5 10 57 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/12/543/GGLP-CYDI-CANMORE-Kirkcudbright.pdf 23c99875b9c0b32571cc4ac0817ad128 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Kirkcudbright Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Yes we can! Kirkcudbright has a whopping 496 entries on Canmore, so if you’ve ever taken a photograph of the town then it’s likely that you captured one of the sites listed! Many of the entries could do with more information or images so it’s a great time to have a look and see if you can fill in some of the gaps. Here’s a wee selection to give you a taste of what sites have been included, but feel free to just search for ‘Kirkcudbright’ – there’s a lot more to look at! High Street, Castle Street, Union Street, St Cuthbert Street and so on… Canmore ID: We don’t have that kind of space! St Mary Street, Town Hall Canmore ID: 174763 If you are currently in any of the buildings on these or nearby streets, head to Canmore and you’ll probably find it listed. Ah, some lovely 19th century architectural drawings that show a grand-looking structure, which was presumably never built as there isn’t a single photograph or any information… If you do, pop outside and take a photo – upload this through MyCanmore and you’ve just significantly improved this entry. If you know when it was built, get that recorded too! Or could this be where the new Galleries is located? Nah… there would be some mention of it in the national records if it was – wouldn’t there?! If you’re walking down any of these streets, then why not take a quick pic of the whole street, as they have their own entries – the streets here have medieval origins. pro Tip! Have you got any old photos? These would be great too! We also know that Kirkcudbright is a busy place, so if you have any snaps showing any events, old and new, then pop them up – it’s all part of the town’s story. If you do a Search on ‘Kirkcudbright’ in the Key Word search option, it brings up sites all over Scotland, including Perth and Aberdeenshire! Use the Filter options on the left of the screen to filter the Parish down to ‘Kirkcudbright’ – that will show you the relevant sites. And yes, there’s still 496. St Mary Street, Selkirk Memorial Canmore ID: 212858 Ah, a commemorative monument of unknown date. Must not be much to look at as no one’s put up any photographs and there’s nothing written about it. But that can’t be right for our National Record, surely?! Kirkcudbright Gasworks Canmore ID: 64123 Kirkcudbright Bay Lifeboat House & Slipway Canmore ID: 205484 A lifeboat station is recorded down towards Torrs at NX 6749 4636. Other than being told that there’s a 19th-20th century lifeboat station and a slipway of unknown date here, there’s nothing else recorded! Is it still in use? When was it built, and was the slipway built at the same time? Does anyone have any photographs of how it looks today or in the past? Now there are some great photos here of the gasworks along Old Gas Lane. They look like they were taken in the 1960s – worth a look if you haven’t seen them – but nothing else. What’s the history here? When were they built and operating? Is anything still standing? Have the structures been used for anything else? And while you’re there, take a quick photo down Old Gas Lane itself – it has its own entry, Canmore ID: 212442. Drummore, Stone Circle Canmore ID: 63926 To the south of Kirkcudbright, the remains of a stone circle are recorded at NX 6884 4597 and they’re even marked on the map. Four of the stones are still standing but there isn’t a single photo. These stones are legally protected as they were likely placed here at least 3,000 years ago if not earlier. A photo would be nice though… surely they’re worth one or two? St Mary’s Park, St Cuthbert Wanderers Football Club Canmore ID: 239114 So there’s more than just art going on in Kirkcudbright – it has its own football club, of course. There are a couple of aerial views but nothing else. Is the club fairly new or does it have a bit of a history? Are there any photographs that haven’t been taken from mid-air?! New Sites: What you can’t do in MyCanmore is add new sites, but if there are any that you would like documented, you could upload their images to Canmore entry ID: 64110, Kirkcudbright General, and include a description. This way they can still be included in the national record of Kirkcudbright for everyone to see. any Questions If you have any questions about this project, just email helen.keron@dumgal.gov.uk or get in touch with us through the Can You Dig It Facebook or Twitter accounts (@GGLPArchaeology). You can also let us know how you get on – do share with us through email or on social media what you’ve managed to find. We’re always interested and love a good photograph! Email us or tag us with @GGLPArchaeology in your post or tweet. So do take part if you can – it’s a great way to preserve your knowledge and enrich the national record for the area. It’s time to let the world know how great our heritage is! @GGLPArchaeology  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Kirkcudbright Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_83 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Description An account of the resource Adding to the CANMORE record for the Galloway Glens. GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/12/542/GGLP-CYDI-CANMORE-CastleDouglas.pdf 9a37e69eeda28eb638b5e5c2f107f1ae Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Castle Douglas Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Yes we can! Castle Douglas is a bustling town that dates back to 1792 and amongst its streets sit a number of hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Wander out into the surrounding area and you will also discover that this old town has ancient roots. A number of heritage sites are listed across the area of Castle Douglas on Canmore, so why not check it out and see if you can contribute to any of them, either by uploading any photos you’ve taken or perhaps adding any knowledge you might have of the site. Here’s a list of some entries that could do with your help! Clock Tower Canmore ID: 352779 Lodge of Kelton Farm Rock Art Canmore ID: 239597 You might have spotted this one on your wanderings through Castle Douglas – it’s hard to miss and even harder to imagine that it hasn’t been at the centre of a few snapshots! This one’s a shout out to those of you a bit partial to the lovely walks around the Threave Estate… But there’s no images of this tower on Canmore and no information beyond where it is. Was is it really funded by someone living in America? Surely they’re at least entitled to a mention in the national database? St Andrew’s Parish Church (now The Fullarton Theatre) Canmore ID: 195134 Now here we have a 19th century church that’s been converted into a 20th century theatre. Brilliant, a building with a bit of history and an interesting conversion story – none of which appears on Canmore! Anybody know anything or have any photographs? Or does no one ever go here?! According to Canmore, there’s an outcrop of greywacke that has 11 ‘cup marks’ on it, which sits in the field to the right hand side as you drive into Lodge of Kelton Farm (just to the north of the A75). There’s a more detailed description of its location on Canmore. These carvings are likely an example of prehistoric rock art – so say, around 5,000 years old… Are you up for seeing if you can find it and uploading a photograph? At the moment, Canmore doesn’t have a single shot! pro Tip! If you do a Search on ‘Castle Douglas’ in the Key Word search option, it brings up sites from all across Scotland! Use the Filter option on the left of the screen to filter the Parish down to ‘Kelton’ – that will show you the relevant sites. Castle Douglas Station, Canmore ID: 64650 If you’re not aware that there was once a train station in Castle Douglas, then you should really be making more use of Canmore! Opened in 1859, the station continued in use until the closure of the line in 1965. Canmore has one lovely black and white image of the station but nothing more. Does anyone have some old photographs that they could upload, or are you able to get a photograph of how the site looks now? Have any of the original buildings or structures survived? And while you’re on Canmore it’s also worth looking at the entries for all of the stations along this route – many of them could do with some photographs added. Carlingwark Lane Canal Canmore ID: 217628 Built in 1765, this short canal runs from Carlingwark Loch through to the River Dee. It served to transport shell-marl to the farms along its route, although was abandoned commercially around 1840. We found this out from Canmore but there aren’t any images. Have you ever photographed the canal? Or do you fancy going for walk in the area to see if you can manage a couple of shots? There’s also two bridges along its route, which each have their own entries – ID: 217629 and 217630 – could be worth a look? The Hotels – The Imperial and The Douglas Arms Canmore ID: 64666 and 64668 So you get a fair number of visitors to old Castle Douglas then? Nice – must be because of all the lovely heritage there is to see. Even the hotels are landmarks – these two are both Listed buildings and on Canmore. With all of these visitors, someone must take a pic of where they’re staying… Canmore doesn’t have any and there’s no information either. How old are these hotels? Are they both still open? Palace Cinema, Canmore ID: 316552 Castle Douglas had its own cinema?! Unfortunately this one’s long gone – demolished in the 1990s apparently and replaced with flats. But that’s not so long ago that it’s completely lost to history – someone must remember this cinema and could give a description or perhaps an old photo? Ah - the constant battle over whether you’ll make it in time to catch the trailers; the decision over sweet or salty popcorn; and the slight concern that your pick & mix is going to be twice the weight of everyone else’s when you get to the till – sparking any memories for anyone? New Sites What you can’t do in MyCanmore is add new sites, but if there are any that you would like documented, you could upload their images to Canmore entry ID: 64645, Castle Douglas General, and include a description. Cotton Street also has its own entry, ID: 209237, but there currently aren’t any images attached – as it’s named after one of the industries created by the town’s founder, it might be worth adding a few! @GGLPArchaeology  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Castle Douglas Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_82 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Description An account of the resource Adding to the CANMORE record for the Galloway Glens. GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/12/541/GGLP-CYDI-CANMORE-Dalry.pdf 26febdf4bb8483857d38338edd4001ce Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Dalry Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_81 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Description An account of the resource Adding to the CANMORE record for the Galloway Glens. GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/12/540/GGLP-CYDI-CANMORE-Balmaclellan.pdf 388ac6539cae7ce9ccaa412d6bcdbc23 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Balmaclellan Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Yes we can! The village of Balmaclellan has a little bit of everything in its past. A few ancient offerings, a medieval castle, a little bit of witch folklore and even a touch of the Crimean War, you would never guess how much history has left its mark in this area. A quick search of the National Record of the Historic Environment on Canmore is enough to show this, but many of the records are missing images or further information and this is where you can help. Here are some entries we’ve spotted but have a look for yourself, and use our MyGalloway guidance notes to get you started. Balmacellan Mote Canmore ID: 64193 Balmaclellan School Canmore ID: 208442 Visit Balmaclellan and it’d be hard to miss the large mound that sits like a proud ‘Christmas-pudding’ on the top of Mote Hill to the north. One single black & white photograph and a location is all the information to be gleaned about Balmaclellan school from its Canmore entry. So, we’ll be able to find it (as long as it hasn’t changed too much since then) but we won’t know anything about what we’re looking at when we get there. This mound is actually the surviving motte of what was once the site of a ‘motte-andbailey’ castle, one of the earliest types of castle to appear in Scotland during the 12th century. Building the mound would have been a relatively quick and simple way to create a defensive stronghold, and it’s on top of this that the keep of the castle stood. Canmore gives the dimensions of the motte – 5m high and 27m in diameter at the base narrowing to 11m at the top – but there is only one photograph, an aerial image taken from some distance away. It would be lovely to see some photographs of the motte taken from anywhere other than a plane thousands of feet in the sky. Apparently it’s been around since 1781 and was known to be a free school. Anyone know if this is true, or have more information that they can add? Or maybe even a photograph of how it looks now? pro Tip! Searching for ‘Balmaclellan’ on Canmore won’t include sites that sit very near to the village but fall into neighbouring parishes. Instead, we used the interactive map at www.pastmap.org.uk to allow us to search through all the sites which sit nearby. Balmaclellan Churchyard Canmore ID: 64195 Surrounding the church, is a churchyard full of 17th, 18th and 19th century gravestones which include a memorial to Covenanter, Robert Grierson. There’s even a sculpture at the front of the churchyard of ‘Old Mortality’ – Robert Paterson – and his pony. The Canmore entry contains these basic facts but no description of who Old Mortality was or a photograph to show what the sculpture looks like. A separate entry, Canmore ID: 64198, exists for an unmarked stone sat near to the edge of the churchyard. This stone appears to be a bit of a puzzle and interpretations range from an ancient standing stone to the grave-marker of a witch’s burial. It would be lovely to have a photograph of the stone to go along with the entry so that people worldwide can continue to be baffled by this feature. Crimean War Memorial Canmore ID: 299037 Balmaclellan Parish Church Canmore ID: 208394 In the churchyard of Balmaclellan, stands the only civic Crimean War Memorial in Scotland, in memory of five soldiers from the parish who died during the war. At the heart of the village, the church is protected as a Listed Building with records stating that its main body dates back to 1753! The Crimean War took place from 1853 to 1856 between Russia on one side and an alliance of British, French, Ottoman and Sardinian troops on the other. The Victoria Cross, one of the highest decorations for bravery, was introduced in recognition of the human cost that the war entailed. Aside from three black & white photographs taken of the church in the 1970s, however, there is nothing else to be found in its Canmore entry. Beyond a simple statement about what the memorial is, the Canmore entry has no further information regarding the people named on it or an image of the memorial itself. Any images or information that you can add would be a great addition in making the importance of this feature more widely recognised. Surely there must be more to know and many features that could be photographed? We hear tell of a remarkable timber ceiling and a stained-glass window that’s nearly a century old… has anyone got anything to help show it off? New Sites What you can’t do in MyCanmore is add new sites, but if there are any that you would like documented, you could upload their images to Canmore entry ID: 113892, Balmaclellan General, and include a description. This way they can still be included in the national record for everyone to see. @GGLPArchaeology  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Balmaclellan Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_80 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Description An account of the resource Adding to the CANMORE record for the Galloway Glens. GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/12/539/GGLP-CYDI-CANMORE-Carsphairn.pdf 7c6087f969b0eefda65dfb8a238a4bd3 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Carsphairn Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Yes we can! Carsphairn is a picturesque village that is steeped in history. From prehistoric burial cairns, through the ‘Killing Times’ and the Covenanters, right up to lead mining in the 19th century – you can understand why it has its own heritage centre! As a result, Canmore has a few great entries in this area but they could always do with some additional knowledge and images. Here are some that stood out to us, but do check out Canmore in case there are others that you can add to. Woodhead Lead Mine Canmore ID: 63884 Carsphairn Parish Church and Churchyard Canmore ID: 209090 and 209091 Hidden from view to the west of Carsphairn sit the remains of the lead mine and ‘model’ village at Woodhead. There’s a lovely black and white photograph of the church and a couple of the gravestones, but that’s all. Built in the 1830s, the mine remained in operation until the 1870s, although people continued to live on the site for some decades after. Does anyone know when the church was built? Has it been altered or extended in any way? This extensive site has the ruins of industrial buildings, chimneys, flues, miners’ cottages and even a school. There are aerial images of the site on Canmore but that’s all. Why not spend an afternoon wandering around the ruins of this extensive site and take some more detailed photographs of what remains? Or maybe you’ve been there in the past and can upload photographs to show how it’s changed over time? Does anyone know any interesting facts or stories that they could share? From the late 18th to the 19th centuries, the lead mines of Dumfries & Galloway were the source of almost all Scottish lead production – surely they deserve a bit more attention in the national record? Do you have any photographs, or are you able to take some, so that we can see the church from different angles? And we know that there’s more to see in that churchyard… is there anything there that reflects Carsphairn’s historical links to the Covenanters? Carsphairn Primary School & Schoolhouse Canmore ID: 205111 and 205112 At the centre of the village sits Carsphairn Primary School. We’ve heard that there has been a school here for nearly 300 years, but that can’t be right - 300 years of stories and images and not a single bit of information in the national record?! Is there something you can add? Prehistoric burial sites at Lagwine Cairn and Cairn Avel Canmore ID: 63880 and 63868 Descriptions of these sites are given but there’s no photographs for us to look at. Now these sites are old – really old. The round cairn at Lagwine is of a type that dates to the Bronze Age (2,500 BC to 800 BC), while the long cairn at Cairn Avel is even older, being of Neolithic type (4,100 BC to 2,500 BC). These burial sites can vary in their complexity from a single individual to rituals of collective burial with a complex structural history. If you get a chance to look for them, you should spot them easily enough – they’re large stone heaps ranging from 50 to 118 feet in length and between 4 to 10 feet high! Some photos would be a great addition to the national historic record. Salutation Hotel Canmore ID: 244753 Along the main street in Carsphairn there is an entry marking the spot of the Salutation Hotel and someone’s already kindly contributed a great photo which, going by the vehicle parked in front, was not taken recently! Now we’re pretty certain this hotel isn’t still open, but does anyone know if the building itself still stands – possibly converted for another purpose? Does anyone have any other old photographs of the hotel that they could add or perhaps a more recent one of how it looks now? When was the hotel built and do you know anything about its history? Seems a shame not to have that information included… pro Tip! Braidenoch Hill Cross Slabs Canmore ID: 63877 and 319600 Fancy a walk? On the southwest slope of Braidenoch Hill south of Carsphairn lie two slabs that bear incised crosses. Canmore has detailed descriptions for these cross-slabs but not a single photograph. Early medieval in date, these slabs are around 1,000 years old - not too shabby. They’re legally protected right where they sit as, although they appear to be abandoned in the middle of nowhere, their location could be significant. Some of these stones marked significant points in the landscape – boundaries, routeways, ancestral burial grounds and so on – while many stood outside churches or monasteries. So while they’re amazing features in their own right, these stones could also point to a significance at this location that has been lost in the intervening centuries. Drumjohn Power Station and Pipeline Canmore ID: 276257 and 276236 Alongside every ancient burial cairn, Canmore also lists modern heritage sites, such as the power station at Drumjohn built in 1984. This small power station was a late addition to the Galloway Hydro-Electric Scheme – does anyone have any photographs that they could share? The pipeline even has its own entry – assuming it’s a bit bigger than your average pipe then? You can also search the Canmore database using pastmap.org.uk – an interactive map that allows you to zoom into your chosen area and see all the Canmore sites, with direct links to each entry. You can also look at other sites in your area such as Scheduled Monuments, Listed Buildings and known Battlefields. New Sites: What you can’t do in MyCanmore is add new sites, but if there are any that you would like documented, you could upload their images to Canmore entry ID: 209088, Carsphairn General, and include a description. The general record itself is also very sparse so if you do have any photographs of the village then feel free to add them! any Questions If you have any questions about this project, just email helen.keron@dumgal.gov.uk or get in touch with us through the Can You Dig It Facebook or Twitter accounts (@GGLPArchaeology). You can also let us know how you get on – do share with us through email or on social media what you’ve managed to find. We’re always interested and love a good photograph! Email us or tag us with @GGLPArchaeology in your post or tweet. So do take part if you can – it’s a great way to preserve your knowledge and enrich the national record for the area. It’s time to let the world know how great our heritage is! @GGLPArchaeology  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway – Carsphairn Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_79 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Description An account of the resource Adding to the CANMORE record for the Galloway Glens. GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/12/538/GGLP-CYDI-MyGalloway-info-sheet.pdf 60b7d32ccda153e5f54f65446ada3612 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Yes we can! MyGalloway is an exciting project that could improve our national historical records and you don’t even have to leave the house! Canmore is a huge online database that holds information on every historical or archaeological site that has ever been recorded within Scotland. How to register for MyCanmore: For some sites there’s lots to see and read, but others have very little - some no more than a name and a location. 2. Register You’ll find the Register option at the top right of the home page. This is where you can help! We want everyone to be as excited about the heritage of the Galloway Glens as we are, so let’s update this database for the world to see. We can do this by using MyCanmore, which lets everyone contribute information about the sites. 1. Head to canmore.org.uk 3. Complete the online form Remember that Display Name is the name that will be appear to the public beside your entries – this could be just your first name, your initials or a nickname! 4. Read the User Licence (don’t worry – it’s not too long!) & tick the box. 5. Choose I accept the Licence Old Photographs: Do you have old photographs of any of the sites in your collection? It doesn’t matter how old they are – it all adds to the history of a site and how it’s changed over time. Don’t forget to date them, even just roughly. 6. You will next be shown the MyCanmore Contributor Licence – be sure to read & if you’re happy, tick the box. You will retain copyright & you can ask them to take down your contributions at any time. New photographs: Perhaps you can take a snapshot of how your local sites look now? Although be wary of entering private land – please ask permission before taking a photograph. You never know though, the current owners might have some additional information to offer if you get talking! 7. Choose I accept the Licence Memories: Many of the recorded sites are buildings – maybe you used to live or work in one and can write a description of its layout and character at the time? Perhaps also what it was used for? Although please try to keep any text contributions as factual as you can. Top Tip! To give you a kickstart each month, we’ll be releasing a selection of sites in each area of the Galloway Glens that have very little information in their entry. You don’t have to wait for these though head on over to Canmore and find your local sites to get started. High Street, New Galloway 1975 High Street, New Galloway 2020 How to upload images or text: 1. Head to canmore.org.uk & login via the top right corner. 2. Using Search, also to the top right, look for your chosen site by writing part of its name, location or entering its Canmore ID. 3. Look through the entries listed in the Site tab & select the one you want. 4. Scroll to the bottom of the entry & select either Contribute an Image or Contribute Text, depending on what you want to upload. 5. For both, you will be asked to enter a Title – this could just be the site’s name or perhaps the name of a specific event that your contribution refers to. 6. You will also be asked to enter a Description – this is where you enter the main body of your text contribution. For images, you might want to include details about when the photo was taken, what direction it’s from or if it’s showing something specific. Feel free to add in more detail though if you have some facts to share. Also remember to list any sources that you’ve used. 7. For images, you will then need to hit Browse for Image & select your image from the relevant folder on your computer - files larger than 5 MB will need to be resized through Photo Gallery or something similar (get in touch if you need help with this!) 8. Once you’re happy, hit Save. 9. Give it time to upload and then your contribution will appear on the screen! 10. You can edit or delete your contributions at any time by logging in & selecting MyCanmore in the top right. 11. Also have a look at other options available, such as bookmarking your favourite sites! any Questions If you have any questions about this project, just email helen.keron@dumgal.gov.uk or get in touch with us through the Can You Dig It Facebook or Twitter accounts (@GGLPArchaeology). You can also let us know how you get on – do share with us through email or on social media what you’ve managed to find. We’re always interested and love a good photograph! Email us or tag us with @GGLPArchaeology in your post or tweet. So do take part if you can – it’s a great way to preserve your knowledge and enrich the national record for the area. It’s time to let the world know how great our heritage is! @GGLPArchaeology  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource My Galloway Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_78 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2020 Description An account of the resource Adding to the CANMORE record for the Galloway Glens. GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/10/537/GGLP-CYDI-BuildingBiographies_Vol7_Twynholm_to_Urr.pdf eaaf204690799784291a85490c7dfe28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 7 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Description An account of the resource The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway, with the research taking place from February to June 2023. Each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. The project included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up the study area expanded to include a mix of country houses from across Galloway, and even a few from Dumfriesshire. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses, both good and bad, has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Building Biographies: A 2023 volunteer research project into the country houses of Galloway VOLUME 7: TWYNHOLM TO URR With contributions from: Lynn Bell, Peter Machell, Joyce Simpson and Donald Tait Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 Twynholm Parish Cumstoun House, Twynholm ................................................................................................. 4 Largs House, Twynholm ....................................................................................................... 49 Whithorn Parish Castlewigg, Whithorn........................................................................................................... 54 Urr Parish Spottes Hall, Urr................................................................................................................... 97 Other Volumes in the Series .............................................................................................. 103 1 Introduction The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway1. These imposing buildings have borne witness to centuries of history, standing through changing eras and shifting social and economic climates. Their walls have enclosed the lives of many, their grounds the lives of many more and they have fulfilled a variety of needs from homes, hospitals and schools, to war rooms and tourist attractions. The decision to focus on country houses stemmed from their longevity and assorted histories: their status and sheer size making them notable features in the landscape which inspire the imagination and curiosity of locals and visitors alike. These are buildings which appear frequently in our landscape but their histories often remain unknown to the public. Many have been demolished or stand as ruins: a resource that disappears a little more with each passing decade. For the project, each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. Initially, the selection of houses to research was driven by location, with the catchment area of the Galloway Glens being the focus. Second to this, the aim was to avoid any that had already been subject to a significant amount of research. The resulting selection included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up, however, the study area expanded to include all of Galloway (and even a few from Dumfriesshire) and the biggest influence came from the preferences of the volunteers themselves; many had specific areas or even houses that had already piqued their interest and so the list grew to encompass a sporadic mix of country houses from across the region. Each researcher was given a Guidance Note outlining the main resources available online. People could visit their local library or archive centre but the choice of online resources kept the project open to anyone who might face constraints in attending such places in person. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The volunteers’ research has revealed the importance of recording these histories, and the origins of many bring to light a legacy that is not always acknowledged. After the abolition of slavery within the British Empire, the Slave Compensation Act of 1837 authorised a commission to manage the distribution of £20 million to compensate slave owners in the British colonies for the freeing of slaves. 2 Not all, but many of these country houses were initially funded with profits from slavery, with several connections to plantations in Jamaica. It is important to record all aspects of our history and these houses seem able to reveal both the good and bad from our collective past. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Claire Williamson The Building Biographies project was undertaken in February to April 2023 as part of ‘Can You Dig It’, the community archaeology project of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. Galloway Glens was a five-year initiative funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and ‘Can You Dig It’ was match funded by Historic Environment Scotland and delivered by Rathmell Archaeology. 2 The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery contains a database of their records https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/project/details/ 1 2 Spottes Hall Largs House Cumstoun House Castlewigg Locations of houses researched during the Building Biographies Project – red marks the houses reported in this volume 3 Cumstoun House, Twynholm by Donald Tait 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 Appendix 1 This appendix to the Cumstoun House document contains the following items: - Six photos from the Maitland family album, dating from around 1895- 100 - One recently taken photo of a section of the Library - One photo of Sara Maitland dancing with Bill Clinton, c. 1978 38 39 40 41 Recently taken photo of a small section of the Library at Cumstoun 42 Sara Maitland and Bill Clinton 43 Appendix 2 44 45 46 47 48 Largs House, Twynholm by Joyce Simpson Easting/Northing: 2 6 7 2 5 1 , 5 5 5 5 5 5 Latitude/Longitude: 5 4 ° 5 2 ′ 3 7 ″ N 4 ° 0 4 ′ 1 4 ″ W Mapsheet: N X 6 5 N E OS NGR: N X 6 7 2 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 Parish: T w y n h o l m County: K i r k c u d b r i g h t s h i r e Scotlands Places Organisation: Historic Environment Scotland (HES) Alternative name(s): Twynholm Canmore ID: 207596 Site type: House (period Unassigned) County: Kirkcudbrightshire Parish: Twynholm Council: Dumfries And Galloway Date 1682 People ‘Lands of Larggs’ are mentioned. Value £163 2s. difficult to fully decipher. Source Scotlands places Land tax rolls 1645-1831 Land tax rolls for Kirkcudbrightshire, volume 01 E106/20/1/43 1797 -98 Michael Falcon esq Dog Tax for 1 dog at 3s Scotlands Places Dog tax rolls 1797-1798 Dog tax, volume 01 E326/11/1/145 1797 -98 Michael Falcon esq Horse tax for 2 farm horses at 2s Scotlands Places Farm Horse Tax 1797-1798, Volume 10 E326/10/10/67 1797 -98 Michael Falkins 1835 1848-51 Horse tax for 1 saddle horse at 5s Maitland Falcon Listed as one of the Esq of Largs heritors present at meeting of Twynholm parish churh. (A heritor was a landowner liable to contribute of the church) J Falcon esq A Small mansion house in the modern style of architecture in good repair with a Scotlands Places Horse tax, volume 06 E326/9/6/156 Scotlands People Twynholm kirk session, Minutes (18351875), CH2/952/2 Scotlands Places Kirkcudbrightshire OS Name Books, 1848-1851 Kirkcudbrightshire, Volume 132 OS1/20/132/4 49 (word obscured) ornamented garden attached and surrounded by plantation consisting chiefly of full grown natural wood the property of J Falcon esq First appearance of Largs house tax £1 5s 1786 Michahel [sic] Falcon Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/48 1787 Michael Falcon House tax £3 5s Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/55 1789 Michael Falcon esq House tax £1 5s Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/61 1791 Michael Falcon House tax £1 5s 1792 Michael Falcon esq House tax £1 5s 1794 Michael Falcon esq House tax £1 5s 1797 Michael Fallon House tax £2 5s Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/75 Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/81 Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/85 Scotlands Places Inhabited house tax, volume 24 E326/3/24/92 1821 Map House called Larg appears on map 1883 House sale 1889 Mrs McLellan James John Johnstone sells house and lands to Walter Montgomerie Neilson Advert in personals Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire selling Plymouth Advertiser 15 March 1889 Rock hen eggs for breeding John Thomson's Atlas of Scotland, 1832 NLS Maps Thomson,John, 1777- ca 1840, Johnson, William, fl. 1806-1840 Title: Kirkcudbrightshire. Bottom section Title deeds 50 1889 1909 1915 1929 20 Dec 1940 5 Nov 1941 1942 Mr & Mrs McLellan and Miss Horne Kings own Scottish Borderers inspection and review. Attended luncheon Advert for sale of a well-bred chestnut cob, applicants reply to coachman Largs House Mrs Wardlaw of Minutes of Largs house committee meeting for subscribers to Kirkcudbright Hospital includes Countess of Selkirk and Mrs Wardlaw House sale Walter Montgomerie Neilson esq of Queenshill sells the house and lands to Major Thomas Rainsford McLellan of Largs. Major Mclellan Major McLellan and Family Cameronians had fought in Anglo Boer war and World War 1. He was married to Marie Bradbury Erskine McFarlane and had 2 daughters Moyra Rainsford McLellan and Joan McLellan Moyra Married Surgeon Rainsford Lieutenant Thomas McLellan Ritchie Simpson in Morningside Church Edinburgh Major McLellan Dies at Largs Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser 2 August 1889 House sale Title deeds Marie Bradbury Erskine McLellan widow of Major Mclellan to Mrs Elizabeth Fleming Watson or Crawford wife of Dumfries and Galloway Standard 18th August 1909 Dumfries and Galloway Standard 26 May 1915 Title deeds Various and family history Stautory register of marriage Register of Deaths 51 1945 House sale Cedric Cunningham Sinclair Scott 1960 House sale 1964 Sale of field 1970 House sale 1986 Miss Jemma Pearson of Largs House 1988 1988 Rev, William Crawford Sold to Cedric Cunningham Sinclair Scott & Mrs Selina Mary Alexander Scott. Shipbuilder and Engineer (1849 1960) of Scotts of Greenock founded 1711 famous for building warships and Chinese river steamers. They had 2 sons Major Robert Sinclair Scott and Alexander Sinclair Scott To Mrs Anne Craig wife of John Craig 48 High Street, Kirkcudbright To Alexander Barbour Irving (Looks as though Craigs moved to Cape Town) To Rodney Bruce Pearson and Mrs Sheila Margaret Pearson Marriage in St Ninians church, Castle Douglas Property register SPC one of only 2 Properties for saleover £100,000 on list 5 Acres and Oil fired heating Advertised for sale with picture 3 reception rooms, 5/7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and ancillary rooms walled garden, paddock and 2 Title deeds Inverclydeshipbuilidng.com web site Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser 24 April 1986 Galloway News 2 June 1988 Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser 26 May 1988 52 1988 Pearson / Perry 2011 Cottages sold semi-detached cottages. October 1988 Sale by Rodney Bruce Pearson and Sheila Margaret Pearson to Michael Edward Perry and Lena Elizabeth Perry Disposition document Mapmaker(s): Thomson, John, 1777- ca. 1840; Johnson, William, fl. 1806-1840 Title: KirkcudbrightShire. Bottom section Date: 1821. History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway By PH McKerlie Pp 277 & 278 Largs This small property no doubt formed part of the old barony of Twynholm. Thre is no trace, however, until we come to the seventeenth century, when, in January 1634, Margaret Dunbar had sasine to the land of Larg, etc; this we believe only to have been a wadset. On the 30th March 1647, David, son of David Arnot of Barcaple, was infeft. Again on the 30th May 1654, Samuel Row and his wide had sasine. All of these appear to have been on wadsets, and the land belonged to the Browns who, as a family, had considerable possessions in this and the neighbouring parishes. We find, on the 6th September 1664, that Jean, daughter and heir of Herbert Browne of Largs, was infeft in Duirsdow (Disdow), parish of Girthon. We next learn that in January 1666, Nicol Donaldson in Inch had sasine in the land of Larg, with Margaret Cunningham, his spouse, of one half of the land of Larg. Again in August of the same year, William Brown of Nunton had sasine. Altthough we think the land had belonged to the Browns in 1682, David Arnot of Barcaple, parish of Tongland, was then the owner. We find nothing more until the 11 th April 1739, when William Gordon of Largmore had sasine. Then on the 23d [sic] January 1797, James Dodd, brigade major (to what not stated) of Chappell, parish of Tungland, had sasine of the land of Largs, etc., as heir to Agnes M’Brair, his mother, on precept from chancery. The land however had passed to Captain Michael Falcon in 1799, who was succeeded by his wife. Her name is not given, but we find Mrs Falcon in possession in 1819, and she was succeeded by her son the late Admiral Falcon. The late owner was Robert Comrie, who sold the property to John Allan, Cumnock, Ayrshire. As will be seen, Larg or Largs is a common name in Galloway, in Gaelic, learg or leirg, meaning a sloping green, a little eminence, or a field of battle. 53 Castlewigg, Whithorn by Lynn Bell 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Current State of Building: Very ruinous virtually impossible to see amongst the tree that have grown up through the building and around it, Difficult to reach due to the undergrowth. 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 Spottes Hall, Urr by Peter Machell 1. PASTMAP NGR: 280598, 566303 / NX 80498 66239 Parish: Urr County: Kirkcudbrightshire Annotated maps available: Listed Buildings: 3 items: Hall, Stables building, Garden Wall. Scheduled Monuments: 1 Historic Environment Record : 1 (Cannot access any written data) Maps available online: OS Licensed Scotland OS Licensed Hill shade OS Open Data OS Open Street Map Aerial photography (OS 1955-1961 cannot open ) (OS 1900s cannot open) 1st edition 1843-1882 Info: search CANMORE ref 214449 LISTED BUILDINGS ref LB 16817 97 98 2. CANMORE Two Photographic images of Stables and Garden wall. Dataset of listed buildings. Property built 1784-1789 additions completed 1873 & 1887 3. BUILDINGS AT RISK REGISTER No references 4. DICTIONARY OF SCOTTISH ARCHITECTS Architects for the additions in 1873 were NEWELL and BARBER No architects credited with the original building in 1784. 5. NATIONAL LIBRARY of SCOTLAND Map images including Spottes Hall. OS One Inch 1885-1900 OS Six Inch 1885-1903 OS 25 inch 1892-1914 Roy Military Map 1747 property not yet built. 6. STATISTICAL ACCOUNTS of SCOTLAND No relevant resources or maps. 99 7. BOOK: The Buildings of SCOTLAND: DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY, by John Gifford. Physical book available to borrow, enquiry sent asking for online information instead. One extract for Spottes Hall, owned/built by Michael Herries. filed. 100 8. STRUTT & PARKER, Estate Agents. Spottes Hall/House is currently up for sale through these agents. Their online brochure has first class photographs, etc. 9. ARCHIVE.org 9.1 Book: “A HISTORY OIF DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY” 1896, Herbert Maxwell. p.78 unclear meaning of short text for “Lord Herries” 9.2 Book: “GALLOWAY IN ANCIENT AND MODERN TIMES” 1891, McKerlie Nothing for “Herries” or “Spottes Hall” 9.3 “HISTORY OF THE LANDS AND THEIR OWNERS IN GALLOWAY” 1906, McKerlie. Nothing. Some historic references to Earl John Herries of Terregles, circa 1400s. 10. www.PARKS & GARDENS Nothing 101 102 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 7 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_77 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Description An account of the resource Tywnholm to Urr GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/10/536/GGLP-CYDI-BuildingBiographies_Vol6_Tongland_to_Twynholm.pdf 61ab011fcb9ed35b6bbe62f3954c4b83 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 6 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Description An account of the resource The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway, with the research taking place from February to June 2023. Each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. The project included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up the study area expanded to include a mix of country houses from across Galloway, and even a few from Dumfriesshire. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses, both good and bad, has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Building Biographies: A 2023 volunteer research project into the country houses of Galloway VOLUME 6: TONGLAND TO TWYNHOLM With contributions from: Lynda Mackie, Janet Quin, Will Williams and Sandra Williamson Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 Tongland Parish Argrennan House, Tongland .................................................................................................. 4 Bogra House, Tongland ........................................................................................................ 14 Troqueer Parish Broomlands, Troqueer ......................................................................................................... 20 Goldielea, Troqueer ............................................................................................................. 29 Mabie House, Troqueer ....................................................................................................... 32 Twynholm Parish Barwhinnock House, Twynholm ........................................................................................... 38 Other Volumes in the Series ................................................................................................ 73 1 Introduction The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway1. These imposing buildings have borne witness to centuries of history, standing through changing eras and shifting social and economic climates. Their walls have enclosed the lives of many, their grounds the lives of many more and they have fulfilled a variety of needs from homes, hospitals and schools, to war rooms and tourist attractions. The decision to focus on country houses stemmed from their longevity and assorted histories: their status and sheer size making them notable features in the landscape which inspire the imagination and curiosity of locals and visitors alike. These are buildings which appear frequently in our landscape but their histories often remain unknown to the public. Many have been demolished or stand as ruins: a resource that disappears a little more with each passing decade. For the project, each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. Initially, the selection of houses to research was driven by location, with the catchment area of the Galloway Glens being the focus. Second to this, the aim was to avoid any that had already been subject to a significant amount of research. The resulting selection included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up, however, the study area expanded to include all of Galloway (and even a few from Dumfriesshire) and the biggest influence came from the preferences of the volunteers themselves; many had specific areas or even houses that had already piqued their interest and so the list grew to encompass a sporadic mix of country houses from across the region. Each researcher was given a Guidance Note outlining the main resources available online. People could visit their local library or archive centre but the choice of online resources kept the project open to anyone who might face constraints in attending such places in person. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The volunteers’ research has revealed the importance of recording these histories, and the origins of many bring to light a legacy that is not always acknowledged. After the abolition of slavery within the British Empire, the Slave Compensation Act of 1837 authorised a commission to manage the distribution of £20 million to compensate slave owners in the British colonies for the freeing of slaves. 2 Not all, but many of these country houses were initially funded with profits from slavery, with several connections to plantations in Jamaica. It is important to record all aspects of our history and these houses seem able to reveal both the good and bad from our collective past. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Claire Williamson The Building Biographies project was undertaken in February to April 2023 as part of ‘Can You Dig It’, the community archaeology project of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. Galloway Glens was a five-year initiative funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and ‘Can You Dig It’ was match funded by Historic Environment Scotland and delivered by Rathmell Archaeology. 2 The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery contains a database of their records https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/project/details/ 1 2 Broomlands Goldielea Mabie House Argrennan House Barwhinnock House Bogra House Locations of houses researched during the Building Biographies Project – red marks the houses reported in this volume 3 Argrennan House, Tongland by Will Williams The house and its people This research was done under the “Can You Dig It” project, a community archaeology project of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. The project was delivered by Rathmell Archaeology and had been running various events since 2019 aimed at engaging people with their heritage. All the events are made available for free through funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland. There are two main sections in this report – the architectural description and then the social & cultural history i.e. the people that have/are living here. The Architecture This is extracted from Historic Environment Scotland ARGRENNAN HOUSE (LB17114) (historicenvironment.scot) Summary Category - A Group Category Details - 100000020 - See Notes Date Added - 04/11/1971 Local Authority - Dumfries And Galloway Planning Authority - Dumfries And Galloway Parish - Tongland NGR - NX 71463 58085 Coordinates - 271463, 558085 4 Figure 1 Credit: Strutt & Parker Argrennan House Photo © Scottish Screen Locations8 Description This addition of the classical house built in 1818 is thought to be designed by James Gillespie Graham. It was an addition to the original house, built in the 1600/1700s?. The original 18th century house, forms the rear wing of the 2-storey and basement rectangular west facing 1818 house. The east elevation survives intact, the main west elevation being largely obscured by the stair tower of the later house. Rubble walling, polished granite margins; granite quoins, rusticated to northwest angle. East elevation with central projecting bow with Venetian windows to basement and ground floors, tripartite to 1st floor. All other windows single light; all sash and case with 12-pane glazing. 2-bay north flank. Moulded eaves cornice, conical slate roof over bow; main roof piended and slated. Pair of coped axial granite stacks. Good cast-iron balcony to bow. The 1818 house: It has 2-storeys, attics and basements; squared whinstone with polished sandstone dressings, raised angle margins. Long 7-bay frontage, wide pedimented central entrance bay; centre and end bays shallow advanced. Steps to paired Tuscan column porch with balustraded parapet; pilastered tripartite doorpiece with sidelights. Double-leaf doors with good semi-circular astragalled fanlight. To 1st, single light window with flanking 8-pane false sidelights. All windows single light, architraved; those to ground with consoled cornice. Sash and case with 12-pane glazing. Band course over basement; cill course to ground and 1st. Moulded eaves cornice, plain parapet; pediment over centre bay. Piended slate roofs, pair of central stacks; wallhead stacks to rear, all corniced. East flank: full-width 3-light bow, cast-iron balcony to ground. 