John Drysdale (moderator)

Very Rev Dr John Drysdale FRSE DD (1718-1788) was twice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, both in 1773 and 1784. He was Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland 1766 to 1788, serving George III.

He was brother-in-law to Robert Adam and father-in-law to Prof Andrew Dalzell.

He was born in Kirkcaldy in Fife on 29 April 1714, the third son of Rev John Drysdale of Kirkcaldy Parish Church and his wife Anne Ferguson. His maternal grandfather, William Ferguson, was Provost of Kirkcaldy.

He was educated at Kirkcaldy Parish School alongside Adam Smith and James Oswald each of whom became a lifelong friend. In 1732 John was sent to Edinburgh University to study Classics, Philosophy and Theology though taking no final degree. Around 1736 he began to specialise in Divinity. He was licensed as a minister in 1740. His early service was as assistant in the University Church. In 1748 he was appointed minister of Kirkliston due to the influence of Lord Hopetoun. In 1763 he was transferred to Lady Yester’s Church in Edinburgh (through the recommendation of James Oswald and Lord Bute) and from there to the prestigious Tron Kirk in 1766, following the death of the Rev Dr John Jardine. This role ran concurrently with being Dean of the Chapel Royal to George III. Aberdeen University granted him an honorary doctorate (DD) in 1765.

In 1775 he is listed as living at Shakespeare Square in Edinburgh. This now-demolished square stood at the eastern end of Princes Street with the Theatre Royal as its centrepiece.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1784. His proposers were William Robertson, Henry Grieve and William Robertson, Lord Robertson.

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