Hugh Scott of Gala
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Members of the minor Scottish nobility, his family became barons of Gala in 1640 by the marriage of Walter Scott of Deuchar (died 1645) and Jean Pringle (died 1623),[1] daughter and heiress of Sir James Pringle of Smailholm and Gala.[2]
Born on 9 December 1822 at Bellie near Elgin, he was the eldest surviving son of John Scott, 8th Laird of Gala (1790–1840)[3] by his wife Magdalen née Hope (1792–1873), youngest daughter of Sir Archibald Hope of Craighall and Pinkie, 9th Baronet.[4]
A cousin of Sir Walter Scott and great-nephew of Admiral Sir George Scott, his grandfather was Colonel Hugh Scott of Scala (1764–1795), and Professor Alexander Monro of Craiglockhart was a great-grandfather.[5]
Career
In family tradition, Scott was commissioned into the 92nd Regiment of Foot becoming a Captain, then promoted Major he served with the Dumfries, Roxburgh and Selkirkshire Militia.
Upon his father's death in 1840, Scott succeeded as the 9th Laird[6] and inherited the Gala estate, near Galashiels, Roxburghshire.[7]
In 1853 Scott was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,[8] and in 1872 he commissioned Edinburgh architect David Bryce to redesign Gala House in the Scots baronial style. Completed in 1876, Gala remained the family home until 1976 before being demolished in 1983.[9] Old Gala House is now a museum.[10]