Articles

Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff (1875-1946)

Figure. 1 Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff. Courtesy of Richard Steel.

In 1945 Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff of Fair Oak Lodge, near Eastleigh, Hants, donated an oil painting, ‘Portrait of William Johnstone of Glenorchard’ by Sir Daniel Macnee, to Glasgow Museums.

The Wolff family originally came from Hamburg, Germany, Ernest’s paternal grandfather Arnold Julius Wolff being born there in 1798. He was the son of Carl Heinrich Wolff and his wife Maria Carolina Anna and was born at Ritzebuttel a town on the Elbe belonging to Hamburg where his father had been a protestant clergyman for over thirty years. He came to England in 1828[1] and subsequently married Lucy Taylor on 23 June 1831 in Manchester Cathedral (Church of St. Mary, St. Denys and St. George). She was a minor (age 17)[2] and required her father’s consent to the marriage. Arnold was a merchant, both he and the Taylor family living in the township of Chorlton Row which was part of the parish of Manchester.[3]

Arnold was employed by the cotton trading firm of James Holford & Co., who were the largest British exporters into Russia having branches in Russia, Britain, Germany (Hamburg) and the United States.[4] It may well be that Arnold had been employed by the company in Hamburg and had transferred to their offices in Manchester, however whilst likely, there is only circumstantial evidence to support that.

He became a naturalized British citizen in 1840, having become a partner in the Holford business some time before that.[5] However the business had been experiencing liquidity issues which resulted in some of its branches being taken over by its employees or partners. In Manchester the business, operating as Holford, Sauer & Co., was dissolved in January 1840 and taken over by Wollf and another employee to become Wolff, Hasche & Co.[6] It became a member of the Manchester Royal Exchange and continued to trade at least until 1853[7] and probably beyond that date.

Arnold and Lucy continued to live in Chorlton in the Greenheys area after their marriage and by 1841 had four children, two girls and two boys,[8] a third boy being born later that year.[9]  Incidentally Thomas de Quincey lived in Greenheys as a youth, his father building the area in 1791.[10]

The eldest of the three boys was Arnold Holford Wolff. He was born on the 8th December, 1834 and baptised on the 18th May 1835.[11] By 1861 he along with his brother Ernest Julius were living in the family home at Greenhays and were in their father’s employ as clerks,[12] presumably in his export business. He was still living there with his mother and sister Lucy Catherine in 1871,[13] his father Arnold Julius having died in 1866. Probate was granted to his three sons, the estate being valued at “under £60,000”.[14]

Figure 2 William Johnston of Glenorchard © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Arnold Holford Wolff, described as a ‘Russian merchant’, married Jane Johnstone Crawford on the 13th November 1872 in Edinburgh.[15] It was through his wife they ultimately came to possess the painting of William Johnston of Glenorchard, he being the brother of Jane’s mother Mary Johnstone.

The Johnstone family originated in the parish of Baldernock, then in Stirlingshire, where Thomas Johnstone and Mary Baird were married in 1803.[16] They had six children all born in Baldernock including the aforementioned William (b.1805)[17] and Mary (b.1812).[18]

William married Agnes Ewing in 1846 at Dunoon Parish Church.[19] He was a banker and had been an agent of the Commercial Bank of Scotland since 1845.[20] In 1848 he and his wife were living in the Barony Parish of Glasgow at 5 Newton Place,[21] staying there until 1858-59.[22] They became tenants of Glenorchard House around 1855 but did not permanently reside there until 1859.[23] He subsequently became the owner of the estate sometime between 1858 and 1861,[24] living there, still with the Commercial Bank, until he died.[25]

He died in 1864, not at Glenorchard, but at 200 Bath Street, Glasgow, the home of James Campbell jnr. of J & W Campbell & Co., Warehousemen.[26] The cause of death was recorded as apoplexy.[27]

He left estate valued at just over £27,100 and had set up a Trust Disposition and Settlement early in 1863 which essentially took care of his widow, his siblings where they survived, and their children, there being no children of his own marriage.[28] In particular his niece Jane (Johnstone) Crawford, the daughter of his sister Mary who had died in 1855[29], and who lived with William and his wife Agnes following her father John Crawford’s death in 1861[30], received initially £150 per quarter. On Agnes’s death he stipulated that Jane was to receive £3,000.[31]

Jane was born on the 5th February 1849[32], the last of four children. Her parents had married in 1842,[33] John being a grocer and spirit merchant in Shettleston.[34] She continued to live with her aunt Agnes following her uncle’s death, remaining with her at Glenorchard.[35] Sometime after 1871 Agnes and Jane moved to Edinburgh living at 32 Moray Place which is where Jane’s marriage to Arnold Holford Wolff took place.[36]

Her aunt died on the 15th March 1873 leaving Jane £5,000 and some personal items.[37] Although the Macnee painting is not specifically mentioned it is clear it came into Jane’s possession either when she married or as a bequest.

Jane and Arnold had two boys, Arnold Johnstone Wolff (b.1873)[38] and Ernest Charteris Holford Wolff who was born on the 3rd July 1875.[39] In late 1880 Jane was widowed when Arnold senior died at the age of 46 leaving her to bring up her two young sons.

By 1891, at the age of 17, Arnold jnr. was attending the Royal Military Academy,[40] subsequently joining the Royal Engineers as a Lieutenant. He served in the Boer Wars between 1899 – 1902 gaining the Queen’s South Africa medal with clasps for the Orange Free State, Cape Colony and the Transvaal. He was also awarded the King’s South Africa medal with clasps for 1901 and 1902.[41]

He saw further service during WW1 gaining promotion eventually to Lieutenant Colonel.[42] He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in February 1916 at which time he was at his final rank on a temporary basis.[43] He retired from the army sometime after 1922 and by 1939 he and his wife Nora Gladys Platt, whom he married in 1905,[44] were living in Southampton[45]. He died there in 1941 leaving an estate valued at just under £27,500.[46]

In 1891 Ernest was living with his mother in Edinburgh, still at school,[47] subsequently going to Oxford where he graduated BA in 1897. He joined the colonial civil service that year with the Pahang Government,[48] travelling in November to take up his post on the SS Himalaya to Colombo, Ceylon, then on the SS Thames for Malaysia.[49]

Pahang was part of the Federated Malay States (FMS) which also included Selangor, Perak and Negri Sembilan. Between 1897 and 1908 he held a variety of positions within FMS becoming secretary to the British Resident of Negri Sembilan in 1901, taking on additional roles in 1904 (Sanitary Board chairman, Seremban) and 1905 (District Treasurer of Telek Anson). By 1908 he was the secretary to the Resident General of the colony. In 1923 he was appointed by the King as an Official Member of the Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements.[50]

He was also a very keen sportsman being on the committees of the Selangor Polo and Golf clubs in 1909,[51] and was captain of the golf club from 1907 to 1909.[52] He won the club championship in 1907/08 and subsequently the Coronation Cup.[53]

Figure 3 Mary Lilias Wolff. Courtesy of Richard Steel.

He married Mary Lilias Alison on the 6th December 1911 at Grange Parish Church of Scotland, Edinburgh. She was the daughter the Rev, John Alison of Edinburgh and Margaret McGeorge.[54] They had two daughters, Stella (b.?) and Alison Jean (b.1914).[55]

Ernest’s civil service career continued to progress and in 1924 he became the British Resident of Negri Sembilan, retaining that position until 1928 when he retired to Fair Oak Lodge, Hants,[56] where he lived for most of the rest of his life. In January of that year he was appointed Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (C.M.G.).[57]

He and his wife travelled home on the SS Empress of Canada, embarking from Hong Kong on the 6th April 1928 and arriving in Victoria, British Columbia on the 6th May for a month long tour of Canada. Following the tour they travelled home to Southampton where his brother Arnold lived at Bitterne Park.[58]

It’s not clear when the Macnee painting came into his possession. Did his mother Jane leave it directly to him or did it first go to his brother Arnold who bequeathed it to him on his death in 1941? However, on the 9th July 1945 Ernest presented the painting to Glasgow,[59] just a few months before he died.

He died on the 23rd April 1946 at Cheniston Compton near Winchester leaving estate to the value of £12,420, probate being granted to his wife Mary and George Eaton Stannard Cubitt.[60]

The Wolff family motto was “Res non verba” [61] which translates as “deeds not words”, which, it seems to me, all members of the family lived up to.

Note: Johnstone is spelled with or without an e in various records.

