James Johnston (baptised 9 September 1655 – May 1737 Bath), was envoy extraordinary to Prussia 1690-92, Secretary of State, Scotland, 1692-96 and Lord Clerk Register 1704-5.[1]
He was the fourth son of Lord Warriston, Archibald Johnston (1610–1663), who was executed by Charles II on 26 July 1663 for having served under Cromwell, and his second wife Helen, daughter of Alexander Hay, Lord Fosterseat.
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James, with other members of his family, fled to Holland after his father's death. He studied law in Utrecht and according to John Macky (writer and secret agent during the reigns of King William, Queen Anne and King George I), was most proficient.
He returned just before the Glorious Revolution of 1688, bringing William of Orange to England in the same year. After the accession of William, Johnston was sent to the Elector of Brandenburg with a gift of the Order of the Garter. On his return in 1692, he was appointed Joint Secretary of State for Scotland with John Dalrymple.[2]
Johnston was a dedicated Presbyterian and as such agitated for the empowerment of the commoners and their independence from the nobility.
In 1696 at Salisbury he married Catharine Poulett, third daughter of John, 2nd Baron Poulett by his first wife, Catharine née Vere. There were no surviving children.
In 1716 he married Lucy daughter of Thomas Claxton of Dublin, sister of Frances Countess of Rosse and Viscountess Jocelyn, sister of Mary Carter, cousin of Edward Lovett Pearce, cousin of Sir John Vanbrugh and great-granddaughter of Sir Dudley Carleton of Imber Court Surrey, nephew and heir of Viscount Dorchester.
Johnston gradually fell from William's favour after demanding guarantees of his tithes and grants in a changing political climate that led to the Act of Resumption in 1711. His dismissal from office soured Johnston against the King, who in turn was vexed by Johnston's "freedom of manners".
He settled at Twickenham after his political retirement, (returning for a short period to political life under Anne, when he was appointed Lord Clerk Register), being one of the first to construct a home on the Thames in Twickenham during the 18th century. He procured a lease in 1702 and commissioned the architect John James to plan and erect a mansion - a project which spanned the following 35 years. The grounds were extensive, including the area now known as the Orleans House woodlands. Johnston created a fine garden which "included canals, an icehouse, a kitchen garden, a pleasure garden, a wilderness, a grotto and a fruit garden."[3] A baroque octagonal room, designed by architect James Gibbs, was added in 1720 for entertaining Caroline who regarded Johnston with great favour.
Johnston died at Bath in May 1737 at the age of eighty-three and was buried at Twickenham on the 11th of May.
His eldest daughter, Lucy, baptised at Twickenham 7 July 1717, married General George Preston, Colonel of the Scots Greys.
His one surviving son, Lieutenant-General James Johnston (21 May 1721–26 November 1795) was Lieutenant-colonel Royal Horse Guards then Colonel of the Scots Greys following the death of his brother-in-law, General Preston in 1785.
James Johnston the younger married Charlotte, daughter of George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax. After Charlotte's death he married his own first-cousin, Frances Carter, widow of Philip Twysden and mother of Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey.
Louis-Phillippe, Duc D'Orleans, while in exile, lived in Johnston's house at Twickenham between 1813 and 1815 and the house was later named for him. Orleans House was demolished in 1926, though the outbuildings and Octagon Room were saved by the efforts of a local figure, Hon. Nellie Levy later Hon. Mrs Ionides, and converted into an art gallery in 1972.[4]