3-bay West flank. North elevation with full-height square stair bay to centre with round-headed window; formerly coloured glass, now plain. 5 Interior: very high quality and well preserved. 18th century house has mostly original plasterwork and cornices, good marble and carved chimneypieces. Basement with groinvaulted old kitchens. 1818 house has all original plasterwork and woodwork, good stair with elegant cast-iron balusters, landing with fluted Doric screen. Statement of Special Interest Although there is no documentary evidence to suggest James Gillespie Graham as the architect, the main elevation of Argrennan is almost identical to that of Mount Melville (Fife, now demolished) a James Gillespie Graham house of 1821, thus Argrennan is certainly not merely a copy. B Group with Agrennan Lodge and Walled Garden. Argrennan, Stables | Canmore The owners and the occupants Pre 1836 - Gordons 1836 – 1915 The Ker Family 1863 – 1872? The Gordon Family “in residence” before moving to Threave 1915 – 1984 The Aikman - Smiths 1983 – 2004 Robert Reddaway & Tulane Kidd 2004 – 2022 Alistair Flanagan 2022 to present Argrennan Estate, an RSK company And in more detail: Pre - 1836 Argrennan, is maybe Gaelic and Norse. In the first, “ard”, a hill, and in the latter, “grennan” for green, applying to the appearance of land. In the Gaelic there is “grinean”, a green. In 1799 the owner was Alexander Gordon of Campbelton, parish of Twynholm. The farms then were Argrennan and Nether Barncrosh. During the occupation by the Gordons the name had been changed to Deebank. The farms are — the Mains of Argrennan, Nether Barncrosh, and Barstibly, etc. The greater part of the present house was built in 1818. From 1818 to the present day, Argrennan has had relatively few owners. William Gordon, the son of Alexander Gordon was in possession in 1819, so we must assume that the 1818 addition was done by the Gordon family. 6 1835 - 1864 William Gordon sold to Robert Ker, a West India planter, and a native of the parish of Kirkmabreck. Robert Ker altered the name from Deebank, back to the old one of Argrennan. Taking a step back, on 20 Feb 1831, Robert Ker had married Elizabeth Ure, eldest daughter of the late James Ure, controller of Customs, Leith (Robert Ker Esq (1773-1854) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). They lived in Edinburgh until 1835 (deduced from birth locations of children). Robert Ker & Elizabeth Innes Ker nee Ure Previous to that Robert Ker had lived from 1789 to 1829 in Grenada, West Indies. Robert had made his wealth as a planter with his brother James in Grenada, although it must be said that in 1774/5 the family had moved to the area of Garlarg in Minnigaff Parish. Their children were: • • • • • • Daughter, Margaret J Ker (1832 born, Edinburgh - 1842) Daughter, Mary Stewart. (1833 born, Edinburgh - 1834) Daughter, Elizabeth Mary. (1834 Edinburgh - 1856). Married James Comrie of Gategill, parish of Borgue Daughter, Antoinette (1835 born, Edinburgh - 1872). Son, Robert (1836 born, Edinburgh - 1892) Son, James George Innes Ker (1837 Argrennan - 1892 Devon). As James was born at Argrennan, the assumption is that the family moved from Edinburgh to Argrennan during 1836/1837. • • Daughter, Mary Stewart Ker (1839 Argrennan – 1916 Argrennan – Buried Tongland) Son, James George Innes Ker. (Born 27 Dec 1837 at Argrennan House, died in Australia (James George Innes Ker (1837-1895) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree) Robert Ker held the Barony of Argrennan and Grayscroft from 1831until 1854. Robert Ker held the office of Extraordinary Director of the National Bank of Scotland along with several landed Gentlemen, for 12 yrs 1837 to 1849. He kept a Residence at 41 Melville Street, Edinburgh. Robert Ker died in 1854, many years before his wife, Elizabeth, who died on the 24th August 1871. 7 Inscription on his Memorial tomb stone in Kirkyard at Tongland cemetery: Sacred to the memory of Robert Ker, Esq'r of Argrennan, born 17th March 1773, died 22nd March 1854. Mary Stuart Ker, his daughter, born 13th April 1833, died at Trinity, 9th June 1834. Elizabeth his widow, who died 24 August 1871, aged 68, at the house of his son-in-law (more illegible) (Tongland Kirkyard M.I. Listing – Stewartry Monumental Inscriptions (kirkyards.co.uk) There was some dispute over his will that was sent for adjudication in the House of Lords in 1865 (Robert Ker Esq (1773-1854) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree). James Ker did not inherit Argrennan House. On 7 April 1858, 4 yrs after his father’s death, James Ker, then 20, left Liverpool on the "Marco Polo" for Australia Marco Polo He arrived in Melbourne and then travelled on the "Burra Burra" to Adelaide, for some reason, disembarking on 20 July 1858. He was married by the Very Reverend Dean Farral by Special Licence as reported in The Caledonian Mercury on 4 Dec 1862, Pg 4. Another son, Robert Ker (1836 – 1892) remained at Argrennan and is remembered on a grave in Tongland Church. Robert may have inherited Argrennan House as he had lived there with his wife. “Sacred to the memory of Robert Ker, of Argrennan, born 2nd July 1836, died 7th November 1892. Lord lift them up the light of thy countenance to shine upon him and give him peace and joy in the eternal Kingdom. Elizabeth Hester Rosetta, his wife, born Jan. 1842, died July 1915, interred at Brompton Cemetery. Also sacred to the loved memory of Louisa Elizabeth Innes, eldest daughter of the above Robert Ker of Argrennan, and widow of Captain Archer Musgrave, R.N., born 18th June 1859, died 15th April 1937. The face of death is 8 toward the sun of life. Also of Tom Musgrave, their son, 2nd Lieut. Irish Guards, who was killed in action at Cuinchy, 6th Feb. 1915.” Also in Tongland kirkyard: Sacred to the memory of Margaret Innis Ker, eldest daughter of Robert Ker, Esq., born at Edinburgh, died at Argrennan House, XXIIX November MDCCCXLII, aged 11 years. In 1901 census, Robert’s wife, Elizabeth M. H. R Ker (Elizabeth Hester Rosetta McAlpine Ker) is living in Argrennan House with 2 servants – Lucy Hodson (71) & Edith Boyle (20). (Tongland Kirkyard M.I. Listing – Stewartry Monumental Inscriptions (kirkyards.co.uk) And the grave of Lucy Hodson was added at the Ker grave are by “Mrs Ker” in 1913. 9 The Gordon Family 1864 – 1872? The Gordon family resided at Argrennan from 1864 until 1872. In 1864 William Gordon remarried. He and his new wife, Margaret Steele, moved to Scotland, where he had been born. In the 1871 census they were living in Argrennan House in Tongland, Kircudbrightshire. Mary Dorothy Miller (annefield.net) Taking a step back, William Gordon’s first marriage was to Mary Dorothy. She was born 17 June 1823 in Bahia, Brazil, at the time a major port on the central coast of Brazil, and known now as Salvador da Bahia. She was the oldest child of Joseph Dundas Miller and his wife, Elizabeth Tomlinson. Although her parents were married in Cheshire, England, in 1821, by the time Mary Dorothy was born in 1823, they had moved to Bahia, one of the ports used by the family shipping company, Millers & Thompson. The first five children were born in Brazil before the family moved to Liverpool where the rest of the children were born. Dorothy Miller On 20 April 1847, when Mary Dorothy was twenty-three, she married William Gordon at St. Mary's Church, in Walton-on-the-Hill, just north of Liverpool. Notice of the marriage appeared in the Liverpool Mercury etc. on Friday, 23 April 1847: "Married. Same day [Tuesday last], at St. Mary's Church, Walton-on-the-Hill, by the Rev. W. M. Falloon, William Gordon, Esq., to Mary Dorothy, eldest daughter of Joseph Miller, Esq., of Bootle."2 William Gordon was working for Joseph Dundas Miller in the shipping business; he was listed in the 1860 census as a Brazilian merchant. While in Brazil he got interested in diamonds and made a fortune dealing in them. He returned to Britain aged 30 with £250,000 in his pocket. William & Dorothy’s their first seven children were born in Liverpool and their last three in New Brighton, Cheshire, across the River Mersey from Liverpool where Millers and Thompson were headquartered. Mary Dorothy died 18 March 1860 in New Brighton, when she was only thirty-six, leaving William with ten children ages twelve to one. It is also of great interest that in about 1867, William Gordon purchased a property near Castle Douglas which had belonged to the Douglas family since the 14th century; the property included Threave Castle, located on an island in the River Dee. In 1871-72 William had Threave House built on land overlooking Threave Castle but was still living at Argrennan house in 1871 according to the 1871 census. He was living at Threave House in 1881 (census) 10 According to “Scotland’s Places”, The Threave architect who designed the house was Charles Kinnear of Peddie & Kinnear. His design is said to be based on Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire in northern Scotland. William died in 1899. Margaret, his wife, died in 1920. His grandson, Alan Francis Gordon, b.1892, gave the estate to the National Trust for Scotland in 1948. Major Alan Francis Gordon was the younger son of Col. William Gordon, the oldest child of Mary Dorothy and William Gordon. The house, which overlooks the extensive Threave Gardens, was opened to the public in 2002. The house and gardens are visited by 60,000 people each year. Other occupants in “residence” during the Ker ownership, as gleaned from Newspaper Archives: Mr & Mrs Hutchinson 1887 Mr & Mrs Hutchinson, Argrennan Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser - Friday 02 August 1889 1890 Mr & Mrs Hutchinson, Argrennan Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser - Friday 01 August 1890 We know that the Ker family owned Argrennan until 1913. But there was a newspaper report of the house being on the market in 1894 - Argrennan House and estate for sale (Dumfries & Galloway Courier and Herald - Saturday 08 September 1894). During the research contact was made with Sandra Innes Ker, a descendant of James George Innes Ker (1837 – 1892), who emigrated to Australia. It was a joy to be able to gain further insights to the Ker family and she has been sent a copy of this report. The Aikman – Smiths 1915 to 1983 James Aikman Smith bought Argrennan House in 1915 and subsequently it was lived in by his two daughters, Christian and Annie. James was living in Edinburgh and he was the President of the Scottish Rugby Union and facilitated the purchase of Murrayfield for the SRU in the 1920s. The Aikman Smiths are generally referred to as the Misses Smiths, as they were two sisters. They led quite a reclusive lifestyle at Argrennan House. Here are some newspaper references to their lifestyle 1915 Mrs Aikman Smith Dumfries and Galloway Standard-Wednesday 27 October 1915 1918 Miss Chrisie Aikman Smith Dumfries and Galloway Standard-Saturday 20 July 1918 1939 Mrs Aikman Smith hosted a wedding reception at Argrennan House Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Wednesday 28 June 1939 1943 Mrs Aikman Smith advertising for gardener Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Saturday 01 May 1943 1943 Mrs Aikman Smith – Prisoner of war Fund Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Saturday 03 April 1943 11 1945 Mrs Aikman Smith Food Parcels Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Wednesday 21 March 1945 1983 Misses Aikman Smith, Argrennan House, donate furniture for the opening of Shambellie House Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Wednesday 10 June 1992 On the death of the two sisters, Argrennan was left to their brother Gavin Aikman Smith and afterwards, Gavin’s son, Jim Aikman Smith (CRSC : Clyde River Steamer Club Remembering a Legend: Jim Aikman Smith) who was a solicitor with Brodies in Edinburgh. Robert Reddaway & Tulane Kidd 1983 - 2004 Robert Reddaway, originally from the USA and Mr Tulane Kidd, also American, bought Argrennan House in 1983. They restored so much of the house and the gardens and hosted many charity events, usually one each year. Two were for Scottish Opera and several for the Art Society, the Red Cross etc. Also many lectures and plays. Many references to these events are in the newspapers: 1987 Bob Reddaway, Argrennan House gave a talk to the Friends of Broughton House AGM Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Friday 11 December 1987 1994 Argrennan hosted a charity fashion show. Also the year in which Broughton House was transferred to NTS Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser - Thursday 29 December 1994 Bob gave a talk to the first meeting of the Kirkcudbright Literary Society on the renovation of Argrennan House Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser - Thursday 21 October 1993 1994 Argrennan House gardens open to the public Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Friday 08 July 1994 1997 Argrennan House gardens open to the public Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Wednesday 04 June 1997 1998 Sale of rare & interesting plants at Argrennan House Dumfries and Galloway Standard - Friday 26 June 1998 Alistair Flanagan 2004 – 2022 Alistair Flanagan, bought the house in 2004 (Scotsman article by Kirsty McLuckie Published 2nd Sep 2021 Prestige property: Secret Castle Douglas stunner reveals its glory | The Scotsman) He grew up in Crossmichael but never knew the house existed until he saw it advertised for sale. He had just sold his engineering business and was looking to relocate from Kent, England to be closer to family. Alistair oversaw the fitting of a new roof to the main building, as well as the installation of a heating system, as thus far the house was heated still using the open fires in rooms, except for an oil-fired range cooker that had previously been installed in the Georgian Kitchen. He 12 also built the small complex of buildings that sit to the rear of the outbuildings, which contains a fuel store, borehole, and electricity generator. He married his wife Gail in the house, holding the wedding ceremony in the large Dining room. This was not the only wedding performed during Alistair’s tenure, as he opened the house to host weddings to a few guests throughout the Spring and Summer months. The setting, particularly the walled garden, could not be more romantic. Argrennan Estate, an RSK company – 2022 - present Having put the estate up for sale in the Autumn of 2021, Alistair sold to the RSK group in February of 2022. It is currently being used for conferencing and training for its internal companies. Their Argrennan’s mission is to be a Home for all RSK employees, as well as a view over time to make the estate carbon neutral. Their head office is Spring Lodge, 172 Chester Road, Helsby WA6 0AR. The Managing Director is Angus Mill. Acknowledgements I greatly appreciate the information and discussions with the following. Ms Claire Williamson in leading on the “Building Biographies” project and her guidance and support during the research. Mr Ian Steele, Kirkcudbright Mr Bob Reddaway & Mr John Curtis, Kirkcudbright Mr Alistair Flanagan, Tongland Mr Bob Morgan, Argrennan House Mr Angus Mill, RSK, Argrennan House Ms Sandra Ker, Australia And to Sheila, my wife, for her patience, while I distorted family life with the hours of research and in listening to the stories of Argrennan House. 13 Bogra House, Tongland by Will Williams The house and its people This research was done under the “Can You Dig It” project, a community archaeology project of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. The project was delivered by Rathmell Archaeology and had been running various events since 2019 aimed at engaging people with their heritage. All the events are made available for free through funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland. There are two main sections in this report – the architectural description and then the social & cultural history ie the people that have/are living here. This summary is presented in two parts – the built heritage and the social heritage The built heritage Bogra House https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk A Category B Listed Building in Tongland, Dumfries and Galloway. Description Latitude: 54.8763 / 54°52'34"N Longitude: -4.0228 / 4°1'22"W OS Eastings: 270310 OS Northings: 555374 OS Grid: NX703553 Mapcode National: GBR 0DB1.WS Mapcode Global: WH4W5.5PNN Plus Code: 9C6QVXGG+GV Entry Name: Bogra House Listing Name: Bogra House Listing Date: 23 April 1990 Category: B Source: Historic Scotland Source ID: 350973 Historic Scotland Designation Reference: LB17116 Building Class: Cultural ID on this website: 200350973 Location: Tongland 14 County: Dumfries and Galloway Electoral Ward: Dee and Glenkens Parish: Tongland Traditional County: Kirkcudbrightshire Circa 1921 Asymmetrical-plan, 2-storey house with stable/garage court to rear. Coursed rubble with contrasting smooth polished granite dressings. S elevation: 3-bay symmetrical entrance front, full-height projecting square centre bay with pedimented doorpiece to ground, double-leaf studded timber door with prominent hinges. Above door, margined window with pointed arch pediment, parapet to projecting bay. Flanking porch 4-light canted window, single light window above. All windows margined, sash and case with upper part 6-pane, lower part single pane. W flank with full-height projecting round tower with corbelled parapet. E flank with 2 canted projecting windows. Granite band course at eaves, piended and swept slate roofs, tall polished wallhead stacks. L-plan garage court adjoins to N in similar style and materials. Low garage range to E with cantilevered piend roofs. 2-storey N range with projecting centre bay with oculus and corbelled dovecot at gablehead. All with slate roofs. Social history Bogra House is a “country house” built by the Neilson family as a fishing lodge. It was built during the life of Walter Montgomerie Neilson (Walter Junior) (1877 – 1951) who was living at Barstobrick at the time. He was born at Queenshill House but that house burnt beyond repair in 1890, and the family moved to Barcaple. Barcaple was sold in 1928 (The Scotsman - Wednesday 31 October 1928) and later Barstobrick House that was built in 1939. The Neilson family was noteable for their contribution to industry and transport. It is appropriate here to appreciate this contribution. It is through their enterprise that they developed the wealth to enable their lifestyle, including Bogra House as a fishing lodge. Walter Neilson 1751 – 1839 James Beaumont Neilson 1792 – 1865 Walter Montgomerie Neilson 1819 – 1889 (Walter Senior) Walter Montgomerie Neilson 1877 – 1951 (Walter junior) 15 His grandfather James Beaumont Neilson (22 June 1792 – 18 January 1865) was a Scottish inventor whose hot-blast process greatly increased the efficiency of smelting iron. (Wikipedia). James Beaumont Neilson James was the son of the engineer Walter Neilson, a millwright and later engine wright, who had been a partner of David Mushet in Calder Ironworks, Glasgow. For James, experimentation showed that a temperature of 600° Fahrenheit reduced consumption to a third of that with cold blast, and enabled raw coal to be used. James was born in Shettleston and was trained as an engine wright. After the failure of a colliery at Irvine he was appointed foreman of the Glasgow Gasworks in 1817 at the age of 25. Five years later he became the manager and engineer there, a position he held for 40 years. While trying to solve a problem with a blast furnace at Wilsontown Ironworks, Neilson realized that the fuel efficiency of the furnace could be increased by blowing it with hot air, rather than cold air, by passing it through a red-hot vessel. Experiments were continued at Clyde Iron Works, leading to him forming a partnership with Charles Macintosh and others to exploit it. Patents were obtained for the system in 1828. 1840 illustration of a Beaumont Neilson blast stove In the early 1830s litigation was successfully conducted against those who adopted his methods without licence. After that, Neilson and his partners licensed it widely at one shilling per ton iron made, a level low enough to discourage evasion. The royalties were initially low, but by 1840 were producing £30,000 per year from 58 ironmasters. Certain infringers were intransigent. Between 1839 and the expiry of the patent in 1842 a considerable number of proceedings were brought. Neilson v Baird was heard in the Court of Session in 1843, in a trial lasting 10 days and costing £40,000. Further proceedings against Baird ended in the award of damages of £160,000. James Neilson retired from Glasgow Gasworks in 1847. He bought an estate on Bute. In 1850 he bought an estate at Queenshill, where he eventually died. He is buried in the family mausoleum at Tongland Kirkyard. 16 The Neilson burial – On plaque on back wall...... “In Memoriam. Barbara Montgomerie, wife of J B Neilson died 1843 aged 47 years. James Beaumount Neilson of Queenshill, died 1865 aged 73 years. Janet Ellen Henderson wife of Walter Montgomerie Neilson died 1877 aged 37 years. Walter Montgomerie Neilson of Queenshill died 8th July 1889 aged 69 years. Walter Montgomerie Neilson their son died 13th April 1951 aged 73 years”. His grandson, Walter Montgomerie Neilson, erected Neilson's Monument to his memory on the hill at Queenshill in 1883. Neilson's Monument near Ringford, Kirkcudbrightshire Canmore Site Name Barstobrick Hill, Neilson's Monument Classification Commemorative Monument (19th Century) (1883) Alternative Name(s) Giant's Dike Fort; Monument To James Beaumont Neilson Canmore ID 64180 Site Number NX66SE 14 NGR NX 68760 60671 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/64180 Erected in 1883 by Walter Montgomerie Neilson Both in Glasgow and near Kirkcubright, James founded institutions for the education of working men. 17 James’s son (Walter Senior) Walter Montgomerie Neilson (28 November 1819 – 8 July 1889)[ was a Scottish locomotive and marine engineer and manufacturer. He was born in Glasgow. Walter Montgomerie Neilson (Walter Senior) Walter Montgomery (Walter Senior) was trained as an engineer in the Oakbank Foundry run by his uncle John Neilson. He also worked in the St Rollox Engine Works in Glasgow. He was a President of the Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland and a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Outside his professional career, he was involved in local politics, the military, and Freemasonry. In 1843, he took over the running of a family business originally called Neilson & Mitchell, then Neilson & Co. The company was based in Hydepark Street in central Glasgow before expanding to include nearby Finnieston Street. The company started by building ship engines but quickly expanded to building locomotives, at the time a fledgling industry, but with the British empire still expanding, a very lucrative one. Neilson locomotives were exported all over the world and examples still exist in far off places like India, South Africa and New Zealand. On the death of his father, James in 1865, Walter Senior inherited Queenshill, which was named after the resting spot of Mary, Queen of Scots, fleeing to safety after the defeat of her army at Langside in 1568. She rested at Culdoach cottage on the following night after crossing the River Dee over a makeshift bridge, which was then lifted to disadvantage their followers. The locomotive business flourished and when Walter Senior finally retired in the late 1870s,the name changed again, this time to Neilson, Reid & Co. Walter had also supplied expertise and advice to the French builders of the Suez Canal. Walter Senior was involved in local politics in Scotland and was also the Freemasons Grandmaster of Glasgow. He served as the second President of The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland from 1859 to 1861. He served as a director of the Consolidated Copper Company of Canada in the 1870s. He was also elected chairman of the Technical College of Glasgow in 1872. Walter Senior had married Janet Ellen Henderson on 14 March 1867, at the British Consulate in Livorno, Italy. Janet came from a Scottish family long associated with trading from the Tuscany region. They had two children, Elena Marion Montgomerie Neilson born in 1876 and Walter Junior in 1877. Walter Senior retired to Queenshill and spent the harsh British winters at his property called Monte Picini near Florence, Italy. He died in Florence on 8 July 1889,[aged 69. Returning to Walter Junior (1877 – 1951), he was living at Barstobrick when the Bogra House was built in 1921 as a fishing lodge for the Neilson family. The location was very significant, not only because the River Dee was a well established salmon fishery, but more importantly its location near the Bogra pool, with its fishing reputation. 18 There is a local story that the Neilson family were cursed because they did not acknowledge the contribution of one of the employers in the redesign of the steel making process. After a number of family misadventures, and to avoid further ones, it is said that there all the corners in Bogra House were constructed round. I did not manage to see inside so I cannot confirm this. However, the heyday of Bogra as a fishing lodge was short lived as the Glenken Hydro Scheme was built in the 1930. This included a dam at Tongland for the lowest hydro station, with a river valley reservoir which would have changed the height, width and the dynamics of the Dee, near Bogra House and hence the fishing. During the second World War, Bogra was commissioned for army use and accommodation in association with the Dundrennan army training. Since the 1930s, Bogra House has been privately owned by two families, the current one being London based and it is essentially a family holiday house. Acknowledgements: I greatly appreciate the information and discussions with the following. Ms Claire Williamson in leading on the “Building Biographies” project and her guidance and support during the research. Mr Ian Steele, Kirkcudbright. Mr Donald Henry, Tongland. Mr Gavin Scot, Kirkcudbright. Ms Elizabeth Mansefield, Tongland. Dr James Mansfield, Tongland. Mr John A Corrie, Tongland. And to Sheila, my wife, for her patience, while I distorted family life with the hours of research and in listening to the stories of Bogra House. 19 Broomlands, Troqueer by Lynda Mackie OS ref: 296676, 574817 The estate of Broomland in Troqueer Parish was originally referred to as Broomland but by the late 19 th century became Broomlands. Broomland is described in the Ordinance Survey name books of 1845 as situated half a mile from Troqueer Church, a neat mansion of three stories high built in the modern style of architecture with Out Offices, a large garden and a small portion of ornamental grounds attached. There were two cottages standing 5/8 of a mile from Troqueer Church, close to the road from Dumfries to New Abbey and one mile from Dumfries. The property appears on Walter Newalls Map of The River Nith from Dumfries to Southerness. All that now remains of the buildings is the original gatehouse and the stables which are now used as business premises for Rickson’s Carpets. 20 Broomlands House was designed in 1820 by Dumfries architect Walter Newall 1780-1863 for Robert Taylor. Its design was very similar to Woodlands House at Newbridge on the outskirts of Dumfries also by Walter Newall. The 1820 account book of Walter Newall is held by The Ewart Library in Dumfries ref GD131/N36 and lists the estimates quoted by a number of Dumfries firms for the building of Broomland Mansion House. McCubbin and Geddes joiners £1864 Farries and Edgar £1103 Gregan and Crighton £1990 Thomson and Dunbar £1850 Crighton and Johnstone £1815.9.3 Alexander McWilliam £1550 Samson and McKay £1198 Neilson and Watson £1000 Estimates for Broomland Offices are not given but the contractors were William McGowan, McCubbin and Geddes and Farries and Edgar The lodge estimate was £103, the stables £278 and the gate cost £25 The detailed cost per yard of the construction by Neilson and Neilson of the garden wall surrounding Broomland is also listed in the account book together with the charge for scaffolding amounting to £5.5.0 21 Robert Taylor 1780-1841 and his brother William Taylor 1763-1831 were wealthy merchants and plantation owners who had made their fortunes in Jamaica. The two brothers married Jane and Mary Burnside, the daughters of The Rev. William Burnside, the influential minister of St Michael’s Church Dumfries. William Taylor had previously been married to Margaret Cunningham, the daughter of The Honourable John Cunningham and their eldest son, William Taylor had been born in Jamaica in 1799. He inherited his father’s fortune which had been amassed through dependence on slave labour but gave it all up to fight for the cause of slave emancipation. The Taylor brothers lived close to each other on the neighbouring properties of Broomlands and Troqueerholm which lay along the banks of The River Nith. Both estates were accessed not only by way of the road from Dumfries to New Abbey but also via the footpath which still stretches along the banks of The River Nith from Dumfries to Mavis Grove. This footpath passed by the properties of Troqueerholm, Broomlands and Redbank The mansion house of Broomlands was demolished in 1968 to make way for construction of a housing development. The two estate cottages at Broomlands were occupied by a gardener and a coachman. The Taylor brothers were instrumental in establishing a Quoad Sacra Chapel of Ease at Laurieknowe Maxwelltown in 1829 which operated as an offshoot of Troqueer Church. Due to the rapid expansion of Maxwelltown there was concern that the masses were not attending services at Troqueer Church and a place of worship was required closer to their homes. The Taylor brothers funded the building and Dr John Begg, champion of the Free Church of Scotland and a major player in the Disruption of 1843, was called as the first minister. When Dumfries was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1824 Robert Taylor loaned The Town Council £20,000. By 1827 at least £1,000 had been repaid but Robert Taylor required The Council to repay the entire loan by 1830, claiming he needed the money, probably for the construction of the Chapel of Ease. The Town Council was forced to sell off common land to avoid bankruptcy and disposed of the lands of Kingholm Quay to John Hannah of Hannafield whose mansion house, also built by Walter Newall, lay directly across from Broomlands on the opposite bank of The Nith. When John Hannah’s heir died intestate his lands and property fell to The Crown. Dumfries Council applied for the lands and fortune to be returned to Dumfries for the Public good and so the land at Kingholm Quay once more became the property of The Town of Dumfries and remains so to this day. When cholera was raging in Dumfries in 1849 Mrs Taylor, despite being resident in Edinburgh, donated to the provision of a soup kitchen for the relief of the poor. The soup provided was to be made from onions and rice rather than the traditional cabbage and barley and bread was to be provided also. Another charity supported by Mrs Taylor was assistance for the deaf and dumb. On 24/6/1844 Thomas McMurray, a fireman resident at Redbank, which borders Broomlands, went with the gardener from Broomlands to swim in The Nith. When the Broomlands gardener was getting dressed on the river bank, Thomas McMurray got into difficulties and drowned in the river, leaving a wife and four children. Two hundred years later there continue to be fatalities in this stretch of the river. Robert Taylor died in Edinburgh in 1841 and he and his brother William, with their families, are buried in St Michael’s Churchyard Dumfries where their father-in-law presided as minister. In 1841 Broomlands lay empty, though still in the ownership of the Taylor family. A skeleton staff was in residence. Mary Broadfoot born 1787 was the lodge keeper. The cottage was occupied by the gardener, Hugh Paterson born 1806 together with his wife Janet born 1804 and their children, Jane born 1827, Ann born 1829, Mary born 1832, Janet born 1834, Alexander born 1837 and Hugh born 1840. 22 The Dumfries and Maxwelltown Horticultural Show established at Castledykes House at this time featured Hugh Paterson of Broomlands as a prize winner. The second cottage, which lay within the grounds of the estate a short distance from the other cottage, was occupied in 1841 by Agnes Roan. She was a widow born 1789 and with her lived her children, James born 1824 who was an apprentice upholsterer, Mary born 1826 and Susan born 1839. The coachman was William McDowall and he and Hugh Paterson continued to work as gardener and coachman when the property was later occupied by James McKie. Although Robert Taylor’s widow lived in Edinburgh, after the death of her husband, she seems to have at first retained Broomlands as a country residence and after James McKie occupied the property in the mid 1840s she continued to be known as Mrs Taylor of Broomlands, so I suspect the property remained in the hands of the Taylors and was rented by James McKie. William McDowall and Hugh Paterson continued as coachman and gardener during James McKie’s time in the house. William McDowall had been born in Dunscore in 1804. When the house changed hands, he and his wife Mary moved from Broomlands and took a position as ostler at The Golden Bull Inn Dumfries High Street. He was found dead on 22/10/1865 in the stables of The Spur Inn Dumfries High Street. Many private coachmen, when their services were no longer required, took positions as ostlers. The coachman who had been employed at Castledykes House, another Walter Newall designed house, became ostler at The Kings Arms in Glasgow Street Maxwelltown. James McKie was the son of William McKie, who had been Provost of Dumfries 1827-1829. Provost McKie was a manufacturer and commission agent and involved in many local charities at the time, as was his son James. He was chief magistrate of Dumfries and died in 1838. James McKie of Broomlands was a solicitor and was a devoted campaigner for The Liberal Party. He remained unmarried and when he moved from Broomlands, about 1854, lived until his death in 1874 with his mother and sister Jessie McKie at Moat House, which stood beside Dumfries Academy. His sister Jessie provided the funds for the widening of the Buccleuch Street Bridge in 1889 and was a close friend of Provost Joseph Glover who named his daughter after her. James McKie’s brother, William McKie, was a manufacturer in Hawick and his younger brother, Thomas McKie, was an advocate. James McKie owned the land which stretched along the road from Galloway Street to New Abbey Road on which a thriving market garden was established. The land is now the site of a number of large villas which sprang up in the latter half of the 19 th century. On 29/09/1852 lead was stripped from the roof of the offices at Broomlands and more would have been stolen if the thieves had not been scared off by the dogs. The lead was discovered in a brokers shop in Dumfries and the description of the men who had sold it was that they were similar to navvies. On 25/05/1853, at Stewartry Criminal Court Kirkcudbright, four apparently respectable tradesmen from Dumfries were sentenced to 14 days imprisonment for the theft of 21 pounds of lead stolen from Broomlands. They had spent the money on spirits. In 200 years, nothing changes. Perhaps it was more convenient for business reasons to move from Broomlands to the centre of Dumfries. James McKie did not maintain a large indoor staff, when he was resident at Broomlands, although William McDowall and his son Robert McDowall born 1828 acted as coachman and coach driver. The staff in the garden included Dickson and James Murray as well as Hugh Paterson. Broomlands was purchased in 1854 by Mary Dalgairns, who had been born in Forfar in 1794. Her husband, Andrew Dalgairns, was already dead by 1841. The Dalgairns family were wealthy landowners in the parish of Aberlemno in Angus. Prior to her move to Broomlands she owned Balgavies House Aberlemno. Her cousin was William Dalgairns who served as medical officer in The Honourable East India Company in Bombay. Her 23 father, Charles Greenhill, and his mother, Charlotte Greenhill, were siblings. It may have been William Dalgairns medical background, or acquaintance with Dr Browne of The Crichton Royal Lunatic Asylum, which resulted in Mary Dalgairns, in partnership with Dr Browne, opening Broomlands as an asylum catering for lady mental patients. There was a deal of displeasure amongst the local community when she started this venture and she was accused of operating a lunatic asylum without a license. The mansion house at this time had 18 rooms. The patients she housed were all women. Dora Hall had been born in England in 1821 and died in Stow Berwickshire in 1891. Catherine Mary Burn, who had been born in North Berwick in 1825, died at 24 Ann Street in Edinburgh’s New Town of disease of the brain and epilepsy. Her father, John Burn, is described as of Kingston, so engaged in trade with Jamaica. Another patient boarding at Broomlands was Hope Paterson who had been born in America in 1824, though a British Subject. She died in Montrose Poor House 30/09/1864 and was suffering from paralysis. Hannah Jackson born in England in 1792 and also a patient died in Newington Edinburgh in 1869. The lady patients were attended to by their personal Lady’s maids. These were, Ann McLaughlan born Dumfries 1837, Margaret Taylor born Dumfries 1837 and Elizabeth Windram who had been born in New Biggin Forfar in 1782 and most likely travelled to Broomlands with Mary Dalgairns and her sister Elizabeth Greenhill. Acting as a nurse was Janet Johnstone, born 1832 in Troqueer. Other staff included a laundress, Catherine Carron born 1832 Balmaghie, a cook, Margaret Russell, born Temple Midlothian 1814 and Mary Milne a housemaid born 1810 in Forfarshire. Also resident with Mary Dalgairns in 1861 was Elizabeth Henderson born in England in 1837 and a four year old boy, Charles Richardson, also born in England. James Murray still lived in one of the cottages and was employed as a gardener, but the head gardener was Charles Duncan, a widower born in 1798 in Perthshire, whom Mary Dalgairns had probably brought with her. His son, Alexander Duncan, born in Mary Dalgairns home parish of Eassie in 1839 was the coachman. This change of staff must have come as a blow to the Murrays and McDowalls who suddenly were without homes or employment. Mary Dalgairns died at Broomlands 6/11/1865 and Broomlands became the property of Walter Scott 18211899. He was the son of Robert Scott who had set up a hosiery business in sheds at Kingholm Quay where they spun yarn for the hosiery trade. The business expanded when Nithsdale Mills was established on the Dumfries side of The River Nith. Walter Scott had been married to Betsy Walker in Ormskirk in 1845 and his children from this marriage were all born in Salford, the centre of the spinning and weaving industry. When his wife died in 1860 he returned to Dumfries and went into business at first with his brother in the Nithsdale Mills venture. In 1863 he married Elizabeth Mary Ann Gordon and built Troqueer Mills on the Maxwelltown side of the river and started to enlarge and improve Broomlands House, which was within walking distance of his mill. The Scott brothers were the biggest employers in Dumfries and Maxwelltown. By 1871 Broomlands had increased in size from 18 to 24 rooms. On the first floor there was a dining room with an anti-room off and a drawing room with access to a conservatory. On this level there was also a library, a sewing room and a billiard room. There was a bedroom and lavatory and a pantry for the use of table maids. On the second floor were four bedrooms, two dressing rooms and a bathroom. On the third floor were four more bedrooms, a bathroom and lavatory. The ground floor contained the kitchen, servants’ hall, a scullery, two larders, a milk house and four servants’ bedrooms. There was also a boot room, a milk house, a lavatory and wine cellar. In 1879 Walter Scott diverted the public right of way from New Abbey Road to Troqueer Church, which passed over low ground and often became muddy. Walter Scott created a new path on higher ground and 24 laid down furnace ashes to create a path five feet wide. He erected iron gates along the length of the path where it crossed fences. He removed the old hedge, which had previously formed the boundary between the lands of Rotchell and Broomlands, and took the land into the lands of Broomlands. On this piece of ground he constructed his new stable block. The stables, built by Crombie and Sons, were formed in a hollow square with the front facing Broomlands There was a central archway 86 feet 2 inches wide with a clock tower. The stable block stretched backwards in line with the New Abbey Road 98 feet 5 inches. The square in the centre of the building was 60 feet by 1 inch by 43 feet 10 inches. At the front, to the East of the building, was a residence for the coachman, containing a kitchen, parlour and bedroom. On the other side of the archway was a store for grain. There was a stable, containing 2 stalls and 3 boxes, running parallel to the public road. There was also a washing house for vehicles, a harness room and an infirmary. The North side of the building was occupied by a carriage house and byre. The East side of the building contained a fodder store, a stable and 4 stalls and a wood house, with the corner forming part of the coachman’s house. The building externally was of red sandstone in courses but rough faced, the inside being brick with a hollow space in the brickwork to prevent damp. The mason work was executed by Messr Crackston. The joiner work was done by Mr Scott’s own men. Just as the Taylors had been involved in charitable giving in Maxwelltown, so too was Walter Scott. The Maxwelltown Mission Hall Children’s Outing was held at Broomlands. This was a whole day event when 260 children set off from Maxwelltown at 10.30 am marching behind a flute band and waving flags to walk to Broomlands for a day of sporting activities. They would have walked along the path by the Nith that ran from Maxwelltown to Broomlands. 25 By 1881 Walter Scott was employing 1191 people in his Troqueer Mill and 25 workers at his brickworks and farm. He retained a large indoor staff at Broomlands. There was a governess, Louisa Leite born England 1855, to take care of his children, as well as nurse Rebecca Guthrie born 1842 Maybole. The cook, Margaret Wallace, had been born in Penpont in 1843, assisted by a kitchen maid Agnes Kirkpatrick born 1863 in Keir. The two housemaids were, Margaret Meiklejohn born 1849 Wick and Mary Robertson born 1859 Kirkmahoe, who was the under housemaid. Annette Lawson born 1857 in England was the table maid and Margaret McLean born 1833 in Kilmore was the laundry maid. Walter Scott sold Broomlands in 1889 to Lady Anne Findlay Anderson Ramsay, the daughter of General George Ramsay, the 9th Earl of Dalhousie. Lady Ramsay had married David Ewart 1894-1880. He was a colonel in the Indian Army. Her brother was Lieutenant Colonel Robert Anderson Ramsay. The Ramsays were related to the Youngs who owned Lincluden House on the outskirts of Maxwelltown. It had originally been named Youngfield and it was there in 1880 that David Ewart died. His wife, the sister of Lord Dalhousie, moved to Broomlands. Lady Anne Ewart had for many years employed Christian Mossman who had been born in 1798 near Montrose and moved up the ranks in the hierarchy of servants and by 1861 she was the housekeeper for the Ewart family. She had moved around the country with the Ewarts from Aberdeenshire to Inverleith Row in Edinburgh, Lancaster Gate Paddington London, Skene House Aberdeenshire and Lincluden House Dumfries and Galloway. The will of Christian Mossman, when she died at Laurieknowe in 1888 aged 89 makes interesting reading since she left £150 in bank accounts in both Scotland and England. In the absence of old age pensions at the time, perhaps Lady Ewart provided her with an income in her old age sufficient to support her. Had she saved the £150 in her accounts over a lifetime of service? David Ewart certainly left her nothing in his will. Christian Mossman retired to live in a rented property in Laurieknowe Maxwelltown where she was known as Mrs Mossman, a widow, despite the fact that she had never married. Lady Ewart died at Broomlands in 1891 from Parkinson’s disease having only been resident at Broomlands for a year. The property by this time had increased in size to 28 rooms. Lady Ewart employed two nurses to care for her, Mary McLean who had been born in Campbelltown in 1850 and Mary Singer born Inch Aberdeenshire in 1854. Her lady’s maid was Swiss, Anna Moser. The property was sold to William Paterson 1842-1914. He also owned Rockhall in Mouswald Parish. His grandmother, Jean Jardine, was the sister of William Jardine 1784-1843 the Co-founder of the firm of Jardine and Matheson. The firm had a policy of employing family members and William Paterson began his career with Jardine Matheson by working as a tea broker in Liverpool, before going to China in the early 1860s to work in Foochow as a clerk in the tea export business. He rose rapidly through the ranks in the firm and as well as exporting tea he was active in the opium trade carried on by Jardine Matheson between India and China, which made huge profits for the company. He was the honorary Danish Consul in China. He was made a partner in the firm in 1875. Like many European merchants in China at the time, he maintained what was known as a protected woman. These were Chinese prostitutes whom western men paid for their exclusive use. William Paterson had a relationship for about ten years with a Chinese woman called Wong Mui Kiu with whom he fathered five children. The relationship began in Foochow but he bought a house for her and the children in Hong Kong in 1885 just before his return to Scotland. In 1886 he married in Edinburgh Isabella Johnstone Stewart 1865-1913 and at this time took up residence at Rockhall. The family bought Broomlands in 1896. For the most part the indoor staff employed by The Patersons at Broomlands were local. William McMinn and Robert Rome were employed as gardeners and William Crosbie was the coachman. 26 William Paterson’s sons were educated at Marlborough College and their mother died suddenly in 1913 when on a visit to them and staying in Bournemouth. William Paterson died shortly afterwards in 1914. Broomlands was advertised for sale 16/03/1915 and was opened as a Red Cross hospital for wounded soldiers on 06/04/1916. There were originally 35 beds, increased to 45 beds by July 1916 and by August 1917 the garage had been converted to a ward accommodating a further 13 patients. The gardens were maintained by Joseph Skilling and Robert Jardine but there was no longer the need for a coachman, The number of soldiers being treated at Broomlands in 1917 amounted to 788. The grounds of Broomlands in 1914 included 4 fields of 19.730 acres of grass and 13.625 acres of woodland and garden. The local community did a great deal of fund raising on behalf of the hospital at Broomlands throughout WW1 and many fetes and entertainments were held in the grounds for the benefit of the soldiers being treated there. There is a record of a former patient of Broomlands Hospital on 07/10/1916 being found guilty of between 15th and 19th September falsely collecting subscriptions for Broomlands Hospital. Private James Gallagher of South Lancashire Regiment, who was reported as walking very lame, was sentenced to one month in prison for collecting £1.0.2 in Dumfries and 19/11 in Dalbeattie. By 1920 the house was lying empty and grounds were in use by Dumfries and Maxwelltown Industrial School. Joseph Skilling was still employed as gardener and living in the lodge. One of the cottages was occupied by Peter Macintosh who was a labourer and the second cottage by John Wright who was employed by The Industrial School as pipe major of the school pipe band. The pipe band of The Industrial School was in great demand at fetes and public events and travelled far and wide to perform. Robert Pattie, who was an auctioneer in Dumfries and Maxwelltown, acquired the property in 1921. As his business grew he moved from 5 rooms near his business premises in Buccleuch Street to Laurelbank House, a sandstone villa in Laurieknowe Maxwelltown. Robert Pattie renamed it Robertland after himself. When he moved with his family to Broomlands it reverted to its original name. His business was called Dunbar Sons and Pattie and as well as acting as auctioneers they carried out house clearances, acted as estate agents and were undertakers. Robert Pattie, like his father before him was a joiner to trade. Sales catalogues held in The Ewart Library Dumfries list a sale by Robert Pattie of the contents of libraries from a number of local country houses, including the library of Broomlands. Robert Pattie did not employ any indoor staff prior to the move to Broomlands in 1921 and when he died at Broomlands in April 1932 his wife left Broomlands for a much more modest establishment at 3 Newall Terrace Dumfries. Duncan Anderson, a retired coachman, occupied the lodge in the 1930s and Angus Macdonald, a gardener, lived in a cottage. After the death of Robert Pattie the properties at Broomlands were acquired by George Sinclair Main, a retired chemist, and his wife Winifred. Before moving to Broomlands they had lived in a more modest house in Glencaple. When WW2 started George and Winifred Main vacated Broomlands House and took up residence in the lodge. The house was occupied by The War Department for the duration of the war. King Haakon of Norway dined at Broomlands in 1942 when large numbers of Norwegian soldiers were stationed in Dumfries. After the war some of the land was sold to Robert Learmont, Kinmont, New Abbey Road, who rented it to David Johnstone, 5 Primrose Street Dumfries, who used part of the land as a rubbish dump. What had been the stables was purchased by West Cumberland Farmers, who used it as a store, a garage and petrol pumps. 