 

[1] National Archives. March 1840. Naturalisation of WOLFF, Arnold Julius. HO/1/16/48 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9171229

[2] Baptisms (NCR) England & Wales. Manchester, Lancashire. 8 April 1814. TAYLOR, Lucy. Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 2009. Collection: Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[3] Marriages (PR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 23 June 1831. WOLFF, Arnold Julius and TAYLOR, Lucy. Collection: Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 (Cathedral). Archive Roll 699. http://www.ancestry.com

[4] Edmondson, Linda and Waldron, Peter, eds. (1992) Economy and Society in Russia and the Soviet Union, 1860 – 1930. p. 111. https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Economy+and+Society+in+Russia+and+the+Soviet+Union

[5] National Archives. March 1840. Naturalisation of WOLFF, Arnold Julius. HO/1/16/48 http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C9171229

[6] London Gazette (1840) Vol.1 24 March 1840. Holford, Sauer & Co. p. 773. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CxlKAQAAMAAJ

[7] Directories. England. (1853) Directory of Manchester and Salford, 1853. p.516. Collection: UK, City and County Directories, 1766 – 1946. http://www.ancestry.com

[8] Census. 1841. England. Chorlton, Lancashire. Class: H0107; Piece: 580; Book: 19; ED: 34: Folio: 9; Page: 9; Line: 9; GSU roll: 4388732. http://www.ancestry.com

[9] Baptisms (NCR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 13 October 1841. WOLFF, Ernest Julius. FHL Film Number223716. Collection: England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. http://www.ancestry.com

[10] British History Online. Chorlton-Upon-Medlock. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol4/pp251-254

[11] Baptisms (NCR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 8 December 1834. WOLFF, Arnold Holford. Class Number: RG 4; Piece Number: 2009. Collection: Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[12] Census. 1861. England. Chorlton, Lancashire. Class: RG 9; Piece: 2885; ED: 42; Folio: 21; Page: 35; GSU roll: 543044. http://www.ancestry.com

[13] Census. 1871. England. Chorlton, Lancashire. Class: RG 10; Piece: 4007; ED: 71; Folio: 11; Page: 13; GSU roll: 846104. http://www.ancestry.com

[14] Testamentary records. England. 10 April 1866. WOLFF, Arnold Julius.  Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. p. 438. Collection: England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966. http://www.ancestry.com

[15] Marriages (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 13 November 1872. WOLFF, Arnold Holford and CRAWFORD, Jane Johnstone. 685/1 322. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[16] Marriages. (OPR) Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 3 June 1803. JOHNSTON, Thomas and BAIRD, Mary. 471/ 10 417.

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[17] Baptisms. (OPR) Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 5 January 1806 JOHNSTONE, William 471/ 10 292. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[18] Baptisms (OPR) Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 8 April 1812. JOHNSTONE, Mary. 471/ 10 311. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[19] Marriages. (OPR) Scotland. Dunoon and Kilmun. 6 October 1846. JOHNSTON, William and EWING, Agnes. 510/ 30 386. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[20] Directories. Scotland. (1845-46) Post Office Annual Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: Edward Khull. Appendix p.167. http://digital.nls.uk/83849228

[21] Directories. Scotland (1848-49) Post Office Annual Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William Collins & Co. p. 151. http://digital.nls.uk/90167004

[22] Directories. Scotland (1858-59) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 142. http://digital.nls.uk/90167004

[23] Directories. Scotland (1859-60) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 148. http://digital.nls.uk/83897776

[24] Ordnance Survey Names Book. Stirlingshire OS Names Books Vol. 3 1858-1861. OS1/32/28. http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/records

[25] Directories. Scotland (1864-65) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 169. http://digital.nls.uk/83927716

[26] Directories. Scotland (1864-65) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 88 http://digital.nls.uk/83926744

[27] Deaths (CR) Scotland. Blythswood, Glasgow. 6 December 1864. JOHNSTON, William. 644/6 569. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[28] Testamentary records. Scotland. 3 February 1865. JOHNSTON, William. Trust Disposition and settlement. Stirling Sheriff Court. SC67/36/49. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[29] Deaths. (CR) Scotland. Shettleston, Lanark. 23 December 1855. CRAWFORD, Mary. 622/3 120 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[30] Deaths. (CR) Scotland.  Shettleston, Lanark. 5 December 1861. CRAWFORD, John. 622/3 131. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[31] Testamentary records. Scotland. 3 February 1865. JOHNSTON, William. Trust Disposition and settlement. Stirling Sheriff Court. SC67/36/49. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[32] Births. (OPR) Scotland. Barony. 6 January 1849. CRAWFORD, Jane Johnston. 622/ 130 378. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[33] Marriages. (OPR) Scotland. New Kilpatrick. 3 August 1842. CRAWFORD, John and JOHNSTON, Mary. 500/ 30 277. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[34] Directories. Scotland (1855-56) Post Office Glasgow Directory. Glasgow: William McKenzie. p. 690. http://digital.nls.uk/84138937

[35] Census. 1871 Scotland. Baldernock, Stirlingshire. 471/ 1/ 10. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[36] Marriages (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 13 November 1872. WOLFF, Arnold Holford and CRAWFORD, Jane Johnstone. 685/1 322. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[37] Testamentary records. Scotland. 1 September 1873. JOHNSTON, Agnes. Trust Disposition and settlement. Edinburgh Sheriff Court Wills. SC70/4/146. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[38] Baptisms (CR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 10 November 1873. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. Collection: England, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, 1758-1912. http://www.ancestry.com

[39] Baptisms (CR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 6 September 1875. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. Collection: England, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, 1758-1912.  http://www.ancestry.com

[40] Census. 1891. England. Woolwich, London. Class: RG12; Piece: 534; ED: 34: Folio: 44; Page: 9; Line: 9; GSU roll: 6095644. http://www.ancestry.com

[41] War Office (Great Britain). Record of Service.  WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. WO100/157 page 56, WO100/314 page 58 FindMyPast Transcription. Collection: Anglo-Boer War Records 1898-1902. http://www.findmypast.co.uk

[42] War Office (Great Britain). Record of Service. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. Lieutenant Colonel, Royal Engineers 1922. Collection: British Army Lists, 1882-1962.  http://www.ancestry.com

[43] London Gazette (1916) Supplement. 2 February 1916. Military Award, Companion of D.S.O. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston, p.1336, 1337.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29460/supplement/1337/data.pdf

[44] Marriages Index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Hampstead, London. Last Qtr. 1905. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston and PLATT, Nora Gladys. Vol.1a. p.1415. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915. http://www.ancestry.com

[45] 1939 Register. England. Southampton, Hampshire. ‘Sandyhayes’, Thorold Road. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston. http://www.ancestry.com

[46] Testamentary records. England. 2 September 1941. WOLFF, Arnold Johnston.  Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. p. 432. Collection: England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966.  http://www.ancestry.com

[47] Census. 1891 Scotland. Newington, Midlothian. 685/5 130/7.  http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[48] Wright, Arnold. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya. London et al: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company Ltd. p.128  http://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:233_134

[49] Passengers Lists (1897) The Homeward Mail. Vol. XLIII, issue 2051. 13 November. WOLFF, E.C.H. p.1543.                      http://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/viewarticle?id=bl%2f0001712%2f18971113%2f091

[50] Edinburgh Gazette (1923). 7 August 1923. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. Appoint to Legislative Council of the Strats Settlements, p. 1105. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/13942/page/1105/data.pdf

[l51 Directory and Chronicle for Malay States et al (1909). p.1298. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=f5VEAQAAMAAJ&rdid=book-f5VEAQAAMAAJ&rdot=1

[52] Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC). Club Captains. https://www.rsgc.com.my/past-captains

[53] Wright, Arnold. (1908). Twentieth Century Impressions of British Malaya. London et al: Lloyd’s Greater Britain Publishing Company Ltd. p.128  http://seasiavisions.library.cornell.edu/catalog/seapage:233_134

[54] Marriages (CR) Scotland. Newington, Midlothian. 6 December 1911. WOLFF, Ernest, Charteris, Holford and ALISON, Mary Lilias. 685/5 247. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[55] Births Index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. 17 July 1914. WOLFF, Alison Jeans. C44D, 4791C, Entry No. 147. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007. http://www.ancestry.com

[56] Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1929) Armorial Families: A Directory of Gentlemen of Coat-Armour. 7th ed. Vol.2. London: Hurst & Blackett Ltd. p. 2125. https://archive.org/stream/armorialfamilies02foxd#page/n11/mode/2up/search/wolff

[57] London Gazette (1928) Supplement. 2 January 1928. Companion of C.M.G.  WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford, p. 5. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33343/supplement/5/data.pdf

[58] Passenger List for S.S. Empress of Canada departing Hong Kong WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford. 6 April 1928. Collection: Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935 and Washington, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1965 http://www.ancestry.com

[59] Glasgow Museums Resource Centre.

