Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet

Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet Hope of Craighall (died 17 April 1771) was a Scottish aristocrat and agricultural reformer.

Life

Hope was born c. 1677.[1] He was the son of Margaret, the daughter of Sir John Aytoun of Aytoun and Sir Archibald Hope, Lord Rankeillor.[2] His grandfather was Sir John Hope, Lord Craighall, 2nd Baronet Hope of Craighall.[2] 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.[3]

Like his ancestors before him, Hope studied the law. He was admitted as an advocate 8 July 1701 and served as an MP for Fifeshire from 1706-1707.[2]

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).[2]

He was an early promoter of agriculture in Scotland. One of his ambitious projects was the draining and cultivating of a marshy piece of land south of Edinburgh.[4] Today that area is known as The Meadows, but historically was often referred to as Hope Park.[4]

Sir Thomas died 17 April 1771[2] 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[5] of Merchiston on 16 March 1702.[2] The couple had the following children:[5][6][7]

• Archibald, married Catherine Todd, eldest daughter of Hugh Todd.[8] 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. Hutchinson, Roger (2014). St Kilda: A People's History. Birlinn. ISBN 9780857908315.
2. "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.
3. "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.
4. 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.
5. Sir Robert Douglas (1798). The Baronage of Scotland. Edinburgh, Scotland. pp. 58–61. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
6. "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.
7. Joseph Foster (1881). The baronetage and knightage. Nichols and Sons. pp. 326–327. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
8. 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. Retrieved 23 July 2017.

Baronetage of Nova Scotia
Preceded by John Bruce-Hope	Baronet (of Craighall) 1766–1771	Succeeded by Archibald Hope