27 Mrs Main moved to live in Rotchell Park and when she died the land in 1960 became the property of James Bell of Park Farm Dumfries. The mansion house fell into disrepair and by 1967 was deemed uninhabitable. The Lodge and garage became the property of Archibald and Edith Hogg and the stables continued to operate as a garage and store in the ownership of West Cumberland Farmers. When the mansion house was demolished in 1968, to make way for a housing development, the stables for a few years was in the ownership of Currie & Co of Auchinleck Ltd. All that remains of Broomlands today is the original lodge and gatehouse which are B listed and the stables, built by Walter Scott, now operating as Rickson’s Carpet Warehouse and Peak Physique gym. 28 Goldielea, Troqueer by Sandra Williamson 29 30 31 Mabie House, Troqueer by Lynda Mackie Mabie House Present Day Mabie Estate Map 1795 32 Mabie House (Reference 294950, 570795) lies 3.5 miles from Dumfries on the A710 between Dumfries and New Abbey. The mansion house is presently operating as a hotel and the grounds are owned by The Forestry Commission and provide recreational activities for the general public. There are five walking trails through the forest ranging in length from 0.5 mile to 5 miles. There are also 3 mountain bike trails ranging in length and difficulty from 5. miles to 11.75 miles. In addition, there is a children’s playground, a wildlife hide, barbeque facilities and ample parking. The grounds are well used by the local population and visitors alike. We can trace references to The Lands of Mabie in the records of The Monks of Holm Cultram who held the land until it was taken from them by David 11 of Scotland, 1324-1371, and given to his supporter Walter Durrand. The Estate of Mabie included the farms of Mabie Mains, Halhead, Marthrown, Butterhole, Burnside, Townfoot, Midtown of Carruchan, Nethertown, Mosside, Craighill and the small farm of Lochaber. On the lands of Butterhole there once existed an extensive iron smelting site. Robert, son of Herbert Herries of Terregles had charter of half the lands of Mabie in 18/6/1468 and Mabie remained in the possession of the Herries family until 30/10/1632 when the daughter of John Herries married Herbert Maxwell of Kirkconnell and the Kirkconnell family took possession of Mabie. The Herries and Kirkconnell families were staunch Roman Catholics and due to their steadfast support of The Catholic cause in the early 18th century had their lands seized by The Crown. In 16/1/1708, following The Union of The Parliaments, Colonel John Stewart of Stewartfield had sasine of the lands of Mabie. He was a professional soldier who joined The British Army after The Glorious Revolution and served in 1708 with The Duke of Marlborough. He was a burgess of Edinburgh and Glasgow and became Commissioner of Supply for The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. Since he held lands in Stewartfield in Jedburgh as well as Mabie in Kirkcudbrightshire he was eligible to vote in elections for both Roxburgh and Kirkcudbrightshire. He became MP for Kirkcudbrightshire in the Parliament of 1708 in a contest where his opponent was the Pro Jacobite Maxwell of Kirkconnell. He was captured in 1710 by French pirates but released on parole and re-elected to Parliament in 1715. When he attended a by- election dinner in Roxburgh he became involved in an argument with Sir Gilbert Elliot, who was annoyed that Colonel Stewart had not voted for him. John Stewart threw a glass of wine in Gilbert Elliot’s face and Elliot ran him through with his sword. He did not survive this encounter and died in 1726. Elliot was declared an outlaw but was later pardoned as he had friends in high places. After 1726, when the clamour surrounding the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion had subsided, the Lands of Mabie once more were in the hands of The Maxwells of Kirkconnell. The seat of The Maxwells of Kirkconnell lies between Mabie and New Abbey and was originally a fortified tower house. James Maxwell of Kirkconnell held the lands of Mabie until he unwisely once more sided with The Jacobites and followed Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745. He escaped the country after Culloden and followed The Prince to France. His estates, including Mabie, were seized by The Crown. Whilst in France he wrote an account of The 45 and it remains a reference document for scholars today. He returned to Kirkconnell House in 1755 and when he inherited Carruchan Estate from his uncle he sold it and used the money to acquire Mabie once more. He spent a deal of money extending Kirkconnell House and employed French brick makers to create the bricks on his land for this purpose. By 1799 The Maxwells had to sell Mabie but retained the farm of Nethertoun. The purchaser of Mabie was Richard Howat 1750-1834. He was the son of a wheel wright and had been brought up in Maxwelltown where his father and grandfather owned land and property in what was known as The Brig End of Dumfries. His father, Robert Howat, in 1803 made over the few acres of land he owned between The Brig End Maxwelltown and Cargenbridge in Troqueer Parish to his son Richard since he and his wife had only two children who survived into adulthood, Richard and his sister Mary Howat. 33 Richard was a carpenter and set off for India in 1781 where he is shown as a carpenter in Calcutta in 1792. He was not employed by The Honourable East India Company but his banker was John Palmer & Co who were regarded at the time as the most prominent Agency House in India. Richard‘s house and business premises in Calcutta were in close proximity to the impressive building from which John Palmer conducted his business. In the late 18th century in Calcutta it was difficult to obtain furniture and many mansion houses built at the time by East India Company Officials and merchants had enormous rooms with little in the way of fine furniture. There was also a great demand for wheeled carriages. Richard Howat as a carpenter and with knowledge of carriage construction from his father was in the right place at the right time to make a serious amount of money. He was a friend as well as conducting business with Palmer & Co and left instructions for payment of £30 a month to be paid to a woman whom he describes as, “An old woman of 67 years,” for the rest of her life. Like so many European merchants in China, The West Indies and India at the time, he obviously had a local woman to take care of all his needs in residence in his house in Calcutta. He returned to Dumfries and after purchasing Mabie in 1799 married, in 1803, Helen Clark 1786-1855, the daughter of Samuel Clark, who had been the Commissary Clerk for Dumfries. The mansion house on the property dates from this time but was extended in the late 19th century. The Mabie Estate Map from 1799 shows only a small cluster of farm buildings where the mansion house stands today. By 1850 the OS map shows extensive upgrading of the house and gardens. Richard Howat and his wife lived at Mabie in some style. As well as the mansion house there was a lodge, outbuildings with a carriage house and stables, with cottages for a gardener and foresters. They had no children and the entire estate of Mabie, together with over £50,000 in investments, Richard left to his nephew, Robert Kirkpatrick 1788-1863, on condition he changed his name to Howat, or forfeit the estate. For this reason, the family thereafter had the surname Kirkpatrick-Howat. Before Richard Howat died John Palmer & Co went bankrupt but just before this Richard Howat had moved his business to Cockerell’s Agency in Calcutta. Palmer sent letters to his most prominent business contacts and friends including Richard Howat asking them to help him out and avoid bankruptcy but his entreaties to Richard Howat fell on deaf ears since Richard’s main concern in correspondence with John Palmer was that the £30 a month continue to be paid to his “Old woman,” in Calcutta. Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat was the son of Richard Howat’s sister Mary, who had married Thomas Kirkpatrick, who was a baker to trade. Terms of Richard Howat’s will also demanded, that in the absence of a male heir, any female heir could only inherit if they married a man with the surname Howat. Terms of the will also demanded that land should be purchased from the capital that had been left to Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat. Following the death of Richard Howat in 1834, his trustees cast their net far and wide in search of suitable land. They eventually purchased land at Auchenreoch and Barncailzie in Kirkpatrick Durham. There were also instructions in the will regarding the preservation of the orchard behind the mansion house and stipulation that the land in front of the house had to remain in grass, which continues to the present day, with a large lawn to the front of the house. In 1834 the description of the estate was as follows. £5 land of Meikle and Little Mabie The 6 Merk land of Dullang The 20 shilling land of Dalshinnie Lands of Mosside, Butterhole, Hillhead, Marthrown, Lochaber & Holecroft. The 20 shilling land of Craigbill of old extent with the mansion house of Mabie and offices and biggins, Yeards, orchards, woods and fishings. 34 The mansion House, under terms of Richard Howat’s will, could not be let, nor could any land be sold. Should the Kirkpatrick-Howats be concerned in any criminal activity, they would forfeit the estate. Should the heir have any personal debts, these could not be paid from the estate and the property would pass to the next in line to inherit, unless debts were paid within five years. Should an heir pay off a predecessor’s debts in less than five years they could inherit, even if not in direct line to do so. In 1834 Mabie was a well furnished opulent house. The cellar contained a serious stock of wines. A half pipe of port wine valued at £30, 14 dozen bottles of claret £28, 5 dozen bottles of sherry £12.10, 8 dozen bottles of madeira, 9 dozen bottles of port wine, 7 dozen other bottles of port £8, 2 dozen bottles of madeira valued at £1.10, 4 dozen bottles of whisky £2.8.0, 2 and half dozen bottles of brandy at £7.10, 8 bottles of rum 16 shillings and 10 dozen bottles of porter at £3. On the ground floor of the house there was a dining room, parlour, pantry, cleaning room, china closet, two servants’ bedrooms, a kitchen and a servant’s room next to it with two tables and seven chairs. There was also a laundry and a drawing room. Upstairs there was The Crimson Bedroom with closet and store, Scarlet Bedroom with a closet and store room and an additional four bedrooms named The Front Bedroom, White Bedroom, Chinz Bedroom, Drab Bedroom with a further store room and closet and an upstairs drawing room. There was a stable with horses and a harness room and coach house with a small phaeton and a coach. For 32 years Adam Duff served as coachman for Richard Howat. When Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat took over from his uncle he demanded that the gardener, forester and Adam Duff the coachman, sign a document saying they would vacate their cottages by Whitsun of 1835. The widow of Richard Howat, Helen Clark, was appalled by this and sent a letter to Robert asking that Adam Duff remain as coachman and he remained living beside the coaches until he died in his daughter’s house in College Street, Maxwelltown in 1872 aged 94. Helen Howat also requested that the gardener, James Farquharson, be kept in his post, but by 1841 James Aitken born 1798 Dumfries was gardener. Peter Nugent who had been born in Ireland in 1792 and was employed as a sawyer had moved to Colvend by 1851 and there was only one forester employed at Mabie. Helen Howat had been allowed to remain in Mabie House for one year after the death of her husband. She opted to move into Dumfries to a house her husband had purchased for her in Castle Street where she remained until she died. Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat had married in Canada Margaret Midgely Cockcroft 1796-1862 and they were living with their family in Chippawa Upper Canada where he was employed as customs officer. Two of their daughters died in Canada. Their eldest son, Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat 1830-1888, and their daughter, Margaret Kirkpatrick-Howat born 1829, had been born in Canada. Richard was born in England in 1836 and Alexander in Edinburgh in 1839. Lonsdale was born at Mabie in 1840 and Catherine in 1850. Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat Junior married Amelia Rose Blewitt in Cheltenham in 1853 and their eldest daughter, Rose, was born in Nantes in France in 1853. She seems to have suffered from mental illness of some kind since in 1881 and 1891 she was described as a UK lunacy patient and staying in Monmouthshire Wales. Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat who had been born in France in 1854 died in St Helier Jersey in 1859. Eugenie who also was born in Jersey in 1859 went to New York in 1886 and married Robert Ellerson Baldershaw and lived in Crownsville Ann Arundel County Maryland but had no children. Guinevere who was born in 1860 died unmarried in Edinburgh in 1927. Richard who had been born in 1867 speculated on The Stock Exchange and lost a fortune when in his early 20s. His other claim to fame was being taken to court in 1898 by his housekeeper, Miss Margaret Davidson, for Breach of Promise. She was claiming £30 in wages she was due and £500 in damages. The arguments from both parties were found by the judge not to prove sufficient to rule in favour of either Richard or Margaret and Richard made a sharp exit from Scotland shortly after the case was heard and set off for America, where he died in Baltimore in 1926 and is buried in the same cemetery as his sister Eugenie. 35 Their father’s brother Richard Kirkpatrick-Howat who had been born in 1836 had died on board ship in 1860 on his way to Calcutta. Their grandfather had died in 1866 and after the death of his father, Robert Kirkpatrick-Howat Junior, Reginald Kirkpatrick-Howat 1862-1942 inherited Mabie. It would seem that around this time the Kirkpatrick-Howats were experiencing some financial difficulties so the house was advertised to be let furnished. Mabie was rented by Dame Janet Lucretia Wallace. She was the daughter of John Wallace of Cessnock & Kelly and the widow of Sir John Cunningham Fairlie of Robertland and Fairlie. The family were plantation and slave owners in the West Indies and had made a fortune. Before taking up the tenancy of Mabie she had lived in a variety of local mansion houses including Woodlands, Conheath and Dalscairth. She died in June 1877 aged 95 and the mansion house was again advertised to be let furnished. Reginald Kirkpatrick-Howat was in 1881 a boarder in a school in Tottenham London where at 18 he was by far the oldest pupil there. When his brother Richard departed for America under a cloud Reginald took over the estate but lived in the lodge since the mansion house was tenanted by William Campbell an Edinburgh advocate. He was Lord Skerrington and had been born in 1855. He was the first Roman Catholic High Court Judge to preside in Scottish courts since The Reformation. He did not remain in residence in Mabie House for long and shortly after 1895 returned to Edinburgh and died at 12 Randolph Crescent in Edinburgh New Town in 1927. The other estate employees in 1885 when William Campbell tenanted the house and Reginald KirkpatrickHowat occupied the lodge were Duncan McGregor, the gardener, James Paterson the gamekeeper and James Ballantyne the forester. Reginald Kirkpatrick-Howat followed his brother Robert and sister Eugenie to America. The estate became the property of James Johnstone Keswick 1845-1914 and by 1915 was occupied by his widow Marion Plumer Keswick. James Johnstone Keswick was the son of Thomas Keswick and younger brother of William Keswick. Their uncle was the founder of the company of Jardine Matheson who made their fortune in China and The Far East. They began trading in tea but by the middle of the 19 th century shipped opium between India and China until the Chinese Government became so alarmed by the number of Chinese becoming addicted to opium that the trade was declared illegal. Jardine Matheson & Co built trade in other commodities and owned their own shipping fleet and expanded to operate from other countries including Japan. James Johnstone Keswick went to Japan on behalf of the company in 1870 and stayed for 26 years. He became a partner in the company in the 1890s He founded Hong Kong Land with his close associate Sir Paul Chater and was appointed unofficial member of The Legislative Council and Executive Council of Hong Kong. He was chairman of The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. His nickname in Hong Kong and Japanese business circles was, “James The Bloody Polite”. He married Marion Parkes, the daughter of Harry Smith Parkes who had been British Government Minister in Tokyo and Peking. Her mother was Fanny Plumer and reputedly the first woman to climb Mount Fuji. There were 18 rooms in Mabie House when the Keswicks were in residence. The Keswicks employed a larger number of indoor staff than had previously been the case when the house was occupied by the KirkpatrickHowats. In 1921 Marion Keswick and her son James Douglas Keswick, who had been born in Yokohama in 1896, employed a cook, a kitchen maid, three house maids, a table maid, a hall boy and a lady’s maid. They also employed a gardener and an assistant gardener and a chauffeur. The Lodge Keeper ensured entry to the estate was restricted to those with permission to do so. 36 In 1943 Mabie Estate was sold by The Keswick Family and Marion Keswick moved to a house in New Abbey where she died in 1949 aged 89. About 1,100 hectares of Mabie Forest had been under the control of The Forestry Commission during WW2, prior to it being sold by The Keswicks. The woodland planted behind the house was not to be felled and there had to be fazed felling of other areas of woodland. By the 1990s 300 acres of the forest was in public use and the people of Dumfries were opposed to any further felling of trees. The Forestry Commission set aside the paths for the public use we see today and felling operations were conducted in safe areas. The mansion House of Mabie was occupied by The Forestry Commission and the fabric of the building deteriorated. It was bought in 1980 by Rory McKail with a view to carrying out a programme of refurbishment and opening it as a hotel. Although this was a venue for jazz concerts the capital investment to refurbish the building was not available and it was sold in the 1990s to the present owners who have carried out extensive refurbishment of the public rooms and bedrooms. It is now run as a hotel and wedding venue. 37 Barwhinnock House, Twynholm by Janet Quin Description Early 19th century. Classical house of unusual design for this area. 2-storey symmetrical house main elevation appears single storey, flanked by lower single storey bow-ended pavilions. Square coursed rubble S Front: 3-bay with flanking single bay pavilions. To centre, advanced bay has wide Tuscan columned doorpiece, corniced with blocking course. Recessed pilastered tripartite door with astragalled fan and sidelights, double-leaf door. Flanking door shallow bowed bays with Venetian windows with column mullions and wide archivolt. Sash and case windows with small-pane glazing intersecting in arched head. Bull-faced granite basecourse with smooth band above, moulded eaves cornice, parapet. Pavilions with single light 12-pane windows and piend roofs. Rear elevation rubble, central full-height canted bay with pointed arch door and modern open porch. Windows single light mostly with 12-pane glazing. Piended slate roofs. Tall corniced sandstone stacks with octagonal cans. Interior: outstanding interior, tripartite glazed vestibule screen, exceptional hall with curved double staircase, fluted Doric screen to landing. Stair balusters fine cast-iron with roundels of classical figure groups. All main rooms have delicate plaster cornices and good marble chimneypieces. Tudor arch-headed astragalled glazed door under stairs gives access to library with a similar door (now fixed glazed) flanked by pointed-arch fanlights (that to right now with door opened). Good panelled doors, some Tudor archheaded. https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200350827-barwhinnock-house-twynholm BARWHINNOCK HOUSE (LB16989) (historicenvironment.scot) 38 Buildings of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway by John Gifford published in 1996 writes: “… but the smartest early c19 villa is the single-storey Barwhinnock of c.1830, with Venetian-windowed shallow bows flanking the broad portico which opens onto the grandiose stair hall.” Barwhinnock House, as it presents today, looks little changed from the days of its original time of building almost 200 years ago. Perhaps a major factor in its continuous state of preservation and occupation has been its size: as Big Hooses go, the estate house is small in size but is attractive in its presentation and has unusual, interesting features. Location All maps reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland (maps.nls.uk) Travelling westwards on the A75 Dumfries to Stranraer road, after you pass the western exit for the Twynholm bypass, Barwhinnock lies about half a mile further on the right side of the road. The House is beautifully secluded being sheltered by mature trees so that all the passerby will see is the almost 200-yearold lodge house at the entrance. 39 Background Prior to the erection of the present house there are references to the estate of Barwhinnock having been in existence for centuries. Tradition has it that it was part of the old barony of Twynholm and that the land was granted to the McMillan family by James II. Some reference books state categorically this was James II of Scotland who reigned in the 1400s whilst others state it was James II of England and VII of Scotland who was briefly king in the late 1600s. Given that James II of Scotland was in Kirkcudbright in 1450 this would seem a more likely possibility and there are references to McMillans of Barwhinnock from the 1500s onwards. A McMillan of Barwhinnock was said to have been a follower of Bonnie Prince Charlie in the 1745 rebellion and had some of his lands confiscated as a result. In the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright the period between 1700 and 1800 saw many changes in agricultural practices and certainly towards the end of the century James McMillan was being recognised as being a sound innovator alongside Lord Daer whose father, the 4th Earl of Selkirk, was the major landowner in the parish of Twynholm and seen as a progressive in estate management and agriculture. Evidence of this can be seen in the 1799 map of the estate drawn up by the locally renowned map maker of that time John Gillone. 40 At a time when the 1795 First Statistical Account reports a dearth of trees in the parish, here we can see that McMillan by 1799 had planted many trees on his estate and had already planned the very large and unusually shaped oval walled garden. What is not certain is the exact location of the mansion house of that time which is reported to have burnt down. One suggestion was that this occurred in 1844 but other sources cast doubt on this. It would seem, however, to have been situated very near to the present house. Meantime, while James McMillan was establishing himself as a respected, innovating landowner, the next generation were seeking challenges further afield. By 1800 a Robert McMillan went to Canada and the names of both Patrick Laurie McMillan and George McMillan are to be found as attorneys on the plantation of Iter Boreale which lies to the north of Kingston, Jamaica. Many families from all strata of Scottish society emigrated to many far-flung parts of the world and whilst the poorer would never have the means to return, those of more affluent backgrounds especially from the Caribbean and North America seem to have been able to make the crossing across the North Atlantic on many occasions. James McMillan died in 1809 and by 1811, for some reason, we find the trustees putting an advert in the “Caledonian Mercury” for a roup (public auction) of the Barwhinnock estate of 455 acres estimated at a value of £18,000. The advert provides an interesting glimpse into those times. “Coal and lime are imported and the produce of the estate exported at the harbour at Tarff which is not far from Barwhinnock. Convenient access to Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse. Barwhinnock has a superior situation. A great toll road runs through the estate.” Note: the Dee was navigable up river to the harbour at Tarff (Cumstoun). This was well before the bridge at Kirkcudbright was built and accounts for the distance quoted of 5 miles between Barwhinnock and 41 Kirkcudbright, as carriages etc would have had to go via the old bridge at Cumstoun, Lower Tarf, and the very newly (1808) completed Telford bridge over the Dee at Tongland. Presumably Patrick Laurie McMillan (PL) returns from Jamaica and comes to some financial agreement with the Trustees, as the next reference we have refers to him as Mr McMillan of Barwhinnock. Who built the new estate house and when? As ever in history there are elements of facts and elements of conjecture and two facts which escape us are the date and architect of the building of the present Barwhinnock House. When Patrick Laurie McMillan returned from his travels, we must presume he did so in a financially comfortable situation. In the various gazetteers and histories of the day he is recognised as a respected progressive in estate management. He took an active part in local and national affairs buying shares in the proposed Dumfries to Portpatrick railway line, being on the board of the Bank of Scotland and taking an active interest in the local Liberal Party. As to the building of the new estate house at Barwhinnock I have found little certainty with suggested rebuild dates varying from the 1820s to 1844. Equally confusing is that the rebuild can be attributed to either Patrick Laurie McMillan (PL) or to his son in law, Major James Irving. Some decades after either of these suggested dates PH McKerlie, a well-known historian of the area, in 1878 published his History of the Lands and their Owners in Galloway and this seems to have been the source of the suggestion that the person who commissioned the house was Captain Irving and that the house was built in 1844. I believe this to be inaccurate but unfortunately it has been continuously repeated since the publication of this well-known book. Why do I question this? The case against Captain Irving… The Irving Family Memoirs attribute the building of the new house to Patrick Laurie McMillan rather than Captain Irving. Captain Irving was initially an ensign in the Bengal Light Cavalry who did not marry PLs only daughter Margaret until 1845 when he was at home on leave. It would seem unlikely he would have built the house before a marriage contract. His future life history does not suggest a tremendous affection for Barwhinnock. It is possible that he and his wife Margaret added the two small wings on either side of the house soon after their marriage and this may have been the source for a possible false attributing of Captain Irving of having been the builder. ...And FOR Patrick Laurie McMillan Unlike McKerlie various references of the time (for example The Topographical Dictionary of Scotland in the 1840s) report PL McMillan as proprietor and builder. ‘Mansion Houses. The Houses of Compston and Barwhinnock have been built by the present proprietors’ Mr Maitland and Mr McMillan. As the two local estate owners each has a dedicated ‘box’ in the centre of the recently built 1818 Twynholm kirk where they would be in full view of the rest of the congregation sitting in pews. The Topographical Dictionary of Scotland (1846?) also refers to ‘Barwhinnock, the residence of Mr McMillan, by whom it was lately erected, is also a handsome building.’ 42 There are references to that period of Mr. McMillan’s ‘beautification’ of Barwhinnock. Was the 1834 map (below) of the estate commissioned on completion of such works? Assuming, therefore, that PL was the instigator of the rebuild, the next question is to establish the “When.” In the “Irving Family Memoirs“ it states that Barwhinnock was rebuilt in 1844 following a fire destroying the old house and while this may be possible it is unlikely. Other sources question this date. For example: The 1841 parish census i.e. the number of persons in the parish of Twynholm for around that time, record: The partial decrease that has taken place since the census of 1831 is to be principally attributed to the circumstance, that, in 1831 extensive improvements were carried out on the estate of Barwhinnock, and as these are now completed the labourers who were engaged in them have removed with their families. Population of Twynholm Parish: 1801 was 681 1811 “ 740 1821 “ 783 1831 “ 871 1841 “ 777 Note the spike of around 100 souls in the 1831 census followed in 1841 of a similar reduction. This suggests that extra manpower was specifically linked to Barwhinnock well before 1844. Historic Environment Scotland in its Listed Buildings suggests the likelihood of the house being built at an earlier date than 1844. My non-specialist examination of the estate map of 1834 would seem to show the position of the house to be in essentially the same position now. Given the extensive works PL was undertaking on the estate and given his experience of living in the Caribbean, might it not be that he felt the time had come to do an upgrade? Did the old house burn down or might the ‘beautification’ not include replacing the old building with a much-admired new home? Who knows ? But the fact is it was a new build of a size and appearance which was not the norm for Scottish architecture for its time. 43 The new estate house This is the aspect of the House which greets you as you approach up the drive. The impression is of a modest sized house of one storey. We are led to believe that the original House did not initiallly include the two little wings on either side as shown here but there is reason to believe that these were added fairly soon after. And this is the view from the rear where you get a slightly different impression of size showing that it does indeed have an upper floor. 44 And here is the impressive showpiece : facing you as you enter the front door you find the double curving stairways leading up to the bedrooms. It is said locally that the plans of the house were inspired by a house PL had visited in the Caribbean. One possible explanation for the unusual (for Scotland) double stair might have been that it was a Petticoat Stair frequently found in the southern slave plantations in US: in the late 1700s/1800s ladies had hooped skirts which required lifting whilst ascending stairs and in order that the menfolk might not see their ankles there were separate stairways for the men and the women. It is unlikely we will be able to ascertain the source of its inspiration but whilst it may be modest in size for an estate house of its time it is one with unusual character and charm. Thus far I am not aware of anyone being able to confirm who the architect was. Evolution of the house from mid 1800s to 2023 Without architects or plans of the original how can we establish more about Barwhinnock? If we continue researching the McMillan family we find that in 1845 Margaret McMillan, the only daughter of Patrick Laurie and his wife Sophia Woodhall, married Captain James Irving from Gribton, Dumfries whilst he was home on leave. As a wedding present Patrick Laurie is reported to have given his daughter a very substantial sum of money and ownership of Barwhinnock, though possibly she did not inherit until PLs death in 1848. It is possible that while the new house was built by Patrick Laurie, Margaret's father, she and her new husband Captain James Irving felt the need to enlarge a little and added on the two low wings on either side of the main house. James Irving was a Captain of 29th Bengal Light Cavalry and engaged in various conflicts until he returned from his spell of duty in India in 1852. According to the Irving Family Memoirs James (now Major) was ‘bored by inactivity after so much excitement in India, he spent much of his time foxhunting in the west of England. This ended in tragedy when a horse fell and rolled on him making him more or less an invalid. He had to retire from the army and thereafter spent much of his time careering around the countryside with a four-in-hand. 45 Although he inherited Barwhinnock, a fine mansion in Galloway, he found Scotland far too cold after India so spent much of his later years in Devon.’ Newspaper cuttings in various Sporting Journals indicate him on the Board and as Judge especially in connection with gun dogs. The reason why this is important in the Barwhinnock story is that he had little interest in living there. After Margaret and James were married in 1845, they were living in India and we will presume that the McMillan family continued living at Barwhinnock. However by 1853 both of Margaret’s parents had died , the Irvings had returned to England and on 7th March 1857 the house and estate were advertised in The Field : ‘To Let furnished the Mansion House of Barwhinnock with Shootings etc. The house contains dining rooms, drawing room and library, six bedrooms , two dressing rooms, three servants bedrooms, butlers pantry, kitchen, hall etc. The offices consist of laundry and wash houses etc. The garden is in fullbearing and contains vinery and peach house. The shootings extend over 1000 acres and the tenant may have what grass lands he requires in addition to the lawn which goes with the house. Barwhinnock is 3 1/2 miles from Kirkcudbright from which there is a direct steam communication for Liverpool and 10 miles from Castle Douglas to which a railway is in course of construction. The Dumfries and Portpatrick mail passes the Lodge twice daily. Entry Whitsunday.’ What a treasure trove of information we now have. We cannot only begin to get an idea of the building but discover that travel by sea from Kirkcudbright to Liverpool was the norm and the Castle Douglas railway was underway but not completed. Not to mention it having a fully mature garden with Mediterranean fruits. 1857 Alongside the impression of gracious living, we should remember that at this time lighting was pre-electricity and the house would have been lit by oil lamps and candles. There would have been no piped water and maids would be required to carry pitchers of water to bedrooms for personal washing. Every room would have an open fire requiring to be stoked. It was also pre flush toilets so chamber pots and commodes would have been the order of the day for house residents. It was pre-central heating, pre-washing machines and pre-motor cars. Staff, of course, would not have been expected to be seen present in the family area except when tending to household needs. Every room would have a mechanical bell pull connected to either the kitchen or butler’s pantry where on the wall would be a labelled array of bells which tinkled in response to a summons. Identifying which room required staff presence was then very straightforward. They would certainly not be expected to use the beautiful entry hall stairs as in these days any bigger house would have a ‘back stair’ for servants. Consequently, even though Barwhinnock was a relatively small estate house, it would require a very large number of staff for the upkeep of day to day household care and a further large team for the estate and garden. The outbuildings would include kennels for the gamekeeper’s dogs, stables for the horses, carriage houses for various horse drawn vehicles, a joinery workshop and so on and a byre for cows providing milk for the house (hand milked ,of course.) 46 James Irving died in 1873 but Barwhinnock stayed in the family for a further 40 years under the ownership of his wife Margaret Mcmillan/Irving who died in 1896 and was then succeeded by her son Norman. Although Margaret had a large number of children, the family seemed to be a bit dysfunctional and children again scattered to the four winds. There seemed no apparent feeling of affection or loyalty to the Twynholm estate except that apparently when the eldest son was overlooked and ownership passed on to a younger son, Captain Norman Irving, some friction was recorded (Irving Family Memoirs). 1879/1883 Kirkcudbright Advertiser ‘Furnished House to let. The Mansion House of Barwhinnock in the parish of Twynholm. Furnished, with Offices, Garden, Policy and Shooting over 800 acres. The Mansion House is Commodious and the Stabling, Groom’s Rooms and Dog Kennels are very good. Salmon fishing can be had. Barwhinnock is 2 miles from Tarff Station.’ Note, the railway to Kirkcudbright has now been completed. 1896 ‘Furnished Mansion House and Shootings to let. Beautifully situated and commodious. Water brought to the house by gravitation and a modern system of drainage is being carried out. The shooting is mainly low ground and grouse and blackgame come to the estate in autumn.’ The reference here to water and drainage is very probably the introduction of the flush loo to the house. By necessity, estates would have their own source of water (i.e. pre local authority piped water supply) and the Kirk Burn runs through the estate very close to the house and outbuildings. The reference to gravitation could refer to a brick-built water tank below the dam in the field above the farm steading. Here we have a reference to water from the estate being piped to the house to provide, for the first time, a flush toilet. There being no sewerage scheme yet, the house would have had its own septic tank which I understand is still extant (as are still many from that era). A remnant of former toileting arrangements is the little hut just below the old steading built over the burn containing two wooden toilet seats. Possible footnote? toilet arrangements: A similar shed and toilet seats was still in existence in the 1950s over the burn at the old sawmill in Twynholm village where Coulthard’s haulage yard now is based. Cottagers would have a dry pit ‘up the gairden’ next to the ash pit (shovelful of ash to eliminate smells and flies) and periodically this would be collected by horse and cart and spread on the fields for fertiliser. By 1919 a law was passed that all new build housing must include an indoor flush toilet but even in the 1950s there were a few homes in Twynholm village still without. For drinking water there was a well a few hundred yards away to the northwest of the house at Bankend. In addition there is a spring at the back of the house which flows very close to the main house and likely contributed to household needs. The Lodge house was also served by its own spring and well. There was also a water pump in the steading. 47 1914 Dumfries and Galloway Standard Wed 20th May ‘Sale of household, stable, garage accessories, garden and greenhouse plants and utensils’ Note the progression from horses to cars. This roup (public auction) was deemed of sufficient interest to local people to provide transport for it from Kirkcudbright. 48 1917 D and G Standard Sat 17 March ‘Sale of Household Furniture and Effects belonging to the Trustees of the late Mrs Margaret Mc Millan of Barwhinnock.’ Then finally in 1919 we find the end of the centuries old McMillan connection with Barwhinnock being put up for sale. 49 1919 12th July ‘Very desirable Estate of Barwhinnock in the Parish of Twynholm for sale. The Mansion House has 3 public rooms, 6 bedrooms, 1 dressing room, kitchen and servants quarters. The principal rooms are heated by radiators. There is a good water supply and the drainage is modern. Good walled garden and suitable cottages. The estate including 5 farms extends to about 760 acres. Rental around £1022 and public burdens £118. Lidderdale and Gillespie’ Note the development of radiators in the ground floor rooms cutting back on need for servants to be constantly carrying coal to stoke up open fires. The next owner 1921-23 seems to have been William McKie, father of the local Tory MP Johnny McKie. There is a reference to a Miss McKie living at Barwhinnock around 1917 raising funds for the Heather Day Scottish Childrens League of Pity and in May 1920 an advert for a ‘manservant (indoor ) wanted at once, housework, waiting, good silver cleaner. Good references essential. Apply W McKie Barwhinnock.’ But whether or not they had rented prior to buying is not clear. However his tenure was brief, only being from 1921-1923. 1923 Scotsman 26th May: For Sale ‘Desirable small property of Barwhinnock. The Mansion House which is situated in a beautiful part of the country 5 miles from Kirkcudbright and 9 miles from Castle Douglas is in excellent state of repair. It has four reception rooms, 6 principal bedrooms, 2 dressing rooms, Bathroom etc, three servants bedrooms. Convenient Domestic Arrangements, Servants Hall etc. Telephone. There is no basement. The drainage is modern and the house centrally heated. Gravitation water laid on. Water power for Sawmill and for electric light. First Class stabling. Garage for two cars. Laundry. Lodges. 3 Cottages and 127 acres of First Class land. The mansion House is approached by an Avenue surrounded by beautiful policies. Productive walled kitchen garden with glass houses.’ We have mentioned the introduction of the flush toilet in the 1890s, the move from horse-drawn transport to use of cars by 1917, and here in 1923 we see the importance of two more modernisations in the installation of the telephone and installation of electric lights. The telephone would have lines to the manned Twynholm village telephone exchange. The power for generating electric lighting for the house was sourced from the mill lade to the water wheel at the farm steading. In other words both water and electricity were sourced within the estate and neither were on a ‘public’ supply. Note the mention of a bathroom. 50 This photo shows remaining evidence of the site of the original mill lade and water wheel with the pulley wheel above. 1923 -1935 Thus far I have no information on the new owners whom I believe to be a James Laing Wright but what is obvious from the sale description below is that the House and estate were well maintained. 1935 28th May ‘Attractive Country House and Land for Sale: The Mansion House of Barwhinnock Twynholm Containing 4 public rooms, 5 bedrooms, 2 dressing rooms, 3 bathrooms, servants accommodation, recently modernised kitchen premises with Aga cooker, pantry, scullery etc. central heating, electric light. Garage, Gardeners Lodge, Keepers Cottage. Well laid out walled garden with glass houses and good outbuildings. The Mansion House and its interior decoration and other buildings are all in excellent condition. The House is in a sheltered situation in attractive policies which include 2 tennis courts and grass parks of around 130 acres. Patrick Gifford, solicitor Castle Douglas.’ Further improvements and modernisation, this time in the kitchen. Out goes the old cooking range to be replaced by the more modern Aga though this would still be run on solid fuel. Internal modifications have been made to accommodate three bathrooms which suggests that by now it is linked to the local water supply. Might the electricity now be linked to the local grid? This is the first mention of tennis courts. Did the Wrights lay down these? The new owner was Alexander Norman Murdoch. By now we are almost beginning to enter the era of living memory! 51 1935-1961 The Murdoch Family Like many of the previous owners, Norman Murdoch was held in some standing in the local area and was a JP (Justice of the Peace). Mrs Murdoch was from the Mitchell tobacco family from Glasgow. They had a son Alastair and daughter Isobel. During the 1939-45 World War Mrs Murdoch played an active part in fundraising for the local hospital, prisoners of war and so on. There are memories of fetes on the lawn. On the death of his parents Alastair succeeded until the house and estate were sold in 1961. The following article was published in his time. Unfortunately there are various mistakes in it but it nevertheless gives a flavour of the house. 52 As indicated previously I do not think Barwhinnock was built in 1844 by Major James Irving whose wife was Margaret and not Sophia,who was his mother-in-law. 53 The unusual curved drawing room is the only room of this shape. 54 Another inaccuracy: although the floor may look like marble in a photo, the floors in the entrance hall, passageways and some ground floor rooms are in fact sandstone slabs and likewise the curved stairway. For many years this hallway has had various patterns painted in black and white paint giving rise to the misunderstanding the floor was marble. On the other hand there are some fine marble fireplaces. 55 1961-1972 Alexa Bourne-May 1972-1978 Geoffrey Bourne-May Barwhinnock was then sold to Major Bourne-May, Coldstream Guards, and his wife Alexa, only daughter of Lord and Lady Ardwall. Mrs Bourne-May was soon widowed and lived alone with the company of her two Borzoi dogs whose gravestones are to be found to the west of the house towards the farm steading. During various renovations to Twynholm kirk she donated the money to purchase a new small electric pipe organ to replace the old pedal organ. As she became more frail, her son Geoffrey Bourne-May, who had been living at Bardristane farm near Gatehouse, moved into Barwhinnock with his wife June and two sons to help care for his mother. Geoffrey was widely respected in the area for his involvement in local affairs particularly in the Gatehouse area. The Bourne-Mays planted a number of rhododendrons which still grace the estate. Perhaps the grass tennis court on the front lawn was converted to a croquet lawn at this time? 1978-1987 Michael Oakeshott and family When Michael Oakeshott3 bought the estate in 1978 it was with the intention of breeding racehorses. It would seem that up until this time the lodge house at the entrance gate would have been occupied by the gardener / estate worker. However the lodge was now earmarked for the stable trainer and so Mr Emslie, the gardener who had lived there for 40 years, moved to a house in Twynholm but continued doing garden and estate work. Sadly Mrs Oakeshott died suddenly, by now the three boys had flown the nest and the estate was once more on the market. 3 This was not Michael Oakeshott the well-known conservative philosopher who became Professor of Political Science at London School of Economics as seems to be implied in the Scotsman’s sales brochure of Barwhinnock of 2018 56 57 58 1987-2018 Major Rodney Haszard and Mrs Anna Serena Haszard After the relatively short tenure of the Oakeshotts the estate was bought by the Haszards who came with their two children as new incumbents to Barwhinnock. Once again the family were very much engaged in ensuring the estate and house were well maintained. Not only did they maintain the fabric of the house they enjoyed the outdoor aspect of the estate and continued planting trees for wind breaks and extending large areas of snowdrops and spring flower coverage . Serena had a particular interest in the walled garden and both were interested in the history of the property. After the death of her husband and children growing up to follow their own paths Serena put the estate up for sale. I feel the sales brochure gives a good idea of what Barwhinnock meant to her: 59 The Scotsman newspaper, 19th Apr 2018 Elegant regency home with gate lodge, stables, walled garden and 85 acres hits the market in the Scottish borders This nineteenth century regency gem offers stunning architecture coupled with modern comfort, reports Kirsty McLuckie. Described by John Gifford as a “deliciously smart country house villa” in his seminal book on Dumfries and Galloway in the Buildings of Scotland series, Barwhinnock, in Twynholm near Kirkcudbright is something of an architectural gem on a domestic scale. That isn’t to say that it is small. The elegant regency house has seven bedrooms and comes with a gate lodge, outbuildings with stables, an oval walled garden and grazing and woodland of over 80 acres. 60 For the owner, Serena Haszard, a friend’s description of the house as “a baby grand” is very apt. She bought Barwhinnock with her husband 30 years ago. She says: “We were looking for an architecturally interesting house with woods, water and land. It was love at first sight.” It is a very striking house. Built in 1830, it has all the beautiful symmetry of the regency style on the approach. The central bay of three has the front door surrounded by a broad Tuscan columned portico while the flanking bays have Venetian windows and matching wings extend out from either 61 side. It is equally breathtaking inside as the tall entrance hall has a striking double staircase with castiron balusters decorated with acanthus leaves and eagles’ heads, lit from a cupola above. The Haszards bought it in the 1980s from the philosopher, Michael Oakeshott4, and Serena says that since then the task has been to maintain the property in perfect condition and to redecorate when necessary. The house, for its age, is remarkably well laid out to suit modern living. Left of the entrance hall is the dining room, handsomely decorated with an ornate cornice and a black marble chimney piece. On the other side is the drawing room with a bow wall at both ends and a Tuscan columned white and grey fossil marble chimney piece. The window overlooks the lawns at the front. … The study, a beautiful room leading off the back of the main hall, overlooks the back garden and the waterfall. 4 see previous reference to Michael Oakeshott the philosopher 62 Three bedrooms and two bathrooms are in one ground floor wing. In the other, the morning room is next to the kitchen which has practical storerooms, a boot room and a wine cellar. Upstairs, there are three more bedrooms, two bathrooms and a games room. The master bedroom overlooks the garden and has a dressing room and ensuite. It is a very light and peaceful house. Serena says one of her favourite parts of the day is: “Walking down the front stairs with the early morning sun streaming in or sitting in kitchen watching the red squirrels chasing each other round the crab apple tree.” However, with all the public space, it is also a party house and has many gatherings over the years. The garden is an absolute highlight and the extensive planting which the Hanszards have undertaken over their years at Barwhinnock has added to the mature trees and unusual specimen shrubs that have been here for decades. Serena says: “I like to walk through the woodland garden from early spring to see the build up to the crescendo of rhododendron colours in May. The scent of the roses in the beautiful oval walled garden in June is amazing and we get vegetables for the kitchen from the walled garden too.” The snowdrops in February are spectacular and the grounds have been open, by appointment, as part of Scotland’s Garden Scheme. 63 The wider acreage is let out for the summer months, so the paddocks and grazing provide all the privacy you would require without the need to maintain it. Venture further out of the formal areas of the garden and it is the wildlife that Serena loves. She says: “Walking round the woodland paths with my cocker spaniels we see roe deer and hares, while mallards and teal are nesting at the moment on the lochan. “It is nice place to sit with a glass of wine, or we have lunch by the waterfall on a hot summer’s day.” Barwhinnock house is on the market for offers over £1.2 million All Photos Knight Frank 2018 The Coulthard Family When Serena Haszard put the estate up for sale in 2018 it was bought by a well-known local Twynholm Family who had known Barwhinnock from childhood. Hayton Coulthard Haulage Company started life in Twynholm with one lorry over 100 years ago, developed into a national and now international transport but has continued to be based in the village. Barwhinnock is now the home to Duncan Coulthard Junior (older brother of Formula 1 champion David Coulthard), his wife Monica and their children, all three of whom are currently employed in the family business. 64 Like so many of their predecessors the family is enthusiastically embracing the varying challenges of the estate. Whilst the drawing room and dining rooms are furnished in a more formal tradition, the kitchen and morning room have been opened up to provide a large light filled area incorporating the modern kitchen and family relaxing area. Following in Serena’s footsteps, Monica is an enthusiast in the walled garden and the family all assist in estate maintenance. Son James has recently been given planning permission to convert what was part of the sawmill in the steading into a house. The Oval Walled Garden and estate As mentioned already in the 1799 map of James McMillan’s time there is indication of an oval shape of the walled garden. This suggests that the garden was an original part of his interest in things agricultural and botanical and in the 1834 estate map is marked as The Orchard. Today the northern half remains an orchard surrounded by herbaceous borders whilst the southern half is under cultivation. 