Lieutenant‑General Philip Anstruther (bap. 26 July 1682 – 11 November 1760) was a Scottish professional soldier and Whig politician who served in the British Army and sat as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Anstruther Burghs at various intervals between 1715 and 1754. He is chiefly remembered for his tenure as Lieutenant Governor of Menorca, a post that became the focus of parliamentary controversy.
Early life and family
Anstruther was born at Airdrie House in Fife, Scotland, the only son of Sir James Anstruther of Airdrie House—a lawyer who had served as Clerk of the Bills in the Parliament of Scotland—and his wife Katherine Skene. He was baptised in Edinburgh on 26 July 1682. The Anstruther family were prominent landowners in Fife; his cousin, Sir John Anstruther, 2nd Baronet, controlled the parliamentary borough of Anstruther Burghs.
Military career
In 1710 Anstruther received a captaincy in the Foot Guards (later known as the Grenadier Guards). In 1720 he purchased the colonelcy of the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot, an appointment he retained until his death. Contemporary records provide few details about any active service; at the time senior commissions could be bought and were often treated as private assets rather than positions requiring field experience.
Parliamentary service
Anstruther entered the House of Commons in the 1715 general election, succeeding his cousin as MP for Anstruther Burghs. He held the seat continuously until defeat at the 1741 election, returned again in 1747, and served until he stood down in 1754. His parliamentary record is sparse; the only recorded vote of note was in 1737 when he alone among Scottish MPs supported government reprisals against Edinburgh following the Porteous Riots—a stance that earned him considerable hostility at home.
Lieutenant Governor of Menorca
In 1733 Anstruther was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Menorca, a strategically important British naval base in the western Mediterranean captured from Spain in 1708. His administration was marked by absenteeism and disputes with subordinates. In 1742 he court‑martialled his subordinate Henry Erskine on charges of conspiracy; Erskine was later acquitted and became a political adversary. Parliamentary scrutiny over Anstruther’s prolonged absence from Menorca led to a Privy Council inquiry, after which he resigned the governorship when MPs were barred from holding overseas commands.
Later life and death
Anstruther died unmarried on 11 November 1760 at his family home in Airdrie House, Fife, aged 80. He bequeathed his estate to his cousin Sir John Anstruther, 2nd Baronet. His legacy is chiefly that of a sinecure‑type officer whose military and political careers were intertwined with the patronage networks of early‑18th‑century Scotland.
References: History of Parliament entry (1970), works by Dalton (1910) and Guy (1985), RCAHMS report (1933), and contemporary parliamentary records.
