John Clerk of Penicuik

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Sir John Clerk, 2nd Bt, known as John Clerk of Penicuik, 1676 - 1755, was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge, composer and architect.

The son of a Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland, Clerk went on to serve in that capacity himself, for the Whig Party. A leading supporter of the Act of Union 1707 with the Kingdom of England, Clerk wrote in his memoirs of English novelist, journalist and secret agent Daniel Defoe:

"He was a spy among us, but not known as such, otherwise the Mob of Edinburgh would pull him to pieces."

He went on to become one of the first batch of MPs from Scotland to the new Parliament of Great Britain, see Scotland constituency.

Clerk was tutored by the baroque composer Arcangelo Corelli, but his own work has often been overlooked, primarily since the only record of his composition seems to be his own papers. He was a patron to various artists and architects, and even dabbled in architecture himself.

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