Sir Thomas Hope, 8th Baronet (1681–17 April 1771) was a Scottish aristocrat, lawyer and agricultural reformer.
[3] He served as the first president of this society with Robert Maxwell of Arkland as its secretary.
[4] In 1741 Hope engaged in correspondence with James Erskine, Lord Grange, with a view to ending the incarceration on the island of Hirta of his wife, Rachel Chiesley, Lady Grange, proposing that she be allowed to live with relatives in Aberdeenshire.
[6] Today that area is known as The Meadows, but historically was often referred to as Hope Park.
[6] He built a villa, Hope House, in 1770 on the east side of the reclaimed land.