65 The wrought iron gate on the east side leading into the garden was forged at Twynholm smiddy by Bob Hamilton in the mid 1900s. Mr Alex Emslie Mention should be made of someone with a long connection with Barwhinnock and its garden: Mr Alex Emslie. Alex Emslie came to Barwhinnock as a gardener in 1937 and lived in the lodge at the entrance gate with his family until 1978 – over 40 years. Michael Oakshott, the new owner, bought the estate to breed racehorses and required the lodge for a stableman. Mr Emslie moved into a house in Twynholm but continued to work in the garden at Barwhinnock … though he was dismayed at having half the walled garden temporarily being turned over to hens! This has since been restored to being an orchard. 66 This is a view of the vegetable part of the garden being prepared for spring planting. It is looking toward the south wall which has been heightened with brick to almost double the original wall size. The original glass houses were on the other, outer, side of this which was a south facing suntrap for fruit we would associate with a more Mediterranean climate. Alex’s daughter Helen Emslie can recall nectarines and peaches thriving here in her childhood in the mid 1950s but by 1980s the glass house had become derelict. Interestingly there is no evidence of heating pipes in the walls. 67 And here is the garden ‘in full bearing’ in June 2023. 68 Previously mentioned has been the planting of trees by James Mc Millan in the early 1800s and it is possible some of the beech and lime trees still standing on the estate date from that time. It was the norm at this time to plant various interesting non indigenous hardwoods for enhancement of property, as opposed to e.g. windbreak for cattle, some of which can still be found throughout the parish dating from then. Note the Kirk Burn running round the entire west curve of the garden wall providing a constant water supply for a thirsty garden. It is probable that the burn was stone lined on the stretch between the steading and the lodge in the very early days of the development of the estate. As mentioned previously, a natural water supply was essential in deciding the situation of an estate house. Even in the mid 1900s many local farms still had the farm dam which in the past would have provided power for the threshing mill and water for the milking cows and byre cleaning. Today few farm dams are to be seen. Earlier maps show the Barwhinnock dam and the threshing mill which in the pre-electricity time would have been powered by a water wheel. A mill lade would have been built to carry a head of water from the dam to the farmyard and by the early 1900s the water wheel would have been replaced by a hydro-electric turbine which powered the sawmill and electricity for the mansion house. The remains of this are still evident. There was a wash house where in the early days everything was hand washed and hung to dry on the drying green. Water was needed for horses and house cows. And of course was needed for personal washing in the big hoose, dish washing, floor washing , and so on. Happily the Barwhinnock dam is still there though with a slightly different remit: it has been stocked with fish. 69 Whilst different owners necessarily have had their own varying interests and focus, Barwhinnock seems always to have benefitted from having proprietors who consistently cared for it. It is remarkable in the history of this house and garden is that while so many other estate houses fell into disrepair Barwhinnock has had a succession of owners who have committed themselves not only to the maintenance of the house but also to the garden and estate. How many estate houses have survived in such a good state of repair and modernisation as Barwhinnock? And the Barwhinnock walled garden must rate as one of only a few that have been in continuous use till today. Here is the full report of John Gifford ‘s report on Barwhinnock in The Buildings of Scotland: 70 71 Acknowledgements to various people who have assisted in a variety of ways in the creation of this article: Claire at Rathmell Archaeology who provided access to the BNA British Newspaper Archive from which much of this article was gleaned. National Library of Scotland: various maps. The Coulthard family for providing archive material and being happy about visits to the estate. Helen Emslie for almost 80 years’ worth of facts, photos and memories. Serena Haszard who, with her husband, had had an obvious interest in the history of the estate and was willing to share it with me, a complete stranger. Kirsty Thom for the Petticoat stairs suggestion. David Devereux for further information and clarification. And, finally, my family who have given constructive feedback, proofreading, formatting and incredibly patient help in sorting out all my hopelessly nonexistent computing skills. 72 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 6 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_76 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Description An account of the resource Tongland to Twynholm GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/10/535/GGLP-CYDI-BuildingBiographies_Vol5_Parton_to_Portpatrick.pdf 0845f3a9f9d3fb4b4bcf0594a8615405 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 5 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Description An account of the resource The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway, with the research taking place from February to June 2023. Each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. The project included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up the study area expanded to include a mix of country houses from across Galloway, and even a few from Dumfriesshire. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses, both good and bad, has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Building Biographies: A 2023 volunteer research project into the country houses of Galloway VOLUME 5: PARTON TO PORTPATRICK With contributions from: Kathryn Barr, Bianca Leder, Gabrielle Reynolds and Lisa Wilkinson Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 Parton Parish Corsock House, Corsock, Parton ............................................................................................ 4 Glenlaggan, Parton .............................................................................................................. 20 Penninghame Parish Mochrum Park, Penninghame ............................................................................................. 61 Portpatrick Parish Dunskey House, Portpatrick ................................................................................................. 71 Other Volumes in the Series .............................................................................................. 100 1 Introduction The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway1. These imposing buildings have borne witness to centuries of history, standing through changing eras and shifting social and economic climates. Their walls have enclosed the lives of many, their grounds the lives of many more and they have fulfilled a variety of needs from homes, hospitals and schools, to war rooms and tourist attractions. The decision to focus on country houses stemmed from their longevity and assorted histories: their status and sheer size making them notable features in the landscape which inspire the imagination and curiosity of locals and visitors alike. These are buildings which appear frequently in our landscape but their histories often remain unknown to the public. Many have been demolished or stand as ruins: a resource that disappears a little more with each passing decade. For the project, each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. Initially, the selection of houses to research was driven by location, with the catchment area of the Galloway Glens being the focus. Second to this, the aim was to avoid any that had already been subject to a significant amount of research. The resulting selection included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up, however, the study area expanded to include all of Galloway (and even a few from Dumfriesshire) and the biggest influence came from the preferences of the volunteers themselves; many had specific areas or even houses that had already piqued their interest and so the list grew to encompass a sporadic mix of country houses from across the region. Each researcher was given a Guidance Note outlining the main resources available online. People could visit their local library or archive centre but the choice of online resources kept the project open to anyone who might face constraints in attending such places in person. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The volunteers’ research has revealed the importance of recording these histories, and the origins of many bring to light a legacy that is not always acknowledged. After the abolition of slavery within the British Empire, the Slave Compensation Act of 1837 authorised a commission to manage the distribution of £20 million to compensate slave owners in the British colonies for the freeing of slaves. 2 Not all, but many of these country houses were initially funded with profits from slavery, with several connections to plantations in Jamaica. It is important to record all aspects of our history and these houses seem able to reveal both the good and bad from our collective past. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Claire Williamson The Building Biographies project was undertaken in February to April 2023 as part of ‘Can You Dig It’, the community archaeology project of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. Galloway Glens was a five-year initiative funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and ‘Can You Dig It’ was match funded by Historic Environment Scotland and delivered by Rathmell Archaeology. 2 The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery contains a database of their records https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/project/details/ 1 2 Corsock House Glenlaggan Dunskey House Mochrum Park Locations of houses researched during the Building Biographies Project – red marks the houses reported in this volume 3 Corsock House, Corsock, Parton by Lisa Wilkinson Corsock House is a grade B listed mansion property, of which the earliest visible part is late 18 th century. It was later remodelled with additions in 1853 and 1910, however the history of its lands and owners goes back as early as the 14th century when the Lindsays of Fairgirth were in possession. Taken from the book, History of the Lands and their Owners in Galloway [by P.H. M’Kerlie], it mentions that a precept was granted by James Lindsay of Fairgirth infefting the Lands of Corsock to John Neilson and his wife Isobel Gordon dated in the year 1439, so let us begin there. The Neilson Family - 1439 to 1749 John Neilson and his wife Isobel had possession of Corsock Estate in 1439, their son named John, born in 1447, survived his father and inherited Corsock. This John is stated to have married firstly a daughter of John Cairns of Orcharton and secondly Janet Lindsay, daughter of Lindsay of Fairgirth. Their son John born 1514, inherited the estate upon his father’s death, and when he died in 1610/11, the estate was passed onto his son John born 1549. It is this John who married Margaret Gordon (daughter of James Gordon of Macartney) who most likely built or rebuilt a Castle or tower house on the estate but not in the same location as the current house. View map: Pont, Timothy, 1560?-1614?; Blaeu, Joan, 1596-1673, Gallovidia, vernacule Galloway - Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654 (nls.uk) 4 Below taken from The New Statistical Account of Scotland Vol IV 18453: Although nothing remains of the tower today, there still exists a marriage plaque which was originally placed above the door of the tower, this bears the date 1589 with the initials and Arms of John Neilson and Margaret Gordon, this plaque has now been carefully incorporated into the current Corsock House. In 1630 John died and was succeeded by his son Robert Neilson. Robert died in 1694 and the estate passed to his son John, also known as John “The Martyr” Neilson. John “The Martyr” Neilson was born in 1617, his family were Presbyterians and John was the first Laird to join the Covenanters. In 1663 it was at Corsock, that one of the first Field-Meetings, or Conventicles, took place when Gabriel Semple, the ejected minister of Kirkpatrick-Durham, began his sermons in the house of Laird John Neilson of Corsock, and when the house became insufficient to contain all those who began flocking to hear him, he moved out into the garden which also became too small so he finally went into the field to preach. The Neilson family were cruelly persecuted for their beliefs and suffered greatly by way of fines and quartering of soldiers. When John Neilson could suffer no more he took part in the Pentland Risings where he was captured at Rullion Green and imprisoned in Edinburgh. He was tortured with “The Boot” and then hanged at The Mercat Cross on 14th December 1666. John left a wife, Mary Maclellan and 6 children, who were turned out of their home and their possessions and lands were forfeited. Mary Maclellan died September 28th, 1697 and is buried in Kirkpatrick-Durham churchyard. The inscription on her gravestone reads: “HERE LYES THE EMINENTLY GODLY MARY McLLAN LADY OF CORSOCK WHO DIED SEP 28 1697 WHOSE HUSBAND JOHN NEILSON LAIRD OF CORSOCK FOR APPEARING FOR THE COVENANTS AT PENTLAND SUFFERED MARTYDOM AT EDR: DECR: 14: 1666 AND IS BURIED THERE IN GRAYFRIERS AND JOHN NEILSON OF CORSOCK SPOUSE TO ANNA GORDOUN WHO DIED 24 DCMR 1706 WHO WAS PIOUSLY DEVOTED WITH HEROICK COURAGE TO MAINTAIN THE WORK OF REFORMATION AS WAS HIS NOBLE PROGENITOR” 3 [online] available at: https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/viewer/nsa-vol4Parish_record_for_Parton_in_the_county_of_Kirkcudbright_in_volume_4_of_account_2/nsa-vol4-p282-parish-kirkcudbrightparton?search=corsock [accessed 14 September 2023] 5 Hearth tax rolls list the people who were liable for tax on hearths (including kilns) in Scotland in the 1690s. They provide clues about the size of each building, place, estate or parish in the late 17 th century. Heads of households of each building were liable for a tax of 14 shillings, payable at Candlemas 1691, and only hospitals and the poor were exempt. In 1694 the Neilson family, who were still in possession of Corsock estate, were taxed on a total of 19 fireplaces. Hearth taxes collected 1694 taken from Scotland Places-hearth-tax-records-1691-1695: - Item in Corsock neilsones interest thr [there] tuo begers included -- 19 -- £11.18.0 E69/14/1/4 | ScotlandsPlaces By the mid-18th century, Corsock Estate became burdened by debts, at that time it was in the possession of John Neilson (born 1701) and after incurring financial hardships, he took up a post in South Carolina in 1748 in the hope of gaining back some fortune, sadly he died there about one year later. Between the years 1755 and 1786, Corsock Estate and Lands including a mansion house, were advertised for sale numerous times. The Caledonian Mercury 16th April 1777 It is unclear if the Estate was sold between these dates but what we do know is that Alexander Wylie was in possession in 1799. E106/20/3/29 | ScotlandsPlaces 6 In 1819 Corsock Estate was owned by Edward Fletcher. The Fletcher Family 1819 – Abt 1850 Edward Fletcher Esq., of Alresford, was born 7th April 1763. A merchant in the East India Company, he married Dorothea Blunt, a daughter of Sir Charles William Blunt 3rd Baronet, in Bengal 1798. Their eldest son, Major-General Edward Charles Fletcher, Magistrate of Kent and Deputy-Lieutenant, was born in 1799 in Calcutta. In 1830 he married his first wife; Hon Ellen Mary shore the daughter of John Shore 1st Baron Teignmouth in 1830, she died in 1835. He married his second wife in 1838, who was Lady Frances Marsham, daughter of Charles Marsham 2nd Earl of Romney. Excerpt below shows that The Fletcher family most likely built part of the current Corsock House in 1839. From Scotland’s Places – Corsock House, or Corsock as it appeared in 1854, is recorded in OS Name Book: ‘A Large and well-built mansion house in good repair it was built in the year 1839 on the estate of Corsock by the proprietor Major Fletcher. [A]ttached to it is office houses and garden with about 12 acres of wooded and grass lands’ OS1/20/61/58 | ScotlandsPlaces They also donated land so a Chapel of Ease could be built in Corsock on the east bank of the River Urr, map left showing location. 'Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland' https://maps.nls.uk/view/228778900 The 1841 Census for Scotland was taken on the night of 6 June 1841. The following information was requested: Place Name of each person that had spent the night in that household Age4 Sex Profession or occupation Where born In Corsock House there were just 2 people recorded staying there on the night of 6th June 1841:Name Age Estimated Birth Year Gender Where born Civil parish County Address Occupation Margaret Shaw 50 abt 1791 Female Kirkcudbrightshire Parton Kirkcudbrightshire Corsock-house Agricultural Labourer Name Age Estimated Birth Year Gender Where born Civil parish County Address Occupation 4 Mary Mcewen 50 abt 1791 Female Kirkcudbrightshire Parton Kirkcudbrightshire Corsock-house Female Servant The ages of people over 15 years old were usually rounded down to the nearest 5 years. Therefore, someone who was actually 24 years would have their age listed as 20. Enumeration forms were distributed to all households before the census night. All responses were to reflect the individual's status as of 6/7 June 1841 for all individuals who had spent the night in the house. People who were traveling or living abroad were enumerated at the location where they spent the night on census night. 7 On the same evening and living in the Coach-House belonging to Corsock House was John Scott, Male Servant, along with his wife and 3 children. In 1850 the Estate was advertised for sale. Reading the description on this 1850 advert, it seems that the Fletcher Family spent time and money on improving the house and surrounding lands of Corsock. The grounds around the house are described as pleasure grounds with boating on the Loch, ornamental lawns, flower gardens, a walled kitchen garden, stables and kennels. There are also cottages for the Gamekeeper and Gardener. A church has been built and the Inn now has a post office. Plantations of Oak and Firs surround the excellent modern mansion and the shooting grounds have been strictly preserved. “The extent of accommodation, and the judicious arrangements of Corsock House and its appendages, render it perfectly suitable to the requirements of a highly-respectable family.” And that next highly respectable family are the Murray-Dunlops. The Morning Herald 2nd July 1850 The Murray-Dunlop Family Abt 1850 – 1920 Alexander Dunlop, born 1798, was a Scottish Church Lawyer and Liberal Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenock from 1852 to 1868. He married Eliza Esther Murray in 1844. On the death of his father-in-law in 1849 he altered his name to Murray-Dunlop. Subsequently, in 1866, on succeeding to the estate of his cousin, William Colquhoun-Stirling of Law and Edinbarnet, he took the name of Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop. 8 Map showing part of The Corsock Estate as it was in 1850. 'Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland' https://maps.nls.uk/view/74427638#zoom=5&lat=5512&lon=7022&layers=BT In 1851 there was an extensive sale at Corsock House of household furniture, farm equipment and livestock along with many other items. It does not list who the vendor is but given the date of the advert, it was likely to be Fletcher when the house was eventually sold or Murray-Dunlop when he purchased the Estate. The description of the items for sale included many pieces of mahogany furniture from the bedrooms, dining room and drawing room. There were four poster beds and tent beds with curtains. Mahogany dining, breakfast and tea tables, pedestal sideboard, dining room and drawing room chairs, sofas and easy chairs. Rosewood loo and card tables, winged wardrobes and dressing tables. Soft furnishings, crystal and china along with hearth rugs, carpets, fenders and fire-irons. All these items show just how grand the house must have been. The Murray-Dunlops were supporters of the Free Church and in 1851-52 built a new church on Corsock estate to a design by William McCandlish. They also donated land so burial grounds could be attached. Corsock Free church remained the property of the Murray-Dunlop family until 1875 when they passed it onto the congregation. The 1851 Census for Scotland was taken on the night of 30/31 March 1851. Enumeration forms were distributed to all households before the census night and the complete forms were collected the next day. All responses were to reflect the individual's status as of 30/31 March 1851 who had spent the night in the house. People who were travelling or living abroad were enumerated at the location where they spent the night on census night. 9 In Corsock House there were just 2 people recorded staying there on the night of 30 th March 1851:Name Age Estimated Birth Year Relationship Gender Where born Address Occupation Arabella Hetherington 27 abt 1824 Servant Female Durisdeer, Dumfries Corsock House House Serv Name Age Estimated Birth Year Relationship Gender Where born Address Occupation Jane Scott 17 abt 1834 Visitor Female Parton, kirkcudbt Corsock House Ag Lab On the same evening and living in the Coach-House belonging to Corsock House was John Scott age 55, Agricultural Labourer, along with his wife and 3 children, also staying in the same Coach-House were lodgers William Middleton age 24, Journeyman Gardener and John Erving age 24, Labourer. In the Gardeners Cottage belonging to Corsock House were Peter Melville age 31, Gardener, with his wife Janet and 4-year-old son Peter. The Murray-Dunlop Family continued to improve the Estate and through many acts of kindness were highly respected by the people of Corsock. They built a school and paid the teacher’s salary. In Corsock church they gifted much of the communion plate and also the font, and Mrs Murray-Dunlop held annual tea parties on the front lawn at Corsock House for around 150 children who attended the nearby churches, and later a soup kitchen so that the children had a good meal. In 1852 Alexander Murray-Dunlop became the MP for Greenock, upon his return to Corsock House, a large crowd had gathered to celebrate his victory and as his carriage and horses arrived, a loud cheer erupted. The crowd moved up to the front of the house where Alexander Murray-Dunlop gave a speech thanking the crowd for their good wishes, he also mentioned enjoying the repose and peace of his happy home. He continued to say that he would apply himself to the improvements of Corsock House and Estate and to the welfare and happiness of its tenants and village residents. In 1853 Alexander Murray-Dunlop commissioned the Scottish architect, David Bryce, to remodel the house’s west end in the turreted Scottish Baronial style that he was well known for. This consisted of a taller 2-storey and attic addition, with asymmetrical crow-stepped front; corbelled angle tourelles with fish-scale roofs, attic dormers, projecting bay window, 8 pane glazing, canted to ground but corbelled to square at 1 st. The interior included a scale-and-platt stair with barley-sugar twist timber balusters, simple strapwork plaster ceilings and heavy roll-moulded fireplace. The 1861 Census for Scotland was taken on the night of 7/8 April 1861. The following records were collected on the people who were present that night Corsock House - Isabella Paton age 54, occupation Housekeeper To Head. Corsock Coach-House - David Kinnell and his family, age 42, occupation Coachman. Corsock Gardeners Cottage – John Croll and his family, age 43, occupation Gardener Employing Labourer. The Murray-Dunlop Family were at their home in Edinburgh along with their 8 children and 6 servants. 10 After his resignation from parliament at the general election of 1868 on the grounds of ill health, Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop spent most of his time at Corsock House and was the one who planted most of the mature trees that surround the property today. He died there on 1st September 1870 and was buried in the Free Church graveyard in Corsock that he generously built and so passionately supported. Alexander-colquhoun-stirling-m-dunlop-1798-1870-ch - Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop - Wikipedia Left image is of the Memorial for Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop, which is built on Monument Hill overlooking Corsock House. The inscription reads: ERECTED IN LOVING MEMORY OF A C STIRLING MURRAY DUNLOP ESQUIRE, MP BY THE INHABITANTS ON THE ESTATES OF CORSOCK AND EDINBARNET A.D.1871 Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop was survived by his wife Eliza Esther, 4 sons and 4 daughters. Sadly, three of his sons died within the next few years. 11 The 1901 Census for Scotland was taken on the night of 31 March/1 April 1901. The following records were collected on the people who were present that night – In Corsock House – Mrs Murray-Dunlop age 83, along with her daughter Mary Janet age 45. Also in the house were 6 servants:Mary Duff Age 32 (Servant) Cook. Mary Bell Age 18 (Servant) House Maid. Elizabeth Dickson Age 51 (Servant) Table Maid. Helen Hawthorne Age 14 (Servant) Kitchen Maid. Catherine Brown Age 28 (Servant) Ladies Maid. Agnes Brown Age 21 (Servant) House Maid. In Corsock Coach-House – Andrew Ritchie and family, age 44, occupation Coachman (domestic). In Corsock House Gardens – Robert Henderson and his family, age 54, occupation Gardener (domestic) On the 14th July 1902, at Corsock House, Mrs Murray-Dunlop passed away, she was 84 years old. She is buried with her husband in the graveyard at Corsock Church. Placed inside the church is a stained-glass window of the Good Shepherd in memory of them both. The eldest surviving and only son, Captain Henry Liston Murray-Dunlop inherited The Estate. He made further improvements to Corsock Estate and also created his own hydroelectric scheme to bring electricity to the house. He was the first man to own a motor car in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright and his number plate was SW1. Henry Murray-Dunlop and his wife, Mary Hutchison Jennings. Ancestry.co.uk In 1910 Henry commissioned Charles Stuart Still Johnston, a pupil of Bryce, to add to the east in a similar Baronial style with some Arts and Crafts elements and to the south, full-height round tower door grouped with corbelled projecting flue rising to tall stack at gable. All windows are sash and case, most are 20 th century with 12-pane upper sashes, and 2-pane lower. Gables are crowstepped. Little survives of the original earlier house which is located in the central part and the 1910 single storey gabled entrance porch obscures most of 18th-century south elevation. 12 Corsock House 1910 In 1919, at Corsock House, Henry Liston Murray-Dunlop passed away. He was 62 years old and is buried in Corsock Church graveyard. Corsock House and Estate were put up for sale in 1920. The listing states that the entire Estate extends to 13,101 acres which includes 980 acres of woodland. There are 24 farms and other holdings. The mansion house is modern and convenient with 4 public rooms and 22 bedrooms and dressing rooms and other rooms. Gravitational water supply and electric lighting. In 1921, Douglas Lilburn MacEwen bought around 5800 acres which included Corsock House, buildings in the village and some of the farms, the rest of the estate and farms were to be sold separately. Douglas MacEwen, born 19th November 1867 in Glasgow, had a long and illustrious military career. As a young Captain he served with the Cameron Highlanders in the South Africa War in 1899 to 1902, worked as General Staff Officer (GSO) 1910-12 in the War Office, then active duty in the First World War. He was severely wounded in action in 1916 and the same year was promoted to Brigadier-General. He became a C.B in 1915 and C.M.G in 1918. His daughter Veronica was the granddaughter of Sir John Everett Millais the famous painter. Veronica may have inherited some of her Grandfather’s artistic talent, as both her and her Father were responsible for designing and planting the original rhododendron and water gardens that can still be seen at Corsock House today. 13 The MacEwen Family were well travelled, visiting places such as America, Algeria and the West Indies, always sailing 1st class and sometimes accompanied with a maid. Douglas took a keen interest in the affairs of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, he was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the County in 1934 and Justice of the Peace. Brigadier-General Douglas MacEwen died 3rd January 1941 at Corsock, he was 73 years old. His memorial is placed on Monument Hill, alongside that of Alexander Colquhoun-Stirling-Murray-Dunlop. Our next and final Family of Corsock House are The Ingalls. The Ingall Family 1951 – present day Peter Ingall bought Corsock House and the gardens in 1951, it was currently in the possession of a timber merchant who had felled a lot of the trees and was about to demolish the mansion. The Ingall Family took on a typical post-war ruin of a garden. As already mentioned, many of the great trees had been felled and others were threatened. Rhododendron Ponticum had also become massively overgrown. The water garden that was designed by Veronica MacEwen had become so neglected that it took 2 years to dig out and re-shape to their original plans. Then fifteen years after buying the house they managed to purchase the remaining trees from the timber merchant. With Peter’s care, and also that of his son Micky, who tragically died in 2009 and who is buried at Corsock Church, the garden has been restored, extended and embellished with wonderful architectural features. The Trellis Temple in the restored Water garden was the first of Micky’s creations. 14 This was soon followed by the Ornamental Bridge over the spillway of the Mill Pond inspired by that at Kenwood House in London. Across the burn is the Ionic Temple where a door below its base leads to an old Ice House. The latest 21 st century creation in the old walled garden and the last Micky Ingall built himself, is a Doric Temple with cast iron pillars reflected in a canal leading up to it. 15 The gardens at Corsock House open for Scotland’s Garden Scheme on one Sunday each summer, they are known for the collection of specie rhododendrons, in particular R. Lacteum and R. Sutchuenense. The woodland walk up to the loch takes you past temples, ponds, beside the burn, across bridges and through glades of fine trees. The terraced lawns afford a magnificent view down the valley of the River Urr. CORSOCK GATES B Group Mid-19th century. Exceptionally large and fine pair of ornamental Gothic cast-iron gates and gate piers with a smaller turnstile pedestrian gate. Gate piers are on an octagonal plan with open upright members and traceried detail, caps in form of crown steeple with crocket finial. Statement of Special Interest: It is unusual to find gate piers of this scale in cast-iron, they are of outstanding quality. 16 CORSOCK HOUSE STABLES B Group Two, 2-storey ranges with shorter single storey ranges to E and W enclosing square stable yard. S range probably early 19th century, N range most probably the work of David Bryce circa 1853, at the time of his additions to Corsock House. All painted rubble, red sandstone margins, slate roofs. N range piend-roofed, cart-arch to left, enlarged door to extreme left. Bothy above with variety of glazing, some sash and case 9pane, some metal framed lying-pane. Swept slate roofs, axial sandstone stacks, wall head tall octagonal cans to right. S range with round tower to left angle, vehicle entrances to ground with glazed cast-iron cantilevered canopy. To right, stables at ground with original timber stalls. Loft and bothy accommodation above. Crowstepped gables, slate roofs, fish scale slates to conical tower roof. Single storey ranges rubble with slate roofs. 17 In 2012 a further turret with an Adam Booth finial was added at the West end of the house when the Old Laundry was converted into an annex by Mrs Ingall. The finial combines a three-dimensional interpretation of the Ingall family crest with a cross. This represents the fact that the Ingall family, like the Neilsons and Murray-Dunlops before them are followers of Jesus and believe they are stewards for God in this lovely corner of His creation. The Ingall family, like their predecessors, continue with the care and evolution of Corsock House and Gardens. 18 Above and below, the marriage plaque of John Neilson and Margaret Gordon dated 1589, taken from the old ruins of “Corsock Castle” 19 Glenlaggan, Parton by Bianca Leder Easting/Northing: 268187, 571273 Parish: Parton County: Kirkudbrightshire Council: Dumfries & Galloway Glenlaggan Mansion House – A lost Treasure We must start its journey in the mid 19th century. The land it was eventually built on was purchased by Archibald Christie Sanderson in 1840, a military man of the Royal Scots Regiment of Foot. Some mystery remains around the date of the build: no house in 1843 on a map of the area; being in the army Mr Sanderson seems to be moving a lot – in 1842 he married Jane Eliza in Edinburgh, in 1843 they were in Ireland where his daughter was born, in 1843 he was in Keir, Dumfriesshire, where his son was born; in 1851 we can find Archibald C Sanderson, the landowner, living at Glenlochar Lodge, Parish of Crossmichael, with his wife, children and servants. Did they stay there to oversee the build of the house? In 1860 he was a member of the Stewartry County Prison Board named as “of Glenlaggan” suggesting he now lived there. The sales catalogue from 1953 speaks of the time of the build of the house of “just over 100 years ago” suggesting Glenlaggan Mansion was built around the beginning of the 1850s and commissioned by its owner Archibald Christie Sanderson. No mention of an architect, yet the catalogue speaks of a builder with a “dominating idea ... to allow as many as possible of the main rooms to enjoy the entrancing view over Loch Ken”. Archibald Christie Sanderson was not able to enjoy his estate for very long as he passed away in 1873 at Glenlaggan, it is not clear if the house was intended to be a country estate or a retirement place for him and his wife. He is buried at Parton Kirk. The estate was passed on to his son Patrick Sanderson, another successful military man, but like his father Glenlaggan was not his main residence until later in life. The house was advertised to let for many years; 1877/1879. In 1879 it was taken up by Robert Stewart and his wife until the start of 1881 after which it was advertised again to let for £250 per year for many years. In 1891 we can find the owner Patrick Sanderson aged 46 and his family resident at Glenlaggan House, like his father he retired from his career in 1893 and stayed permanently at Glenlaggan. He and his wife took a great interest in local affairs and were involved in many community and council engagements. Both are buried at Parton Kirk. After his death in 1902 the house and grounds were advertised again to let. George R Davies took up the tenancy next and eventually purchased the property sometime before 1915 when he was named as the proprietor of Glenlaggan. He was connected to several businesses in Manchester, but also took deep interest in local community efforts. At his funeral memorial service in 1918, he was named as ‘a true friend’. His wife carried on living at Glenlaggan mansion house until she died in 1925. Their son Major Reginald GR Davies inherited the estate but died early in 1931. The value of the estate then was around £96,000. He left behind a wife, Heather Hannay Davies, from Glenlair, Kirkudbrightshire, who he had only just married the year before. Heather Davies remarried in 1946, in 1953 her daughter put the house up for sale. 20 The sales catalogue luckily gives huge insights into the grandeur of this house and grounds and provides some photos of its interior as well as surrounding buildings and servant areas. To the locals, Glennlaggan is still to this day called The Davies Estate. If the house was sold we do not know, but around 1962 local families picked up doors from the house which was being emptied. Previously a timber company from Carlisle cut down the woods/trees. The house then was demolished. A tragic end to a country house in Galloway. 21 Timeline Activities ? Old name of this land is KILCRUICHIE / People who lived here Additional information Source Pont spells Barend as Barenn, and Cruchie as Krachy. History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) The derivation of Laggan is lagan in Gaelic, and means a little hollow, a dell. Glenlaggan is from gleanagan, the valley of the hollow. 1560-1614 COULCREACHIE 1645-46 01.02.164521.04.1646 Kilcrewchie John Logane/Logan 1662 Over Laggan (area which is now Glenlaggan) Landowner Cruchie or Cruchy seems to be a corruption of the Gaelic croiceach, meadowy; and Barend or Barenn seems to be a corruption of the Gaelic barran, the top of a rock or hill, etc. upper dullarg, &c Roger Gordon 22 Charter by Robert, viscount Kenmore, to John Logane [Logan] in Kilcrewchie [Kilcrouchie, Glenlaggan], and instrument of sasine following thereon. [PRS Dumfries 28 April 1646] View map: Pont, Timothy, 1560?1614?; Blaeu, Joan, 1596-1673, Gallovidiae pars media quae Deam et Cream fluvios interjacet, [vulgo], The Middl... - Blaeu Atlas of Scotland, 1654 (nls.uk) NAS Catalogue catalogue record (nrscotland.gov.uk) History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) 1704 Sasine of the land of Over Laggan Landowners History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) 21.09.1704 John McMillan of Brockloch and son William 1750 John McMillan 1750 Jan. 12 Petition of John McMillan in Glenlaggan NAS Catalogue catalogue record (nrscotland.gov.uk) #’’} 1758 Resident 29.05.1758 Preacher Assignation by Mr. James Tweddale of Glenlaggan, preacher, to Sir Thomas Hay of Park, bart., of bills NAS Catalogue catalogue record (nrscotland.gov.uk) James Tweddale shared with other relatives the fortune acquired by his uncle, Surgeon-General Adair, who, we believe, was in the East India Company's Service. Besides the land of Over Laggan, now Glenlaggan, he also purchased the farm called Caldons, part of the Garthland estate, parish of Stoneykirk. He was collector of customs for Wigtown; History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) Jan 1750 James Tweddale 1799 Land purchased by Landowner 1807 James Tweddale 23 James Tweddale does not appear to have held the lands purchased by him in the Shire and Stewartry very long. We find him the owner of Laggan, etc., in 1799, and also in 1807. The property was Upper Laggan, and Glenfoot, but called Glenlaggan ; the rateable value in the first named year was £118. 1810 Plan of the farm of Glenlaggan 1815 In possession of land of Glenlaggan View map: McKinlay, John, fl. ca 1805-1820, Plan of the farm of Glenlaggan - Estate Maps, 1730s-1950s (nls.uk) Landowner History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) Dr. A. Wylie 1819 Landowner John Hannay and son David Hannay 24 From him it passed to John Hannay, writer to the signet. He was succeeded by David Hannay, who was the owner of Kilcrouchie in 1819. History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) 1840 Property purchased by Owner Archibald Christie Sanderson (b1813) died 21/06/1873 at Glenlaggan Wife Jane Eliza (m 1842 in Edinburgh) Daughter Helen (b 1843 Ireland) Son Patrick (b 1844 in Keir, Dumfriesshire) 25 Subsequent to the year 1840, the property was purchased by Archibald Christie Sanderson, late captain, first or Royal Scots Regiment of Foot. He was the son of Patrick Sanderson, of Sir William Forbes and Co.'s bank, Edinburgh, by his second marriage with Helen, daughter of Archibald Christie of Ratho, near Edinburgh. He married Jane Eliza, daughter of Lorimer, and had issue— Patrick, captain, Scots Greys. Helen. He died in 187—, and was succeeded by his son Patrick. The farms at present possessed are Over Laggan, Cruchie, Barend, and Pattiesthorn, some of which are small. History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) 1843 No house on the map Pastmap | Pastmap Archibald C Sanderson and wife plus 2 children and 3 servants were residing at the Parish of Crossmichael at Glenlochar Lodge 1851 Scotland Census Ancestry.co.uk 04.05.1860 Archibald Christie Sanderson Has been appointed as a member of the County Prison Board/Stewartry Aotioe. | Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 04 May 1860 | British Newspaper Archive 1873 Owner/Resident Buried at Parton Kirk UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current Ancestry.co.uk 1863 Joined Scots Grey 1866 Lieutenant Web: Ireland, Calendar of Wills 1851 Census 1860 Archibald Christie Sanderson died 21/06/1873 at Glenlaggan 1873 Inherited land/property Owner 26 21/06/1873 Colonel Patrick Sanderson (born 29/08/1844 - died 21/02/1902 - see below) 1871 Captain 1881 Major 1892 Lieutenant-Colonel 1893 Retired He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Kirkudbright Buried at Parton Kirk Wife Mary M.R. Spens (born 21/08/1856 died 15/03/1953) Buried at Parton Kirk and Administrations, 1858-1920 Ancestry.co.uk History of the Lands and Their Owners in Galloway (mckeefamilyfromd onegal.com) La W Intelligence. | Morning Post | Wednesday 25 June 1873 | British Newspaper Archive https://www.british newspaperarchive.c o.uk/viewer/bl/000 0452/19020222/00 4/0002 1877 Advert to Let Mansion House Apply To Alex. Y. Macminn, 27, High Street. | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Wednesday 07 February 1877 | 27 British Newspaper Archive 1879 Advert to Let The Mansion House is well furnished and contains Dining room Double Drawing room Business room 5 Bedrooms and dressing rooms Servants' apartments Laundry Kitchens Larder Pantry Kirscvdp . Rjostsbirk . _____ D Esieable Residencf : To Be Let . Furnis Hed and Small Farm Adjoining , | The Scotsman | Wednesday 08 October 1879 | British Newspaper Archive Entrance Lodge Offices consist of 2 Stables Harness Room Coach house Wash House Hay Houses and Hay shed Byres Dog Kennels Dwelling House for the coach man at the Stables 1979 Resident/Tenant 10.06.1879 Robert Stewart 28 Robert Stewart withdrew is candidacy for the The Irish Noversitr Bill. | Bristol Mercury | Tuesday representation of the Stewartry 1881 Lately resident/tenant Mrs Stewart 1884 10 June 1879 | British Newspaper Archive Took much interest in Parton Sunday School Treat. Giatitvds's Mr Peter White, Mariner, Dalbeattie, Has Each Christmas, she invited Promoted To Mrs the children to Glenlaggan, Fotheringham, Craignair Road, A where the young people Handsome Hearthwere always highly Rug, Worked By delighted with the Himself While | entertainment provided Galloway News and for them. Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 14 January 1881 | British Newspaper Archive House and Land to Let Kirkcudbrightshire. | Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 21 November 1884 | British Newspaper Archive 1886 Lieutenant-Colonel Sanderson 29 Patron of Castle Douglas Cricket Club Army Service. | Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 12 November 1886 | British Newspaper Archive 1887 Advert to let the house and shooting rights Rent £250 per year 20.04.1887 The mansion house of Glenlaggan contains Dining room Double Drawing room Business room 5 Bedrooms and Dressing rooms Servants' rooms Kitchen Laundry Larder Pantry Drainage pat in perfect order last year by sanitary association 2 Stables, Harness room and Coachman’s house Shooting extends over 1400 acres of moor and arable land. Boating & Fishing in Loch Ken 30 Robert Barbour 141.14 Announce He Taw 10-4 Zip New In Mantles. Jackets. Dresses, Ili Righ Ii Joiiiiiton 1 8 Inopeatior | Dumfries & Galloway Courier and Herald | Wednesday 20 April 1887 | British Newspaper Archive 1890 Colonel P Sanderson Elected as Representative for the Parish of Parton in the County Council Council Election. To The Electors Of The Parish Of | Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 07 February 1890 | British Newspaper Archive Larch trees for sale Thomas Robertson Gamekeeper Lailci Trims Toil Sall | Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 13 February 1891 | British Newspaper Archive census Residents 06.02.1890 1891 11.02.1891 31 Patrick Sanderson 46 Wife Mary Sanderson 35 Daughter Beatrice 7 Son Archibald 5 Harriet Spenser Governess 25 Isabella Richardson Servant 31 Marion Armour Servant 30 Elizabeth Bryce Servant 47 Jessie Beattie Servant 16 1891 Scotland Census Ancestry.co.uk 1891 17.05.1891 Johnny Gill Servant 15 Son Archibald James Sanderson Captain, First King’s Own Scottish Borderers Born (died 02/05/1915) Wounded 26/04/1915 at the landing of the Gallipoli Peninsula, Died on board hospital ship ‘Sicilia’ 02/05/1915 Buried at sea Births. | Northern Whig | Thursday 21 May 1891 | British Newspaper Archive See picture above of tombstone Memorial at Parton Kirk 1889 Mrs Sanderson Patron of KirkpatrickDurham Hall Bazaar (To raise money to free hall of debt and for decorating the interior) Oonservative Hall. | Galloway News and Kirkcudbrightshire Advertiser | Friday 02 August 1889 | British Newspaper Archive 1893 Resident At his retirement he went to live on his estate at Glenlaggan, a beautiful country seat on the banks of Loch Ken. The King , Attended By An Equerry , Left London Yesterday Afternoon , On A Visit To Lord Burton Till | The Scotsman | Saturday 22 February 1902 | British Newspaper Archive Patrick Sanderson Took an active interest in parish and country affairs. For many years a member of the Stewartry County Council and chairman of 32 the road board, but due to failing health, he did not seek re-election last December. Chairman of Parton School Board. He was a Conservative in Politics. 33 Colonel Sanderson wears the regimental mess dress: a scarlet jacket with field officer's wide gold lace and a glimpse of blue collar. The waistcoat is also red, with gold braid down the front. He was born on 29 Aug 1844, and commissioned on 17 Nov 1863. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the Greys for 4 years from 5 July 1882. he was married to Mary Spens and lived at Glenlaggan. He died on 21 Feb 1902 and was buried at Parton Churchyard. 1901 Census Residents Patrick Sanderson Wife Mary Sanderson 34 56 Scots Greys: The 2nd Dragoons (britishempire.co.uk ) 1901 Scotland Census Ancestry.co.uk Daughter Helen 45 Sister Helen 5 Elizabeth Campbell Murray Isabella Johnstone 58 visitor Servant 23 Annie Stedmondt Alison Douglas Dewar Barbara Ross Servant 37 Servant 30 Servant 29 Louisa Yarroll Jane Glover Servant 28 Servant 20 Servant 17 35 1902 Owner and resident Died in Edinburgh Patrick Sanderson 57 died Buried at Parton Kirk 22.02.1902 Conservative in politics 36 The King , Attended By An Equerry , Left London Yesterday Afternoon , On A Visit To Lord Burton Till | The Scotsman | Saturday 22 February 1902 | British Newspaper Archive Pictures from MOP Rosie Porteous of tombstones at Parton Kirk 2021 37 Early 1900s 38 Map showing the house and gardens with outbuildings; these are used today as main residences Pastmap | Pastmap Facebook – member of public (posted 2014) 1903 39 1903 Photograph registered 18. August 1926 source Glenlaggan, Parton | Collections | University of St Andrews (standrews.ac.uk) 1909 Available to let for the season or as arranged: Qkyb-Uig .-Fnrn . Cottage 5 Apatla . ; Coif ; Fifle View ; 30 A . 0 Weekly . 18 | The Scotsman | Saturday 24 April 1909 | British Newspaper Archive 24/04/1909 Furnished Mansion House with shooting over Glenlaggan and Gelswinton estates, shooting over 3800 acres, beautifully situated on the banks of Loch Ken and 1 mile from station, good boating & fishing Sporting Tenant 1911 census George R Davies Forest Hill, Hartford George R Davies 67 Wife Katherine Helen 59 Son Reginald George Reynolds Davies 20 40 The Late Mr G. R. Davies | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Saturday 23 March 1918 | British Newspaper Archive 1913 Part owner ? 19.06.1913 Helen Christie Sanderson Sfiottish and Other . Wills | The Scotsman | Monday 30 June 1913 | British Newspaper Archive dies 1912-1933 River Salmon Fishing Rights 1914 Residents Mr & Mrs Of Glenlaggan GP (R? misspelled) Davies 1915 Butler Walter Windsor 16 yrs 41 Son Lieutenant Reginald GR Davies got wounded NAS Catalogue catalogue record (nrscotland.gov.uk) Died Of Wounds, | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Wednesday 11 November 1914 | British Newspaper Archive On Service. | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Saturday 11 May 1918 | British Newspaper Archive 1915 George R Davies 17.07.1915 1916 Issue between proprietor G R Davies and tenant Butler Australian! Killed | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Saturday 12 October 1918 | British Newspaper Archive William Spowage Son Lieutenant 16 LRS 1917 Advert for Chauffeur-Electrician G R Davies 42 A Stewartby Reference | The Scotsman | Saturday 17 July 1915 | British Newspaper Archive UK, British Army Records and Lists, 1882-1962 Ancestry.co.uk Tuneb , For Section Of Dobcross Looms ; Ineligible 'Lor Mili Tary Service ; Zood Wages To Suitable Apnli ^ | The Scotsman | Saturday 24 February 1917 | British Newspaper Archive Owner & Resident George R Davies Previously resided at Forest Hill, Hartford He was connected with various business enterprises in Manchester 43 Glasgow and West | The Scotsman | Wednesday 13 May 1931 | British Newspaper Archive 1918 Owner and Resident (Country home) 23.03.1918 George Reynold Davies Died He was connected with large mercantile businesses in Manchester, including the Williams Deakons Bank, and other companies, in which he was a director. Some years ago he purchased Glenlaggan of which he had previously been a sporting tenant. Took warm interest in the district where he had made his country home, and was associated with the Countess of Selkirk and Mrs Dudgeon of Cargen in organising the effort about to be made in the Stewartry on behalf of the devastated villages in France. A memorial service was made in St Margaret’s Episcopa; Church, Castle Douglas “St Margaret’s had lost a true friend”. 44 The Late Mr G. R. Davies | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Saturday 23 March 1918 | British Newspaper Archive 1922 Mrs Davies 31.05.1922 Will of £62.588 Blackberry Picking. "the Sunny Side Oir_ The Hedge "— and Other Hints. | Daily News (London) | Wednesday 28 August 1918 | British Newspaper Archive Filled position for young footman and oddman Riobple Wantedchauffeur and Wile , To Livo In Lurnished V / Basement In West End ; Man To Drive Car | The Scotsman | Wednesday 31 May 1922 | British Newspaper Archive 1925 Owner Katherine Son Reginald inherits Helen Davies dies in London Scotland, National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 18761936 Ancestry.co.uk May 1931 Owner Glasgow and West | The Scotsman | Wednesday 13 May 1931 | British Newspaper Archive Son Major Reginald G Reynolds Davies 45 Had a distinguished war career. He was awarded the military cross & was mentioned 4x in dispatches. Took ill a few days ago and died 13/05/1931 in nursing home aged 40 in Edinburgh. 