[60] Testamentary records. England. 23 April 1946. WOLFF, Ernest Charteris Holford.  Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate. p. 585. Collection: England & Wales National Probate Calendar 1858-1966.  http://www.ancestry.com

[61] Fox-Davies. op. cit.

Sir John Muir of Deanston 1828-1903

In 1888 John Muir donated to Glasgow ‘Two Strings to Her Bow’, painted by John Pettie in 1887 and which currently is on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. 1888 was the year of the Glasgow International Exhibition which emulated the great Exhibition of 1851 in London to promote industry, art and commerce (1) in the context of the British Empire. The £46,000 profits of the exhibition contributed to the funding of the present building which opened in 1901. Muir purchased the painting from the lucky winner of a raffle for the Exhibition Art Union, and presented it to highlight ‘…its most prominent deficiency in the department of ‘modern art’’ (2)

The painting ‘Two Strings to her Bow’ is typical of John Pettie’s style, depicting a beautiful young lady between two competing suitors. This painting has become a popular image in the advertising world for example being presented as the front cover of Georgette Heyer’s novel False Colours, a cigarette pack for soldiers during World War 11, and even on the label of a Polish lemon flavoured vodka.

Pettie, John, 1839-1893; Two Strings to Her Bow
Pettie, John; Two Strings to Her Bow. © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection
Henderson, Joseph, 1832-1908; Sir John Muir (1828-1903), Lord Provost of Glasgow (1889-1892)
Sir John Muir, Lord Provost of Glasgow (1889-1892) © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

John was born on 26th December 1828 in Hutchesontown, Glasgow to James Muir (3), senior partner of Glasgow merchants Webster Steel & Company which had branches in Chile, South Africa and London (4). His mother was Elizabeth Brown (5), a descendent of James Finlay who founded the textile business of James Finlay and Company in Glasgow. He was educated at Glasgow High School and Glasgow University. In 1849 he joined James Finlay & Company, which had expanded to include mills at Catrine in Ayrshire in 1801, and Deanston in Stirlingshire in 1808 (the latter is now a whisky distillery). The original James Finlay founded the business in 1750 and in 1792 his son Kirkman Finlay took over as senior managing partner, the core activity being textile manufacture but later their trading activities became more important. The firm purchased competitors Wilson, Kay and Company and in 1854 opened premises in West Nile Street, Glasgow (6).

In 1860 John married Margaret Kay (7), eldest daughter of Alexander Kay, then a senior partner of Finlays, and raised four sons and six daughters, all of whom were born at their townhouse at 6 Park Gardens, Glasgow.
In 1861 John was appointed as a junior partner of James Finlay & Company, along with his cousin Hugh Brown Muir and Robert Barclay, a partner in Robert Barclay & Sons, Manchester. The business had become stagnant under the management of the Finlay family and John was brought in to revitalise it. The American Civil War, which had started in that year, affected cotton supplies and Hugh Muir visited India in search of alternative quality sources, resulting in offices being opened in Bombay (Mumbai) and Calcutta (Kolkata). There were close links with Samuel Smith MP, a leading cotton broker in Liverpool and also related to the Finlay family (8).

Over the following years the two cousins increased their personal shareholding and broadened the scope of the mainly cotton based business to include insurance, shipbuilding and tea. However, tensions built up between John and Hugh and things came to a head after Hugh had dismissed a senior employee for playing chess on the sabbath (John was a member of the Free Church of Scotland). Hugh departed from the company in 1873 to form a successful business in London, and John eventually took sole control by 1883. In that year Archibald Buchan, the last of the old Finlay family, tried but failed to obtain a legal injunction to prevent Muir trading under the name of James Finlay and Company (9).

Around the time when Hugh left the business John was increasingly interested in the growing market for tea, and purchased estates in Darjeeling, Assam and Travancore in India, under the name Finlay, Muir & Company. Trade was aided by the shipbuilding connection and Muir invested in the Clan Line in Glasgow. Thomas Cayzer had been introduced to Alexander Stephen of Linthouse, a shipbuilder, and John Muir as financier. The three men, although they never learned to trust each other, entered an agreement to build two ships which became the nucleus of the Clan Line, cargo carriers with some passenger capacity. The ships were based in Calcutta (Kolkata) but Muir forced a move to Chittagong  by offering huge cargoes of tea and jute (10). Contemporary opinion held that Muir was ‘the greatest bully in the trade, and the worst tempered man in Scotland’. He encouraged remaining partners in James Finlay and Company to retire in order to take overall control, earning himself in Glasgow business circles the nickname ‘cuckoo’ (11).

 In 1873 John moved into the infant tea industry in India and Ceylon, buying up quality plantations, and keeping close supervision through the Calcutta office which included weekly reports, a management pattern that was later adopted throughout the industry. Two of John’s sons were involved in the Indian enterprise but John was not good at delegating. In 1898 he wrote to them ‘My advice to you both is to fall in cordially with my views and policy, even when you do not quite understand them’(12). At that time the UK tea business was channelled through London, but Muir set up various businesses to bypass London to reach new outlets in America, Canada and Russia. He invested heavily in capital developments including railway and hydro-electric schemes and telephone systems. However he was seen as a harsh employer, both to his Indian labour force and his British, mainly Scottish planters and ‘jute-wallahs’. A planter received a larger allowance for his essential horse than for a wife (13). By the 1890s Muir was the world’s major stakeholder in the growing and marketing of tea, employing some 70,000 workers on the Indian subcontinent (14).
John and Margaret had moved in 1873 to Deanston House which had been owned by John Finlay, the last of Kirkman Finlay’s sons, the house being rebuilt. In 1883 an extension was added by Glasgow architect J J Burnett in the Italianate style (15). Margaret took a great interest in the welfare of the mill workers and was a popular local figure. A memorial clock tower was erected in the village after her death in 1929 (16).

Muir Deanston House
Deanston House (as a hotel, probably 1950’s) -from a postcard in authors possession

With his Indian empire secured John turned to civic affairs. He was elected a baillie of Glasgow town council in 1886 and as Lord provost in 1889-92, and received a baronetcy in 1893. He became a Liberal-Unionist in 1886 and was active in Glasgow and Perthshire, a JP in Lanarkshire as well as Deputy Lieutenant of the counties of Ayrshire and Lanark. During his term as Lord Provost he presided over the extension of Glasgow City boundaries, adding 10,000 to the population, extended electricity and gas works, and oversaw the building of St Andrew’s Halls. The 1888 Glasgow International Exhibition provided a focus for philanthropic work when he donated £15,000 and was Convenor of the Indian and Ceylon section. He was also appointed chairman of the association entrusted with the duty of erecting the building (17).

Sir John Muir suffered two strokes, one in 1901 in Glasgow and another at Deanston House where he died on 6th August 1903 (18). He left an estate of £862,802 but with much of his wealth invested as capital in James Finlay and Company and various offshoots, it is thought that his true worth was considerably greater (19). The Finlay business continues today, its core business continuing in growing and processing tea products in India and Africa, with its headquarters moving from Glasgow to London a few years ago.
Alexander Kay Muir (1868-1951), John’s eldest son became second baronet, and continued to manage James Finlay and Company after his fathers death, modernising and converting the haphazard collection of companies into a private company, owned by members of the extended Muir family. Just before he retired in 1926 he sent planters from Southern India and Ceylon to open the first large scale tea plantations in Kenya, and the name continues there producing tea products. He lived at his Blair Drummond estate with his second wife, Nadejda Constanza Irenea Garilla Euphrosyne, eldest daughter of Dmitry Stancioff, former premier of Bulgaria, which appears to have been a very happy marriage and they enjoyed the regular company of King Boris of Bulgaria. Sir Alexander Kay died in 1951 and his wife in 1957, and the baronetcy devolved on his nephew John Harling Muir, the son of his late brother James Finlay Muir (20).

Lavery, John, 1856-1941; John Muir of Deanston (1828-1903), 1st Bt, Lord Provost of Glasgow (1889-1892)
John Muir of Deanston by John Lavery © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

 

Lavery, John, 1856-1941; State Visit of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition, 1888
State Visit of her Majesty, Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition 1888 ©CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Glasgow Museums also hold a sketch portrait of John Muir, often referred to as John Muir of Deanston . The sketch was painted by John Lavery, a leading ‘Glasgow Boy’ artist, as one of many individual portraits incorporated into his ‘State Visit of Queen Victoria to the Glasgow International Exhibition 1888’. Muir became Lord provost the following year in succession to Sir John King who is portrayed in the purple robes.

