William Prosser, Lord Prosser
William David Prosser, Lord Prosser QC LLB PC (1934–2015) was a Scottish judge and an advocate for the arts in Edinburgh.
Personal life and education
Prosser was the younger son of Edinburgh solicitor David Griffiths Prosser WS MC (1896-1971) and his wife Edith Mary Dallas. He was born on 23 November 1934 in Edinburgh. The family lived at 4 Bellevue Crescent, a very large Georgian townhouse originally belonging to his grandfather, Sir John Prosser WS LLD.[1]
He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy where he was a senior Ephor (prefect). Prosser read classics at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he finished with a double first, and then read law at University of Edinburgh.[2] For his National Service, he was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and served in British Guyana.[3][4] From 1986 as a Senator of the College of Justice he was given the title Lord Prosser.
Prosser married Vanessa Lindsay in 1964. They had two sons and two daughters.[2]
Legal career
Prosser became an advocate in 1962, and served as Standing Junior Counsel in Scotland for the Board of Inland Revenue (1969–1974. He took silk (became a Queen's Counsel) in 1974, and served as Vice Dean (1979–1983) and then Dean (1983–1986) of the Faculty of Advocates. In 1986, he became a Court of Session judge and served until his retirement in 2001.[2][4]
Prosser's legal work also included serving on the Scottish Committee of the Council on Tribunals,[3] as trustee (2002–2007) for the Franco-British Council, and as President of the Franco-British Lawyers’ Society.[4] He helped the University of the Highlands and Islands gain university status (2011) and served on its court.[3]
Arts advocacy
Prosser served as chairman of the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust from 1988–1998 where he contributed to saving buildings such as Lady Cathcart House, Ayr; Strathleven House, Dumbartonshire; Auchinleck House, Ayrshire and Law’s Close, Kirkcaldy.[2] He was also chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland (1990–1995), the Royal Lyceum Theatre (chairman, '87-92), the Scottish Architectural Education Trust (1994–2007), and the Sir Walter Scott Club (1993–1996).[4][3]
Prosser died on March 2015, in Edinburgh, at the age of 80.[2] He is buried with his parents and grandparents in the modern section of Dean Cemetery on Queensferry Road in western Edinburgh. The grave lies towards the south-west.
References
- Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1910-11
- Steven, Alasdair (2 April 2015). "Obituary: The Rt Hon Lord William Prosser QC". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- "Rt Hon Lord William Prosser. QC, MA, LLB, PC". HeraldScotland. 15 Apr 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- Dalyell, Tam (14 June 2015). "William Prosser: Lawyer and administrator who bestrode both the legal". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2017.