13/05/1931 1942 Inherited estate Advert for housekeeper in newspaper 1946 46 Wife Heather Davies Married just over from 1 year ago Heather Hannay, Glenlair, KBS Resident & Owner Value of estate Wife Heather Davies £96.287:9:10 Davies Single-handed housemaid required, contact Mrs Davies, Glenlaggan, Parton Middle-Aged W Oman Wanted Immediately, Reliable and Kindly, To Assist With Household Duties Farm.— Apply 336 Standard Office. I3lderly Woman | Dumfries and Galloway Standard | Wednesday 06 May 1942 | British Newspaper Archive Heather Hannay Davies Marries William A L Watson in Middlesex England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, Scotland, National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 18761936 Ancestry.co.uk 1916-2005 Ancestry.co.uk 1950s Glenlaggan, home of the Parton, Dumfries Sanderson family, stood on and Galloway an elevated spot Wikipedia overlooking Loch Ken, demolished 1950s 1953-1958 Tree preservation order NAS Catalogue catalogue record (nrscotland.gov.uk) 1953 House and Estate for Sale July 20th | Northampton Mercury | Friday 03 July 1953 | British Newspaper Archive 47 1953 Sales Catalogue of The Glenlaggan Estate Owner Daughter? By order of the trustees of Major RGR Davies Mrs Lindsey Watson (Tel Parton 4) Sales Catalogue Jackson-Stops & Staff Owner Rosie Porteous, Cruichie, Parton View of Loch Ken from the house Glenlaggan House & Policies 49.334 acres Estate held incorporated Shaw & Upper Dullarg Farm Sporting: Shooting – although the estate was keepered throughout the war, efforts are being made to regain what was lost. Grouse, pheasants, partridges 48 Fishing 49 The house is approached over a carriage drive which, flanked with rhododendrons and azaleas and shaded by stately beeches, winds and climbs to terminate in a carriage sweep at the front of the house. The house was mainly built just over 100 years ago of mellow local stone with a slated roof. The dominating idea of the builder was to allow as many as possible of the main rooms to enjoy the entrancing view over Loch Ken. He was successful in no small measure. Drawing room The accommodation is on 2 floors. The rooms are well proportioned with generously sized windows. The standard of workmanship is of the highest order and the installation of modern amenities has been done throughout in a similar standard. Ground Floor: Inner hall 50 Small entrance porch leads to the entrance hall, panelled in oak with a range of fitted wardrobe cupboards Inner hall to the full height of the house and glazed roof, the gallery landing is one of many attractive features; fireplace with 18th century carved wood mantlepiece Drawing room, large attractive room with folding doors to form 2 apartments 22x16 ft and 18x14 ft each with a fireplace Back lobby with door to glazed veranda Billiards room 13 ft 9 in x 26 ft 4 in, panelled to 3 ft 6 in with beamed ceilings, brick fireplace. Dining room 30 ft x 20 ft with fine Adam fireplace and door to domestic quarters Cloakroom fitted basin (h&c) wc Small study 17 ft 6 in x 10 ft 3 in, fitted brick fireplace with Mahagony surround All aforementioned rooms are fitted with radiators 51 and with the exception of the dining room command a magnificent view of the Loch. First Floor: A pleasant easy staircase leads to Landing and Gallery Main suite comprising: Large bedroom with freestone fireplace with attractive tiled back Dressing Room and Bathroom fitted bath (h&c) and WC Bathroom 2 fitted bath (h&c), basin (h&c) Bedroom 2 tiled fireplace Dress cupboard, WC, Stairs to Boxroom On this side of the house are 3 more bedrooms all with fireplaces and 2 with fitted cupboards. In the East/Nursery Wing are: Entrance Passage fitted cupboards Wing bedroom 1 with fireplace Bathroom 3 bath (h&c), basin (h&c), WC, Housemaid’s cupboard 52 Staircase to room in tower 2 small bedrooms with fireplaces Day & Night Nurseries Bathroom 4, bath (h&c), basin (h&c), WC, Housemaid’s cupboard Domestic Quarters: Back door to Hall Place with the following rooms off: Servants’ Hall 2 Larders WC Door to Gun Room and WC with own outside door Boot Hole Vegetable Room with sink (h&c) and heated cupboard Kitchen with large size “Esse” with water heating boiler, sink (h&c), built in cupboards Scullery, sink (h&c)fitted cupboards and hatch to serving Pantry with sink (h&c), extensive fitted cupboards and drawers 2 staff rooms or storerooms The back staircase in the Hall Place gives access to 5 good staff rooms, 53 bathroom and heated linen room Outside: 2 fuel bunkers Boiler House with central heating and hot water boilers (Britannia) and fuel bunkers Services – electricity, own water supply by gravity to house and cottages, drainage to efficient Cesspool, central heating with radiators in the principal rooms and hot pipes in the staff quarters Domestic hot water (2 systems, 3 bathrooms and water used in the kitchenare heated by theboiler in the “Esse”: the whole system can be heated by a recently installed boiler in the boiler house Telephone Outbuildings: Squash Court with Spectators Gallery WC 54 Small range of old electric engine house Battery house Store 2 Kennels Garages for 3 cars with Loft, Hay Store, Harness Room, Coach House Chauffeurs Flat Estate workshop Sawing shed Hard tennis court which requires attention Gardens: productive and extremely decorative yet they are maintained by only 1 man Pleasure Gardens Lawns & grassy slopes planted with a profusion of daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops, many varieties of rhododendrons, azaleas and cherry, completed by beautiful stately beeches Kitchen Garden stone wall on 3 sides, 2 greenhouses, 1 lean-to containing peaches & nectarines, 1 span-roof seedling house – both heated by a sawdust burning boiler Walls lined with plums, pears and blackcurrants, 55 apples, raspberries, strawberries and gooseberries Woodland and Lands – delightful beech and oak woodland incl. 2 productive paddocks After 1953 1962 Wards Timber Ltd (Carlisle/Brampton) cut the woods down pre-1962. Possible Dry Rot in the house. His parents went to collect some doors from Glenlaggan House pre D A Porteous & M W Kennedy (parents of JH Porteous) wedding in 1962. House got knocked down/demolished 1980s until today 2021 Memories of J. H. Porteous (tenants of Overlaggan and buyers of Cruichie) Known as the Davies estate by locals Remaining Parts of House – Steps in front of the house Facebook – pictures of a member of public Rosie Porteous (neighbour) 56 57 58 59 2023 Canmore In its place today are holiday lodges. 60 Mochrum Park, Penninghame by Kathryn Barr Mochrum Park is a large house situated just off the B733, the road that runs between Wigtown and Kirkcowan in the parish of Penninghame. The land that it stands on once belonged to a branch of the Gordans family and a smaller house which went by the name of, The Grange of Bladnoch was located there. This house would have been a plain, granite building. This land was later passed to the Earl of Stair in the 19th Century who then sold it to Sir William Dunbar who was the 7th Baron of Mochrum. It was Sir William Dunbar who instructed an architect to design the house that we see today and pay for its construction. He also renamed the house Mochrum Park. Sir William was born in 1812 and died in 1889. He succeeded his uncle to become the 7th Baronet of Mochrum in 1841. He was a politician and the Deputy Chairman of the Edinburgh, Perth and Dundee railway company. He was heavily involved in the railway and its expansion. Sir William employed the architect Richard Park to design his new mansion. Richard Park was involved with many buildings in Newton Stewart and the surrounding area. Notably the McMillan Hall, which has some similar features to Mochrum Park. He also helped with alterations to Craichlaw in Kirkcowan and the reconstruction of the Old Place of Mochrum in Drumwalt, to name but a few. The original farmhouse was mostly demolished but a wing of it was incorporated into the new building. The old farmhouse would have been built in the 18th Century. The new house was constructed between 1877 and 1879 and was built of red Dumfries freestone and local whinstone. The house was constructed in a gothic style. It is now a Category C listed building but it is only the 18th century part of the house that is of real interest. The entrance is flanked by two pillars from the original house that are at least 300 years old. These are the pillars in the photo above. 61 Mochrum Park house below (Photo taken from; The Sphere, November 21st 1953) Another view of the house. Mochrum Park by Hunters, Buxton. Hall/Country House. 62 This photo was found on Pinterest and shows Mochrum Park in the early 1900s. Note the square tower, very similar to the chateau like style of the McMillan hall. Sir William lived at Mochrum park for 10 years, until his death in 1888. He lies buried in All Saints Church, Challoch, just outside Newton Stewart on the B7027. After Sir William died the house and the title passed down to his eldest son, Uthred James Hay, who became the 8th Baronet of Mochrum. Uthred was born in 1843 and he married Lucy Blanche Cordelia Grant in 1882. They never had children so when he died in 1904 the house and the title passed to his brother, William Cospatrick Dunbar. Sir William Cospatrick Dunbar was the 9th Baron of Mochrum. He was born in 1844 and married Nina Susannah in 1878, the eldest daughter of Mr Alfred Douglas Hamilton of The Firs, Romford, Essex. In the book; Penninghame. The story of a Parish, it states that Sir William Cospatrick lived alone in the dilapidated mansion. They also were childless so when William Cospatrick died in 1931 the baronetcy and Mochrum Park passed to James George Hawker Rowland5. A cousin of Sir William. I don’t believe the house was then 5 Sir James George Hawker Rowland Dunbar was the son of George Van Reede Dunbar, who was the son of James Dunbar, who was the son of Sir George Dunbar the 5th Baronet of Mochrum. 63 occupied until the house was requisitioned in 1940 and the army used it to support the war effort. It was in a sorry state of repair. Sir James Dunbar the 10th baronet died at the age of 90 on the 23rd of January 1953. He was unmarried and died without having children. The baronetcy then passed to his second cousin Richard Sutherland 6 who died two days later on the 25th of January 1953. Obviously the 11th baronet never resided at Mochrum Park and I don’t believe the 10th baronet did either. Census reports have him living at various addresses in London and he died in one of his residences in Bognor Regis. On the death of the 11th Baronet Richard Sutherland, a photographers artist and a first cousin once removed of Sir James Dunbar, 10th Baronet, the title and estate passed to Sir Adrian Ivor Dunbar. Richard Sutherland had two daughters but no sons. Sir Adrian Ivor Dunbar7 was very surprised to receive this inheritance, he was a semi retired handyman who had lived in the Unites States of America for years. Sir Adrian had been born in Weymouth in 1893. He had left England at the age of 17, and emigrated to Australia where he worked on farms before the war broke out and he joined the Australian army. After the war ended he headed to Canada with his French bride. After a few years he then went to America (Leicester Mercury,Tuesday March 30th 1954). He married secondly Esther Naomi Robinson in June 1930. This was who he was married to when he inherited the baronetcy of Mochrum. . The Twelfth Baronet and Lady Dunbar on their arrival in Southhampton after arriving from New York 6 Sir Richard Sutherland Dunbar was the son of Richard Taylor Dunbar who was the son of Lt-Col Thomas Clement Dunbar who was the son of James Dunbar who was the son of Sir George Dunbar the 5th Baronet of Mochrum. 7 Sir Adian Ivor Dunbar was the son of Clement Adrian Dunbar, who was the son of Lt-Col Thomas Clement Dunbar. 64 The house was in a bad state of repair when the Baronet and Lady Dunbar inherited it. In fact it was uninhabitable and the grounds were overgrown and very neglected. 65 It was reported in the Belfast Telegraph of August 7, 1956: Farmer Likes His Castle Sir Adrian Dunbar, Maryland farmer who inherited a big estate and a castle in Scotland three years ago returned to Hoboken, New Jersey with Lady Dunbar for a visit and said that they were well satisfied with their inheritance. There home is now a 40 room castle at Mochrum Park, Kirkcowan, Wigtownshire. Sir Adrian said that so far he has renovated only four rooms in the castle, adding that he had neither the money nor the stamina to do more. He hoped to take his two sons - Roland (22) and Donald Robert (20) - back to Scotland with him. They will be discharged from the Army soon. The boys did go to Scotland with them and both ended up marrying local girls. It was the son of Sir Adrians first marriage that would become the next baronet though. Sir Jean Ivor who was born in 1918. He was reluctant to take the title at first but his father convinced him but he had little interest in the house. When Sir Adrian died in 1977 the house was sold to the Ribbens family who live there still. The house is divided into two with Clement Ribbens living in one part with his wife, while his son Jamie and his family live in the other section. When Sir Jean Ivor the 13th Baronet died in 1993 the title passed to his eldest son, Sir James Michael (born Jan 1950) the current baronet who resides in the USA but has visited Mochrum Park. Mochrum Park no longer exists as the grand estate it once was. Many of the farms were sold off in the 1950s and the main house is now shared by two branches of the same family. Many of the former estate houses such as the coach house and the lodge are run as holiday homes connected to a different family. Some of its greatest features are also gone, a heraldic panel has been removed and returned to Glasgow cathedral and a Raeburn portrait of Lady Jacobina the wife of the sixth baronet now hangs in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. Although she was said to haunt the house at one time. 66 Maps Of Mochrum Park (Pastmap) 1st Edition 1843 -1882 67 1900’s 68 OS map 69 Bibliography Bath Chronicle 26th December 1889 [The British Newspaper Archives] Belfast Telegraph Tuesday August 7th 1956 [The British Newspaper Archives] Buildings at Risk Register. https://buildingsatrisk.org.uk Daily Herald Monday November 1963 [The British Newspaper Archives] Daily Mirror, Monday November 9th 1953 [The British Newspaper Archives] Dundee Evening Telegraph 8th April 1890 [The British Newspaper Archives] Evening Express Monday November 9th 1953 [The British Newspaper Archives] Leicester Mercury, Tuesday March 30 1954 [The British Newspaper Archives] McKerlie, P.H. (1870, 1877) History of the Lands and their Owners in Galloway [reprint - GC Books, Wigtown] National Library of Scotland. https://www.nls.uk Pastmap. https://pastmap.org.uk Penninghame - the story of a Parish (1998) [G.C. Book Publishers Ltd] Galloway Gazette 5th April 1952 [The British Newspaper Archives] Scotlands Places. https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk Sunday Mail, July 20th 1958 [The British National Archives] The Peerage. https://www.thepeerage.com The Sphere, November 21st 1953 [The British National Archives] 70 Dunskey House, Portpatrick by Gabrielle Reynolds Portpatrick, DG9 8TJ Listed Building Status: B Alternative names and spellings: Dunskay, Blairbowie, Craigbury. 17th Century 1649 Rev. James Blair acquires the Portree Estate. The principal building of which is Dunskey Castle. Groome, Francis H. (1882-1885) Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical 1657 John Blair (son of Rev. James Blair) of Dunskey, valuation £946.13.4. (Archaeological and Historical Collections Relating to Ayrshire and Galloway p102) 1667 Marriage contract between John Blair and Jean Agnew, daughter of Patrick Agnew, Laird of Sheuchan. Witnesses included John’s brothers, James and Hew. The Agnews of Lochnaw p365 1667 Land tax rolls John Blair £946.13.4 Land tax rolls, Wigtownshire vol 1, Portpatrick. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1672 Ratification to John Blair and his wife Jean Agnew of their lands to be called “barony of Dunskey”. Records of the Parliaments of Scotland By 1684 John Blair had moved with his family to Killantringan. Dunskey Castle was in ruins with all useable building materials stripped and stored at Killantringan in preparation for building a new house at Craigbouie. Parish lists of Wigtownshire and Minnigaff, 1684 1691-95 “Dunskayes own house 8” hearths. “Dunskay a kiln 1” Hearth tax records for Wigtownshire, 1691-95, p13. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 71 The 18th Century 18th century topographical painting showing Dunskey House, Craigbouie Fell and the Walled Garden. It is just possible to make out the Blair family arms above the central doorway. (Private collection) Arms of Blair of Dunskey (www.blairsociety.org) 72 1701 Dunskey House occupied. Cunninghamm R, R, Portpatrick through the Ages, p25 1706 Dunskey House completed using materials from Dunskey Castle. (www.scottish-places.com) Excerpt from Military Map. William Roy, 1747. (www.maps.nls.uk) 1748 Window tax Name Windows Duty Lady Dunskey, Portpatrick 24 £0.12.0 John Blair, Craigbowie 40 £1.0.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1753 Window tax Name Windows Duty Lady Dunskay 21 £0.10.6 John Blair, Craigbuie 37 £0.18.6 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1756 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair of Dunskey 35 £0.17.6 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 73 1758 Window tax Name Windows Duty Mrs Blair of Dunskey 37 £0.18.6 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1758 Death of John Blair. The Scots Magazine 2nd January 1758. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1759 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair Dunskey 35 £1.7.6 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1760 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair Dunskey 24 £0.12.6 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1763 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair 20 £0.10.5 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) The Caledonian Mercury 11th February 1767. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1767 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair Esq Dunskey 20 £0.15.10 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 123, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 74 1768 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair Esq Dunskey 20 £1.11.8 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1770 James Hunter marries Jean Blair, heiress of Dunskey. 1772 Window tax Name Windows Duty John Blair Esq Dunskey 20 Empty £?.?.? Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1772 – 1780 Window tax Dunskey is recorded as “Empty” Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1777 Jean Blair inherits Dunskey, her husband James Hunter adopts the Blair name and the family become Hunter Blair. 75 Excerpt from “Map of road from Dumfries to Portpatrick”. George Taylor, 1776. (www.maps.nls.uk) 1780 -1784 Window tax Name Windows Duty James Hunter Blair Dunskey 30 £3.0.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 76 Excerpt from “Map of the County of Wigtown”. John Ainslie, 1782. (www.maps.nls.uk) Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Bart, with his wife Jean and nine of their fourteen children. By David Allan, 1785. (www.nationalgalleries.org) 77 Preparatory sketch. There are minor alterations to the composition and the drive approaching Dunskey House and its adjacent building are more easily discernible. The boy with the whip is David Hunter Blair of Blairquhan. (www.metmuseum.org) 1780 – 1784 James Hunter Blair serves as M.P for Edinburgh. 1784 – 1786 James Hunter Blair serves as Lord Provost of Edinburgh and oversees many construction projects, including the South Bridge over the Cowgate. He is commemorated in the names of Hunter Square and Blair Street. 1786 James Hunter Blair created 1st Baronet of Dunskey. 1786 Female servant tax rolls Sir James Hunter Blair of Dunskey. Margaret Rob – House servant. Duty £0.10.0 Female servant tax rolls, 1785-92, vol 06, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1787 Window tax Name Windows Duty Sir James Hunter Blair of Dunskey 33 £3.6.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1787 Death of Sir James Hunter Blair in Harrogate. Robert Burns writes a rather turgid elegy to his memory. James’ son, Sir John Hunter Blair becomes 2nd Baronet of Dunskey. 78 1787 Inhabited house tax Date Name Houses at Duty 5L and upward and under 20L per Annum 1787 Sir John Hunter Blair 2 8 £?.?.? Inhabited house tax, 1778-98, vol 61, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1788 Inhabited house tax Date Name No of Houses No of Houses Houses at 5L and upward, and under 20L per Annum 8 Duty 1788 Sir John Hunter Blair 1 £?.?.? Dunskey Inhabited house tax, 1778-98, vol 61, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1788 Window tax Name Windows Duty Sir John Hunter Blair, Dunskey 33 £3.6.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1789 Horse tax rolls Date Name Actual Carriage horses (10s each) Saddle horses (10s each) 2 1789 William Ross, Comptroller 2 Of the Customs, Dunskey Horse tax rolls, 1785-98, vol 13, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) Duty £1.0.0 1789 Female servant tax rolls Sir John Hunter Blair of Dunskey Bart. At Portpatrick – Minor. Elizabeth Ker – House maid. Duty £0.2.6 Female servant tax rolls, 1785-92, vol 18, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1789 Male servant tax rolls Sir John hunter Blair Bart Dunskey. William Wallace - Gardener Male servant tax rolls, 1777-98, vol 11, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 79 1789 Inhabited house tax Date Name No of Houses Houses at 5L and upward and under 20L per Annum 8 Duty 1789 Sir John Hunter Blair 3 £?.?.? Bart, Dunskey Inhabited house tax, 1778-98, vol 61, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1789 Window tax Name Windows Duty Sir John Hunter Blair Bart, Dunskey 33 £3.6.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1790 Horse tax rolls Date Name Actual 1 horse 2 horses Duty (10s) 1790 Mr. William Ross, Dunskey 2 1 1 ££1.5.0 Horse tax rolls, 1785-98, vol 18, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1790 Male servant tax rolls William Ross Esq, Dunskey. James McCubbin Sir John Hunter Blair Bart at Dunskey. William Wallace – Gardener Male servant tax rolls, 1777-98, vol 15, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1791 - 1795 Window tax Name Windows Duty Sir John Hunter Blair Bart, Dunskey 33 £3.6.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1791 Female servant tax rolls William Ross Esq, Dunskey. Marion Gill – Cook. Janet McLumpha – Childrens maid. Duty £0.2.6 Female servant tax rolls, 1785-92, vol 26, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1791 Male servant tax rolls Sir John Hunter Blair, Dunskey. William Wallace – Gardener William Ross Esq. Factor to Sir John Hunter Blair Dunsky. James McCubbin – Groom & Gamekeeper Male servant tax rolls, 1777-98, vol 17, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1791 Horse tax rolls Date Name Actual 1 horse (10s) 80 2 horses Duty 1791 William Ross Esq, Dunskey 2 1 1 £1.15.0 10% per 31 George III £0.1.0 Horse tax rolls, 1785-98, vol 21, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1791 Inhabited house tax Date Name No of Houses Houses at 5L and upward and under 20L per Annum 8 Duty 1791 Sir John Hunter Blair 3 £4.0.0 Bart, Dunskey Inhabited house tax, 1778-98, vol 61, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplace.gov.uk) 1792 Horse tax rolls Date Name Actual 1792 William Ross Esq, Dunskey 2 1 horse (10s) 1 2 horses 1 Duty £1.5.0 10% per 31 George III £0.2.6 Horse tax rolls, 1785-98, vol 24, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlands places.gov.uk) 1792 Inhabited house tax Date Name No of Houses Houses at 5L and upward and under 20L per Annum 8 Duty 1792 Sir John Hunter Blair 4 £4.0.0 Bart, Dunskey Inhabited house tax, 1778-98, vol 61, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1792 Male servant tax William Ross Esq, Dunskey. James McCubbin – House servant & groom Sir John Hunter Blair, Bart, Dunskey. William Wallace – Gardener Male servant tax rolls, 1777-98, vol 19, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 81 1793 Male servant tax Sir John Hunter Blair Bart Dunskey. William Wallace – Gardener Male servant tax rolls, 1777-98, vol 21, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1794 Inhabited house tax Date Name No of Houses Houses at 5L and upward and under 20L per Annum 12 Duty 1794 Sir John Hunter Blair 4 £6.0.0 of Dunskey, Bart. Inhabited house tax, 1778-98, vol 61, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1794 Male servant tax Sir John Hunter Blair of Dunskey Bart. William Wallace – Gardener Male servant tax roll, 1777-98, vol 23, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1797 Dog tax rolls Date Name Dogs at Dogs at 3s 5s 1797 Mathew Quirk, Dunskey 1 1 Dog tax rolls, vol 02, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1797 Horse tax rolls Date Name 1797 Mathew Quirk, Dunskey Actual Actual 1 1 horse 1 Duty £0.3.0 2 horses Duty £0.10.0 10% per 31 George III £0.1.0 10% per 36 George III £0.10.0 Horse tax rolls, 1785-98, vol 30, Wigtownshire, (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 1798 Window tax Name Windows Duty Mathew Quirk, Dunskey 12 £0.14.0 Window tax, 1748-98, vol 124, Wigtownshire. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 82 1798 David Hunter Blair buys Blairquhan in Ayrshire. The estates of Dunskey and Blairquhan remain closely linked until the 21st century. 1799 Land tax rolls Sir John Hunter Blair of Dunskey Baronet “His lands and Barony of Dunskey, comprehending Killantringan, High and Low Craigbowies and Ochtrymakain, Dinvins, (Moroch Port, alias Port Moulgainoe), Dunskey Castle and Croft, High and Little Piminnochs, Craigenless, Auchenwie, Mini Crofts, Craig Slav and Croft, Portpatrick and Crofts ajoining with the Miln. By the adjusted supplyroll in 1667. Amount in cumulo to the sum of Scots £946.13.4” “And also for his lands of (Kininglass) purchased off the Estate of Sheuchan comprehending Challoch Hill, Meikle and Little Knockglass, High and Low Tibberts, Crailoch including Green Know, Crailoch and Mill Crofts as above, amount in cumulo to £190.0.0” Land tax rolls for Wigtownshire, vol 03, Portpatrick. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) The 19th Century 1800 Death of Sir John Hunter Blair. His brother, Sir David Hunter Blair becomes 3 rd Baronet of Dunskey. Extract from Dunskey Estate Plans. William Dubar 1804. Note that somebody has pencilled in the line of the new approach drive. (www.maps.nls.uk) 1815 -1846 Corn Laws The corn laws were a series of tariff and trade restrictions on imported cereals. The Hunter Blairs along with representatives from most of the Wigtownshire land owning families served on various committees to view their opinions on the subject. There are a number of newspaper articles listing the members of these committees, but not their opinions. 1816 “Member returned to serve in Parliament, Shire of Wigtown, James Hunter Blair, of Dunskey, Esquire, in the room of Lieutenant-General the Hon. Sir William Stewart, K.B. who has accepted the Chiltern Hundreds.” Royal Cornwall Gazette, Saturday 17th August 1816. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 83 Excerpt from estate map showing Dunskey House, the Walled Garden and the Approach Drive. 1814. (Private collection) 1820 Sir David Hunter Blair commissions architect William Burn to build a new castle at Blairquhan. 1822 The Scotsman, Saturday 13th July 1822. (www.british newspaperarchive.co.uk) 1824 Building work at Blairquhan is completed. 84 1830’s Dunskey house and stables remodelled by William Burn. 1832 The Urquhart Census of Portpatrick Name Age Occupation Forbes Hunter Blair Esq 51 Proprietor of Dunskey John Brodie 40 Butler Mary Brown/Brodie 40 House Keeper Elizabeth Taylor 30 Chamber maid Agnes Hunter 25 Dairy Maid Daniel McLean 22 Footman Elizabeth McIntyre 30 Kitchen Maid John Lamb 40 Forester at Dunskey Joanna Turnbull/Lamb 40 Washer Woman Felix Henry 70 Labourer at Dunskey Henry Darrock 50 Labourer at Dunskey Peter Darrock 17 Labourer at Dunskey John Ormrod 50 Gamekeeper at Dunskey Robert Taylor 33 Gardener at Dunskey James Bennet 40 Groom at Dunskey Alexander Hill 44 Under-groom at Dunskey John Hunter 45 Ploughman at Dunskey Peter Hawthorn 40 Under-gardener at Dunskey Isabella McWilliam/Hawthorn 35 Washes Clothes John Murdoch 40 Factor at Dunskey The Social Survey and Register of all Households in the Village and Parish of Portpatrick, 1832. Ewart Library, Dumfries, (GWa 4(31)) 1834 Polar explorer Captain Ross dines at Dunskey with Colonel Thomas Hunter Blair before leaving for Liverpool in order to receive the freedom of the city. English Chronicle and Whitehall Evening Post, Thursday 16th October 1834. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1842 “Forbes about the year 1842 built a large addition to the house, consisting of dining, drawing, and billiard rooms with bedrooms above.” Hunter Blair, David Oswald. Medley pp2-5 By 1842 Lower loch created 1842 “We drove one morning with Colonel Blair, (a Waterloo officer, who had just returned from the agreeable and gratifying duty of dining with the Duke, on the anniversary of the great day,) as far as his estate of Dunskey, near Portpatrick, and some eight or ten miles from Culhorn. A great portion of the higher ground between it and Stranraer seemed rather wildly cultivated, presenting a good deal of a northof-Ireland aspect, though, no doubt, in the course of improvement. There was little or no wood visible, but the old Place of Garthland, recently purchased by Lord Stair, showed some good timber at some distance to the left. It must be both old and fine, if we may judge from a specimen of felled ash which we saw upon the quay at Stranraer, and which the diameter could not have been less than from three to four feet. The 85 style of farming greatly improved as we approached Dunskey, and we soon found ourselves under the shelter of extensive and very thriving plantations. The mansion house though of irregular form and unimposing exterior (having ben built by various proprietors, from time to time, in accordance with no preconceived plan), is within doors both elegant and commodious. C’est un maison bien meublé, and the cellar is excellent. We proceeded on foot to inspect the grounds. We were certainly surprised when first informed that scarcely a tree existed here five-and-twenty years ago, except a few planted by the late Sir James Hunter Blair; and now, notwithstanding it’s vicinity to a bold and rocky shore, and unscreened exposure to the ocean blasts, there are from four to five hundred acres of excellent and even vigorous plantations. But, as the Secretary pointed out, with his accustomed perception both of the useful and the picturesque, a great advantage is gained by the ground being, though high, yet varied by numerous deep and sheltering hollows, between the prevailing elevated ranges. On the seaward side, a lively brook finds its way down a deep romantic glen, which presents, at certain points, the characters of a rocky ravine or dingle, with a silvery fall of water, encompassed by tangled banks richly covered with ivy, honeysuckle, and the more gorgeous fox-glove. Walks in a winding almost labyrinthic order, connected on either side by a slender span of a rustic bridge, conduct from point to point, and the stream, after brawling its way down the rocky glen, pursues a more quiet course for a few hundred yards, and then sinks into the sea, in a small recess called Port-Kale Bay, a little northwards of Portpatrick. The strand of this bay is composed of coarse gravel, the debris of the surrounding whinstone, and is separated by a small promontory from another bay, called Port-Murray, the shore of which consists of pure yellow sand. In this latter, at no remote period, ther was an excellent salmon fishery, not fewer than 170 having been captured at one draught, though now-a-days nothing is to be taken but sea-trout. We were asked the probable reason for this change, and of course were unable to tell, - which is one great advantage of being what is called a practical naturalist.” “We observed that the young plantations to which we have alluded, failed in some measure as they approach the sea. Of the fir tribe by fat the hardiest is the pineaster. First planted in Wigtownshire about 70 year ago by the Earl of Galloway, who recommended it as most capable of resisting the influence of the sea breezes, and experience has justified his expectation. It would be well to try sycamore and elders (not of the Church of Scotland, but), Sambucus nigra, both of which thrive well along our coasts. Of other trees which have been cultivated here with some success, we may name elm, oak, and ash. Besides the pineaster, the spruce and silver firs make progress, but the larch and Scotch firs have proved a failure. Vegetation, in general, is said to be slow in early spring, but rapid during summer, so that the harvests “are usually completed about the middle of October.” The young shoots of trees, however, are often found in November un-prepared for those upheaving storms which saturate their succulent parts with salt sea spray, and not seldom cause a considerable portion of their tops to perish. We returned to the dwelling house of Dunskey, by the side of a piece of water of about four acres, which has been lately formed into a fish pond, and stocked with trout and minnows. The latter were brought from Ayrshire, not being natives of the parish, in which, however, they will speedily acquire a right of residence, if not in the meantime swallowed by the former, which is probably the proprietors view. There is no natural lake in this district, but the trout of the burns are said to be of good flavour. We may conclude the parish business of Portpatrick by observing, that although we really did our best to look about us, yet it rained so unceasingly as almost to wash the very spectacles from off our nose; and although we inspected in the most patient spirit the thriving woods and picturesque ravine, an ingenious ice house and a well constructed pond, the pleasantest things we saw throughout the day were a blazing fire and a superexcellent lunch. We tried the experiment of drinking champagne out of Bohemian glass, and the Claude Lorraine effect, so rich and glowing, was much admired, and cannot be too frequently imitated in raw and gusty weather.” (Wilson, James. 1842. A Voyage Around the Coasts of Scotland and the Isles p48-51, p53-55) 86 1844 Dumfries and Galloway Standard, Wenesday 21st February 1844. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1846 “The property of Colonel Hunter Blair, C.B, containing Dining Room, Drawing Room, Billiard Room, Library, Family Sitting Room, and eleven Bed Rooms, all recently and completely Furnished; also Water Closets, Pantries, Kitchen, Scullery, and Servants Apartments, complete; together with Garden and Gardener’s House, Stabling for Ten Horses, Groom’s House and Coach Houses; also with the Keeper’s House and Dog Kennels, and the Right of Shooting over about 9000 Acres of Land adjoining, _ will be LET for the space of One or Two Years from and after the 15th day of May first. Dunskey is situated within one and a half mile of Portpatrick, where the Carlisle and Glasgow Mails in coaches, as also the steam-packets with the Irish Mails, arrive and depart daily; and is surrounded by 4oo Acres of Wood and Plantations, conveniently intersected with numerous Drives and Gravelled Walks. There are both Grouse and Black Grouse on the Estate, and the preserve is abundantly stocked with Hares and Rabbits, Pheasants, and Partridges; there is also in the season excellent Woodcock shooting, The White Fish caught at Portpatrick is celebrated; and there is a Fresh-water Lake, within a few minutes’ walk of the House, having a boat on it, and a good stock of Trout. If required, excellent Pasture Grass, adjoining the Groom’s Stables and Cow Byre, may be has along with it. For further particulars, apply to John Bell, Esq, W.S, 81 Great King Street, Edinburgh; or to J. Murdoch, Dinvin, Portpatrick, who has full power to conclude a bargain with an acceptable tenant.” Glaasgow Herald, Friday 17th April 1846, (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1847 Authority for these other modes of spelling when known (Dunskey Estate) Peter Martin Low Auchenree David Wright Workman - Craigboy Isiah Ferguson High Auchenree Mathew Wither Moorcroft James Logan Workman – Moorcroft John Murdoch Esq Factor to Thomas Hunter Blair – Dinvin House William Thompson Craigboy William Reiside? Game Keeper – Dunskey John Lamb Forester – Dunskey John Maperly? Dinvin James Boyd Farmer – Dinvin North William McClure Killantringan Peter Hawthorn Gardener – Dunskey (Ordnance Survey name Book, Vol 34, 1845-49) 87 1847 John o’ Groat Journal, Friday 17th December 1847. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) Illustrated London News, 8th September 1849. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) “…My father succeeded to the property (Dunskey) on the Generals death in 1849, (and) signs were not wanting that factors had been too long supreme... According to the settlement of the family estates made a generation previously, my father on succeeding to Blairquhan had to divest himself of Dunskey and of a smaller estate in Ayrshire (Brownhill, near Mauchline), in favour of his eldest son. I consequently became on my grandfather’s death the baby laird of Dunskey, of course under the guardianship of my father… My grandfather, who had previously bought back the property in the Carrick district of Ayrshire formerly belonging to his maternal ancestors the Kennedys of Blairquhan, had completed the beautiful castellated mansion which was henceforth to be the principal seat of his family.” Hunter Blair, David Oswald, Medley, pp 2-5 88 Extract from Ordnance Survey Map, 1849, showing Dunskey House, Walled Garden, Stables, and Approach Drive. (www.maps.nls.uk) 1851 Census Address Dinvin Gamekeepers Gardeners House Foresters House Porters Lodge Grooms House Joiners House Name John Murdoch Andrew Whitcroft Peter Hawthorn James Drynan Emma Lamb Alexander Hill Robert Smith Age 59 28 58 35 62 62 42 Occupation Factor Gamekeeper Gardener Forester Gatekeeper Land Steward Joiner 1857 Death of Sir David Hunter Blair. His son, Sir Edward Hunter Blair becomes 4 th Baronet of Dunskey. 1870 Laying of new telegraph submarine cable between Port Kale (Dunskey) and Northern Ireland. Cable huts constructed to house equipment and operators. 1872 -1873 Land Ownership Commission Name Address Estimated acreage of property 8,255 David Hunter Blair Dunskey, Portpatrick of Dunskey Land Ownership Commission, 1872-73. (www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk) 89 Gross annual value £4,948.16.0 1875 David Oswald Hunter Blair converts to Roman Catholicism. 1878 David Oswald Hunter Blair enters the Benedictine monastery at Fort Augustus as a postulant. As a Benedictine monk David Oswald Hunter Blair could not own property. Therefore, Dunskey passed to Fort Augustus Abbey. 1890’s MacKenzie & Moncur glasshouses built in the walled garden to replace and earlier structure shown on the 1894 O.S map 1891 Census Mary Easton Christina McG? Mary Miller Margaret McBain Marion Glasgow Jeannie Welsh Robert Todd A Day John Wilson Cook Housemaid Ladies maid Launderess Under housemaid Kitchen maid Footman Butler Coachman By 1893 Upper loch created Extract from Ordnance Survey Map, 1894. (www.maps.nls.uk) 90 1892 Supposed Child Murder at Portpatrick “A girl named Grace Kelly, sixteen years of age, residing at Dunskey Home Farm, has been arrested on a charge of concealment of pregnancy and child murder. Late on Monday evening the policeman stationed at Portpatrick brought the news to Stranraer, and Superintendent Charlesworth returned with him to Portpatrick on the same night to investigate the matter. Sufficient evidence was forthcoming to justify the arrest of the girl Kelly who was conveyed to Stranraer and detained until further inquiries were made. The police were induced, from the information they obtained, to suspect that the body of the child had been thrown into one of the lakes at Dunskey, and on Wednesday morning had the upper lake dragged, when the body of a female infant tied up in a bag was brought to the surface. The child was fully developed, and appeared to have been in the water for some days. Yesterday Dr Easton, assisted by Dr Munro, made a careful post mortem of the body, and a report will be sent in to the police in due course. The girl will remain in custody.” Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press, 5th May 1892 The outcome of this case in unclear. However, a Grace Kelly of the right age appears on the 1901 census, living in Glenluce. 1896 Death of Sir Edward Hunter Blair. His son, Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair becomes 5 th Baronet of Dunskey. 20th Century 1900 Dunskey is sold from Abbot Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair to his niece, Lady Augusta Helen Boyle and her husband Charles Lindsay Orr Ewing, son of Sir.Archibald Orr Ewing of Ballikinrain. At this time the estate covered some 8,000 acres. Blairquhan remains with the Hunter Blair side of the family. “Mr Charles L. Orr Ewing, M.P. for Ayr burghs, has purchased the estate of Dunskey, in Wigtownshire. Dunskey House and shootings are now tenanted by the Rev. A. A. Donaldson, of Eton College; and Knockinaam Lodge on the estate, with shootings, is rented by Captain G. Lowsley Williams, of Chevange, Tetbury, Goucestershire, who is with his regiment, 4th Yorkshire Militia, in South Africa. Mr Orr Ewing has bought the estate from his wife’s uncle, the Rev. Sir David Hunter Blair, of the Monastery, Fort Augustus. Woodford Times. Friday 31st August 1900. (www.british newspaperarchive.co.uk) 1902 Additional MacKenzie & Moncur glasshouse built. J. Galloway was paid £1. 0. 0. To cart it from Portpatrick station. Dunskey estate legers in the Ewart Library, Dumfries 91 1901 -04 Current house commissioned by Charles Lindsay Orr Ewing and built by the following. Architect: James Kennedy Hunter, 51 Sandgate, Ayr Clerk of Works: J.P. Harris Builders: Messrs G. Reid & Son, Catrine, Ayrshire Joiners: Messrs J. & D. Meikle, Ayr Plumber: Messrs Armour & Sons, Campbeltown Slater: Mr J. C. Highet, Ayr Cement Worker: Mr Hall, Irvine Plasterwork: Mr Rome, Glasgow Heating: Messrs MacKenzie & Moncur, Edinburgh The cost, including the South Lodge was £30,000 (www.scottisharchitects.org.uk) 1901 “Fr Abbot left for Dunskey to select the furniture which is to come here, as the new proprietor is pulling down the house & building an entirely new one.” (Furnishing Fort Augustus Abbey, Inverness-shire. Anderson, Christina M. Regional Furniture, vol XXI, 2007 p221) 1901 – 1905 Separate laundry (now Craigbouie Cottage), two new lodges – one at the main entrance to the estate (South Lodge0 and one at the head of Dunskey Glen (Glen Cottage), a dairy (later converted to a tearoom and a new head gardeners house all built Dunskey House, 1904 -1910. Photograph believed to be by John McClymont Brownlee of Portpatrick 92 1903 Death of Charles Lindsay Orr Ewing. Dunskey passes to his son, Edward Lindsay Orr Ewing. Map showing mass plantings of Narcissus cultivars which started following the death of Charles Lindsay Orr Ewing. (Personal Collection) 1904 Extensive planting of Rhododendron cultivars at Dunskey. The plants were supplied by Herd Bros of Penrith at a total cost in excess of £150 Dunskey estate ledgers in the Ewart Library, Dumfries 93 Map of 1904 Rhododendron plantings. Purple: R. ponticum and R. catawbiense, both were used extensively to define paths, viewpoints and to provide shelter. Red: Rhododendron species, varieties and cultivars, some of which have been identified. Lime: Laurel. Green: Quercus ilex. (Personal Collection) 1904 Lady Augusta Orr Ewing commissions James Kennedy Hunter to design and build the Portpatrick Hotel 1906 Tragic Occurrence “About eight o’clock on Friday morning it was found that a young man named Robert Davitt, eighteen years of age, employed as a gardener at Dunskey, had taken his own life during the night. In the morning he was missing, and on a search being made he was found hanging in an outhouse near the gardens. The door was locked from the inside, and the rash act had been carried out in a very determined manner. Davitt had been in a very depressed state of mind for some time, and had only just recently returned to work after a rest of a few weeks. He had been complaining of very severe pains in his head. He was known as a quiet and industrious lad. In the outhouse he left pathetic letters for his parents and a comrade. He was a native of Portpatrick, where his parents reside, and the sensational affair called forth the deepest sympathy for them in their sad bereavement. The internment took place in the Cemetery on Sunday afternoon. The coffin was covered with beautiful wreaths, and the large attendance of the Estate employees and the general public showed every manifestation of regret in connection with the melancholy occurrence.” Stranraer and Wigtownshire Free Press, 11th January 1906 94 1907 Portpatrick Gardener Drowned “The body of Robert McCredie, apprentice gardener, aged 15, and residing at Craigslave two miles from Portpatrick, was recovered from Dunskey Lake on Sunday forenoon. He left home on Saturday afternoon for Portpatrick, and was observed sliding on the lake. Cries were subsequently heard, but no suspicion of danger was aroused; but when it was reported on Sunday forenoon that McCredie had not returned home, Constable Thomson and a search party dragged the lake, and found the body in about 12 feet beneath broken ice, which gave indications that McCredie, a good swimmer, made a bold struggle for life, but was overcome by cold. The deceased was a trumpeter in the local Artillery Volunteers.” Aberdeen Journal, Wednesday 2nd January 1907. (www.britishnewspaperarchives.co.uk) This tragedy most likely occurred in the upper loch as it is close by Craigslave and runs adjacent to the road leading to Portpatrick. Extract from Ordnance Survey Map, 1908. Note changes to Dunskey House. (www.maps.nls.uk) 1908 Messenger & Co glasshouse added to the range of existing glasshouses in the walled garden. The glasshouse was transported by train to Portpatrick before the estate carter conveyed it to the gardens. He was paid £1. 4. 6. The addition of this building requires alterations to the north wall of the garden and the extension of the back sheds. Dunskey estate ledgers in the Ewart Library, Dumfries 1911 Garden Party at Dunskey “In connection with the Coronation of the King and Queen, Lady Augusta Orr Ewing held a garden party, on Saturday last, at Dunskey. The day was favourable, and up to 400 of the feuare, tenantry, and others assembled on the well-kept lawn in front of the mansion house. Over the entrance gate was a decorated wooden arch, with the word “welcome” neatly cut out of it….” 95 Welcome sign from the 1911 garden party. (Private collection) “…The party was much struck with the beauty of the surroundings, and on reaching the spacious modern mansion the days of yore were forcibly brought to mind by a very large ship’s anchor, with a wooden stock, that had been unearthed while the improvements at Blair Street were being carried out…” “…Tea and refreshments were provided in a sumptuous manner in a large marquee, games and amusements of various kinds were engaged in, while dancing took place to the strains of Crozier’s band. The well-kept gardens were visited by many during the afternoon, and the greenhouses, with rare ferns, together with the outside flowers and vegetables, reflected much credit on Mr Jowitt, head gardener…” Stranraer and Wigtownshire free Press. 6th July 1911. 1913 Ballikinrain burned out – supposedly by suffragettes. Some of the estate staff relocate to Dunskey. 1914 Marriage “The wedding of Lady Augusta Orr Ewing (daughter of the Earl and Countess of Glasgow, and widow of Mr. C. L Orr Ewing M.P for Ayr burghs) and Mr. T. W. H. Inskip took place on Thursday” Dumfries and Galloway Standard. Saturday 1st August 1914. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1915 Serg.Charles M. McGregor, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, killed in action April 1915. The McGregor family had previously been at Ballikinrain, but relocated to Dunskey following the 1913 fire. Julia MacDonald. The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. 1916 Pte. Simon Grant McGregor, Canadian Infantry, killed in action February 1916. Simon was the brother of Charles McGregor. Julia MacDonald. The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. 96 Unknown date Serg. James K. McGregor, New South Wales Infantry, killed in action on an unknown date. James was the brother of the above Charles and Simon. James appears to have wounded then held as a prisoner in Constantinople. Julia MacDonald. The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. Kenneth Morrison, The Scottish War Memorials Project Charles, Simon and James McGregor were the sons of John and Anne McGregor who lived in the south lodge at Dunskey. John worked as a game keeper. The couple had one other son, named Peter. Peter survived the war and died in 1970. Personal recollections 1916 2nd Lieut. James Melrose Kerr, Royal Scots Fusiliers, died September 1916. James was the nephew of the Dunskey factor, James Purves and had been his assistant. Julia MacDonald. The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. 1917 Corporal Andrew Anderson, 33091, Wiltshire Regiment, killed in action February 1917. Andrew had lived on the Dunskey estate and previously worked as a Game Keeper. Julia MacDonald, The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. 1918 Lance Corporal John Anderson, 23804, Royal Scots Fusiliers, killed in action March 1918. John was the brother of Andrew Anderson and also lived and worked on Dunskey. Julia MacDonald, The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. 1918 Pte. Gilbert Thomson, 72124, Canadian Light Trench Mortar Battery, killed in action April 1918. Gilbert had worked on Dunskey as a chauffeur. Julia MacDonald. The Faithful, the Fallen and the Forgotten. 1918 Wounded “Second-Lieutenant E. L. Orr Ewing, The Black Watch, has been wounded in action. He is the eldest son of the second marriage of the late Mr. Charles Lindsay Orr Ewing of Dunskey, Wigtownshire.” Kilmarnock Herald and North Ayrshire Gazette. Friday 25th October 1918. (www.britishnewsparerarchive.co.uk) 1930 Death of Edward Lindsay Orr Ewing. Dunskey passes to his brother, Captain David Orr Ewing. “The death occurred at Colchester today of Lieut.E. L. Orr Ewing, of the Black Watch, a well-known United Services Football Club player. Lieut, Orr Ewing received an injury to his ear while playing Rugby last week and septic poisoning supervended. He was the Laird of Dunskey, Portpatrick, and a nephew of the Earl of Glasgow, his mother is Lady Augusta Inskip.” Gloucester Citizen, Tuesday 25th November 1930. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) 1939 Death of Abbot Sir David Oswald Hunter Blair. His brother, Sir Edward Hunter Blair becomes 6 th Baronet of Dunskey. 97 1945 Death of Sir Edward Hunter Blair. His son, Sir James Hunter Blair becomes 7 th Baronet of Dunskey. 1964 Death of Captain David Orr Ewing. Dunskey passes to his son, Major Edward Stuart Orr Ewing. Still living. Aerial photograph of Dunskey walled garden and head gardener’s house in the 1960’s. (Personal Collection) 1997 Work begins on the restoration of the glasshouses and walled garden. The former dairy is converted to a tearoom. 