 

(1) Perilla Kinchin and Juliet Kinchin, Glasgow’s great Exhibitions, ISBN 0-9513124-0-5

(2) Glasgow City Council Minutes, Mitchell Library

(3) births, 644/02 0040 0187 Gorbals, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(4) Webster Steel & Co, piece goods manufacturers, https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb248-ugd091/26

(5) births, 644/02 0040 0187 Gorbals, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(6) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(7) marriages, 646/02 0083, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(8) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(9) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(10) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(11) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(12) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(13) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

(14) Gowans and Gray, The Lord provosts of Glasgow 1833-1902, Mitchell library

(15) John J Burnett, architect, http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=100033

(16) https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/doune/deanston/index.html

(17) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(18) death, 362/00 0034, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(19) Ancestors of David Robarts-Sir John Muir, http://www.stepneyrobarts.co.uk/406htm

(20) Oxford Dictionary of national Biography, http://wwwoxforddnb.com/articles/52/52088

DS

Archibald Cameron Corbett

Archibald Cameron Corbett (1856-1933) 

Property Developer ,Politician and Philanthropist

Paintings

Archibald Cameron Corbett presented two paintings to the Corporation of Glasgow in September 18981.

Borderland   1896  by James Paterson

Copyright  CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

This painting was exhibited at The Royal Scottish Academy in 18962 and also in 1961 in ‘An Exhibition of Scottish Painting held at Kelvingrove Art Gallery . It was bought by Corbett in 1898,”for Glasgow Gallery” for £1504.

The Corbett family appear to have been patrons of Paterson over many years. The first recorded sale to  Corbett was of two watercolours, ‘Moxhill’ and ‘Old Mill Moniave’ bought for £35 in 1883. Corbett, his sister , Jessie, his father ,and his elder brother Thomas Lorimer Corbett went on to buy at least 16 more of Paterson’s paintings , both oil and watercolour. Corbett also bought many of Paterson’s watercolours to adorn the walls of Rowallan Castle,the family home in Ayrshire built in 19065.

And

The Right Honourable Arthur J Balfour MP 1896-1898

by William Ewart Lockhart

Lockhart, William Ewart, 1846-1900; The Right Honourable Arthur J. Balfour (1848-1930), MP

Copyright CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Painted by William Ewart Lockhart RSA,RSW 1896-1898. Exhibited at the Royal lScottish Academy in 18986. The portrait was commissioned by Corbett in order to be “presented to the new Art Gallery in Glasgow”.7

Early Life

Corbett was born at 8 Buckingham Terrace , Glasgow on May 23rd 18561. He was the second son , one of five children born to a wealthy Glasgow merchant, Thomas Lorimer Corbett , who had married Sarah Cameron in 18522. Corbett’s father was an ‘Australia merchant’ trading in timber and wool with his brother, Andrew , who had emigrated to Australia some years earlier.The Corbetts also had a summer home , South Park, at Cove on the Firth of Clyde, as did many wealthy Glasgow businessmen at the time4.

In 1864 when Corbett was about eight years old, Corbett senior moved his business to London with an office in Gracechurch Street5. By 1871 the family were living in a house called Oak Park in Cavendish Road, Clapham Park. By this time the family was complete with four children, three boys-Thomas, Archibald and Henry and one girl- Jessie6.

In January 1877, Thomas Corbett bought 110 acres of greenfield market garden land ,part of the Manor of Woodgrange, Forest Gate, originally part of Epping Forest, now in the London borough of Newham, and began the development of good quality housing estates in south –east London which was later carried on so successfully by his second son, Archibald7.

Despite their wealth the Corbetts lived a very unostentatious life. Mother, Sarah, appears  to have been a strict Presbyterian,allowing no games etc on Sundays and no dancing or theatre- going at any time! The family were also strict supporters of temperance. Even so our donor appears to have had a happy childhood with summers spent at Cove where he had a Shetland pony called Tottie, and winters in London8.

The Corbett children were educated at home by a series of ‘godly’ tutors, as their mother did not want them exposed to the’temptations ‘ of school life’9.

About 1870 Archibald and his elder brother Thomas  were given the choice of going on  a tour of Europe with a tutor or going to Oxford or Cambridge! What a difficult choice that must have been for a  fourteen and a fifteen year old!10. Fortunately we still have the detailed account of the trip written by Archibald in several exercise books which contain not only written details in a beautiful copperplate hand but also architectural drawings of the things he had seen 11. Whether  it was this tour  which sparked an interest in things artistic  we do not know, but soon after his European Tour Archibald enrolled at the  ‘Art School in South Kensington’ to study sculpture12. We know he was there in February 1876 as there is a letter written by him to his friend James Paterson, the artist, in which he writes ‘…..I am modelling pretty steadily at present and I hope to finish a bust of Clytie for the SK  competition…’.  How they became friends we do not know but they appear to have been quite close as in the letter Archibald tries to persuade Paterson to continue his studies in London where ‘…Millais would be one of your professors…’13

By the time he was 21 Archibald had abandoned student life  and was managing his father’s property development business in South East London  which he took over after his father’s early death in 1880. But even though his student days did not last long, according to his son ‘..he was left for life with a keen appreciation of both painting and sculpture’. As we shall see  and according to his son he became a modest patron of the arts14.

Property Developer

Archibald Cameron Corbett became one of the principal developers of the middle class suburbs of South East London. Between 1877 and 1914  Corbett managed the building of around 7,500 houses on 1096 acres of land1 . These good  quality  houses were spread over seven estates :-

Clementswood and Grange –Ilford

Dowanshall  at Seven Kings to the north of Ilford

Mayfield-to the east of Ilford

Woodgrange at Forest Gate

St German at Hither Green

Eltham Park.2

A catalogue was produced in 1913 showing the types of houses for sale in Eltham Park-not common practice among speculative developers at the time3.

The Corbetts were not builders but went into partnership with Mowlems(roads and drainage), J.J.Bassett and Son and the building firm of Picton and Hope. One of the Hope family bought one of the Eltham Park houses for himself-44 Craigton Road. There in 1913 was born Leslie Towns Hope-better known to the world as ‘Bob’4.

Many of the roads on the Corbett Estates had Scottish names. Also the estates were always built near to a railway station to encourage sales to the growing number of commuters into the City. The houses ranged from £530 for a six bed villa to £330 for a three bed terrace. The Corbett Estates had its own system of payment by  instalments . The houses were priced little higher than cost price as the real income came from the annual ground rent which ranged from £8.80 per annum for the large houses to £3.30 for a terrace house5.

The needs of the residents of the Corbett Estates were taken care of as Corbett gave land and financial support for parks, libraries and churches on all his estates. However one thing not to be found on any Corbett estate was a public house or hotel which sold alcohol as Corbett was always true to his temperance beliefs6.

IMG_20160611_0003 - Copy

Copyright  Frank Kelsall

The Corbett Estates had an office at 24 Sloane Square which exisited until 1926 when it made way for the Peter Jones Department Store7. The houses on many of the Corbett Estates are still sought after today. In 1976 the Woodgrange Estate was made a Conservation area and in October 2013 the Archibald  Corbett Society was formed in Hither Green whose aim is ,’to preserve the estate’s unique character and heritage for future generations’8.

Politician

Both Archibald and his elder brother  Thomas Lorimer Corbett were interested in a political career. Thomas was a life long Conservative and Unionist , while Archibald was a supporter of the Liberal Party for most of his political career however both brothers were life- long opponents to Irish Home Rule. After serving on the London County Council from 1889 to 1900, Thomas was eventually elected as Irish Unionist MP for North Down in 19001.

At first Archibald was unsuccessful when he stood as Liberal candidate for North Warwickshire in 1884 and seems to have been regarded as a carpet bagger by his opponents as illustrated in this cartoon by EC Mountford which appeared in ‘The Dart ‘ magazine in November 1882

cartoon ACCorbett

Copyright. University of Glasgow Archives and Special Collections. Archibald Cameron Corbett Collection GB248DC126/19

Finally in November 1885 Archibald Cameron Corbett was elected Liberal MP for the newly created constituency of Tradeston in Glasgow3. Glasgow’s seven MPs were all Liberals. The group sent a telegram to Prime Minister Gladstone which said ’Now we are seven.’4

The constituency of Tradeston included not only the district of Tradeston but also those of Kinning Park and Kingston,all industrial suburbs of Glasgow south of the Clyde now much changed as a result of the building of the M8 and M74 motorways and the Kingston Bridge.

