George Fergusson


(Lord Hermand)

1743 - 1827

Judge. Born in Edinburgh (or perhaps Ayrshire), the son of Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran (1688- 1759), Fergusson was admitted as an advocate in 1765. He was appointed to the bench as a Lord of Session in 1799, taking the name Lord Hermand. He rose to become a Lord of Justiciary in 1808. He knew Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832), who served as a clerk in his court. He was also a founding fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783. Fergusson married in 1793 and built Hermand House (West Lothian) as his home in 1797. He became known as a good-humoured and kindly eccentric, with a liking for the bottle and for his large Newfoundland dog called Dolphin, which would accompany him on walks around his estate and to church on Sunday. Fergusson resigned as a judge in 1826 and died at Hermand House the following year without children.


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