Bobbing John burial place marked at last

THE burial place of one of Scotland’s most infamous political chancers has been marked for the first time - 273 years after his death.

John Erskine, the 6th Earl of Mar, Secretary of State for Scotland under Queen Anne, devised the 1707 Act of Union but was exiled to France after leading the doomed Jacobite Rising of 1715.

The Earl, nicknamed Bobbing John because he changed sides so often, died in exile in 1732, aged 57.

His body was returned to the family seat in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, to be buried in an unmarked grave beneath an aisle in the local kirk, but the site was lost when the building collapsed in 1815.

After years of researching the exact site, historians have concluded that the earl’s resting place is a grassy patch within the Kirkgate Cemetery, beside the 19th-century mausoleum chapel which replaced the kirk.

At a ceremony on Friday, Jamie, the present Earl of Mar and Kellie, marked the spot with a black marble tribute featuring the family’s coat of arms.

An inscription, chosen by the present earl, reads: "In memory of John, Earl of Mar. Architect, improver, originator of industrial Alloa, statesman and Jacobite. Born 1675, died 1732 in exile."

Mar, 55, said: "This is a long-overdue commemoration of the 6th Earl, whose inauspicious grave has remained unmarked but whose legacy lives on all around us.

"He is written off in history as Bobbing John, the person who led the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising in 1715.

"History has concentrated more on his failures than his successes. He was one of the lead negotiators in the Treaty of Union - not because he wanted to lose the Scottish parliament but because he wanted a permanent peace and access to English markets and colonies for Scottish traders."

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Last updated: 20-Feb-05 01:38 BST