Temperance and Home Rule were Archibald Cameron Corbett’s most cherished political beliefs. So strong were his opinions on these matters that he ‘crossed the floor of the House’ on two occasions in order to support his beliefs.

The first dispute , with his own Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Gladstone, came very early in his political career. In 1886 Archibald disagreed with Gladstone’s Irish Home Rule Bill and left the Liberal Party  to join the Liberal and Unionist Party ,newly founded by those Liberal MPs who were opposed to Irish Home Rule but yet could not bring themselves to join the Conservative Party. When the Liberal Unionists joined the Conservatives in a Coalition Government which was in power from 1895 to 1905,the Prime Minister was Arthur Balfour,leader of the Conservative Party . Thus we now know why a Liberal MP commissioned a portrait of  Conservative Prime Minister!5

The second parting of the ways occurred in 1908, when Corbett was still a member of the Liberal Unionist Party, now in opposition but taking the Conservative Whip.The Liberal Government under Gladstone introduced a Licensing Bill which was very dear to our donors heart. If passed  this Bill would close one third of the public houses in England and Wales,severly curtail Sunday opening hours and forbid the employment of women in public houses. The Bill was very unpopular ,especially among barmaids! There were even riots in Hyde Park.

The Conservative Opposition and the Liberal Unionists were very much opposed to the Bill,having many supporters in the drink and brewing industries. So Archibald , a life- long supporter of the Temperance Movement found himself in opposition to the Whips of his own party. The matter was aired many times in the Glasgow Herald and the Times during the summer of 1908, when the Tradeston MP toured the country in support of the Bill. Around August 18th  Archibald Cameron Corbett resigned from the Liberal Unionist Party. He wrote a letter to the Times in which he offered to resign his seat.6

There were several  meetings of the  Constituency Committee in Tradeston but as they had long known their MP’s views on Temperance  and as his opposition to Irish Home Rule was just as strong , he was asked to remain as the Tradeston MP.

In fact Archibald Cameron Corbett held his seat in Tradeston through eight General Elections between 1885 and 1910 , so great was his personal following  even when he stood as an Independent against the official Liberal Candidate as he did in January 1910. By the time of the December 1910 General Election he had rejoined the Liberal Party and was the victorious  official candidate.

The whole affair had taken a toll of his health and there are reports in the press in September 1908 of an illness due to exhaustion while campaigning in Newcastle. It must have been a disappointment to him, if not to the barmaids of England and Wales , that the Licensing Bill was dropped as it was so unpopular.7

There are few other insights into Corbett’s political career and beliefs. One came in the run-up to the passing of the ground breaking 1909 People’s Budget introduced by the Liberal Government . This budget would introduce welfare reforms and increase taxation on the rich. In a letter to the Times in May 1908, Corbett suggested the he regarded the Old Age Pension Bill, which proposed to give a better allowance to two single people than to a married couple , would lead to immorality!

He was also Chair of the Board of Conciliation and Arbitration  for the Steel Trades of the West of Scotland-there were no disputes on his watch! He was also a supporter of the Suffragette Movement. According to his son  Godfrey he was also responsible for  arranging for a young Marconi to transmit a message through the airwaves from Westminster across the Thames to St Thomas’s Hospital- the first wireless demonstration in Britain.8

Corbett was also noted for his innate kindness to his fellow man. According to his son , while still in the House of Commons, when the first Labour PMs were elected, his father helped them settle in.9

Perhaps it was a relief to Corbett’s political loyalties and to everyone else that further conflict was avoided when in the Coronation Honours List  in June 1911 he was raised to the peerage  and became 1st Baron Rowallan.

During his years in the House of Lords one of his favourite pastimes was taking groups of schoolchildren round Westminster, especially as the children had no idea who he was!10

When asked what gave him the greatest feeling of satisfaction in his political career, it is said that it was the passing of the Temperance( Scotland) Act 1913. This Act gave Scottish people the right to vote for a veto on the sale of alcohol in their local area if 10% of voters wished for a ballot. One wonders what the voters of Tradeston thought of that!

Personal and Family Life

Life was not all work for our donor. In  September 1887 he married Alice Mary Polson at Skelmorlie United Presbyterian Church. Alice was the 21 year old daughter of John Polson of Paisley one of the owners of Brown and Polson  Cornflower Manufacturers. Polson was a very wealthy man, his business interests included being  a director of the Vale of Clyde Tramway Company.1

Archibald and Alice  met on the  French Riviera probably in the spring of 1885 where Corbett  had gone possibly to lick his wounds after losing the North Warwickshire election. The Corbetts were staying in Nice and had gone to nearby Cimiez where the Polsons were staying. The couple met when the Corbetts took shelter from the rain at the Polsons’hotel. 2

Lavery, John, 1856-1941; Sir Archibald Cameron Corbett (1856-1933), 1st Baron Rowallan, MP

Archibald Cameron Corbett c1890  by John Lavery

 Copyright CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection

Portrait-of-Lady-Rowallan-in-White-210x300

Alice Mary Polson  by W E Lockhart 1896 

 Copyright  The Fine Art Society  Edinburgh

According to his son Godfrey  Corbett waited until he got a seat in Parliament before  he embarked on marriage. The wedding reception was held at Castle Levan on the Clyde, the summer home of the Polsons.

In 1888 the Corbetts moved to 26 Hans Place in London not far from Harrods.They had three children. Elsie was born in 1893,Thomas Godfrey in 1895 and Arthur Cameron in 1898. As well as their London home the Corbetts always had a home in Glasgow and a summer home at Cove . Bellahouston House was the Glasgow Home from 1890 to 1900, then Thornliebank House on the Rouken Glen Esate until 1906.3

Thornliebank House

Thornliebank House

Copyright Glasgow City Archives

Corbett was very conscious of his own restricted upbringing, brought about by his mother’s attitude and beliefs. He was determined to “banish the Cameronian gloom”. For example both his sons went to Eton.4

In 1901 Mrs Polson bought the 6,000 acre Rowallan Estate for the Polsons. What a very generous mother-in-law! There was an old castle on the estate but Corbett felt it was unsuitable for a family and commissioned architect Sir Robert Lorimer  to design a new house on higher ground.5

Rowallan Castle-old

Old Rowallan Castle Copyright  East Ayrshire Leisure Trust

Then in 1902 disaster struck . In July 1902 following a short illness after attending a city banquet  Alice Corbett died suddenly at Hans Place. She was to the children ,”our gay and adored mother”. Ever a caring father and determined his children should not be exposed to such grief when so young , Corbett chartered a yacht and sent his children on a cruise along the Firth of Clyde with some friends to keep them company. Only in later life did his children realise what a sacrifice that must have been for their father and how lonely he must have been.6

The plans for Rowallan  were reduced by 100,000 cubic feet,much to the chagrin of the architect. No longer was there to be a ballroom for example. The Corbetts moved into the new Rowallan Castle  in 1906,while continuing to live in Hans Place when in London and life went on as well as could be expected without Alice until 1914.

Corbett’s eldest son Godfrey(always called Billy by the family) was at Eton when war was declared in August 1914.There can be no better demonstration of their upbringing than the desire of the three Corbett children to play their part in the war effort. Billy was commissioned into the Ayrshire Yeomanry and later transferred to the Grenadier Guards. He was badly wounded and won the Military Cross. Arthur  joined the Royal Naval Air Service in 19 16 when he was just 18. Sadly he was  killed in action in December 1916. Elsie joined a Woman’s Ambulance Unit ,serving in Serbia from 1915 until 1919. She was taken prisoner by the Austrians and held for a year.7 She later wrote a book of her experiences.8

True to his generous nature their  father moved from Hans Place to Browns Hotel in 1916. He gave 26 Hans Place over to Belgian refugees.That he was a much –loved father can be seen from the many letters written to their father during the war by Elsie ,Billy and Arthur.10 In 1918 26 Hans Place was sold and Browns Hotel became Corbett’s permanent  home.

