Francis Grant, Lord Cullen

Sir Francis Grant, Lord Cullen (between 1658 and 1663 – 1726) was a Scottish judge.

Francis Grant was the elder son of Archibald Grant of Ballintomb, Morayshire, a descendant of James Grant, 3rd Laird of Freuchie, by his wife Christian, daughter of Patrick Nairne of Cromdale, was born at Ballintomb in 1658. He was educated at King's College, Aberdeen, and afterwards at Leyden, where he was a favourite pupil of the learned civilian, John Voet.

Soon after his return to Scotland Grant took a prominent part in the discussions on the constitutional questions arising out of the revolution. Some of the older lawyers insisted on the inability of the convention of estates to make any disposition of the crown. Grant strongly opposed this notion, and published a treatise arguing strongly for the power of the estates to establish a new succession.

Grant was admitted an advocate on 29 January 1691, and, owing to the reputation which he had made by this treatise, quickly acquired a large practice. In the exercise of his profession and

was very scrupulous in many points; he would not suffer a just cause to be lost through a client's want of money … and with respect to clergymen of all professions, his conscience obliged him to serve them without a fee.

Grant was created a Baronet of Monymusk, Aberdeen in the baronetage of Nova Scotia with remainder to his heirs male by patent dated 7 December 1705. A few years later he was appointed a Lord Ordinary of the Court of Session in the place of James Murray, Lord Philiphaugh, and took his seat on the bench on 10 June 1709 as Lord Cullen, his title being derived from the name of his paternal estate in Banffshire, which had been ratified to him in 1698, but which he afterwards sold.

In 1713 he purchased the estate of Monymusk in Aberdeenshire, which in 1890 was still the residence of his family, from Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo. On 17 May 1720 he obtained a grant of supporters and an addition to his coat-of-arms, at the same time taking as one of his mottoes the words Jehovah Jireh, the only instance in Scottish heraldry of a Hebrew motto. He died at Edinburgh on 23 March 1726, and was buried in Greyfriars churchyard on 26 March.

Cullen was the author of the following works:

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