1985 Death of Sir James Hunter Blair. His son, Sir Edward Thomas Hunter Blair becomes 8 th Baronet. Aerial photograph, 1999. (Private collection) 98 21st Century 2001 Dunskey gardens and tearoom opened to the public. This covers just the walled garden due to foot and moth epidemic. The gardens later extend to encompass woodland walks and the two lochs. 2001 – 2016 Continued restoration and study of the gardens and grounds, including the identification and mapping of historic plants. 2003 Dunskey maze, the first hedge maze in south west Scotland, is planted. 2006 Death of Sir Edward Thomas Hunter Blair. His cousin, Sir Patrick David Hunter Blair becomes 9 th Baronet. 2016 Major Edward Stuart Orr Ewing steps back from the day to day running of Dunskey Estate to be succeeded by his son, Alastair Lindsay Orr Ewing. 2017 - present Dunskey gardens close. Dunskey becomes an exclusive private events venue. 99 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 5 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_75 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Description An account of the resource Parton to Portpatrick GGLP heritage https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/10/534/GGLP-CYDI-BuildingBiographies_Vol4_Kirkpatrick_Irongray_to_Minnigaff.pdf 2abba8a2fe4a0c753cf2c525798a101b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 4 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Description An account of the resource The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway, with the research taking place from February to June 2023. Each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. The project included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up the study area expanded to include a mix of country houses from across Galloway, and even a few from Dumfriesshire. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses, both good and bad, has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Building Biographies: A 2023 volunteer research project into the country houses of Galloway VOLUME 4: KIRKPATRICK IRONGRAY TO MINNIGAFF With contributions from: Anne-Marie Cade, Samantha Oakley and Joan Sutherland Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2 Kirkpatrick Irongray Parish The Grove, Kirkpatrick Irongray ............................................................................................. 4 Lochrutton Parish Lochanhead House, Lochrutton ........................................................................................... 84 Minnigaff Parish Cumloden, Minnigaff ........................................................................................................... 95 Other Volumes in the Series .............................................................................................. 103 1 Introduction The Building Biographies project recruited volunteers to undertake research into some of the large country houses within Galloway1 . These imposing buildings have borne witness to centuries of history, standing through changing eras and shifting social and economic climates. Their walls have enclosed the lives of many, their grounds the lives of many more and they have fulfilled a variety of needs from homes, hospitals and schools, to war rooms and tourist attractions. The decision to focus on country houses stemmed from their longevity and assorted histories: their status and sheer size making them notable features in the landscape which inspire the imagination and curiosity of locals and visitors alike. These are buildings which appear frequently in our landscape but their histories often remain unknown to the public. Many have been demolished or stand as ruins: a resource that disappears a little more with each passing decade. For the project, each volunteer was given their own specific house to research, piecing together timelines from their initial construction through to how they stand today. Initially, the selection of houses to research was driven by location, with the catchment area of the Galloway Glens being the focus. Second to this, the aim was to avoid any that had already been subject to a significant amount of research. The resulting selection included houses that were still in use, ruinous or even demolished, featuring a variety of functions dating back to the 19th century or earlier. As more volunteers signed up, however, the study area expanded to include all of Galloway (and even a few from Dumfriesshire) and the biggest influence came from the preferences of the volunteers themselves; many had specific areas or even houses that had already piqued their interest and so the list grew to encompass a sporadic mix of country houses from across the region. Each researcher was given a Guidance Note outlining the main resources available online. People could visit their local library or archive centre but the choice of online resources kept the project open to anyone who might face constraints in attending such places in person. By the end of the project, 32 volunteers submitted their findings as summary reports, which covered 42 country houses across Galloway. The volunteers included people from Dumfries and Galloway, Ayrshire, Glasgow and America. Their results revealed stories of the people who designed, lived and worked within these houses, stories which reflect both local history and connections to far-flung places during times of peace and war. The volunteers’ research has revealed the importance of recording these histories, and the origins of many bring to light a legacy that is not always acknowledged. After the abolition of slavery within the British Empire, the Slave Compensation Act of 1837 authorised a commission to manage the distribution of £20 million to compensate slave owners in the British colonies for the freeing of slaves. 2 Not all, but many of these country houses were initially funded with profits from slavery, with several connections to plantations in Jamaica. It is important to record all aspects of our history and these houses seem able to reveal both the good and bad from our collective past. The passion and commitment shown by the volunteers in uncovering the stories of these houses has been inspiring, and they have created an impressive record which will be shared for many years to come. Claire Williamson The Building Biographies project was undertaken in February to April 2023 as part of ‘Can You Dig It’, the community archaeology project of the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership. Galloway Glens was a five-year initiative funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and ‘Can You Dig It’ was match funded by Historic Environment Scotland and delivered by Rathmell Archaeology. 2 The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery contains a database of their records https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/project/details/ 1 2 The Grove Lochanhead House Cumloden Locations of houses researched during the Building Biographies Project – red marks the houses reported in this volume 3 The Grove, Kirkpatrick Irongray by Joan S. Sutherland THE GROVE HOUSE, CREDIT DR IAN MACLEAN Acknowledgements This report was prepared as part of the Buildings Biographies project set up by Can You Dig It and the Galloway Glens Project. I would like to thank the Can You Dig It team for their suggestions of websites to visit and for access to the British Newspaper Archives. I would like to thank the staff at Dumfries & Galloway Heritage Service for supplying archival material relating to the Maxwell and Hyslop Maxwell families for me to examine in the Ewart Library, Dumfries. I would also like to thank the members of the Old Dumfries Facebook group for generously sharing their memories of training, visiting or convalescing at the Grove Hospital in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In particular, I would like to thank John Little for allowing me access to information in nursing books and rescuing the Christian Fergusson painting of the Grove; and Sheila Wilkinson, Pat Martin, Betty Cannon and Anne Waugh for taking the time to reminisce about their time training at the Grove in the 1950s and 60s. 4 Finally, I would like to thank Dr Ian MacLean for allowing me to visit the Grove Mansion House, for discussing his knowledge of the history of the house with me and allowing me access to historical documents in his possession. Notes It has often been difficult to distinguish the members of the Maxwell family from each other as there are many Johns, James’, Wellwoods, Alexanders, Georges and Maxwells (as a 1st name) in both the immediate and the wider Maxwell families. The changes of surname from Johnstone to Maxwell in 1778 and from Hyslop to Hyslop Maxwell in 1867 were further complications. I have done my best to cross-reference different, and often conflicting, family trees on several genealogical websites and to follow the majority verdict on relationships and dates, in order to assign the correct deeds to each Maxwell involved in this report. The website for the Dictionary of Scottish Architects is currently being updated and some information on John Dick Peddie and Charles Kinnear is currently unavailable on the site. The information I have used for them was accessed before it was removed from the site. Many of the papers relating to the Maxwells, the Hyslop Maxwells, Francis Irving, Barncleugh and the Grove are held by Dumfries & Galloway Heritage Service and can be accessed through the Ewart Library in Dumfries on request. There is some fascinating letters, manuscripts, and family photographs in there. Sadly, the reportedly large and extensive website set up by a descendant of the Hyslop Maxwells which included information and photos of the family has been deactivated. Luckily, some of the information is still available as excerpts on other websites. 5 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 4 Notes ................................................................................................................. 5 Summary ........................................................................................................... 9 Description of the Grove (Category B listed) ...................................................... 9 The Gate Piers.................................................................................................. 10 Timeline of the Grove Mansion House ............................................................. 11 Pre-1781 ............................................................................................................................................ 11 1781 .................................................................................................................................................. 11 1790 .................................................................................................................................................. 12 1819 .................................................................................................................................................. 12 1825 .................................................................................................................................................. 12 1833 .................................................................................................................................................. 12 1834 .................................................................................................................................................. 12 1845 .................................................................................................................................................. 13 1846 .................................................................................................................................................. 13 1851 .................................................................................................................................................. 14 1860 .................................................................................................................................................. 14 1861 .................................................................................................................................................. 15 1867 .................................................................................................................................................. 15 1869 .................................................................................................................................................. 15 1871 .................................................................................................................................................. 16 1886 .................................................................................................................................................. 16 1888 .................................................................................................................................................. 16 1899 .................................................................................................................................................. 16 1904 .................................................................................................................................................. 17 1906 .................................................................................................................................................. 17 1909 .................................................................................................................................................. 17 1912 .................................................................................................................................................. 18 1913 .................................................................................................................................................. 18 1914-1918 ......................................................................................................................................... 21 1920 .................................................................................................................................................. 22 1937 .................................................................................................................................................. 24 1938 .................................................................................................................................................. 25 6 1948 .................................................................................................................................................. 27 1950s, 60s & early 70s ...................................................................................................................... 33 Nursing Memories ........................................................................................... 34 Helen Little’s memories .................................................................................................................... 34 Pat Martin’s memories ..................................................................................................................... 34 Betty Cannon’s memories ................................................................................................................. 35 Anne Waugh’s memories .................................................................................................................. 35 Sheila Wilkinson’s memories ............................................................................................................ 36 1975 onwards ................................................................................................................................... 37 The formation of the Grove ............................................................................. 38 Path of inheritance of Barncleugh & The Grove Estates ................................... 40 Maxwell family of Barncleugh & the Grove ...................................................... 41 The Maxwells of Barncleugh ............................................................................ 42 John Maxwell of Barncleugh I (1611-1665) ...................................................................................... 42 John Maxwell of Barncleugh II (1638-1721) ..................................................................................... 42 James Maxwell of Barncleugh I (1673-1748) .................................................................................... 44 James Maxwell of Barncleugh II (1708-1776) ................................................................................... 44 Wellwood Johnstone (Maxwell) of Barncleugh (1747-1833) ........................................................... 45 Catherine Maxwell (1754-1832) ................................................................................................... 49 John Herries Johnstone Maxwell (1783-1843) ............................................................................. 49 Clementina Maxwell (1782-1858)................................................................................................. 49 The Maxwells of The Grove.............................................................................. 50 Wellwood Maxwell of The Grove (1785-1867) ................................................................................. 50 Alexander Maxwell of Glengaber (1787-1867) ............................................................................. 55 George Maxwell of Glenlee (1796-1858) ...................................................................................... 56 Maxwell Hyslop (Maxwell) of the Grove I (1818-1904) .................................................................... 56 Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell (1862-1937).............................................................................................. 58 After the Maxwells........................................................................................... 62 The firm of W. A. & G. Maxwell........................................................................ 63 Francis Irving (1576-1633) ............................................................................... 65 The Grave of Francis Irving & the Maxwells of Barncleugh & the Grove .......... 66 Architects of the Grove .................................................................................... 71 Thomas Rickman 1776-1841 ............................................................................................................. 71 7 John Dick Peddie (1824-1891) .......................................................................................................... 72 Charles George Hood Kinnear (1830-1894) ...................................................................................... 73 Walter Fitzgerald Knox Lyon (1844-1894) ........................................................................................ 74 Matthew Purdon Smith (1893/4-1955) ............................................................................................ 74 Lawrence Wren (1907-1990) ............................................................................................................ 74 Maps of Terregles, Riddings, Barncleugh & The Grove..................................... 75 References ....................................................................................................... 79 8 Summary The Grove is a large mansion house situated in the Parish of Kirkpatrick-Irongray, approximately 5 km to the NE of Dumfries. It was originally located in the county of Kirkcudbrightshire and is now in Dumfries & Galloway. The land and surrounding farms were owned by the Maxwells of Barncleugh from 1638. The original Grove house was built on the site sometime in the 18th century and was extensively remodelled by Thomas Rickman between 1825 and 1834 when the earlier house became the NW wing. It underwent a second alteration designed by Peddie & Kinnear in 1869 to enlarge and extend the house and alter the NW wing into a service wing. The owners in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries were firstly the Maxwells of Barncleugh, then Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove, and finally the Hyslop Maxwells of the Grove & Glengaber. In 1920 it was used by the Ministry of Pensions as a military hospital and alterations to the interior of the house and to the outbuildings were undertaken to facilitate the accommodation of 83 beds for wounded soldiers in a number of small wards. In 1938 it was bought from the Hyslop Maxwell family by Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary and converted for use as an Auxillary Hospital and Convalescent Home by Purdon Smith and Wren. It and nearby Gribton hospital became a centre for training nurses. The hospital closed in 1975, and the house and grounds were sold to developers, who built some new houses in the grounds and converted some of the outbuildings into houses. The gate piers are a set of 4 imposing granite pillars on either side of the driveway leading from the road which runs from Dumfries, through Terregles to Shawhead. The Grove Mansion House is still intact and is privately owned. It and the newer houses in the grounds all have the postal address of The Grove. The house and gate piers were given Category B listing on 26th June 1986. Description of the Grove (Category B listed) The following description of the Grove is given on the Historic Environment Scotland webpage: Parish Kirkpatrick Irongray NGR NX 91817 78004 Coordinates 291817, 578004 Category B Date Added 26/06/1986 Local Authority Dumfries and Galloway Planning Authority Dumfries and Galloway ‘Thomas Rickman of Birmingham, architect, 1825 incorporating 18th century house: additions by Peddie and Kinnear 1869 (dated on rainwater heads). 2-storey mansion house, Tudor Gothic, basement to north, single storey service range to northwest and inner courtyard open at west. All red ashlar. Some windows canted, mullioned, and/or transomed, particularly on additions: 1825 windows mostly in shallow- recessed panels. South elevation: 2-stage massive square entrance tower with corbelled and crenellated parapet, hood-moulded, pointed doorway with ornamented spandrels blind panel above, cusped-headed sidelights in ogival margins; 3 tall lights above in round-arched margins, also with cusped heads. 2 symmetrical bays with ground floor crosswindows flank tower; advanced gable left, former conservatory beyond has ashlar mullions and transomes, ball-finialed parapet with cusped openings; roof now flat. Other elevations asymmetrical, with advanced/recessed bays, some gabled: some windows in projecting bays: segmental-headed west-facing door below modern fire escape. Shaped skews. Stacks mostly 9 grouped octagonal flues: roofed with graded slates. Square inner and outer gatepiers polished white granite with projecting caps, quadrant walls bullfaced red ashlar with crenellated coping.’ The Gate Piers There are four gate piers at the entrance to the drive leading up to the Grove house. They are set into a low crenulated stone wall made from red sandstone. Two piers are on either side of the drive and originally would have had a single gate hung between them. Currently only the metal hinges and catch of the gate remain set in these 2 piers. The other two are set further along the wall to either side of the drive. They are all made from pale grey, fine-grained granite with a shallow pointed pyramidal capstone of the same material. Each is of a different height. This may be because the road slopes and the different heights bring the tops of the three seen from the driveway to the same level. None of them have the name of the house on them. It has not been possible to find any information relating to the building of the gate piers. RIGHT HAND INNER GATE PIER LEFT HAND INNER GATE PIER THREE GATE PIERS VIEWED FROM DRIVE TO THE GROVE LOOKING EAST TOWARDS DUMFRIES 10 Timeline of the Grove Mansion House Pre-1781 The site of the Grove House and gardens were originally part of Riddings Farm, a part of the Barncleugh (sometimes spelled Barncleuch) Estate owned by the Maxwells of Barncleugh from 1638. 1781 From at least 1781, a house was present on land of the Riddings Farm, which was in use by Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell of Barncleugh as a country residence and was being referred to as the Grove in letters and documents. Wellwood did not live there permanently as he had a town house in Dumfries, but he and his family used the Grove for several months each year. Wellwood inherited the Barncleugh estate in 1776 so this original Grove house may have been built shortly after this date, but it is possible that it had already been erected by one of his predecessors as no information about its origin was found. This view of the house taken from the north-west side shows the remains of the 18th century house in the inner courtyard. It has much smaller and simpler windows than the later additions. IMAGE FROM CANMORE 11 1790 On 29th July 1790 the rental for all the farm divisions on the Barncleugh Estate were valued at a total yearly rent of £383 6s 8d. They were all rented out to tenant farmers from between 1783 to 1790 on long leases of between 16 and 19 years, except for ‘the division of the Riddings now called Grove in the natural possession of the proprietor’ which was certified to be worth £45 yearly rent. The divisions of the farms were rented to:• • • • • • John Brown (Meikle Barncleugh) for 19 years from 1783 James Jardine (Meikle Barncleugh) for 19 years from 1786 John Carruthers (Meikle Barncleugh) for 16 years from 1788 James Cowan (Little Barncleugh) for 19 years from 1786 James Sproat (Upper Riddings) for 19 years from 1788 John Kain (4 divisions of Meikle Barncleugh & 1 division of Riddings) for 17 years from 1790 1819 In 1819 a portion of the Barncleugh Estate, including Riddings Farm and the Grove House, was sold by Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell to his second son, Wellwood Maxwell, for a price of £8000. The remainder of the Barncleugh Estate was inherited by Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell’s eldest son, John Herries Maxwell after Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell’s death in 1833. 1825 In 1825 Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove, who had become a wealthy merchant in Liverpool, engaged the architect, Thomas Rickman of Liverpool & Birmingham, to design a large extension to the original 18th century house. There is a possibility that this date may be incorrect despite being mentioned in several books and websites and that the design for the house was not completed until 1833 as this is the date given in Rickman’s personal diaries for his visits to Dumfries to see the site and meet with Wellwood Maxwell. 1833 According to Rickman’s diaries he visited Wellwood Maxwell at the Grove in September 1833 to discuss plans for the new house. They went to view a recently built house nearby to look at the stone used and then into Dumfries to view the Maxwell Monument (this must refer to the Maxwell grave in St Michael’s Churchyard) which Wellwood and his brother wanted altered (Wellwood’s father, Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell, had died on 11th June 1833 and his mother, Catherine Maxwell, on 26th November 1832). Rickman wrote that he thought that the plans he had already drawn for the new Grove house fitted well with the existing one. Rickman returned to Dumfries in November 1833 to discuss Wellwood’s alterations to the plans and to meet a local builder called McDowall at the Grove. On 7th November, Rickman and Wellwood reached a settlement on the plan, elevation, and site of the house. 1834 The building work of the extension to the Grove was probably finished around 1834. The house became a U-plan Tudor-style mansion built in red ashlar sandstone with an imposing 7-bay frontage. The earlier 18th century house became the NW wing of the new mansion. 12 1845 To the right is an excerpt from the Parish of KirkpatrickIrongray by the Rev. J. Wilson in Vol. IV of the New Statistical Accounts of Scotland, 1845. 1846 The following description of The Grove House appeared in the Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, 1846 by Samuel Lewis. ‘The Grove is a handsome mansion, recently erected, in the castellated style, with a tower rising from the south entrance’ The Kirkcudbrightshire Ordnance Survey Books of 1846-52 has the following entry for the Grove. The transcription of the entry listed as the Grove reads – ‘A neat and extensive Mansion house and offices, with a fine Garden attached - Situated on a rising Ground South of the road leading from Dumfries to Balymaclelan and about four Miles from the former place it was erected about 12 years ago on the site of the old Mansion house By the present proprietor Wellwood Maxwell Esqr’ Wellwood Maxwell retired from his Liverpool business in 1846 and lived at the Grove with his younger brother and business partner, Alexander, until their deaths in 1867. 13 1851 The Census of 1851 lists the following people in the Grove house and cottages: The Grove House • • • • • • • • • Wellwood Maxwell age 65, head of household, farmer/landed proprietor, unmarried, born Dumfries, Dumfries Margaret Black, age 22, dairy maid, unmarried, born Troqueer, Kirkcudbrightshire Jessie Brow, age 40, cook, unmarried, born Aylth, Perth Janet Laurie, age 27, housemaid, unmarried, born Rirrick, Kirkcudbrightshire Janet Kerr, age 18, undercook, unmarried, born Irongray, Kirkcudbrightshire Hugh Carruthers, age 37, butler, unmarried, born Holywood, Dumfries Robert Knox, age 31, coachman, widower, born Urr, Kirkcudbrightshire William Moffat, age 19, gardener, unmarried, born Hutton, Dumfries William Halliday, age 23, ploughman, unmarried, born Ruthwell, Dumfries The Grove Garden • • Matthew Lithgow, age 37, head of household, gardener, married, born Half Morton, Dumfries Mary Anne Lithgow, age 44, wife, born England The Grove Cottage 1 • • Helen Swanie, age 30, head of household, agricultural labourer, unmarried, born Lochrutton, Kirkcudbrightshire Elisabeth McCallum, age 15, agricultural labourer, born Lochrutton, Kirkcudbrightshire The Grove Cottages • • • • • Archibald Mundell, age 41, head of household, joiner, married, born Ruthwell, Dumfries Margaret Mundell, age 36, wife, born St Mungo, Dumfries Georgina Mundell, age 5, daughter, Ruthwell, Dumfries Elisabeth Mundell, age 6 months, daughter, Irongray, Kirkcudbrightshire Agnes McDougald, age 16, dressmaker, visitor, born Ruthwell, Dumfries 1860 Another description appears in Nelsons’ Handbook of Scotland: for tourists (1860) by Rev. John Marius Wilson. Under the entry for Kirkpatrick-Irongray it describes the Grove as ‘the elegant recent mansion of Grove built by Wellwood Maxwell, Esq., after a design by Rickman’ 14 1861 The 1861 census lists the following people living at The Grove• • • • • Wellwood Maxwell, Head of Household, born 1785 Alexander Maxwell, brother, born 1787 Robert Knox, coachman, born 1820 Thomas Waugh, ploughman, born 1841 • • • • Margaret Gibson, housekeeper, born 1815 Jane Fergusson, cook, born 1837 Janet Lewis, housemaid, born 1824 Mary Ritchie, dairymaid, born 1832 James Todd, undergardener, born 1844 1867 Alexander Maxwell died in March 1867 and Wellwood in June 1867. Following their deaths, the Grove was inherited by their nephew, Maxwell Hyslop, son of their sister, Mary Maxwell, and their 1st cousin, Maxwell Hyslop. In addition to the Grove, Maxwell Hyslop also inherited his Uncle Alexander’s estate of Glengaber. A condition of the inheritances was that he should take the surname Maxwell, so he became Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove & Glengaber. Maxwell also inherited very large fortunes from his uncles which they had acquired through their business in Liverpool. 1869 In 1869 Maxwell employed the successful Edinburgh firm of architects, Peddie & Kinnear to extensively remodel the Grove. This included infilling the courtyard, adding a conservatory, and altering the original 18th wing to form a new service range. Below is an extract from John Gifford’s ‘The Buildings of Scotland: Dumfries & Galloway’ 1996 15 1871 The Census of 1871 lists the following people at the Grove • • • • • Fanny Preacher, age 45, housekeeper Jane Boyes, age 30, dressmaker Margaret Murdoch, age 26, dairymaid Mary McCay, age 24, laundress Agness Todd, age 18, domestic housemaid 1886 William Hyslop Maxwell, 4th son of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell died at the Grove from tuberculosis. 1888 In 1888, Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell bought 19 acres of Cogershaw Wood, situated to the north of the Grove, from Richard Alexander Oswald the owner of adjacent Ingleston Farm which was for sale due to debt. He built a gasometer to produce and supply the house with coal gas. GALLOWAY NEWS & KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE ADVERTISER 17TH DEC 1886 THE GASOMETER IN COGERSHAW WOOD SHOWN ON THE OS 25IN SERIES 1893 1899 The following photos are of the dining room and living room in 1899 when Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell and his wife Phoebe Lyon were in residence. PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY IAN MACLEAN 16 1904 Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell died at the Grove, aged 86, and his eldest son, Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior inherited the Grove. 1906 To the right is an old post card of the Grove dated 1906. FROM OLD DUMFRIES FACEBOOK GROUP (POSTED BY JOHN KERR) 1909 The Dumfries & Galloway Standard records the death of John Menzies, aged 70, head forester at the Grove, several weeks after receiving severe burns which he suffered after falling into a bonfire. He had worked at the Grove for 41 years and before that had worked as a forester for Alexander Maxwell at Glengaber. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 6TH OCT 1909 17 1912 Between 1908 and 1913 the Secretary of RCAHMS, Alexander Curle, undertook an inspection of the ancient monuments of Scotland and kept a series of diaries noting his finding and descriptions. These are known as the Curle Diaries and are held by Historic Environment Scotland. During a tour of Kirkcudbrightshire and Dumfriesshire in 1912, he noted that while surveying sites in Irongray on 22nd May 1912, he went to the Grove to visit the Churches who invited him to stay for the weekend of the 25th to 27th May. ‘Finding myself at 'the Grove' I called on the Churches who have invited me & J to go there from Sat. to Monday’ 1913 In 1913 the magazine, The Scottish Gardener, published an article on the garden at the Grove. At this time the Church family were in residence, although the estate was owned by Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior. The gardener in 1913 was William Pritchard. The walled garden and greenhouses mentioned in the article were further up the hill from the Grove at the edge of Cogershaw Wood and to the east of the gasometer. PLAN OF THE GROVE SHOWING THE WALLED GARDEN (OS KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE XXI.15 1893) 18 PHOTOCOPY OF ORIGINAL ARTICLE SUPPLIED BY IAN MACLEAN 19 20 1914-1918 In December 1914, the Dumfries & Galloway Standard reports that Mrs Church of The Grove helped to organise a Cake, Candy and Jumble Sale at Shawhead with the proceeds going to the local Red Cross Work Party. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 26TH DEC 1914 In 1915, the Dumfries & Galloway Standard, reported that Mr & Mrs P. W. Church were involved in organising an American Tea at the Grove to raise funds for the parish Red Cross Work Party. Convalescing soldiers for Dumfries and Maxwelltown Hospitals helped to sell flowers during the tea. In 1915 Percy William Church is listed as the Tenant/Occupier of The Grove, Mansion House, Offices, Gardens and Stables in the Valuation Rolls on the ScotlandsPeople website. He is not listed as such in 1905 or 1920. The same site lists Percy William Church marrying Sybil Julia Cunningham in Jedburgh in 1902. The Churches seem to have lived at The Grove between at least 1911 and 1915, so it appears that Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior rented out the house during this period. The death of Percy William Church is reported in Guernsey on 29th Dec 1921 and that of Sybil Julia Church (widow) in London on 5th October 1925. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 11TH AUG 1915 21 The Grove is mentioned on the website of Historic Hospitals as being used during the 1st World War as a convalescent home with 83 beds. It also mentions that during this time the interior was damaged. However, there is no mention of it being officially used as an auxiliary hospital during WWI on other websites such as the British Red Cross or The Long, Long Trail. The 3 auxiliary hospitals in and around Dumfries during WWI were Broomlands, Maxwelltown and Dunbar Terrace in Dumfries. Newspaper reports from the Dumfries & Galloway Standard in 1915 and 1917 mention that the Auxiliary Hospitals were short of beds and that various houses were being used to house wounded soldiers who had no homes of their own to go to, so it may be that the Grove was used in this capacity late in the war. . DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 10TH MAR 1915 DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 14TH NOV 1917 1920 The sheer volume of soldiers injured during WWI led to the establishment of the Ministry of Pensions in 1917, which dealt with all aspects of wounded soldiers and their families, including setting up many new hospitals for those injured and requiring longer term care. The Ministry took over the Grove in 1920 and converted it into an auxiliary hospital. Plans of the house in September 1920 show how the rooms would be set out as wards and notes attached list the number of staff to be employed. All photographs taken with the kind permission of Ian MacLean. PLAN OF THE 1ST FLOOR & ATTIC 22 PLAN OF THE GROUND FLOOR The alterations involved blocking some of the windows to facilitate the bed spaces in some rooms and the removal of much of the ornate interior décor. There were 5 wards on the ground floor and 14 wards on the 1st floor. The outbuildings were also converted into additional wards or staff accommodation. As can be seen, the staff were to include 1 doctor, 1 matron. 4 sisters, 6 male orderlies, 1 cook, 2 kitchen maids and 2 house maids. In 1921, the Ministry of Pensions was maintaining 14000 beds in 67 hospitals. Some of these were owned by the Crown while others were STAFFING FOR THE HOSPITAL leased or lent by institutions such as the Red Cross or by individuals. It seems likely that the Grove fell into the latter category. By 1936, the number of beds maintained in hospitals had fallen to 1850 across 10 hospitals. It has not been possible to ascertain when the Ministry of Pensions stopped using the Grove as military hospital. 23 1937 Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior died in Liverpool in October 1937, aged 75, after a 2-week illness. By December 1937, arrangements were being made to purchase the Grove from the Hyslop Maxwell family in order to turn it into an auxiliary hospital for the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary. It was intended to reduce waiting times and overcrowding at the Infirmary while a proposed extension to the Nithbank Infirmary was delayed. The Hyslop Maxwell family had to petition the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh in order to be able to sell the house as it was entailed to the heirs of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell (his brother Alexander, Alexander’s sons and brother Wellwood). In the petition the reason given for the sale, was that the house had not been used since the Ministry of Pensions occupied it and the family wished to be relieved of the heavy liability of the upkeep of the large building they did not use and the cost of improving the interior to modern standards. During the period of the end of its use as a military hospital and the death of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell in 1937, the house had ARTICLE DATED DECEMBER 1937 (COPIED FROM THE OLD DUMFRIES FACEBOOK PAGE not been used by Maxwell POSTED BY JOHN KERR) Hyslop Maxwell or the other family members and despite a number of attempts, they had been unable to rent it out. 24 1938 The Grove was bought by the Governors of the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary in early 1938. They paid a total of £18000 to acquire and convert it into a convalescent home. COPIED FROM THE OLD DUMFRIES FACEBOOK PAGE POSTED BY RONNIE WAUGH The conversion was designed by the Dumfries architects Matthew Purdon Smith & his chief assistant, Lawrence Wren. The British Medical Journal carried an item about the opening of the auxiliary hospital on the 3rd November 1938. THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL 12TH NOV 1938 25 A report appeared in the Dumfries & Galloway Courier & Herald in November 1938 about the opening of the Grove Convalescent Home. COPY OF ORIGINAL NEWSPAPER ARTICLE SUPPLIED BY PAT MARTIN 26 A watercolour painting of the Grove was completed by the well-known Dumfries artist, Christian J. Fergusson (1876-1957), one of the Glasgow Girls, famous for her views of Scotland painted in the 1920 & 30s. She was born in Dumfries where she attended Dumfries Academy. She trained at the Crystal Palace Art School and the Glasgow School of Art. Fergusson was a co-founder of the Dumfries & Galloway Fine Art Society and lived with her husband in an art & craft style house which they designed in Maxwelltown, Dumfries. This painting and another which she completed of the Nithbank Infirmary are currently held at the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary. PHOTOS OF THE FERGUSON PAINTING SUPPLIED BY JOHN LITTLE 1948 The following photographs are from a 1948 commemorative booklet celebrating the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary since its opening in 1776. All photos were supplied by John Little. 27 THE PAVILLION WARD 28 THE POND WALK & WATERFALL IN THE GROUNDS 29 The Grove and Gribton Hospitals became a training school for nurses. PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY JOHN LITTLE The following is an excerpt from a transcript of an oral interview conducted in 2014 with Ena Forteith as part of the University of Edinburgh’s digital preservation project. Ena was born in Annan in December 1935 and began her pre-nursing training at the Grove in April 1953, aged 17 ½. The training was extremely strict, and the nurses were expected to follow the rules at all times. MS: So you started at the Grove, did you have to be interviewed? EF: Was interviewed before that, and they asked why I wanted to be a nurse and I told them I just wanted to help people and make them better and that was it and then I started. MS: Was there any other people started at that time? EF: One, there was another girl, but I think she’d had previous experience because she had been an auxiliary in one of the other hospitals. I had no experience at all, and I remember the first day I was going round with one of the senior nurses and I went into this male ward and this man shouted he needed a bottle, I said ‘a bottle?’ an I said yes I need a bottle and the nurse was saying ‘don’t mind him, because he gets up’, an I thought what’s getting up got to do with a bottle? I didn’t think that it was that cold that he needed a bottle, I thought it was talking about a hot water bottle! So I came out of there wi’ a face like a beetroot. MS: So in fact he was referring to...? EF: A urinal! And that’s, well I didny know that they even used a urinal in bed I’d no idea, I couldn’t...I was just so naive about nursing in general when people were in bed. MS: And did you have to stay in, there? EF: Yes, yes we stayed in. MS: Right, and your new uniform? EF: We got our uniform and the dresses were twelve ... it had to be Oxford lacing shoes, then black stockings, and the uniform was twelve inches from the ground and that’s where it was measured, an we had all these collars and cuffs to put on wi’ a back stud an a front stud and buttons where rings in the back for paper cuffs on in their sleeves. Antiquated! MS: How did you manage to put it together the first time you ever had to put it on? 30 EF: Well, there was always somebody else there an they said ‘we’ll have to do this to our uniform’ and then the hats! Well that was an ordeal to make a hat because it was just like a big triangle and then you had to pleat it and catch it at the back and then it’s like a butterfly with the tail at the back. It really was an ordeal to get it all done but you just got used to it. MS: So did you have any training there or you just...? EF: No, you were just, you were with a senior nurse all the time and when a senior nurse came into the room you had to stand until they told you to sit down, and that was in the sittin’ room, you always stood for a second year or a third year nurse. MS: Oh did you? EF: Uh huh, we stood up for them and then we sat down when they told us to sit down. MS: And what did you call one another? EF: By our last name, we never called each other by our first name. MS: Even when you were off duty? EF: Even when you were off duty you’d called them their last name that much you automatically called them by their last name. Even when you went out with them, you automatically opened your mouth and called them their last name, an ye’d an awful job of trying to change round and call them by their first name. That’s the way it was. MS: Amazing. So what hours did you work there? EF: We worked from half-past seven, was it half-past seven till three? Or you started at one o’clock to half past nine, and sometimes you had a break from ten o’clock till one if you were on to nine o’clock at night and then... or a break in the afternoon from two till five. Those were the hours that you did. MS: And days off? EF: We had one day off a week. MS: And during your day off you went home, did you? EF: Yes, but ye had to ask permission to go , you had to let them know that you weren’t staying in, you’d to go, and if you wanted to go out at night, you know, to a dance or something, you had got to be...you got a late pass to eleven o’clock, but you’d got to report in at eleven o’clock. It was very strict. MS: What was the layout? This was at the Grove Hospital, so what, can you remember the layout and the type of patients? EF: Well downstairs, it was a big house that used to be a big house and each of the rooms were into small wards. Downstairs it was all convalescent patients that came there, and then upstairs they were orthopaedic patients and there was a theatre upstairs and they did the operations, orthopaedic operations and they had an annexe up across from the, well outside up a few steps where the TB patients were, when they were on spicas, you know hip spicas and all the rest of it when they were nursed up there, because they had TB in their bones and things, and they were kept up there. MS: So was it a separate staff that looked...? EF: No no, you just used to go up there and look after them as well. 31 MS: So how long were you at the Grove? EF: Nine months, until I was age to take my training, so that’s what we did. MS: What about the theatre upstairs you said, were you ever in...? EF: No I didn’t go in there because the surgeon used to come from Dumfries Infirmary and they operated there and they brought mainly their own staff and they did their operatin’ there. MS: And did the patient remain at the Grove? EF: Uh huh, the orthopaedic ones yes. MS: So what kinda operations did they do? EF: Bone, it was legs and arms you know, not huge operations but they did them there, aye, there was a theatre, like we had to wash all the walls and that, no, but we didn’t go in at the actual operations, and they used to plaster...it was an orderly that’d do all the plastering. So, it’s all changed. And then there was places up the stairs where staff slept and then in the basement, that’s where the nurses slept as well. MS: Did they? EF: I remember one night I wis hauled out my bed because the night sister that’d come round and she said to me there was crumbs on the lid of the...there was a bin in the kitchen an that’s where the slops went in, and of course I’d left some crumbs on the lid, an I said ‘Och! It’s only the pig bin!’, well she hauled me out of bed an I’d to go upstairs and clean that bin. That was half-past eleven at night, because I had said ‘Och, it was only the pigs bin’, I got reprimanded for that! So after that I made sure there was no crumbs in the lid o’ the pig bin I can tell you. That’s terrible. MS: Gosh, amazing. Patients would be there for their convalescent, patients came from...? EF: The hospital, the Infirmary. MS: An I guess they were able to get outside? EF: Yes, oh aye, they’d got there nice grounds, lovely grounds and they were always out, aye, it was very good, they enjoyed it. MS: I bet they did. And what about the food that you got? EF: Oh food was good. MS: Was it? EF: Yes, and we all had...there was a wee dining room and she was an assistant matron that always looked after the Grove, and when she, if you were at first dinner ye’d half an hour, and she came in and she sat down an then we stood up for she sat down, then we all sat down. She got her meals first and then everybody else got their meal and as soon as she finished, put her knife and fork down that was it, you couldny eat any more because we’d to stop then because she was finished. MS: Irrespective of whether you... EF: Irrespective whether I was finished or not. And we always stood behind the chair and said grace before our meal and then after the meal we got up when she got up and we stood behind the chair again and thanked, and did a thank you grace after the meal. 32 MS: Did you? EF: That’s the way we were taught yes. MS: And that was for your, all your meals? EF: Uh-huh, yes, if she was at the table we always did that. MS: And if she wasn’t? EF: If she wasn’t it was grand you could eat [everything] on your plate! And we used to get you know two ounce o’ butter, that lasted you for a week, and that was on a wee plate, everybody had their own butter, and four ounce o’ sugar in your jam jar, that was your ration for the week. MS: Oh right, of course it was rationing at that time. EF: Yes it was rationing and that’s what we had, and we kept it and sometimes somebody would pinch your butter, and the same wi’ the sugar. I used to take sugar in my tea, but then no I preferred it in my cornflakes so I had to take it out my...I had to do without, I used to say I’ve taken it out my tea so I can [?] on my porridge or my flakes. But the food was great, that’s when I stopped having sugar in ma tea. Anyway you only had this four ounce, four ounce was nothing, for a whole week. MS: Amazing. Did you have your names on each of the items? EF: Yes, our names were on the jars but that didn’t stop people helpin’ themselves mind you! It was an open cupboard you know you just put them in the cupboard and shut the door. That’s true. MS: And who topped them up? EF: The kitchen. The kitchen laid it all out. So there you go. MS: Ok, so you started your training, and where did that take place then? EF: We started the training and then we went to Gribton where the PTS was, and that’s where we were for twelve weeks. 