But what became of Rowallan Castle? In August 1918 Billy married  Gwyn Grimond, sister of Joe Grimond , future Liberal MP. They took over Rowallan Castle as their main residence where they had four children. Billy went on to be Chief Scout of the Commomwealth from 1945 until 1957 after which he became Governor of Tasmania ,following his father’s example  a life of public service.11      

Philanthropist

Archibald Cameron Corbett’s father,Thomas Lorimer Corbett was probably the role model for his second son’s lifetime of caring about those less fortunate than himself. While still living in Glasgow, Corbett senior set up the Glasgow Cooking Depots, canteens where working men could get cheap meals. These were very successful and made a profit which in turn was used to found Saltcoats Convalescent Home. T L Corbett was  instrumental in the financing of Quarrier’s Orphan Homes. He also founded Glasgow Working Men’s Club, the first of its kind in Scotland and supported the 1865/6 Glasgow Industrial Exhibition. His financing of bowling greens in Glasgow was true to the Corbett family tradition of trying to give working men an alternative to the public house!1

The Polsons were also a very generous family ,the town of Paisley benefiting from many gifts as in 1904 when Mrs Polson donated £10,000 to the local hospital. Thus when our donor married Alice Mary Polson in 1887 he had a wife who had been brought up with similar philanthropic views to his own.2

In Glasgow Archibald Cameron Corbett is remembered for his gift of Thornliebank House and Rouken Glen Estate(now Rouken Glen Park opened 26th May 1906) to the people of the city.He also bought the Ardgoil Estate in Argyle and gave it to the city in the hope that “large numbers of mothers and children from congested areas of Glasgow should be taken there by steamer”.4

A C Corbett c1906

Archibald Cameron Corbett c1906

Copyright Glasgow City Archives

The Corbetts were one of the  four Glasgow families who helped to finance and run The Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women,founded in 1886. Mrs Corbett was president of the Ladies Auxiliary Committee which raised funds for the hospital. The Alice Mary Corbett Memorial Home for Nurses was built in her memory after her death in 1902. Her husband  eventually became President of the hospital. The Corbetts were also involved in the Victoria Infirmary  where Corbett was its Chairman.5

After he took possession of the Rowallan Estate in 1906 ,Corbett took a great interest in how to improve the lives of his tenants. On discovering that the dairy farmers on the estate had to rise at 2am to milk the cows and then take the milk to Glasgow to sell, he set up the Rowallan Farmers Creamery ,a central point to which the farmers could take the milk to be cooled  and handled at reasonable hours. Based on a scheme which Corbett  had seen in Denmark ,it was the first of its kind in Britain.6

The list of Archibald Cameron Corbett’s charitable interests in Scotland are endless and include The Band of Hope,Temperance Association,Foundry Boys Association, Sunday Schools and many others.7 There is no better proof of the high esteem in which he was held than his repeated re-election as MP for Tradeston no matter which party he supported.

In recognition of his many years of service as both a Glasgow MP and of his great generosity to the City, Archibald Cameron Corbett was made a Burgess of the City  in January 1908.8

Because of his Parliamentary and business duties there Corbett spent a considerable part of his time in London ,”where he is as popular as he is in his Northern  Kingdom.” His philanthropic activities were as numerous in and around the Corbett Estates. Among these were:-

C1894-donated a drinking fountain for outside Forest Gate Station

1894-one acre of land given to tenants and residents of Ilford  for tennis courts and other games with £250 for layout.

1898 St German’s Recreation Grounds laid out “for tennis , croquet and other garden games”

1899-Downshall Baptist Chapel on on land and through finance given by Corbett

1900/1- 9 acres of land for parks at seven Kings Estate ,Ilford

1900/1-2000 children Lambeth given bulbs, a jar and growing instructions in December with a flower show in March to see the results.Mr and Mrs Corbett presented the prizes.

1902-ambulance given to Borough of Ilford

1903 –land donated for library at Hither Green,St German’s Estate

And many many more.9

Archibald Cameron Corbett’s philanthropy is perhaps best   summed up by the Glasgow Herald after his death.

“…supporter of every movement for the moral and social education of the populace…”10

Final Years

Corbett appears to have lived a quiet life at Browns Hotel in Albemarle Street after 1918. Little of his later life is documented. Perhaps he enjoyed visits from his  children and grandchildren . His daughter Elsie who never married  but settled in Spelsbury in Oxfordshire where she became a Justice of the Peace  for that county.1

On 19th March 1933 Archibald Cameron Corbett died peacefully at Brooks Club in London while sitting in his favourite chair reading a book . He was buried alongside his beloved Alice on Rowallan Moor in Ayrshire  in a simple grave. A short service was held at Rowallan House and was attended by large numbers of farm tenants and estate workers. The road to the burial was lined with local people,for example the boys of Fenwick School, and blinds were drawn in village shops and houses as a mark of the great respect in which this simple ,kind man was held.

A Memorial Service was held for our donor at Glasgow Cathedral on 23rd March 1933.2

Perhaps today we would find Archibald Cameron Corbett  rather paternalistic and patronising to ordinary people but the people of his time held him in great esteem.3

Notes and References

Paintings

1.Glasgow Corporation Parks Dept .Museums Sub-Committee Minutes 2/9/1898

2. C Baile  de Lapariare (ed)RSA  Exhibitions 1826-1990 Vol 111.1991

3.Catalogue: Exhibition of Scottish Paintings from Early 17th Century to Early 20th Century.Kelvingrove Museum

4.James Paterson Sales Book.Glasgow UniversityLibrary (GUL)Special Collections.MS Paterson HC4

5.ibid

6.C Baile de Lapariere(ed) RSA Exhibitions 1826-1990. Vol111.1991

7.Glasgow University Archives(GUA)GB 0248 (GUA) Doc026/16.Letter from A.J Balfour to ACC

Early Life

1. http://www.ancestry.co.uk Statutory Register of Births

2. T.G.P Corbett.Rowallan:The Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT pub Paul Harris 1976. p6

3.ibid p4

4.ibid p7

5.ibid p7

6.www.ancestry.co.uk Census Records 1871

7.www.newshamstory.com

8. Corbett. Rowallan:The Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT p8/9

9.ibid p9

10.ibid p10

11. GUA Doc 26/20

12.Corbett.Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT p10.”SK” became Royal College of Art and Design

13. James Paterson Sales Book. GUL Special Collections.MSPaterson H4

14. Corbett. Rowallan :Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT p10

Property Developer

1.Cole,Oswald. The Quest for Cameron Corbett:A Study of an Eminent Edwardian

2.ibid

3.www.building conservation.com:Kensall,Frank/dating old buildings.

4.The Corbett Estate. Article in The Mercury(Greenwich)19/01/2000

5.www.newshamstory.com

6. Cole.The Quest for Cameron Corbett:A Study of an Eminent Edwardian. p43

7.ibid p47

8.www.newshamstory.com

9.www.catfordcentral.com/hither-green-archibald-corbett-society

Politician

1. Cole. The Quest for Cameron Corbett:A Study of an Eminent Edwardian p41 ;www.wikipedia.org-Thomas Lorimer Corbett

2.”Dart Magazine” 24/11/1882 Glasgow University Archives and Special Collections.Archibald Cameron Corbett Collection GB248DC026/19

3.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. p15

4.Fisher,J. The Glasgow Encyclopaedia. Mainstream 1994

5.Glasgow Herald(GH) 20/03/1933;Cawood,Ian The Liberal Unionist Party. Taurus 2012

6.GH 18/08/1908

7.GH 28/09/1908;12/10/1908

8. GUA DC026/6;Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. p77

9. Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. p29

10.ibid p76

Personal Life

1.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord RowallanKT. pp 13-16

2.ibid pp12,15,16

3.ibid pp17-24

4.ibid p18

5.ibid p26

6.ibid pp27-28

7.ibid pp37-52

8.Elsie Cameron Corbett. Red Cross in Serbia 1915-1919:A Personal Diary of Reminiscences. Mainstream 1964.

9. GUA DC026/6

10.GUA DC026/28/29/30/31

11.Corbett.Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. Chap 4

Philanthropist

1.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT p5

2.ibid pp 12,15,16,32

3.ibid p33;GH 20/03/1933

4.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. p32

5.Stothers Glasgow,Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Xmas and New Year Annual 1911-12

6.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. p63

7.GH  20/03/1933

8.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. p35

9. Stothers Glasgow,Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Xmas and New Year Annual 1911-12

10.GH 20/03/1933

Final Years

1.Elsie Cameron Corbett. Red Cross in Serbia 1915-19:A Personal Diary of Reminiscences.

2.Corbett. Rowallan:Autobiography of Lord Rowallan KT. pp76-78

3.GH 24/03/1933

JMM

 

Agnes Gardner King(1857-1929)

_ISP7459.NEF
Figure 1 William Thomson (Lord Kelvin)© CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection.

