Walter Scott and the Faculty of Advocates – a living heritage

Professor Alison Lumsden FRSE, Honorary Librarian at Abbotsford, The Rt Hon James Wolffe KC, Chairman of the Abbotsford Trust, and Giles Ingram, CEO of the Abbotsford Trust.

 

EARLIER this week, members of the Faculty of Advocates and invited guests gathered in the historic Reading Room in Parliament House in Edinburgh for a talk entitled Walter Scott and the Faculty of Advocates – a living heritage.

Presented by The Rt Hon James Wolffe KC, former Lord Advocate and former Dean of Faculty, and the Chairman of the Abbotsford Trust, together with Giles Ingram, Chief Executive of the Abbotsford Trust, the talk was a wide‑ranging discussion on Sir Walter Scott’s legacy and the enduring significance of his collections.

They explored Scott’s career as an advocate, his lifelong work as an antiquarian, and the unique pathway by which the Faculty of Advocates came to own Scott’s remarkable literary and historical collection at Abbotsford.

An accompanying exhibition provided a rare opportunity to view select treasures from the collection which are normally housed in the Abbotsford Library in Melrose – one of the most complete surviving writers’ libraries in the world.

James Wolffe KC, who is in his second term as an Abbotsford Trustee and has chaired the Abbotsford Trust since 2021, brought his legal and historical expertise to the conversation. Giles Ingram, CEO of the Abbotsford Trust since 2015, contributed insights drawn from a career in heritage and tourism and his deep practical knowledge of Scott’s home and legacy.

The event highlighted the close collaboration between the Faculty of Advocates Abbotsford Collection Trust – which is funded by members of Faculty – and the Abbotsford Trust, reinforcing a shared commitment to advancing education, heritage, and culture by preserving and promoting one of Scotland’s most significant literary collections.