1950s, 60s & early 70s The following information about the Grove was kindly supplied by the following members of the Facebook group, Old Dumfries, Andrew Keeton, James Porteous, Ian Walker, Ronald Marchbank, Helen MacKinnon, Alex Gill, Betty Sheard, Janice Carter Maxwell, Innes McMinn, Janet Martin, Fred Jenns & Kathleen Goldie. Patients who needed continued care after an operation were sent from the Dumfries Royal Infirmary at Nithbank to the Grove to receive longer term care. Their stays ranged from several days to up to a year. Patients were sent to the Grove to convalesce after many different operations and injuries, such as bunion removal, big toe removal, appendix removal, knee injury and femur fracture. In the 1960s the orthopaedic ward was downstairs, and the post-operation and general wards and nurses’ accommodation were upstairs. Matrons included Miss Hutt and Miss McFee in the late 1960s, while in the 1970s the matron was Jenny Edwards who was also matron of DGRI and Gribton Hospital. The Matron’s flat was in the Bothy. Night nurses were taken out by bus in the evenings from the Dumfries Royal Infirmary at Nithbank. 33 Visitors to The Grove were taken out from Dumfries by Anderson’s coaches. The buses had wooden seats and there is a rumour that one of the buses was driven off the road and is buried somewhere in the grounds. Fred Jenns remembers having wonderful ice cream made in the kitchen when he went out there with his dad in his bakery van, while James Porteous remembers the real elephant’s foot umbrella stand that stood in the entrance hall and Kathleen Goldie remembers seeing a flowerbed shaped like a German helmet from the ward window. Nursing Memories I was able to obtain personal memories from nurses who trained at the Grove in the 1950s and 60s by chatting to Sheila Wilkinson and Pat Martin, talking to John Little, the son of Helen Little, and by receiving written accounts from Betty Cannon and Anne Waugh. Helen Little’s memories Helen did her nurse’s training at the Grove in the early 1950s. This photo was taken at Christmas 1952. At Christmas a nativity scene would be set up in the hall under the stairway by the Matron, Mrs Docherty, and Bob Bell, the gardener. It consisted of two shop mannequins as Joseph and Mary, a baby doll in a cot and toy sheep. The effect was apparently very realistic and quite scary for small children visiting relatives at the Grove. Helen’s son, John, remembers finding it particularly creepy when he was a young boy and visited the Grove in the 1960s. Joseph and Mary were kept in storage for the rest of the year, but occasionally were to be found suspended from the ceiling in dark, creepy corners to the terror of nurses heading for the basement bathroom. Pat Martin’s memories Pat also did her nurses training at the Grove in the early 1950s. Pat is in the photo above, 3 rd on the left in the back row, next to Joseph. She was 19 when this was taken. At that time the student nurses had to live on site and their bedrooms were in the basement. They would spend 2-3 months at the Grove and then be rotated to other hospitals to continue their training. Training lasted for 3 years and in their 1st year they were little more than skivvies, doing all the chores such as emptying the sluices. The orthopaedic wards and theatre were upstairs, and convalescent wards were downstairs. There was an official bus which took nurses out to the Grove for shifts, but on their afternoons off there was no transport, so the nurses often borrowed the Matron’s bicycle to cycle into Dumfries. As they only had 3 hours off, this didn’t leave a lot of time to spend in town. 34 Betty Cannon’s memories Betty first went to the Grove for a few weeks in 1952, while waiting to start pretraining at Gribton Hospital. She was back at the Grove in 1954/55 doing night duty. A bus would leave the Infirmary at Nithbank and go to Gribton to pick up the night nurses for the Grove. The Sister was Jean Hornby from Eastriggs who was very scary. Once she got on the bus at Gribton, and when she saw Betty, who was also from Eastriggs, she said ‘Hello Betty, how are you getting on?’, to the hushed silence and shocked faces of everyone else on the bus. At teatime they would go to the dining room where they were allowed one biscuit with their tea. Hazel Johnstone once took 2 biscuits and was given a severe dressing down by the Senior Sister, Daisy Jardine. The orthopaedic ward was upstairs and was looked after by Sister Duff who was lovely and there was a very pleasant atmosphere to work in. The convalescent wards were downstairs and were for patients recovering from things like ruptured appendices. Betty met her future husband when he was a patient at the Grove recovering from cartilage surgery and she was nursing him. One day she found a cigarette butt covered in lipstick in his ashtray so asked him about his girlfriend, but it was his sister that had been visiting. Once he was able to get out of bed, he and Betty had a game of table tennis in the games room. The Sister told Betty not to bother with him as he had already bought his £10 Pommie Ticket to go to Australia. However, after meeting Betty he didn’t go. There were lots of ghost stories about the Grove and one night Betty and a fellow student nurse decided to scare the men in the ward. Betty had the other nurse on her shoulders, and they draped themselves in a white sheet and walked into the ward. Betty’s husband-to-be picked up a soda syphon from his bedside and squirted the ‘ghost’ with it. Once when it snowed, Betty pinched a tray from the kitchen and went sledging down the hill on it. Unfortunately, she hit a tree at the bottom and hurt her back quite badly. However, she didn’t dare tell anyone as she would have been in trouble. Anne Waugh’s memories Anne did her training at the Grove in the mid-1960s and lived at the top of the house. The food on site was excellent, particularly the scones. She went home on her days off and transport between the Grove, Gribton and Nithbank was provided by the Health Board. The Matron lived in a cottage near the main gate. Sister Myra Heuchan was in charge of the ground floor Orthopaedic wards and Sister McKie was upstairs in the Medical & Recuperation Unit. Some patients were in Thomas splints and there were elderly patients there too. There were a lot of young men who had been involved in car or motorbike accidents. They liked to tease the nurses relentlessly, but the nurses always got their own back. Anne and her fellow nurses stuck cotton wool balls to the car of senior male nurse Gibson who was getting married the next day and they got into trouble for it. Sister Helen Little was the practical work tutor and would come out to put them through their paces. There was a 10pm curfew but after being invited to a barn dance at Newtonairds one evening, Anne and her friend, Ann Grey, who was also training at the Grove, sneaked out leaving a small window at the top of the fire escape unlocked. They made it back in undetected after being dropped off at the bottom of the drive to avoid waking the Matron and were up in time for their morning shift. Anne loved her time at the Grove. 35 Sheila Wilkinson’s memories Sheila Wilkinson started her nursing training at the Grove in 1963, aged 17½. Trainee nurses were required to live in, and Sheila had a room at the top of the South Tower. Part-time staff were collected by bus from various locations in Dumfries, including Nithbank and from outside Binns department store. There were a number of wards on the ground and 1st floor of the Grove House, as well as the Pavillion Ward. The orthopaedic wards were on the ground floor, and these were for patients requiring traction or with fractures, and there were separate wards for men and women. The orthopaedic surgeons were Mr Sleggs and Mr Chisholm and there was a full-time plaster technician, John Kerr, on site. Often patients were in pelvic traction with ropes and weights. The splints were constructed on site by the THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN OF SHEILA AT THE GROVE IN 1973 nurses from leather and lined with calico. The medical and surgical patients were housed in wards on the 1st floor. There were also 2 wards for elderly patients receiving palliative care. The patients GPs would look after the patients, and they would sign the death certificates of any that died at the Grove. In the 1960s the matron was Mrs Proctor, and in the 1970s, Miss Marchbank. Sister Wilson was in the Orthopaedic Dept, and Helen Little was the night sister. May Taylor, Kathy McKie and Bunty Mathison were the part-time ward sisters on the 1st floor. There was a lift in the hall to get patients and equipment to the 1st floor, but the nurses were expected to use the back stairs. On the ground floor, the dining room was located off the hall, and this led through to the staff sitting room. All the cooking was done on site in the large kitchen by Lily Bell, the housekeeper, whose husband, Bill, was the gardener and handyman. They lived on site in one of the cottages. There were bricked up tunnels in the basement, which were rumoured to lead to Shawhead, and often the bats that lived in the attics were found flying around the wards. These had to be caught using the bed sheets. In the late 1960s, there was a fire in the house and patients had to be briefly evacuated. It was started accidently by plumbers doing work in the attic but was quickly put out by the Dumfries fire brigade before too much damage was done. The Dumfries ambulance service, including John Little’s Dad, was also called out to deal with the patients. 36 1975 onwards The Grove continued to be used as a convalescent home until its closure on 27th Aug 1975. The Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary moved from its existing site at Nithbank to the new, larger Mountainhall site in 1975, precipitating the closure of the Grove. The Canmore entry for the Grove includes photographs taken in 1975 around the time it closed as a convalescent home. The Grove was sold by the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary as it was no longer required to house convalescing patients, thanks to the new Infirmary at Mountainhall. It was sold on several times over the following 15 years. It was bought at one point by Jimmy Johnstone (Andrew Keeton, Per. Comm. via Facebook group Old Dumfries). The existing cottages and stable yard were converted into houses and new houses built in the grounds in the 1980s after it was bought by Bill Jardine (Dorothy Jones, Per. Comm. via Facebook group Old Dumfries). The Grove house was bought in 1988 by Dr Ian MacLean, Chief Medical Officer of Dumfries & Galloway, who started renovating the house. The Grove House was renamed Drummond House THE GROVE IN 1975 (PHOTOS FROM CANMORE) at some point between 1975 and 1988, and this name appears on current OS maps. Dr MacLean calls it the Grove Mansion House, not Drummond House. It and the newer houses in the grounds have the postal address of The Grove. 37 The formation of the Grove The Grove House and grounds were originally part of the Barncleugh estate, which consisted of the farms of Meikle Barncleugh, Riddings and part of Nether Barncleugh. The Barncleugh estate was situated in the Kirkpatrick-Irongray Parish, Kirkcudbrightshire, and was itself originally part of the Barony of Terregles. It was sold by John Maxwell, Lord Herries, in 1635 to George Rome, who sold the esate in wadset (mortgage) to John Maxwell, younger son of Thomas Maxwell of Kirkconnell and his wife Agnes Irving, in 1638. He then became known as Maxwell of Barncleugh. John Maxwell left Barncleugh to his son, John Maxwell Junior in 1665, and he was in turn was known as Maxwell of Barncleugh. John Maxwell’s son, James Maxwell inherited Barncleugh in 1721 and became the 3rd Maxwell of Barncleugh. He was first married to Janet Carruthers and secondly to Mary Wellwood, daughter of a London physician and granddaughter of the minister for Tundergarth. James’s son, James Maxwell Junior, by his 1st marriage to Janet Carruthers, inherited Barncleugh in 1748 and was the 4th Maxwell of Barncleugh. Barncleugh was valued at £383 in 1777. James died unmarried in 1778 and Barncleugh passed to his half-sister’s (Barbara Wellwood Maxwell) only surviving son, Wellwood Johnstone, who took the additional surname Maxwell as part of the conditions of inheritance, and became 5th Maxwell of Barncleugh. Wellwood married his cousin, Catherine Maxwell, daughter of John Maxwell of Terraughty & Munches, in 1778. They lived in a town house in Irish St in Dumfries and used a house called the Grove as his country residence from 1781. The Grove at that time was a division of Riddings farm. In 1813 Wellwood’s eldest son, John Herries Maxwell, married his cousin, Clementina Maxwell, daughter of William Maxwell, who inherited the estates of Munches, Terraughty and Dinwoodie from her uncle, Alexander Herries Maxwell, in 1815. As his eldest son was now extremely wealthy through his wife’s inheritance, Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell, wanted to leave Barncleugh to his 2nd son, Wellwood, as he did not want Barncleugh incorporated into the Munches, Terraughty and Dinwoodie Estate. However, the terms of the disposition of his own inheritance of Barncleugh from his Uncle James, stated that the estate should pass without division to his eldest surviving son (or daughter). After seeking legal advice from Edinburgh advocate, Matthew Ross, in June 1818, it was found that he could sell part of the estate for a ‘fair and true price’ to a younger son. In 1819, the Riddings farm, including the Grove, and part of Meikle Barncleugh farm (around 345 acres in total) were sold to his son Wellwood for £8000. £6000 was payable following the death of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell who retained his liferent (the right to receive the benefits of an asset for the duration of the beneficiary’s lifetime) of this new estate. Wellwood Maxwell Junior eventually paid £2500 to his father in 1832 and the remaining £3500 to his brother, John Herries Maxwell, in 1834, following the death of his father in 1833. Ownership of the Grove was transferred to Wellwood Maxwell on 23rd Oct 1819, and he became Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove. In 1825, Wellwood employed Thomas Rickman, a self-taught but renowned architect in Liverpool, to design a new house at the Grove. This was a U-plan Tudor-style mansion build of red ashlar sandstone with a seven-bay frontage. The original 18th century house was incorporated into the new building as the NW wing. 38 At some point between 1821 and 1854, the original route of the road leading from the Terregles Road to Irongray was altered. It originally ran close to the east side of the Grove house, whereas the new road is further away from the house. Whether this was to provide more privacy to the house or to include additional grounds is not known, but it did later allow the Maxwells to dam the stream and build the ornamental pond in the grounds. The original route of the road can be seen as a slight linear hummock in the field to the east of the Grove and probably passed over the small bridge that exists over the waterfall in the grounds. The dates of the two maps below would suggest that the road was relocated around the time of the Rickman extension to the Grove. JOHN THOMSON KIRKCUDBRIGHTSHIRE 1821 OS COUNTY SERIES 1854-1886 39 After a lifetime of business in Liverpool, Wellwood and his brother Alexander, retired to the Grove in 1846, where they lived the lives of country gentlemen for the next 21 years. In 1867, Wellwood and Alexander died within 3 months of each other. As Wellwood died unmarried, his estate passed to his sister Mary’s eldest son, Maxwell Hyslop, who took the additional surname Maxwell as a condition of the inheritance. Maxwell Hyslop also inherited his uncle Alexander’s estate of Glengaber, and so he became Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove and Glengaber. In 1888, Maxwell added to the Grove grounds when he bought 19 acres of Cogershaw Wood, which was part of the neighbouring Ingleston farm, to build a gas production plant and gasometer to supply the Grove House. Following Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell’s death in 1904, the Grove was inherited by his eldest son, Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior, who owned it until his death in 1937, but did not use it. Path of inheritance of Barncleugh & The Grove Estates John Maxwell (1611-1665) (Bought Barncleugh in 1638) | John Maxwell (1638-1721) (Inherited Barncleugh in 1665) | James Maxwell (1673-1748) (Inherited Barncleugh in 1721) | | James Maxwell (?-1778) Barbara Wellwood Maxwell (1716-1773) (Inherited Barncleugh in 1748) | | Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell (1747-1833) (Inherited Barncleugh in 1778) | | | John Herries Maxwell Wellwood Maxwell (1785-1867) Mary Maxwell (1789-1840) (1783-1843) (Bought the Grove from his father in 1819) | Maxwell Hyslop (Maxwell) (1818-1904) (Inherited the Grove in 1867) | Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell (1862- 1937) (Inherited The Grove in 1904) 40 Maxwell family of Barncleugh & the Grove The Maxwells were a large powerful and wealthy landowning family based in the South of Scotland who claimed descent from Maccus son of Undwin the Norseman (c. 1100-1150). They included the Earls of Nithsdale and the Lordships of Maxwell and Herries. The Maxwells frequently intermarried with other branches of the Maxwell families or married into other wealthy, landowning families of the area, consolidating their wealth and importance. The Maxwells of Barncleugh were a minor (cadet) branch of the family descended from Thomas Maxwell, a merchant burgess in Dumfries (1585-1637). EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF CAERLAVEROCK 41 The Maxwells of Barncleugh John Maxwell of Barncleugh I (1611-1665) John was the son of Thomas Maxwell (1585-1637), a merchant burgess of Dumfries, and his 2nd wife, Isobel Corson. John married, Agnes Irving (1623-1688), granddaughter of Francis Irving, Provost of Dumfries, & Agnes Raining. After John’s death, Agnes married Robert Maxwell of Carnsalloch. John bought the Barncleugh estate from George Rome in 1638. He left Barncleugh to his only son, John Maxwell. John Maxwell of Barncleugh II (1638-1721) John Maxwell Junior inherited Barncleugh from his father in 1665. He married his cousin, Margaret Irving (1642-1695), daughter of John Irving of Friar’s Carse & Elisabeth Crichton, and great granddaughter of Francis Irving. They had 17 children:• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Agnes (1666-?) John I (1667-1667) Anna-Elizabeth ((1668-?) John II (1670-1671) Margaret I (1671-1673) James (1673-1748) Janet (1674-?) Marian (1676-?) Margaret II (1677?-1679) Robert (1679-at least 1710) William I (1681-1682) John III ((1682-at least 1709) Christian (1684-1758) William II (1685-at least 1709) Lucie (1688-1690) Alexander (1689-1690) Mary (1691-?) John was a writer (solicitor) and became Town Clerk in 1662 but after converting to Catholicism in 1681, he had to leave office. However, he persuaded the council to give him a life pension of £60 Scots (£5 sterling) in exchange for his resignation. In February 1687, John was elected as the Provost of Dumfries by an Act of the Privy Council of King James II & VII, being a member of the Catholic Earl of Nithsdale’s family and a supporter of King James. A second Act nominated King James’ choice for other members of the town council in an effort to promote Catholics to office. This was unusual as the town had previously been free to choose their own councillors. John left his country residence (possibly he was living somewhere on the Barncleugh estate at that time) and moved into lodgings in Dumfries in order to consolidate his power. He began to entertain lavishly ordering large quantities of wine into his lodgings, as this was then considered a valuable auxiliary to municipal governance. In April 1688, the grateful town council voted to give him a ‘cellarie of ffyve hundred merkes of Scotts money and ane tierce (cask) of Ffrench wyne’ annually, in order that he would not be burdened with any further incidental charges while living in the town. However, by 17th December 1688, a crowd of town’s people supporting William of Orange gathered at the Market Place and proceeded noisily through the town, requiring the bailies to organise an armed force to keep the peace. 42 John is said to have removed all the town’s arms and ammunition from the vaults below the NewWark to stop the Whigs from getting hold of them. They were later discovered in the vaults of Lincluden Collegiate Church. John stopped attending Council meetings and disappeared. He was apprehended fleeing across the Auld Brig (Devorgilla’s Bridge) in just his shirt and imprisoned in Dumfries before being sent to Edinburgh at the request of Lord Athole of the new Protestant Privy Council. His cloak-bag, which was part of his disguise, was ordered to be searched for papers and for any belonging to the burgh to be removed. The town was also given back the right to choose their own Provost and councillors, which they did immediately, replacing John with William Craik of Arbigland, a Presbyterian, who had been Provost previously. As John was objected to solely because of his religion, had served well as town clerk before being made Provost by James II & VII and held a highly respectable position in the Burgh and County, he appears to have been dealt with leniently. Both he and his son, James, lost money in the disastrous Darien Scheme of 1696. John paid in £200 and James £100. His compensation (628 mercks) which was part of the town’s share of the Darien Scheme’s compensation was held up by either John Herries of Butts, the town clerk, or by William Copeland of Colliston, the Provost, in 1708, to try to recover some of the £5 yearly town clerk pension which was still being paid to John. During his time as town clerk and Provost, John started the causewaying of public streets and built the Horse Miln that became a kiln and brewery. He died in 1721 and left Barncleugh to his eldest surviving son, James Maxwell. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 11TH JUNE 1860 43 James Maxwell of Barncleugh I (1673-1748) James inherited Barncleugh from his father in 1721. He was married twice. Firstly in 1704, to Janet Carruthers (?-1707), the widow of Alexander Johnstone, by whom she already had 2 sons, Gavin and Alexander, and a daughter, Janet. James and Janet Carruthers had 3 children:• • • Margaret (1704-?) John (1706-1706) James (1707-1776) Secondly, James married Mary Wellwood (1686-?) in 1716, by whom he had 11 children:• • • • • • • • • • • Barbara (1716-?) Elizabeth (1717-?) Marion (1719-?) Janet (1720-?) Wellwood (1721-?) John (1722-?) Charles (1724-?) Christian (1725-1726) William (1727-?) Jane (1728-?) Mary (1731-?) Mary Wellwood was the daughter of Dr James Wellwood (1653-?) who was the son of Rev. James Wellwood of Tundergarth. Dr James Wellwood was a supporter of the Covenanters and spent part of 1680 in exile in Holland where he became physician to William and Mary. He later moved to London where he was a physician in the court of William and Mary. In November 1746, James’ son William was arrested and held in the Tollbooth in Dumfries for his support of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. He was a lieutenant in the Ecossais Royales Regiment. GLASGOW COURANT 28TH APR 1746 EXCERPT FROM THE HISTORY OF DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY BY SIR HERBERT MAXWELL James Maxwell Senior died in 1748, leaving Barncleugh to his eldest son, James, from his first marriage to Janet Carruthers. James Maxwell of Barncleugh II (1708-1776) James Maxwell Junior inherited Barncleugh from his father in 1748. He died unmarried in 1778 and Barncleugh passed to his late half-sister, Barbara’s, only surviving son, Wellwood Johnstone. 44 Wellwood Johnstone (Maxwell) of Barncleugh (1747-1833) Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell was the 3rd and only surviving son of Barbara Wellwood Maxwell and James Johnstone. His two older brothers, James (1743-1764) and John (1745? – 1772) both lived into their 20s but died of consumption, as had his mother. He trained as a medical doctor and practiced in Calcutta in the service of the East India Company from 1770. In January 1772, George Maxwell of Carruchan wrote to Wellwood in India, saying that his father was anxious for him to return home following the death of his older brother, John. He inherited Barncleugh after the death of his late mother’s half-brother, James Maxwell, in 1776. He married his cousin, Catherine Maxwell, daughter of John Maxwell of Terraughty, at Drumlanrig in August 1778. He and Catherine had 13 children. • • • • • • • • • • • • James (1780-1782) Agnes (1781-1858) Twin sons (1782-1783) John Herries (1783-1843) Wellwood (1785-1867) Alexander (1787-1867) Mary (1789-1840) Margaret (1790-1798) William (1791-alive in 1873) James (1792-1808) Catherine (1794-alive in 1873) George (1796-1858) They lived in a town house in Irish St, Dumfries and were using a house at the Grove as a country residence by at least 1781. TOWN PLAN OF DUMFRIES 1819 (JOHN WOOD) 45 Wellwood acted as a factor (property manager) for many properties, farms and estates around Dumfries and he was often given as the contact for the sale of such properties in newspaper sales adverts. CALEDONIAN MERCURY 7TH NOV 1799 CALEDONIAN MERCURY 12TH MAR 1804 Wellwood considered himself to be rather unhealthy, particularly as his mother and older brothers had all died from consumption, a wasting disease caused particularly by pulmonary tuberculosis. On 26th April 1785, his doctor, John Gilchrist of Speddoch, wrote to Dr William Cullen of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh to get advice on his treatment of Wellwood for a severe bilious attack, piles and prolapsed anus. John Gilchrist was a neighbour of Wellwood in Dumfries, as can be seen from the town plan on the previous page. ‘The Patient is Mr Maxwell of Barncleugh, who is at present about the age of 38 and of a very unhealthy family. His Mother died consumptive, and his two elder, and only, Brothers, were carried off in what have been vulgarly termed deep consumptions. This gentleman himself, tho always reckoned to be of a delicate constitution, has had no great threatenings of any pulmonary disorder. He passed two or three years, I believe, -- in the East Indies when about the age of 25 and bore that climate well, tho he suffered a good deal from the inflammatory affection of the Liver occurring frequently in India; but it was attended with no bad consequences. --- About ten years ago, soon after his marriage I remember he spoke to me about a cough, or some other Complaints of his breast, which however were but slight and transient; and, upon the whole he has been liable to no complaints of that kind but what anybody, from cold, might be liable to. Mr Maxwell, tho not like a strong man, has by no means an unhealthy appearance; -and, for these ten years past he has been of a full enough habit, that is no way thin at any time. -Two of his children who are alive, are for their time of life, sufficiently hale & thriving. --- With all this however, circumstances denoting considerable delicacy, and relaxation, have at times occurred with 46 him. -- When about sixteen he became subject to a degree of the Prolapsus ani, which has never left him; and, when connected with present circumstances, distresses him a good deal, - He has been liable to the Piles, or at least to a considerable discharge of blood from some parts of the rectum, for several years past; and particularly last year. -- Another circumstance to be mentioned is that, above two years ago, he was seized with a Sore throat, which in two or three days, became very evidently a putrid one, by which a good part of the velum pendulum palate was destroyed, (tho' in a little time the deficiency was pretty well supplied) and the uvula had almost dropt of. Since that time till now he has enjoyed very good health, and has lived very regularly. He always eats heartily; &, before the attack of the Angina, sometimes exceeded in drinking; tho he never failed to suffer a good deal in his stomach, two or three days after, for so doing. Now to come to his present state, he was seized five or six weeks ago with what was called a bilious disorder, attended with more or less vomiting and purging, which readily gave way to some Antimonials or other emetics; and the state of his pulse was such that a small quantity of blood was drawn. After this he seemed to be quite well again. But, about a fortnight ago, he was seized anew with the uneasiness in his stomach and bowels, producing frequent retchings, sometimes very severe, a degree of diarrhœa at times, tho' the stools were seldom copious, or very frequent; -- and sometimes a very disagreeable tenesmus, with a sense of tenderness or soreness in the rectum. At first these complaints were attended with a very considerable and oppressive headach; tho for several days past, that symptom has been in a great measure removed; and his tongue, which was moderately white and furred, is now much cleaner and moister. --- For these ten days past, during which I have visited him, his pulse has never risen above 95. It is commonly about 85, or between that and 90, quite regular; & tolerably firm or full for the most part, tho somewhat weak at times. --- The sickness at stomach, and retchings, for some days past have been frequently recurring, and distress him greatly. – At present too the diarrhœa too is often returning, that is 4 or 5 times in the night - or in the day, tho' the stools in general are far from being very copious -- Five or six days ago his stools began to be bloody. -- At first the quantity of blood, (and that not very considerable,) seemed equally mixed with the stool. – For three or four days past the blood has been so plainly separate from the fæces, as to leave no doubt that it comes after them; and from the rectum. -Sometimes one ounce perhaps; & sometimes perhaps two or even three ounces of blood will be discharged. --- The Prolapsus ani constantly takes place to a certain degree when he is at stool. --Tho' a good deal of Blood must have been discharged, yet his pulse remains as I mentioned & his general strength is not much impaired; but his spirits are exceedingly sunk so that he can scarcely speak to us; -- and he expresses the strongest apprehension of his own danger. --- I must conclude, as the post is just going, with adding hastily --- that he has no kind of appetite - & is sensible of getting no sleep, but, by opiates. --- We have used according to circumstances -gentle emetics & laxatives of different kinds -- Columbo root - Saline draughts in the state of Effervescence & other usual things - general or local - I must only add that I am as always Dear Sir Truly Yours John Gilchrist 47 On reading over the above with Mr Harley the only circumstance I have to add is that when I was called to him there was a considerable pain in the right side - with some fulness which gave apprehension - of something wrong about the liver -- but since a large Blister was applied on the part he has complained of nothing there –' Dr Cullen wrote back diagnosing dyspeptic indigestion which should be moderated with opiates. He also advised the use of bark of the chinona tree to settle his stomach, astringents and nutgall oil to help with his piles, taking the air in a carriage and never to go to stool in a sitting posture. He advised against the use of purgatives. On the 27th May 1875, Dr Gilchrist wrote back to Dr Cullen to say that Wellwood had followed these treatments and was back to full health and was out constantly riding and walking again. Dr John Gilchrist was the driving force behind the establishment of the first Dumfries Infirmary which opened in February 1777, having sought the support of landed proprietors in the county to raise money after the wealthier towns people and merchants turned him down. Dumfries was only the 4th town in Scotland to ally to the Great Voluntary Hospital Movement of the 18th century. He and his family are buried in St Michael’s Churchyard in the adjoining plot to Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell. Wellwood was Provost of Dumfries in 1781-2, became a Freeman of the Burgh of Dumfries on 24th Oct 1786, a Convener of the Road Trustees for 8th District of Kirkcudbrightshire in 1793, 1st Lieutenant in Dumfries Corps of Volunteers on 6th March 1795, where he served alongside Robert Burns, and a Collector of Land Tax for the County of Dumfries from 1796 to 1818. On 13th February 1816, Wellwood wrote a letter to his eldest son John, expressing his wishes to leave settlements on his death to his wife and daughters, and mentioning that he and his wife wished to leave part of the Barncleugh Estate to their 2nd son, Wellwood. In the letter he also writes‘I have always looked forward to the full grown wood on the Irongray lands as a fund for the building of a better house at the Grove as I think from £1500 to £2000 worth might be cut without baring the place – This however will not be done in my day as the present cottage answers very well for the few months in the year we reside there.’ However, the terms of the disposition of his own inheritance of Barncleugh, stated that the estate should pass without division to his eldest son. After taking legal advice from Edinburgh advocate, Matthew Ross, in June 1818, it was found that he could sell part of the Barncleugh estate for a ‘fair and true price’ to a younger son. In 1819 he sold part of the Barncleugh Estate (part of Meikle Barncleugh, and the Riddings including the Grove) to his 2nd son, Wellwood Maxwell. It is thought that Wellwood Junior might not have been able to afford to buy the whole of the Barncleugh Estate at the time, so only bought a portion. The price was £8000, £6000 of which was payable on the death of the seller (Wellwood Senior) who retained his liferent (the right to receive the benefits of an asset for the duration of the beneficiary’s lifetime) on the land sold. However, Wellwood Junior eventually paid £2500 to his father in 1832 and the remaining £3500 to his older brother, John Herries Maxwell, following the death of Wellwood Senior in 1833. In his will dated 1819, Wellwood Senior left the tenements of houses in the West Backraws (Irish St) to his wife and daughters. He also left his son, Wellwood, all the furniture at the Grove house, the implements of husbandry, garden utensils, stables & dairy utensils, 3 work horses and 3 cows to be chosen, although it appears that this will was cancelled and superseded by a later will. 48 He died in 1833 and was buried in St Michael’s churchyard, Dumfries, in the grave plot of his distant ancestor, Francis Irving. Catherine Maxwell (1754-1832) Catherine was the 4th daughter of John Maxwell of Terraughty & Munches. She married Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell and gave birth to 13 children between 1780 and 1794, only 8 of which survived to adulthood. She is buried in St Michael’s Churchyard, Dumfries, with her husband and a number of her children and grandchildren. John Herries Johnstone Maxwell (1783-1843) John was the eldest son of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell & Catherine Maxwell. He trained as a lawyer under Hugh Corrie and was indentured in April 1804. He was admitted as Writer of the Signet in November 1807. He married his cousin, Clementina Maxwell on 6th June 1813 in Dumfries. As the eldest son he should have inherited the whole of the Barncleugh Estate, but as Clementina had inherited her Uncle Alexander Maxwell’s estates of Munches, Dinwoodie and Terraughty in 1815, he was already very wealthy and his parents sought to leave part of Barncleugh to their 2nd son, Wellwood. John did, however, inherit the remainder of the Barncleugh estate after the death of his father in 1833. Clementina Maxwell (1782-1858) Clementina was the wife of John Herries Johnstone Maxwell. She was the 2nd daughter of William Maxwell & Janet Syme, and the niece of Alexander Herries Maxwell of Munches, Terraughy & Dinwoodie. She inherited these estates after her uncle’s death in 1815. 49 The Maxwells of The Grove Wellwood Maxwell of The Grove (1785-1867) Wellwood Maxwell was the 2nd son of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell and Catherine Maxwell, and was born in Dumfries in 1785. He moved to Liverpool in the early 1800s and joined the grain merchant house of Maury Latham & Co, where he was then joined by his younger brother Alexander. He and Alexander then set up their own importation company, W. & A. Maxwell, trading between Liverpool and the United States and the Caribbean. They were joined by their youngest brother, George, in 1811, initially as a trainee. When George became a partner in 1820, the company became W. A & G. Maxwell. In 1819, Wellwood bought a portion of the Barncleugh estate from his father, which included the original 18th century Grove house. In 1825, he employed the successful Liverpool architect, Thomas Rickman, to design a large extension to the existing Grove House. While in Liverpool, he was one of the first to invest in the new Liverpool to Manchester railway, the 1st railway line to be built in Britain. The Liverpool to Manchester Railway was proposed as a more efficient and quicker way to move heavy goods from the docks in Liverpool as it often took longer for them to get to EXCERPT FROM AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIVERPOOL TO MANCHESTER RAILWAY (2ND ED.) BOOTH 1831 Manchester by canal than it did to get them across the Atlantic by boat. The canals were very busy often leading to blockages, were expensive to use as the owners had a monopoly and were sometimes completely unusable if they froze over in winter. Wellwood later invested in other railways around the country and abroad, including the Caledonian Railway in 1859. Wellwood became a Whig Councillor for the Great George Ward in Liverpool in 1835, winning 40% of the vote. On his retirement from that post in 1837 he was lavishly praised by his constituents for his honourable service. LIVERPOOL ALBION 30TH OCT 1837 50 In 1839, Wellwood was given the Freedom of the Burgh of Dumfries at a meeting of Dumfries Town Council. He was a good friend of William Ewart, grandson of Rev. John Ewart of Troqueer, and helped introduce him as a candidate for the parliamentary seat for the Dumfries Burghs, which Ewart won in 1841 and held until 1868. Ewart established the bill for Free Libraries in 1850 and is who the Ewart Library in Dumfries is named after. KENDAL MERCURY 30TH NOV 1839 Wellwood continued to run W. A. & G. Maxwell until he and Alexander retired to the Grove in 1846, although they both kept a keen and active interest in the company right up until their deaths. His nephew, Maxwell Hyslop (Maxwell), son of his sister Mary, who had also worked at W. A. & G. Maxwell, frequently wrote to both Wellwood and Alexander at the Grove keeping them informed about the business and relaying that he had carried out their wishes. Maxwell’s last business letter to Wellwood is dated 10th June 1867. Wellwood died on 27th June 1867. Wellwood took an active interest in various institutions in Dumfries and Kirkcudbrightshire during his retirement. In May 1846 he was elected as a member of the Extraordinary Committee of the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary. While in October 1846, he was elected as a commissioner for the improvement of the navigation of the River Nith and of the harbour in Dumfries. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 21ST OCT 1846 51 He was a great philanthropist and donated money to many institutions and public funds. He was one of the original contributors to the building of the Assembly Rooms in Dumfries in the 1830s, along with 123 other wealthy local landholders. His father, Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell, and two nephews, Maxwell Hyslop and Wellwood Maxwell of Munches, also bought one share each. None of the shareholders ever took any dividends for the shares they bought. In 1885 it had become necessary to ask other local landholders to contribute towards the repair of Assembly Rooms roof. GALLOWAY NEWS & KIRKCUDBRIGHT ADVERTISER 30TH OCT 1885 Wellwood frequently contributed financially to appeals for the poor. In 1841, he and his brother George, both donated £5 to the upkeep and supply of soup kitchens in Liverpool. In 1844 he donated £1 to the Maxwelltown Soup Kitchen, in 1848 he and Alexander both donated £5 to the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary and in the same year Wellwood gave £10 for the relief of cholera sufferers in Dumfries. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 13TH DEC 1848 52 In 1854, Wellwood contributed £20 to the Maxwelltown Patriotic Fund which was raising money for the relief of widows and orphans of soldiers, sailors and marines of the Crimean War. Wellwood and his brothers, Alexander and William, contributed towards the soup kitchen in Dumfries in 1865. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 29TH NOV 1854 DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 1ST MAR 1865 He was a patron of the Dumfries & Maxwelltown Tonic Sol-Fa Association which gave their 1st concert in the Mechanics Hall on the 2nd February 1865. Tonic Sol-Fa was a method of teaching music especially singing, invented in England by John Curwen in about 1850. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 25TH JAN 1865 53 At a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Liverpool attended by Wellwood on 28th April 1865, he offered the chambers condolences to the American people on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. When Wellwood died in June 1867, he left an estate of over £100000, and held stocks of over £72000 in the railways. He never married and had no children. His brother Alexander had died, also unmarried, in March 1867. His fortune and the Grove were left to his nephew, Maxwell Hyslop. He is buried with his parents, brother Alexander and other relatives in St Michael’s churchyard in Dumfries. He left his estate to his nephew Maxwell Hyslop, his personalty (personal property) to the nieces and nephews of his surviving brother and sister and the residue to the children of his late nephew, Wellwood Maxwell of Glenlee. His executors were his nephews, Wellwood Herries Maxwell of Munches and Maxwell Hyslop. His legacies were:• • • • • • • • • • • • • £2700 to 10 friends £3000 to his servants £1000 to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary £200 to the Liverpool Northern Hospital £200 to the Liverpool Southern Hospital £100 to the Liverpool School for the Blind £100 to the Liverpool School for the Deaf & Dumb £100 to the Liverpool Strangers’ Friend Society £100 to the Liverpool Orphan Society School £500 to the Dumfries Royal Infirmary £100 to the Dumfries Greensands School £100 to the Dumfries Ragged School £100 to the Dumfries Hospital LIVERPOOL DAILY POST 12TH AUG 1867 54 Wellwood and Alexander were of sufficient regard and standing in the local community for marble busts to be commissioned and to be displayed in the Dumfries Museum. The marble bust of Wellwood Maxwell of The Grove is presently displayed in Dumfries Museum in a prominent position in an alcove on the righthand side of the stairs. Made by John Currie, stone mason of Dumfries (1813-78) in 1842. John also made many other statues and carving in Dumfries & Galloway, including the knotted rope above the Court Room in Buccleuch St, the winged lions on the Dumfries Academy Minerva Building, Henry Duncan in Church Crescent, Old Mortality and his horse at Dumfries Museum and the statues of Hygieia and Hippocrates at the old Nithbank Infirmary. Alexander Maxwell of Glengaber (1787-1867) Alexander was the younger brother of Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove, and the 3rd son of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell & Catherine Maxwell. He was in partnership with Wellwood and their brother George as part of W. A. & G. Maxwell and spent most of his working life in Canada and the US. In 1845 he bought the Glengaber estate, Holywood, Dumfries from Thomas Martin of Liverpool for £13500. However, he lived with his brother Wellwood at the Grove from his retirement in 1846 to his death in March 1867. He never married and died childless. He left over £100000, including railway stocks of £60000. He is buried in St Michael’s Churchyard, Dumfries with his parents, brother Wellwood and other relatives. Alexander left similar bequests to Wellwood in his will. He left his estate of Glengaber to his nephew, Maxwell Hyslop, his personalty to his surviving brother and sister, nieces and nephews and the residue to the children of his late nephew, Wellwood Maxwell of Glenlee. His legacies were:• • • • • • £3000 to 14 friends £3200 to the servants of his brother Wellwood £300 to the Liverpool Royal Infirmary £250 to the Liverpool Northern Hospital £250 to the Liverpool Southern Hospital • • • • 55 £100 to the Liverpool School for the Blind £100 to the Liverpool School for the Deaf & Dumb £250 to the Dumfries Royal Infirmary £200 to the Dumfries Greensands School £200 to the Dumfries Ragged School A marble bust similar to his brother Wellwood’s is currently displayed in the Dumfries Museum. Marble bust of Alexander Maxwell of Glengaber, made by John Currie of Dumfries in about 1850. Presently displayed at Dumfries Museum on the opposite side of the stairs to Wellwood’s bust. George Maxwell of Glenlee (1796-1858) George was the youngest brother of Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove and the 5th son of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell & Catherine Maxwell. He became a partner in his older brothers’ firm in Liverpool (W. A. & G. Maxwell) in 1820 and continued to run the firm in conjunction with his nephew, Maxwell Hyslop (later Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell), after Wellwood and Alexander’s retirement in 1846. He bought the Glenlee estate, Kells in 1827 and married Margaret Clark, daughter of Samuel Clark, solicitor in Dumfries, in 1828. Two of his sons who died young are buried in St Michael’s churchyard, Dumfries, beside his parents and several of his siblings. One of his sons, George, died aged 20, in an accident while fishing on the River Ken. Maxwell Hyslop (Maxwell) of the Grove I (1818-1904) Maxwell Hyslop was the nephew of Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove. He was the son of Wellwood’s sister Mary and his 1st cousin Maxwell Hyslop (1783-1837). [His father, Maxwell Hyslop Senior, was the son of William Hyslop (1743-1803) and Jean Maxwell (1750-1815), daughter of John Maxwell of Terraughty and sister of Catherine, wife of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell. Maxwell Hyslop Senior and his brother, Wellwood Hyslop, were merchants in Jamaica operating as M. Hyslop & Co. and had trading links with W. A. & G. Maxwell in Liverpool. Maxwell Senior and his brother, Wellwood, were great supporters of Simon Bolivar, supplying his cause with guns and evacuating him to Jamaica on one of their ships. While in Jamaica, Simon Bolivar wrote to Maxwell Hyslop on 30th October 1815 requesting financial help, shortly after finishing his famous Carta de Jamaica. After getting into financial difficulties himself, Maxwell was declared bankrupt in London in 1830. In 1817, M. Hyslop & Co. was listed as owning 25 male slaves in Kingston, Jamaica. After the abolition of slavery, Maxwell Hyslop received £73 14s 8d in compensation from the British Government on 2nd November 1835 for 4 slaves. Maxwell died in Falmouth MORNING HERALD (LONDON) 5TH JULY 1841 in 1837 shortly after arriving from Jamaica.] 56 Maxwell Junior and several of his siblings probably lodged with their grandparents in Dumfries while their parents were living in Jamaica. He attended Hutton Hall Academy at Bankend near Dumfries before being sent to school in England. He joined the Liverpool firm of his uncles (W.A. & G. Maxwell) aged 15 in 1833, becoming a partner in 1840, and a senior partner in 1858 following the death of his Uncle George. He married Phoebe Lyon (1834-1923) at Bellfield House, Fife on 23rd Feb 1860 when he was 38 years old. He settled £10000 on Phoebe after their marriage, and they had 10 children between 1862 and 1878. Only Archibald died in infancy. • • • • • • • • • • Maxwell (1862-1937) Alexander (1864-1957) Charles (1865-1932) William (1867-1886) Wellwood (1868-1952) Phoebe (1870-1976) Mary (Polly) (1871-1961) Lyon (1873-1956) Walter (1874-1957) Archibald (1878-1878) Most of the children were born in Liverpool, but Wellwood, Polly and Walter were born at the Grove. Maxwell inherited both the Grove and Glengaber estates after his uncles, Wellwood & Alexander, died in 1867, along with their large fortunes when he was 49 years old, on condition that he took the surname Maxwell. In Wellwood and Alexander’s wills, the Grove was entailed on his eldest son, Maxwell Hyslop, and Glengaber on his 2nd son, Alexander Hyslop. Maxwell then became Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove and Glengaber. In the returns list of Owners of Land & Heritages in Scotland compiled in 1872-73, Maxwell is listed at the Grove, owning 839 acres of land with an annual value of £1117 10s. As this is larger than the acreage of the Grove alone (345 acres), it must include Glengaber too. Although Glengaber was entailed to his son Alexander, Alexander who became a solicitor in Liverpool, sold the reversion back to his father in 1897 for £16000. Maxwell was a magistrate in Liverpool, a member of the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board, a director and chairman of the Royal Insurance Co., a JP in both Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire, Deputy Lieutenant for Kirkcudbrightshire, Commissioner of Supply for Dumfriesshire, a director of the Crichton Memorial Mental Hospital from 1875 to 1898 and Chairman of the Board of the Crichton in 1898. He and his growing family frequently holidayed at the Grove, requiring that a number of carriages were made available to carry the family, servants and luggage between the railway station in Dumfries and the Grove. Photograph albums of the family’s holidays at the Grove and elsewhere, mainly taken by his daughter Mary (known as Polly), are stored in the Archives of the Ewart Library in Dumfries and can be viewed on request. The photo to the right is of Maxwell and Phoebe with 8 MAXWELL HYSLOP MAXWELL & FAMILY AT THE GROVE of their children (Polly is sitting to the right of Phoebe and Maxwell Junior is directly behind Maxwell Senior) and is available on the FamilySearch website. 57 William who is 1st on the right in the back row, died of tuberculosis at the Grove in 1886, aged 19. Maxwell added to the Grove estate by purchasing 19 acres of Cogershaw Wood from Richard Alexander Oswald on adjacent farm of Ingleston in 1888, where he built a gas production plant and a small gasometer to supply the Grove House with gas. It has not been possible to ascertain when Maxwell retired from W. A.