In 1920, Agnes Gardner King offered a painting of her uncle, William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin, to Glasgow Art Galleries. The painting was by J Graham Gilbert, a Glasgow artist.

Agnes Gardner King was born in Ilkley, York shire in 1857 to Elizabeth Thomson and the Reverend David King, LLD (1). She had a sister Elizabeth Thomson King. Her mother, Elizabeth Thomson, was the sister of William Thomson, later Lord Kelvin, and James Thomson. William and Elizabeth were great friends and often went on walking tours together when they were in their twenties in Switzerland(2)(3). Elizabeth was an accomplished amateur artist and some of her paintings are in the National Portrait Gallery in London(4).

kelvin and siblings Agnes gardner King
Figure 2. William,James and Elizabeth Thomson by Agnes Thomson King National Portait Gallery, London, reproduced with permission

It is not known how Agnes was educated and what her training was but she became a gifted artist in watercolour. She painted pictures of children and also landscapes. She is featured in the Dictionary of British Artists. Her most interesting work ,which hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, is a charcoal drawing of her uncles Baron Kelvin (William Thomson), and James Thomson with her mother Elizabeth King.

Her Canadian Paintings are in the Canadian Government Archives. One is entitled ”View of Sleeping Beauty from Windows of C P R Hotel, Vancouver”(5).

She published a number of books alone or with her sister. These include: My Sister by Agnes Gardner King; Daily Texts for the the Little Ones by Elizabeth Thomson King illustrated by Agnes Gardner King; Islands Far Away. Fijian Pictures with Pen and and Brush by Agnes Gardner King; Kelvin the Man, a Biographical Sketch by his Niece, Agnes Gardner King.

In 1912, after an undisclosed illness and needing recuperation, she fulfilled a long-standing wish to travel to Fiji(6). She travelled with a companion, Mrs Hopkirk, sailing on the Empress of Britain from Liverpool through storms and, in fact, a snowstorm and in sight of icebergs, to land in Québec. They crossed Canada by train to Victoria and then embarked on the Makura to the Sandwich Islands and then on to Fiji. She travelled around the islands writing about spending a week in a Fijian village, travelling up the Navua River on a boat poled by native boatmen and enjoying the hospitality of a number of Chiefs in many villages and towns. This book, which ran to 2 editions, was published in 1921 and it is illustrated by 80 pen and ink and charcoal drawings. It gives a remarkable picture of islands which had, in living memory, a history of cannibalism. It also reflects her indomitable spirit and openness to different patterns of life.

 

  1. The Young Kelvin at Home by Elizabeth Thomson King
  2. Ancestry.co.uk
  3. The Life of Lord Kelvin by Silvanus Thompson
  4. http://www.npg.org.uk
  5. http://www.archivescanada.ca
  6. Islands far Away. Fijian Pictures with Pen and Brush by Agnes Gardner King. Bibliolife

 

 

The Misses Kirsop

The painting below was donated by the Agnes and Jessie Kirsop to Glasgow Corporation in January, 1915

 Me

_ISP7369.NEF
Figure 1 “Portrait of a Lady” by Sir John Watson-Gordon, PRSA. © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection.

Agnes Wotherspoon Kirsop and Jessie Brown Kirsop were the youngest of seven children of John Kirsop and his wife Mary (nee Brown) who were married in Gorbals in 1846(1). The first four children were born there, but by the time that the other three came along the family had moved to 12, Corunna Street, off Argyle Street, which was then classed as Anderston but would now be classed as part of Finnieston. There in 1871, according to the census (2), the family consisted of the parents, three unmarried daughters, Elizabeth, Agnes and Jessie.

John Kirsop was a Master Hatter who had a hat and cap manufactory at 106, St. Vincent Street (3). Later, under the control  of their brother, the firm, now John Kirsop and Son(Ltd) moved to 49/51, Renfield Street in 1927-28. This firm was later, in 1956, taken over by the House of Fraser and wound up(4).

John Kirsop came of a long line of hatters. he was  related to the Kirsops who had premises in Argyll Street in the early 19th century and to their uncle, Richard Nixon, who had premises at the corner of the Argyll Arcade, and was appointed hatter to King George 4th (5).

The three principal wholesale hat manufacturers in Glasgow in the second half of the 19th century had been trained by the Nixon establishment.

The family moved further west to 3, Victoria Crescent, Partick, and then in 1891 to 15, Westbourne Terrace. Agnes was the only daughter at home then.

John died in 1898, when his estate was valued at over £21,000. Mary, his widow, died in 1908.

By 1911(6) Agnes, Jessie and Elizabeth were back at Westbourne Terrace, where, in the census of that year, they were  described as having independent means.

In 1915, Jessie was in rented accomodation in 9, York Drive (7), which was in 1929 renamed as Novar Drive(8). As far as I can find out, Agnes did not join her there until 1927(9).

The painting which the sisters donated, according to the minute of Friday, February 20th, 1914, of the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, appeared on a list of works for sale(10). There was no  mention there of price sought or achieved, and the purchaser was not named in the minute.

The sisters donated the painting  to Glasgow Corporation in January, 1915 and the gift is recorded in a minute of the Corporation of 6th January, 1915 thus” Miss Agnes Kirsop, 9, York Drive is offering, on behalf of herself and her sister, to present to the Corporation the portrait of an old lady by Sir John Watson-Gordon, PRSA.”(11)

The sisters continued to live in various addresses around the West End until their deaths. Jessie died in Gartnavel Royal Asylum in 1930, and Agnes died at 28, Ashton Road in 1940 (12).

Bibliography

(1) http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(2) Ibid

(3) Glasgow Street Directories – Mitchell Library

(4) http://www.houseoffraserarchive.ac.uk/company/?id=c1375

(5) http://www.glasgowwestaddresses.co.uk/1888_Book/Kirsop_John_&_Son.htm (Index of Firms(1888) ).

(6) http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(7) Voters Roll 1915 – Mitchell Library

(8) Post Office Directories – Mitchell Library

(9) http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

(10) Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts Minute Book 1914 – Mitchell Library

(11) Glasgow Corporation Minute Book 1915 – Mitchell Library

(12) http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

 

 

Matthew Dickie (1873 – 1944)

(c) Glasgow Museums; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
Figure 1. Oil, Alexander Roche R.S.A., “Girl in Red Hat”. Donated by Matthew Dickie, 74 Ormonde Avenue, Glasgow, S.4., on 18 February 1942. © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection.
M. Dickie
Figure 2. Matthew Dickie from a portrait by David Gauld. Courtesy of Matthew K. Dickie.

Matthew Dickie was born on the 6th April 1873 at 15, Naburn Street, Hutchesontown, Glasgow. (1) His father was John Kennedy Dickie, a mason builder born in Kilmarnock in 1844, who founded the building firm of “John Dickie and Son” in 1880. (2) His mother was Janet Ramsay. Matthew was the elder son in a family of four girls and two boys. At the time of the 1881 Census the family was still living at 15, Naburn Street with Matthew, aged 8, described as a “scholar”. (3) It is not recorded where he attended school, however, it seems that about this time he began accompanying his father to work thus learning the essentials of the building trade from an early age. He later completed his apprenticeship as a stone mason and by the time he was twenty one he was managing the firm with his father. In the 1890s, the firm was based in Greenside Street, Glasgow. (4)

John Kennedy Dickie died on the 7th May 1897 and the “assets and liabilities” of the firm were passed on to Matthew and his mother Janet. (5) The business, now under the name of John K. Dickie and Son, was based at 20, South Coburg Street, Glasgow (6) and continued to flourish under Matthew`s leadership. He was living with his mother at “Largs Villa”, Myrtle Park, Crosshill. However, on the 4th of August 1900, Matthew Dickie married Mary Hutchison the daughter of a master joiner in Lesmahagow. (7) and they moved to a house at 1132 Cathcart Road. (8) The following year their daughter Nettie Duff Ramsay Dickie was born and a son, John Kennedy Dickie, arrived in 1903. (9) By 1905, the family had moved to “The Priory”, King`s Park Avenue, Cathcart. (10) A second son, Matthew, was born in 1908. (11)

In 1909 the firm moved its premises to King`s Park Road, Mt. Florida and in the following year the family moved house, this time to Chartley Lodge in Cathcart. (12) According to the 1911 Census (13) this was a large house with at least fourteen rooms, it may have been about this time that Matthew started to amass his collection of art (or perhaps the house was purchased to display his already extensive collection). He had been to Holland in 1909 visiting the major cities and may have acquired pictures there. He bought paintings sometimes through dealers and at other times from junk and second hand shops. According to his grandson, he had an excellent eye for works of art and a favourite ploy if he spotted something interesting among a group of paintings was to pretend that he was only interested in the frames and the glass and to offer a price for the whole lot which was invariably accepted.

