Scottish nobles in October 1641 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

Open to bona fide researchers, but please contact repository for details in advance of visit.

Accession no: E2014.11.

Catalogued by Graeme D. Eddie 21 March 2014

Coll-368 is also a collection of legacy material around Sir Thomas Hope of Craighall, being shelfmarks Dc.5.92; Dc.7.72; Gen. 68D.