James Somervell

James Somervell (1845–1924) was Conservative MP for Ayr Burghs. He won a by-election in 1890, but he lost his seat to William Birkmyre, the Liberal candidate, in 1892.

Somervell inherited Sorn Castle and its estate from his father Graham Somervell (born Graham Russell) in 1881, and later sold it to the McIntyre family.[1]

Somervell was a dairy farmer by trade. In 1884 he set up the company Sorn Dairy Supply which sold dairy products from the estate in Sorn through a number of premises in Glasgow.[2] The Glasgow International Exhibition (1901) included a working model dairy farm run by Somervell.[3]

Somervell married in 1892 and they had three children, but after his wife discovered he was having an affair with the children's former nurse, she sought a divorce that was granted in 1900.[4]

In 1904 he stood trial on a charge of assaulting a man by firing a gun in his direction, but he pleaded that the gun had been discharged by accident, and the jury acquitted him.

References
  1. J. T. Ward (1967–69). "Ayrshire Landed Estates in the Nineteenth Century" (PDF). Ayrshire Collection VIII.CS1 maint: date format (link)
  2. Rivers of the North: Their Cities and their Commerce. 1894.
  3. "Sorn Dairy Supply". AyrshireHistory.com.
  4. "The Amours of Somervell of Sorn". Auckland Star. 1 September 1900.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
John Sinclair		 Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs
1890 – 1892		 Succeeded by
William Birkmyre
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