Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott

1806-1844

The 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry, was a Scottish politician and nobleman. He was Lord Privy Seal 1842 to 1846. He was educated at Eton and St John's College, Cambridge. In June 1833 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1841, he played in two first-class cricket matches for Marylebone Cricket Club. A great Scottish land magnate, Buccleuch was a Conservative in politics, and was appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1835 and a Privy Counsellor in 1842. He served as Lord Privy Seal from 1842 to 1846 and as Lord President of the Council from January to July 1846 in Peel's government, when he reluctantly supported Peel's decision to repeal the Corn Laws. After Peel's fall, the Duke's political career largely came to an end. In 1878 he became Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, a post he held until his death in 1884. Buccleuch died in Bowhill, Selkirkshire, in April 1884, aged 77. He was buried in the family crypt of the Buccleuch Memorial Chapel in St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Dalkeith, Midlothian.