William Grant, Lord Prestongrange

William Grant, Lord Prestongrange (1701–1764), was a Scottish politician and judge.

Grant was procurator for the Church of Scotland and Clerk to the General Assembly in 1731. He campaigned against patronage in the Church. He was appointed Solicitor General for Scotland in 1737 and promoted to Lord Advocate in 1746. He was Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs from 1747 to 1754, and carried bills for the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, wardholding and for annexation of forfeited estates to the Crown. He was appointed a Lord of Session and Justiciary as Lord Prestongrange in 1754, and a Commissioner of annexed estates in 1755.

William Grant was the second son of Sir Francis Grant, Lord Cullen, by his second wife, Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Alexander Fordyce of Ayton, Berwickshire. He was admitted an advocate on 24 February 1722, and on 13 May 1731 was appointed procurator for the church of Scotland, and principal clerk to the general assembly.

In 1736 Grant wrote a pamphlet Remarks on the State of the Church of Scotland with respect to Patronages, and with reference to a Bill now depending before Parliament, On 20 June 1737 he succeeded Charles Erskine of Tinwald as Solicitor General, and on 28 August in the following year was constituted one of the commissioners for improving the fisheries and manufactures of Scotland. Upon the retirement of Robert Craigie, Grant was appointed Lord Advocate on 26 February 1746, and on 20 May following the assembly held that the lord advocate could not act as procurator and clerk, and that consequently these offices were vacated.

At a by-election in February 1747 Grant was returned to parliament as member for the Elgin Burghs, and on 1 April 1747 was "added to the gentlemen who are appointed to prepare and bring in a bill for taking away and abolishing the heretable jurisdictions in … Scotland". Grant took part in the debate on the second reading of the bill, and is said by Horace Walpole to have spoken "excessively well for it". This important measure of Scottish reform was subsequently carried through both houses and passed, as well as another bill, which had been introduced by the lord advocate and the English law officers, for the abolition of ward holding.

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