John Nisbet

Who was John Nisbet?

John Nisbet was a Scottish covenanter who was executed for participating in the rebellion at Bothwell Brig. He was a descendent of Murdoch Nisbet, a lollard who translated the Bible into the Scots language. The son of an Ayrshire tenant farmer, John Nisbet traveled to mainland Europe where he participated in the Thirty Years' War as a professional soldier. He attended the 1650 coronation of Charles II at Scone, where he subscribed the covenant, swearing his allegiance to ‘all the acts of reformation attained to in Scotland from 1638 to 1649’. After returning to the family home at Hardhill, near Loudoun, he married Margaret Law.

Nisbet regularly attended illegal field conventicles and participated in the battles at Rullion Green, Drumclog, and Bothwell Brig. He was subsequently declared an outlaw with a substantial reward offered for his capture. Nisbet was eventually captured at Fenwick and executed in Grassmarket, Edinburgh December 4, 1685. Nisbet is buried at Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, and there is a memorial monument at Loudoun Parish Kirk in Newmilns.