& G. Maxwell, but he was 70 years old in 1888, so building the gas production plant may coincide with living more permanently at the Grove. Maxwell died at the Grove from old age and heart failure aged 86 in 1904. Phoebe Lyon died in Liverpool in 1923 aged 89. EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS 25TH FEB 1904 Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell (1862-1937) Maxwell was the eldest son of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove & Glengaber and Phoebe Lyon. He inherited the Grove after his father’s death in 1904. He attended Uppingham School and began his career at Lemonious & Co, before joining the family firm of W. A. & G. Maxwell, aged 21. He continued to work there until its closure in 1930. In 1888 Maxwell married Jessie Hart Bulloch (1860-1941), daughter of Captain James Dunwoody Bulloch, Confederate secret agent in Liverpool during the American Civil War (1861-1865), and Harriott M. Cross. Maxwell and Jessie lived at 76 Canning St, Liverpool and this is where James Dunwoody Bulloch died in 1901. Jessie was the cousin of Theodore Roosevelt, son of James Bulloch’s half-sister Martha, and in 1901 Maxwell wrote a letter of congratulation to Roosevelt on his election as US president. MAXWELL HYSLOP MAXWELL & JESSIE HART BULLOCH FROM THE 58 59 In 1914, Maxwell and Jessie were on holiday in Germany when WWI started. Their family had no direct news from them but were able to find out that they were safe but unable to leave the country. Luckily, they were able to return a few weeks later when he gave an interview to a reporter from the Liverpool Daily Post on the patriotism of the German people. Maxwell was a director of the Cunard Steam Ship Co. Ltd, the LIVERPOOL JOURNAL OF COMMERCE London & Globe Insurance Co. 12TH AUG 1914 Ltd, the Royal Insurance Co. Ltd, Chairman of the Liverpool Overhead Railway and an alderman in Liverpool from 1901. He was the Chairman of the Liverpool Watch committee for 37 years and was the most senior in the whole of the UK when he died. He does not appear to have used the Grove after inheriting it in 1904, as it was rented out to the DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 2ND SEPT 1914 Church family at least between 1911 and 1915, and was in use by the Ministry of Pensions from 1920. He does not seem to have ever called himself Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove as his father did. In their later years, Maxwell and Jessie lived at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. He and Jessie did not have any children. He died in Liverpool in October 1937, aged 75, and left over £19000 to Jessie in his will. When Jessie died in 1942, in her will she left her money (around £12000) to her sister Martha, or failing that to her brother-in-law, Walter Hyslop Maxwell. LIVERPOOL ECHO 27TH OCT 1937 60 61 LIVERPOOL ECHO 27TH OCTOBER 1938 After the Maxwells Shortly after Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell’s death, the Grove was bought from the Hyslop Maxwell family by the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary for use as a convalescent home. However, some members of the Hyslop Maxwell family continued to be involved. In May 1938, Walter Hyslop Maxwell gave the new Grove Auxiliary Hospital a gift of £1000 to endow a bed in memory of his parents. THE SCOTSMAN 4TH MAY 1938 In November 1940, despite the war, Sybilla Hyslop Maxwell was trying to organise Christmas treats for the patients of the Grove and the Infirmary. Sybilla (1899-1985) was the daughter of Charles Hyslop Maxwell (1865-1932), younger brother of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Senior and cousin to Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior. [Charles farmed firstly at Rue Farm on the Glengaber Estate and then at Dalruscan, the farm of his parents-in-law, until the house burnt down in 1923 and he and his wife retired to Bookham, Surrey where his brother Walter (1874-1957) lived.] Sybilla Hyslop Maxwell married Col. G.G Walker who was the Chairman of the Infirmary Directors and who was present at the opening of the new Grove hospital in 1938. DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY STANDARD 23RD NOV 1940 The gates at Irongray Church were erected in the memory of Polly (Mary) Hyslop Maxwell, daughter of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Senior, who died in 1961. 62 The firm of W. A. & G. Maxwell In the late 18th and early 19th century, many young men from Dumfries & Galloway moved south to Liverpool and Manchester seeking employment. The sons of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell of Barncleugh all moved to Liverpool and became successful merchants. The firm of W. A.& G. Maxwell was a family run business co-founded by Wellwood and Alexander Maxwell in Liverpool the early 1800s. Their father Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell gave each of them a loan of £1000 to start their new business. They were later joined by their youngest brother, George, and then by their sister Mary’s son, Maxwell Hyslop, in the business. They were initially an importation business trading between Liverpool, the United States and the Caribbean. Alexander spent much of his working life in the US and Canada, while the other members of the family were based in Liverpool. They imported items such as rum, cotton, wood and tobacco. GORE'S LIVERPOOL GENERAL ADVERTISER 27TH JUNE 1827 LIVERPOOL MERCANTILE GAZETTE & MYERS'S WEEKLY ADVERTISER 10TH SEPT 1827 GORE'S LIVERPOOL GENERAL ADVERTISER 1ST JAN 1829 In the 1830s, they entered the palm oil trade from West Africa as Maxwell & Rotherham, shipping it to the UK to be made into soap and candles, and for use as an industrial lubricant, particularly in the railways. Their late entry into the African trade is thought to have precluded their involvement in the earlier African slave trade which had been dominated before 1807 by just a few large Liverpool businesses, such as those of William Ewart and John Gladstone. While these firms also began importing palm oil as a replacement for their previous trade in slaves, newer firms such as W. A. & G. Maxwell were also able to get involved in the new palm oil trade too. There was huge profit to be made from importing palm oil, where it was often possible to achieve 100% profit on a cargo. W. A. & G. Maxwell became one of the largest palm oil importers in Liverpool, and by 1845 were one of the top 6 importers in the UK. However, shipping was not always without risk, and ships and cargos were sometime lost completely. In 1838 W. A. & G. Maxwell bought the sailing ship, the Monarch, but on 29th August 1840 it was recorded as ‘totally lost off Tom Shot’s Point, Calabar River.’ The introduction of large steam powered ships in 1852 saw the end of W. A. & G. Maxwell’s involvement in the palm oil trade. 63 Wellwood and Alexander retired from the company in 1846, moving back to the Grove. However, they continued to be actively involved with the company right up until their deaths in 1867. Their brother, George, took over running the company until his death in 1858, when their nephew, Maxwell Hyslop (Maxwell) took over as Senior Partner. After his retirement in the 1880s, his eldest son, Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior, ran the company in collaboration with his brothers. The younger Hyslop Maxwells branched out, setting up a subsiduary tobacco importation business in London, which was dissolved in 1894. THE LONDON GAZETTE 4TH JAN 1895 In 1900, they formed the Maxwell Tobacco Importing Company. The Hyslop Maxwell brothers were personal friends of Charles Campbell of the Campbell Company of Louisville, Kentucky, a tobacco export company, and this may have led to them setting up this business. In 1921, Charles recommended that Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior, who was visiting New York, travelled to Kentucky to see the tobacco crop for himself. Through their friendship with Charles, the Hyslop Maxwells were able to get valuable inside knowledge of the tobacco crops and thus were able to position themselves advantageously in the trade. W. A. & G. Maxwell were wound up as a company at the end of September 1930 when Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Junior was 68 years old. Maxwell and his wife Jessie Bulloch had no children to take on the business. It is extremely likely that at least a portion of the wealth that was generated by the company ended up back in Dumfries area, particularly in the mid to late 1800s when Wellwood Maxwell and Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Senior owned the Grove, and the firm of W. A. & G. Maxwell was in its heyday. LONDON GAZETTE 3RD OCT 1930 The large and extravagant extensions to the Grove mansion house in the 1830s and 1860s would have been funded by profits from the company and the wages of the servants employed to run the house and grounds would have been financed by company profits. Wellwood Maxwell and Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Senior were resident in Liverpool to facilitate the running of W. A. & G. Maxwell, but they frequently holidayed at the Grove and later lived there permanently once they retired. Their lifestyles while at the Grove were those of extremely wealthy country gentlemen. 64 Francis Irving (1576-1633) Although only distantly related to Francis Irving, Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell of Barncleugh, Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove and members of their family are buried in his grave plot in St Michael’s Churchyard, Dumfries. Francis moved to Dumfries from Annandale and began a business importing wine from Bordeaux. He married Agnes Raining (1572-1633), daughter of Herbert Raining, Provost of Dumfries, who brought a large dowry of lands and wealth to the marriage. The Irving family married extensively into various Maxwell families over several generations. Francis’ daughter, Barbara, married William Maxwell of Gribton, one granddaughter, Agnes Irving, married firstly John Maxwell Senior of Barncleugh and secondly, Robert Maxwell of Carnsalloch, another daughter, Janet Irving, was the 2nd wife of Alexander Maxwell of Park of Dalbeattie & Terraughty, and his great granddaughter, Margaret Irving, married her cousin John Maxwell Junior of Barncleugh, son of Agnes Irving and John Maxwell Senior of Barncleugh. Francis’ son, John, and grandsons, John and Thomas Irving, were all provosts in Dumfries in their turn. It is thought that the Maxwells of Barncleugh obtained Francis’ grave through their descent from Agnes Irving, Francis’ granddaughter. The grave had fallen into disrepair but was restored by Wellwood Herries Maxwell of Munches, grandson of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell in the 1830s, presumably after the deaths of his grandparents in 1832 and 1833. The following is an extract about Francis Irving from Wikitree ‘The founder and 1st Chieftain of the House of Irving of Dumfries. Born ca 1568. The first of the name settled in Dumfries town was Provost Francis Irving (Provost 1621, 1624, 1625, 1626 and 1629, Baillie 1612, Merchant Burgess of Dumfries 1599 and Deacon of Craft 1609 and MP for Dumfries 1617 and 1625). Second son of the family of Bonshaw. He was educated in France, and on his return to Scotland he married the heiress of the Rainings, by whom he acquired a good fortune of houses in Dumfries, with burgage, and other lands, part whereof remain yet with his posterity. Francis had sasaine of various parts of the 5 merklands of Crustanes at Bridgend of Dumfries under reversion, Alstone’s Croft in Troqueer, the ₤4 lands of Mains of Dalswinton under reversion, and the ₤20 lands of KirkpatrickIrongray under reversion. He it was who first imported into that town wines and spirits thither by sea, having settled some kind of correspondence at Bordeaux in France. Upon the sudden arrival of King James VI at Dumfries, Provost Irving presided at an entertainment given to his majesty in a large painted hall belonging to the Cunninghams. His lady likewise assisted. She came at the head of some matrons, and presented his majesty with an Italian broadpiece in gold, according to the usage of the times. At the provost’s death a magnificent tomb or monument was erected, embellished with pillars of the Corinthian order, gilt capitols, and other ornaments. It was much effaced by Cromwell’s soldiers, coming up from the siege of Carlaverock castle, and all the records of the town destroyed they could lay their hands upon.’ 65 The Grave of Francis Irving & the Maxwells of Barncleugh & the Grove The combined grave of Francis Irving and of Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell and his family is a large imposing structure incorporated into the western boundary wall of St Michael’s Churchyard close to the steps of the main entry. In February 1829, the minutes of St Michael’s record that Wellwood Maxwell was complaining ‘that the alterations of the entrance to Saint Michael's Church and the improvements on the approaches through the churchyard have encroached on his burial ground; matter referred to the Burying Ground Committee’. In September 1833, the architect Thomas Rickman was taken by Wellwood Maxwell to view what he called the Maxwell Monument with the intention of having it altered. Rickman then prepared designs for it in January 1834. Below is an extract from Memorials of St Michael’s by William McDowall 1876:‘The Irving one, like its neighbours, was a wreck till about forty years since, when it was tastefully repaired; during the interval its lettering has been repeatedly renewed by Mr. Thomas Watson, monumental mason (many traces of whose skilful handicraft are visible in other portions of the yard), at the instance of Mr Wellwood Maxwell of Munches, whose property it is. At present the tomb is in beautiful condition having a strong massive aspect with all its antique characteristics carefully retained. It consists of a square central block and wings, the latter pedimented and pillared with arched panels, the whole surmounted by a rich entablature. Below the moulding of the middle piece runs the general inscription: - " Insignum Irvingorum Exegesis": 'Ilicis en instar vivus virtute virebam , Nunc vireo cælo providus ante solo." A ' curve underneath is formed by these words, “Memento homo quod cinis es et in cinerem reverteris; " below which are the word FI AR broken up by a device of skull and cross-bones, and a New Testament opened at Luke xx. and 36th with angelic figures at each side. The emblems here introduced illustrate the inscriptions, “Remember O man that thou are dust and that to dust thou shalt return. " The inhabitant of the tomb having made this general statement is further supposed to say, I shall become as these mouldering relics of mortality, but can yet claim to be “equale to the angels, who are the sonnes of God, being of the Resurrectione. ” Then follow the principal epitaphs, two in number, the first running thus— “Francisco Irvingo Consuli Charissimo Marito Grata Coniunx Et patri provido pia pignora justa hæc Sedjusto longe inferiora sacrarunt Obiit 6 Novemb. 1633 Ætat An. 68.” The epitaph may be translated 66 as follows: A grateful spouse and pious children have dedicated to Francis Irving, Consul" (or Provost), a very dear husband and prudent father, this monument, which is very inferior to his worth. He died 6th November 1633, aged 68 years. Descended from the powerful Annandale house of Irving, the burghal syndic here a commemorated founded the Dumfries branch of the family. By marrying the daughter of Provost Herbert Raining, he improved his position in the town and increased his resources, as his wife brought him a rich dowry of lands and heritages. Well- descended, well connected, accomplished, and wealthy, there was no dignity which the Burgh had to give beyond his reach; and before long its highest honours were laid at his feet. Francis Irving frequently filled the chief magistrate's chair; as representative of Dumfries, he sat in the Parliament of 1617; he became about the same period also a favourite at Court, as an evidence of which King James VI. gave him bailiary jurisdiction over some Crown property in the district; all the time, however, he carried on business as a merchant, in which capacity, it is said, he originated a trade with Bordeaux, for the purpose of importing French wines into the Burgh. The “grateful spouse” of the epitaph brought him, as it informs us, several children, one of whom, his eldest son, John, was member of Parliament for the town in 1630 and 1639, and officiated repeatedly as Provost. Lest the virtues expressed by the Latin inscription should, like light under a bushel, be unseen of ordinary men, ane epitaph” in Scotch is also given, in which the deceased is represented as saying: “King James at first me Balive named Drumfreis oft since me Provest claimed God hast for me ane Crowne reserved. For King and Countrie have I served." On the back of the monument, fronting the street, appear skull, cross-bones, and sand-glass, proclaiming as it were the brevity of human life, and Latin words embodying the same sentiment with a suitable moral lesson. The classical inscription runs thus: “Memento Mori. Parænesis ad viatorem. Fabella bulla nimbus vanitas. Flos fumus umbra somnium. Hinc ergo fluxa ætatis ecce clepsydra. In ossa solvor arida. Incerta certa mortis hora te premit Sic vive discas ut mori. Freely translated, the inscription reads as follows: Be mindful of death, O traveller! Life is a tale, a bubble, a cloud, a vanity. What have we been but a flower, a shadow, á dream? Therefore behold in a sand-glass the flow of our existence. I have crumbled into dry dust. Certain is the uncertain hour of death. So live that thou mayest learn to die”. The burial-ground of the Irvings now belongs to a family with whom they were closely connected, the Barncleugh Maxwells, their head in 1665 having acquired it, we believe, by marrying a daughter of John Irving of Friars’ Carse; they are now represented by a most worthy gentleman, Mr. Wellwood Herries Maxwell of Munches, Convener of the Stewartry, and its representative in Parliament from January 1868 till February 1874. His grandfather, Wellwood Johnstone, a cadet of the Westerhall family, Annandale, inherited Barncleugh in 1776, and took the name of Maxwell on the death of 67 James Maxwell of Barncleugh, son of Wellwood's grandfather by his first marriage; and strengthened his connection with the parent stem of all the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Maxwells by marrying Katherine, daughter of Terraughtie, “The Maxwell's vet’ran chief,” as he is termed by Burns. Both lie under the shadow of the Irving monument, and the inscription on the south panel, which tells truthfully of their numerous virtues, affords us also a glimpse of protracted connubial happiness such as falls to the lot of few. We quote the epitaph entire: “By this stone are laid the remains of Wellwood Maxwell of Barncleuch, who was born 29th Octr. , 1747, and who died 11th June, 1833. Pious without ostentation, religious without intolerance, he sought to do his duty to God without offending men. A good and kind father, he deserved the respect and secured the affection of his numerous family. In friendship constant and sincere, in social intercourse affable, hospitable, humane. He passed thro' life in cordial union during 55 years with Catherine Maxwell, his beloved wife, daughter of John Maxwell of Terraughtie & Munches, who born in April, 1754, died 26th November, 1832, and lies interred beside him. A lady of a vigorous and active mind, obliging, courteous. charitable; supporting her husband throughout in every religious, parental, and social duty; and like him leaving this life esteemed, beloved, regretted.” 68 On the north panel there is an inscription in memory of two estimable sons of the wedded pair who lie beside them — Wellwood Maxwell of The Grove, died 27th June 1867, aged 81 , and Alexander Maxwell of Glengaber, died 9th March of the same year, aged 80 ; and of other descendants, including a grandson, George Maxwell, born at Liverpool, 22d April, 1834, and unfortunately drowned while angling in the river Ken, 21st September, 1854.’ The northern panel also commemorates Wellwood Maxwell’s younger brother, James (aged 16) and sister, Margaret (aged 8) and his nephew Thomas (aged 1), another son of his brother George. These sandstone panels on either side of the Francis Irving panel are presumably made to the design of Thomas Rickman as stated in his diaries. On the ground in front of the main panels are 3 large horizontal sandstone slabs. One each for Wellwood, Alexander and their nephew George, with their initials and the dates of their deaths. There is also a much smaller 4th horizontal sandstone slab in the right-hand corner, dedicated to Jean Maxwell, daughter of Robert Maxwell, London, who died 30th Jan 1765. There is no indication of how Jean is related to the other Maxwells. Given the fame and high standing of Francis Irving, and the prominence of his grave in St Michael’s Churchyard, it may not seem surprising that the Maxwells of Barncleugh chose to be buried in the same monumental grave. The grave was also visited by Alexander Curle on his tour of Dumfries on 28th May 1912 and he recorded the following in his diary. 69 ‘A short distance further from the gate on the same side is another architectural tomb of larger dimensions. On either side of a large central panel with a semicircular panel resting on it are two (?) composite columns supporting an entablature and pediment. The inscription in relief on the central panel has been recut and reads "Francisco Irvingo consuli charissimo marito grata conjunx et patri provido pia pignora justa hsec sed longe inferiora sac::rarunt obiit 6 Novemb. 1633. cetat. an 68. Ane Epitaphe King James at first me balive named Dumfreis oft since me provest clamed God hast for me ane croune reserved For King and countrie have I served. Around the arc of the semicircle runs the legend "Memento homo quod cinis es et in cinerem reverteris" with the date 1633 above in the centre [inserted note 1] Along the frieze of the central section of the monument is inscribed. "Insignum Irvingorum exegesis Felicis en instar vivus virtute virebam, nunc vireo coelo providus ante solo." In the frieze to left and right respectively in panels enclosed in foliageous ornament are respectively the initials FI and A.R. Within the pillars on either side are comparatively modern inscriptions commemorating members of the family of Maxwell of "The Grove". This monument much resembles the Ewart tomb in St. Cuthberts Churchyard Kirkcudbright.’ CURLE DIARY NO.11 70 Architects of the Grove Thomas Rickman 1776-1841 Thomas Rickman was the architect employed by Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove to design a large extension to the 18th century house already on the site. Thomas was the son of a Quaker apothecary from Maidenhead, who wanted him to become a doctor. However, Thomas went into commerce instead and became a corn merchant in London. He married his 1st cousin, Lucy, in 1804 but the marriage was not sanctioned by the Quakers who did not allow such close relatives to marry, and both were disowned. Thomas’ business failed in 1807 leaving him with large debts and he moved to Liverpool, taking a job with an insurance THOMAS RICKMAN (FROM BIOGRAPHICAL broker. Lucy died at around this time and Thomas became DICTIONARY OF BRITISH & IRISH deeply depressed. He began to take long country walks and ARCHITECTS 1800-1950) developed an interest in medieval architecture. He classified window tracery and other features into Norman, Early English, Decorated English and Perpendicular English, a classification which was then followed by later architects. There are listed in his series of 57 diaries which are now kept in the R.I.B.A. Library. He gave a series of lectures on Medieval architecture in 1811 after joining a Philosophical Society in Liverpool, and in 1812 he wrote an account of the history of Chester Cathedral and the first systematic article on Gothic architecture in England. He went on to write other books on architecture. He was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1829 and was an early member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He used the elementary scientific method to demonstrate that all English medieval architecture conforms to an essential stylistic sequence. ST JAMES CHRONICLE 19TH MAY 1842 In 1812, he began showing his architectural drawings at the annual Liverpool Academy exhibitions and in 1814-16, helped John Cragg to design and build a Gothic church in Everton, as well as 2 other churches. He also helped the builderarchitect John Slater to remodel Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire in the Gothic style. In 1817, he opened his own architect’s office in Liverpool. By 1820 he had become one of the busiest architects in England, having gained the patronage of the Church Building Commissioners. He later opened a 2nd office in Birmingham, taking Henry Hutchinson as a partner. As well as designing the Grove in 1825, he completed a design for Terraughtie House in the same year, although this does not seem to have been built. 71 He became unwell in 1835 and died in 1841 at the age of 64. He is buried in St George’s in Birmingham, where his friends erected a monument to him in 1845. LEAMINGTON SPA COURIER 2ND APRIL 1892 John Dick Peddie (1824-1891) In 1869 the architect firm of Peddie & Kinnear were employed by Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell to extensively redesign the Grove House. John and his twin brother, William, were born in Edinburgh. After being articled to David Rhind, he started his own architect’s business in 1845 and quickly became successful. He was a founder member of the Architectural Institute of Scotland in 1850. He married Euphemia Lockhart More in 1851 and it was her father that helped him to secure business with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Nearly all their branches between 1854 and 1857 were designed by Peddie in the Palazzo form and this gained him a nationwide reputation. The firm of Peddie & Kinnear was formed in 1856 and were extremely prolific and successful with their designs, particularly for major public buildings. He retired in 1879 and won the seat for Kilmarnock in 1880 as a Liberal. At Westminster he represented the interests of Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. 72 FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERIES SCOTLAND He co-founded the Scottish American Trust and formed the Scottish American Land Co. in 1880. He was also involved with the United States Mortgage Company of Scotland, the American General Mortgage & Investments Corporation Ltd, the Scottish & New Zealand Co, the Colonial & Investment Co in New Zealand, the Scottish Investment Trust, Pollock Patents, the Grass Valley Gold Co. in the USA and the Australian Gold Extracting Co. He became seriously ill in 1890 and died in 1891. Charles George Hood Kinnear (1830-1894) Charles was born in Fife into a wealthy family. His father was part of the Thomas Kinnear & Co banking family, and his mother was heiress to the Drum Estate in Dunbartonshire. His brother, John Boyd Kinnear, was a politician and radical journalist. He was a skilled photographer and invented the 1st bellows camera in 1857, co-founding the Photographic Society for Scotland. In late 2022, his photograph album of historic photos of Edinburgh sold at auction for £85000, when it had expected to fetch £4000. As an architect he was skilled in ‘Old Scots’, a style required for the development of Cockburn St in Edinburgh. He joined the office of John Dick Peddie, firstly on a part-time basis and then full time in 1856. He inherited a large number of Edinburgh houses and the Drum Estate, and this landed status brought connections for country house designs, particularly in Dumfries and Galloway. It was here that he met his wife, Jessie Jane Maxwell (1845-1937), granddaughter of John Herries Maxwell of Munches and a relative of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove, whom he married in 1868. CHARLES GEORGE HOOD KINNEAR (FROM THE DICTIONARY OF SCOTTISH ARCHITECTS) As part of the firm of Peddie & Kinnear, he was employed by Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell Senior to redesign the Grove house in 1869. He died of a sudden heart attack in 1894, and as a colonel in the Midlothian County Artillery Volunteer Brigade, was given one of the largest military funerals ever seen in Edinburgh. 73 Walter Fitzgerald Knox Lyon (1844-1894) Walter was the younger brother of Phoebe Lyon, wife of Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell of the Grove. He was articled to Peddie & Kinnear and probably assisted them with their Dumfries & Galloway commissions. He had his own practice in Edinburgh by 1867, but also kept a business address at the Grove to help deal with any business in Dumfries & Galloway. By 1876 he had an office at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, although he did little business after this time. In 1883 he married Isabella Towers-Clark, and was involved with Volumes 3-5 of The Castellated & Domestic Architecture of Scotland. CAERLAVEROCK CASTLE BY WALTER LYON 1869 (FROM CANMORE) He made numerous sketches of 16th and 17th century Scottish houses which are an important record of the condition of those houses at that time. The sketch of Caerlaverock Castle to the right was completed in 1869, around the time that Walter would have been working in Dumfries & Galloway. Matthew Purdon Smith (1893/4-1955) Matthew was employed by the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary in 1938 to design alterations to the Grove to adapt it into an auxiliary hospital. He was the son of a farmer and opened his first practice in Lockerbie in 1922, moving to Castle St in Dumfries in 1926. He mainly worked on small domestic, commercial and farm estate designs but he had a few bigger clients including the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary, the Caledonian Bus Co and the Edinburgh & Dumfriesshire Dairy Co. In 1946 he took over the larger firm of Bowie & Barbour and built many post-war housing schemes in Dalbeattie, Dumfries and Lockerbie. Lawrence Wren (1907-1990) Lawrence was born in Cumbria and served his articles with J. Foster, the Cumberland County Architect, while taking a Building Trades Course at the Carlisle Technical School & School of Chemistry. He worked for the Kent County Council designing schools, libraries and hospitals between 1928 and 1931. In 1931 he became the senior assistant to Major W. H. Robinson, Kent County Architect and undertook a tour of France to study design and town planning that year. He was a member of the SE Society of Architects Design Club in 1929-31 and was also a part-time lecturer in Building Construction & Sanitary Science at the Maidstone Technical Institute in 1932-36. In 1936 he moved to Dumfries to become the chief assistant to Matthew Purdon Smith where he helped to design the conversion of the Grove to a hospital in 1938. He later went on to work for the Newcastle Regional Hospital Board, before retiring in 1968. 74 Maps of Terregles, Riddings, Barncleugh & The Grove These maps show the increasing importance of the Grove over time. Pont’s map shows the location of Riddings farm to the NE of Dumfries. The church at Irongray is named as the Kirk of Arngra to the NW of the Riddings. Neither Barncleugh nor the Grove appear on this map which predates the acquisition of the Barncleugh Estate by John Maxwell I in 1638. TIMOTHY PONT NITHSDALE PONT 35 1583 – 1614 Blaeu’s map again shows the location of Riddings between the Irongray church (K.of Arngra) and the Castle of Terregles (Cast. Of Toregills). John Maxwell Junior inherited Barncleugh in 1665. BLAEU MAJOR ATLAS VOL. 6 1662-1665 The Riddings is absent from Moll’s map, and neither Barncleugh nor the Grove appear either. Barncleugh was owned by James Maxwell Senior who inherited it in 1689. HERMAN MOLL THE SHIRE OF DUMFRIES OR NITHISDALE 1745 75 Ainslie’s 1797 map show that the Grove has appeared on the map, as has Barncleugh. Riddings is still present. Maxwell Esq. is also marked below the location of the Grove, showing the importance of its owner. At this date, this would have referred to Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell. The Grove is indicated by 2 large buildings, the upper one is the house, while the lower one indicates the outbuildings. The outline of the house JOHN AINSLIE STEWARTRY OF KIRKCUDBRIGHT 1797 indicates a rectangular building. This house would have been the original 18th century one and perhaps indicates that it was built by Wellwood Johnstone Maxwell after he inherited the Barncleugh Estate in 1778. It is listed solely as Grove, not the Grove. Ainslie’s 1821 map still shows the Grove, Riddings and Barncleugh. The Grove house would still have been the original 18th century one at this time and again is listed as Grove. The Grove was now owned by Wellwood Maxwell, but this predates his large extension to the house. JOHN AINSLIE’S MAP OF THE SOUTHERN PART OF SCOTLAND 1821 76 By 1886, Bartholomew’s map shows that the Grove seems to have become more important than either Barncleugh or Riddings and is now called The Grove, rather than just Grove. By this time, it belonged to Maxwell Hyslop Maxwell and his 1869 extension would have been constructed. Riddings has disappeared from the map. BARTHOLOMEW’S REDUCED ORDNANCE SURVEY MAPS COUNTY OF KIRKCUDBRIGHT SHEET 29 1886 This early 20th Century OS map is from around the time the Church family were living at the Grove. OS 1 IN TO THE MILE SCOTLAND 3RD EDITION MAXWELLTOWN 1903-1912 In 1938 the Grove was purchased by the Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary and had become an Auxiliary Hospital as marked on this 1954 OS map. OS 1:25000 OUTLINE SERIES OF GREAT BRITAIN NX97-B 1954 77 By 1965 it appears that several smaller buildings have been constructed in the grounds to the north of the Hospital. The name of the Grove has been lost on this OS map. OS 1 INCH TO THE MILE 7TH SERIES SHEET 74 DUMFRIES-B 1965 On the latest OS map of Dumfries, the name of the Grove House has been changed to Drummond House and the name ‘The Grove’ is now associated with the converted outbuildings and newer houses on the site. 1OS 1:25000 EXPLORER MAP NITHSDALE & DUMFRIES 321 (ANDROID APP VERSION, 2023) 78 References 1835 Liverpool Town Council Elections. (2023, March 21). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1835_Liverpool_Town_Council_election 1851 census. (2023, March 21). Retrieved from Scottish Indexes: https://www.scottishindexes.com/51transcript.aspx?houseid=86703078 1851 Census returns for Dumfriesshire, Kirkcudbrightshire & Wigtownshire. (2023, March 28). 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Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Simon-Bolivar Smiles, S. (2023, April 27). The Life of George Stephenson & his son Robert Stephenson Chapter IX. Retrieved from Samuel Smiles: https://minorvictorianwriters.org.uk/smiles/c_stephenson_05.htm The British Newspaper Archive. (2023). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ The Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary: A Brief Pictorial Survey, 1776-1948. (1948, January 1st). Dumfries: Messrs Wm. Grieve & Sons, Minerva Works, Dumfries, Scotland. The Grove. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from British Listed Buildings: https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200342796-the-grove-kirkpatrick-irongray#.ZBcj_sLP25d The Grove. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from Canmore: https://canmore.org.uk/site/65664/the-grove The Grove. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from Dictionary of Scottish Architects 16601980: https://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=215118 The Grove convalencent home. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from View Dumfries & Galloway:people, places, heritage: https://www.viewdumfriesandgalloway.co.uk/viewitem?i=7376&WINID=1679242117245#.ZBczhMLP25f The Grove, House & Gatepiers. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from Historic Environment Scotland: https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB10359 The Long, Long Trail: Military Hospitals in Scotland. (2023). Retrieved March 9, 2023, from https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/military-hospitals-in-scotland/ The Poll for the Election of Town Councillors for the Borough of Liverpool 1935. (1836). In J. Aspinall. Liverpool: J. & J. Maudsley. The Statistical Accounts of Scotland, 1791-1845. (2023, March 20). Retrieved from https://stataccscot.edina.ac.uk/static/statacc/dist/exhibition/nsa#:~:text=The%20New%20S tatistical%20Account%2C%2018341845.%20The%20New%20Statistical,1820s%2C%20to%20match%20the%20existing%20one %20for%20sons. Thomas Rickman. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from Biographical Dictionary of British & Irish Architects 1800-1950: https://architecture.arthistoryresearch.net/architects/rickman-thomas Tonic Sol-Fa. (2023, March 21). Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/art/tonicsolfa 82 Trade & Politics in 19th Century Liverpool: The Tobin & Horsfalls Families &Liverpool's African Trade. (2023, March 29). Retrieved from hslc.org.uk: https://www.hslc.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/142-6-Lynn.pdf Wellwood Maxwell. (2023, March 20). Retrieved from Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123487923/wellwood-maxwell Wellwood Maxwell in 1851 Scotland census extract. (2023, March 21). Retrieved from My Heritage: https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10323-11606/wellwood-maxwell-in-1851scotland-census-extract Wellwood Maxwell of the Grove. (2023, March 21). Retrieved March 19, 2023, from Art UK: https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/wellwood-maxwell-of-the-grove-17851867-282150 William Ewart (1798-1869). (2023, March 29). Retrieved from History of Parliament: https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/ewart-william1798-1869 Wilson, J. M. (1860). In Nelsons' Handbook of Scotland: for tourists (p. 232). T. Nelson & Sons. 83 Lochanhead House, Lochrutton by Samantha Oakley FROM HERE HTTPS://WWW.VIEWDUMFRIESANDGALLOWAY.CO.UK/VIEWITEM?I=7706&WINID=1684682534233#.ZASHDOZP1QI “WRECK OF THE WEEK” IN 2016 Lochanhead House (DG2 8GB) lies SW of Dumfries just off the road to Kirkcudbright (A711). It is close to Lochanhead, a hamlet. A particularly useful source is the history of the McCulloch family - Janet Brown was a McCulloch and there is reference to “Ardwall Papers” which may have her diary and a lot more information: https://www.scribd.com/doc/79659006/McCulloch-Family-in-Galloway# (p.465ff) The link to Ardwall: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Jameson,_Lord_Ardwall via Janet’s daughter Christian who got the title and married Andrew Jameson 84 Canmore http://canmore.org.uk/site/351926 “20-10-2016 This 19th century manor house on three floors was set in 5 acres of grounds - since reduced by three building plots. Sited on a raised platform at the front entrance the rear and side doors are at ground level. The grounds included grass and hard tennis courts as well as an arboretum of trees from the 'plant hunters' including an Abies Grandis Lindl and Sequoia. During WW2 it housed Polish servicemen. The house had stables and a walled garden (sold off before 1953). There was a parquet floored hall, nice cornices and plenty of useful cupboards. After being sold in 1970 it was a hotel for some years. Currently Lochanhead House is for sale as 'derelict' (2016) but the local Council has so far refused to allow it to be demolished. Contributed by anamikaecosse” There are also various photos on Canmore. The earliest reference I could find for the history of the house is found in the “Ardwell Papers”: “John Brown retired from business in 1866 and took his wife and three daughters to live at Lochanhead. The small existing house was enlarged and there the three daughters were married” This suggests that there was a small house there prior to 1866 but I have not been able to find any mention of it. There is mention of a farm at Lochanhead on this record for 1758 but not been able to consult: https://catalogue.nrscotland.gov.uk/nrsonlinecatalogue/details.aspx?reference=RHP83388& The 1862 County Directory of Scotland has “Lochanhead House, Dumfries (5) J. Gordon Brown” which is earlier, but the same man, so perhaps he owned it then. John Gordon Brown (1814-1903) Also from the Ardwell papers: “Her husband was John Gordon Brown, a merchant in Liverpool. He came of a Cumberland family, at one time in the village of Caldbeck, where the family gravestone lies next to that of John Peel, the celebrated huntsman. They acquired interests in Jamaica and John’s father owned the Carlton Estate there. John himself was born there on 8 December 1814 and was, for a time, in his early days, in the island.” Caldbeck is on the most northern edge of the Lake District. PHOTO OF JOHN GORDON BROWN, FROM THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY = UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER, 1860S 85 There is a Christening record for a John Gordon Brown in Trelawney, Jamaica (home of Usain Bolt!) in 19 April 1916, son of Jonathan Brown and Ann Brown. He is mentioned in connection with the slave trade: record of Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery which has a bio https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146630599 “Counterclaimant as an infant [i.e. under the age of majority] by guardian for three enslaved people in Falmouth, Trelwaney. Almost certainly the John Gordon Brown merchant born Jamaica who was a partner in Boyd Edwards and Brown of Liverpool until 1851, who was still in Liverpool in 1861 but then appears at Lochenhead House, Lochrutton, Kircudbrightshire in 1871 and 1881. The 1901 Scotland census shows a man of the same name at the same address but gives his age as 36, possibly a mistranscription for 86.” [I cannot find any trace of the company Boyd Edwards and Brown] In 1850 John married Janet McCulloch: “Janet McCulloch was born on 17 May 1817 and had the distinction of being the only one of a large family of 13 who married.” Was Janet his connection to Scotland? PHOTO OF JANET BROWN, FROM THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY = UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER, 1860S 1851 Census - not found 1861 Census? - not found The memorial to Janet Brown in Gatehouse of Fleet suggests they moved there in 1866 (see below). 1871 Census John Gordon Brown, age 56 With his wife Janet (age 53) and daughter Agnes Annie (age 16) and 4 servants 1880 August - from the Dumfries and Galloway Standard: Lochend Children’s Excursion “shortly thereafter set off in carts placed at their disposal by farmer. in the district. On reaching Lochanhead House the party, under the guidance of Mr Forsyth, walked through the garden and hothouses, with the appearance of which all seemed highly delighted, and as they passed the house showed their appreciation of Mr Brown's kindness by giving three hearty cheers.” 86 1881 Census First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Sex Age Birth year Occupation Birth place John Gordon Brown Head Married Male 55 1826 Retired merchant Jamaica, West Indies Janet Brown Wife Married Female 63 1818 - Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland Marcella Gellard Servant Unmarried Female 40 1841 Cook Kilmuir, Argyllshire, Scotland Janet Kirk Servant Unmarried Female 41 1840 Dairymaid Mouswald, Dumfriesshire, Scotland Mary Chalmers Servant Unmarried Female 27 1854 Housemaid Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, Scotland 1882 The Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland has Lt. Col. Cliff McCulloch at Lochanhead House (Private Residence) and also reference to John Copland, gamekeeper to Lady Ardwall (Commercial). On 23rd May 1883 Janet Brown died. She was 66. She was buried at Lochrutton. There is a memorial to Janet in Gatehouse of Fleet which says “In loving remembrance of Janet Brown, daughter of James Murray McCulloch of Ardwall and Hills, and wife of John Gordon Brown, Lochanhead, born May 17th 1817. Entered into rest March 25th 1887. She lived in his parish for seventeen years from 1866 to 1883 and ever joined in” 1891 Census John Gordon Brown, age 76 with a cook and two housemaids 1901 Census Death of John Gordon Brown: 25th May 1903 and he was buried at Lochrutton (plot 212b). There is a record of his burial stone here: “John Gordon BROWN former merchant, Liverpool b Jamaica 8.12.1814 d Lochanhead 25.5.1903. w Janet (3rd da of Jas Murray McCULLOCH of Ardwell & Hills) 17.5.1817 23.5.1883, etc.” The notice in the paper says he died in the house. 87 Later History of the House Sir Robert Reid, 1st Earl Loreburn 1903 Newspaper references to Sir Robert Reid making arrangements to become the tenant (MP for Dumfries Burgs). His wife - Lady Reid - died at the house in 1904. He has a long and illustrious career: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reid,_1st_Earl_Loreburn and also an uploaded PDF of a more in-depth article 1909 A daughter born to wife of Alexander Moir at the house (4th September) 1914 References to a Mr (Alexander?) and Mrs Moir there 1925 September A “distressing shooting accident” for Mr Hallett “FATHER SEES SON SHOT. A fatal shooting accident has occurred at Lochrutton, near Dumfries. Mr Hallett, the shooting tenant of the Lochanhead House, who lives at Heaton Mersey, Manchester was out shooting along with his two sons and a gamekeeper. One of the sons, Richard Edgar Hallett. youth of about eighteen, was seen to fall to the ground. His father rushed forward, to find that his son had been killed owing to the accidental discharge of the the youth was carrying.” (Hull Daily Mail and many other newspapers including Ireland and Scotland) On 22nd Dec 1925 the youth had his will in the paper: “Richard Edgar Hallett , jun . f of Bcamins Terrace , l ' riestnall Road , Heaton , Mersey , Lanes ., and of Lochanhead' House , Dumfries . Net personalty . £ 13 , 504 ; gross £ 14 , 425 .” 1932 The Transactions Of The Highland and Agricultural Society Of Scotland has a member Major James Edward Galbraith, D.S.O. (= Distinguished Service Order) at Lochanhead House 88 The Who’s Who 1932 has a full entry for him with his extensive military history: Him and his wife (Mrs J.E.E. Galbraith) attend an Officers Ball in Dumfries 1939 At this time Lochanhead railway station closed to passengers: https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/L/Lochanhead/ 1940s Canmore says “During WW2 it housed Polish servicemen” = this is plausible but I can’t find any references for this at all? Nothing here https://www.polishforcesinbritain.info/Locations.htm 1940 Newspaper searches show General Sir Andrew J. McCulloch and wife there = she had left by later that year, but there are references to them still there in 1945? June 1941 Mrs Nielsen of Lochanhead House gives a talk on “rural life in Norway” to Lochrutton WI 1843 Faith Henry had distinction in Shorthand and 1948 Wedding announcement has Mr & Mrs David Henry of Lochanhead House 1950s Canmore has family photos of the house, these are hard to see in detail. 1960s “Who was who” 1961-1970 has William Edward Russell HENDRY living at Lochanhead House (died 18/3/1965) = the phone number was Lochfoot 291 1970s on: Hotel (until 1998) NB The Internet Archive https://archive.org/ has multiple mentions of the house in its hotel days with adverts for game-shooting, horse riding etc. I did not chase them all down but highlight a few mentions below: 1974 Horse and Pony advertises pony trekking from the hotel https://archive.org/details/sim_horse-and-pony_1974-01_3_12/page/20/mode/2up?q=Lochanhead 1978 The Guinness Book of Answers notes that Lochanhead House has a Grand Fir with (presumably the UK biggest) girth of 19 3/4 ft / 6m = this is also mentioned in Alan Mitchell’s Trees of Britain https://archive.org/details/alanmitchellstre0000mitc/page/18/mode/2up?q=Lochanhead with an “untidy, open crown” 140/22ft. “It is not known how such an early specimen came to be planted on its own in this small garden” 89 1987 Advert from the local paper: Mrs D Dalton is the owner May 1998 Advert This must be close to it closing for good? Wreck of the Week (2016 blog post, see below) quotes: “Anne worked in the Lochanhead House Hotel, Lochfoot for a few years then in 1989 she took over the lease and with the help of Betty ran it as a hotel, bar and guest house for 9 years. Betty used to love chatting to all the guests and regulars and both she and Anne did all the cooking and baking themselves. They employed quite a few local young people for waiting duties and were always busy doing meals at the weekend... The bar would get quite busy at the weekend with the regulars coming in to play pool or darts or just for a pint. They let out five bedrooms which were mainly taken by travelling salesmen. Anne and Betty used to have a barbeque every summer and on their last day before leaving in July 1998 had the final one and all the regulars came along. It must have been a sad day for Anne and Betty as they had made a lot of friends over the years.” 90 After the hotel closed - present Land Registry Records https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/property-summary/KRK3943 26/3/02 The house was purchased for £150,000 ? It was on the market again in 2008 ? 2014 Planning application for 5 houses = refused Owner is Yvonne Cryan = as stated on planning documents 2015 Planning permission refused to destroy the house and build 2 new houses 1:56:58 6. Lochanhead House, Lochfoot – Refusal of Planning Permission in principle for demolition of existing dwellinghouse, erection of 2 dwellinghouses, installation of septic tank and improvement of existing access (14/P/2/0372) https://youtu.be/UuvznRfnptw?t=7018 2016 September - first post on “Wreck of the Week” “Above and below is a five bed house at Lochanhead, five miles from Dumfries, sent to me by reader Wendy. Three reception rooms, games room, bar, halls and kitchen downstairs, five bedrooms (four ensuite) on the first floor and four attic rooms above - this was definitely once a party house! Large gardens (though how much land isn't clear). And a lovely, airy hole in the roof:” “The agent, GGM&W, describes the 19th Century house as "derelict and in need of total renovation" and suggests that the buyer may choose to demolish the (unlisted) building and start again. Which might make it, at offers over £150k a rather pricey bit of land. And a waste of a lovely building.” 2016 October - 2nd blog post about “Wreck of the Week” “Helen wrote to say that she and her husband have tried to view the property several times in the five years it's been on the market: The owner of Lochanhead is an elderly lady who has given directions that only a cash buyer can view the house - we have tried to go and view several times...but excuses have been made as to why we couldn't, with the last being refused as we are not cash buyers. We were hoping to go and survey what work needed done but that hasn't been possible. She notes that five years ago, when the property went onto the market, the building still had all its windows and roof so dereliction has been "quite quick".” 18/4/17 The house was purchased for £125,000. Sold for £125,000 in April (source: EPSC) as “Lochanhead House Hotel” & also shown on Land Register (https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/) . https://scotlis.ros.gov.uk/property-summary/KRK3943 New owner may be Audrey Dakin, Edinburgh from the planning documents: she is a conservation expert https://www.linkedin.com/in/audrey-dakin-2455ab33/?originalSubdomain=uk 2019 Planning permission for a garage 19/0659/FUL 2020 Work had started on the garage 91 From the latest photos on Google Maps (2021), it looks like restoration is in progress! A happy ending? 92 Historic Maps Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland (maps.nls.uk) 1885-1900 1892-1960 93 1892-1949 94 Cumloden, Minnigaff by Anne-Marie Cade 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Building Biographies – Volume 4 Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context GGLP_74 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource GGLP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2023 Description An account of the resource Kirkpatrick, Irongray to Minnigaff GGLP heritage