Figure 3. Dickie family in America. Courtesy of Matthew K. Dickie

It seems that from his visits to Europe he got a sense of how things were progressing there and, realising that war was probably inevitable, he took the decision to emigrate to the U.S.A. This necessitated the sale of Chartley Lodge and ultimately of his art collection. At this time he also sold Eastwood House and estate to John (later Lord) Weir. In 1913 he sailed to the USA aboard the “Mauretania” and visited Chicago, Los Angeles and California where he tried his hand at gold prospecting and successfully unearthed some nuggets which he brought back to Scotland. This may have been a trip to ascertain the “lie-of-the-land” because in the following year on 17th July, Matthew, now aged 41, and his wife Mary arrived in New York having sailed from Liverpool aboard the “Aquitania”. (14) They travelled all over America and Canada visiting Sacramento, California, Vancouver and Montreal and sailed on the St. Lawrence River. They returned to Scotland but Matthew arrived back in New York, via Liverpool, on 24th April 1916 aboard the “St. Louis” having left Mary at home at 11, Royal Crescent, Queen`s Park. (15)

During this visit, he seems to have decided to try his hand at farming and employed a land agent to find a suitable property. Meantime he returned to Scotland to collect the family and on 18th September 1916 they all arrived in New York aboard the “Tuscania” which had sailed from Glasgow. (16) With Matthew were Mary, daughter Nettie aged 15 and sons John aged 12 and Matthew aged 8. They settled on a farm in Virginia, called “Deanwood” which Matthew had bought and the family lived there till about 1919. With the help of William Sheriff and a foreman who had travelled out from Scotland with them he was determined to make the farm productive and applied all his energies to that aim. (William Sheriff was a young engineer employed by the firm who remained with John Dickie and Son into the 1950s).

Meanwhile, back in Glasgow, on 5th October 1916, the bulk of his art collection was sold at auction by J. and R. Edmiston. Matthew`s address was listed in the catalogue as “late of Chartley Lodge, Cathcart”. (17) The star item in the sale was “Homewards at Dawn, Loch Fyne” which was painted in 1883 by William MacTaggart. It was bought for 1100 guineas by Alexander Reid. The picture was probably acquired by Matthew from the Ramsay Collection in 1909. Other items in the sale included pictures by Sir Henry Raeburn R.A., Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A., George Henry, A.R.A., R.S.A., Sir James Guthrie, Fantin Latour, B.J. Blommers as well as paintings by J. Lawton Wingate, Muirhead Bone and S.J. Peploe. The Glasgow Herald in announcing the sale reported that “The pictures to be sold include not merely one or two of importance, but several of absolutely outstanding character”. (18) The sale realised a sum of about £39,000.

Figure 4. Deanwood. Courtesy of Matthew K. Dickie

In 1919 Matthew was approached by a prospective buyer who offered twice the sum he had paid for Deanwood; an offer that Matthew couldn’t refuse! With the profit, he bought “Cornwell”, a mansion in Virginia dating from 1731, with 200 acres of land around it. He renamed this “Parklands”. However, the family did not live there for long. Within eighteen months, and with Mary becoming increasingly homesick, he reluctantly sold “Cornwell” (Parklands) and the family moved back to Scotland. “Cornwell” was one of the “Historic Houses of Virginia” which featured in a book published in 2003. (19) Two years later, Matthew again set sail from Glasgow bound for New York, this time accompanied by his son John. Part of the reason for this trip would have been to visit his son Matthew who was still at school in Virginia. They arrived in New York aboard the “Cameronia” on 30th June 1921 with their final destination Vienna, Washington, D.C. Their home in Glasgow was now at 71, Broomhill Road, Newlands. (20) They returned to Glasgow but on 18th of June the following year, Matthew arrived alone in New York having sailed from Glasgow aboard the “Columbia”. Mary was at home in “Underwood”, Giffnock, Glasgow. (21)

In 1930 Matthew purchased Eaglesham House together with ‘its gardens, cottages, lodge houses and farmland of 250 acres’ from the trustees of Captain Angus Cecil Gilmour. Planning consent was obtained to develop the estate with a country club, golf course and surrounding housing built in a village form including a school, shops etc. (22)

Eaglesham
          Figure 5. Eaglesham House in 1927. Courtesy of Mathew K. Dickie

Eaglesham House was requisitioned in 1940 by the War Department (Scottish Command) and occupied until 1946. Then planning consent was changed to make part of the Eaglesham estate ‘green belt’. This, together with the cost of death duties, persuaded Dickie’s Trustees to sell the house and estate to the Polnoon Estate Company. One of those involved in this purchase was the Hon. J.K. Weir, son of the Lord Weir who had purchased Eastwood House. (23)

1931 saw the death of George Leslie Hunter the artist who had been a good friend of Matthew`s. Matthew had helped Hunter financially and, at the time when Hunter`s work had fallen out of favour with collectors, Tom Honeyman wrote that “Among the older friends and patrons who still believed at this time that Hunter was by no means a spent force I can only recollect McInnes, McNair, Harrison and Dickie”; and later “The Bon-Bon was the pretentious title of a very ordinary tea room in the Central Station (which was) the meeting place for the morning coffee of McInnes, McNair, Hunter and myself. Occasionally we would be joined by Willie Gordon, who was on the staff of the Evening News; Ion Harrison, Matthew Dickie, Sam Warnock, R.C. Roy were among others who would more infrequently, join in discussions …..”. (24)

Mrs Matthew Dickie
Figure 6. Mary Dickie by George Leslie Hunter. Courtesy of Matthew K. Dickie.

Matthew owned several of Hunter’s work including one of his wife Mary. In 1941 he lent a “Still Life” by Hunter to be shown at the RGI Exhibition of that year. (25) He also owned “Fan and Fruits” which, when it came up for sale much later, was described as “one of the most dramatic Leslie Hunters ever to be on offer in recent years”. (26) Another of his paintings, “Boats in the Harbour, Cassis” by Hunter was sold at Christies in 1998 for £3,105

On the 29th October 1933, Matthew, now aged 60, Mary and their son Matthew arrived in New York aboard the “Caledonia” having left Glasgow on the 19th of October. (27) Perhaps the intention was to try to settle in the U.S.A. because they repurchased “Cornwell”. However, it was not to be and they sold up within two years and returned to Glasgow. In 1935, he purchased around 30 acres of land on the Castlemilk Estate on the outskirts of Glasgow. He proposed to erect 230 houses and 10 shops on the ground. The plans were finalised in February 1937 and preparations were made to start the work. However, Glasgow Corporation had plans to develop the estate for community housing and set a Compulsory Purchase Order on Dickie’s holding. After an inquiry in 1937, the lands and mansion of Castlemilk were finally bought by Glasgow Corporation. (28)

Matthew Dickie died on 22nd January 1944 at the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow. He had gone to visit one of his foremen in the hospital and collapsed and died from a cerebral haemorrhage. (29) His home at the time was at 74, Ormonde Avenue. Matthew was buried in Cathcart Cemetery, Glasgow. (30) According to his grandson, he left an estate worth well over £150,000 but this was severely reduced by death duties. The published value of his estate was £8,112:8:10 (31)

Matthew Dickie was an avid art collector. He owned several Peploes, a Raeburn and J.D. Fergusson`s “Lady with the Hat” now in Kelvingrove. He was a friend of Dr. Tom Honeyman who is reputed to have said that “Matthew Dickie taught me everything I know about art……. and I mean everything”. It was probably due to Honeyman that he donated “Lady in Red Hat” to Glasgow. He seemed to excel at most things he did including fishing and was an excellent artist himself. He was very musical as were two of his sisters who became opera singers. A third sister taught music at the Atheneum in Glasgow.

(I am very grateful to Matthew K. Dickie, grandson of the donor, for informative discussion and for allowing me access to family records and photographs).

References

1. Scotland`s People.

2. (The firm later became “Dickie Homes”). http://www.s1homes.com/newhomes/developer/dickie_homes/4107.shtml

3. Ancestry.com (Census Data)

4. Glasgow Post Office Directories.

5. The Edinburgh Gazette, 8th October 1897.

6. Glasgow Post Office Directories.

7. Scotland`s People.

8. Glasgow Post Office Directories.

9. Scotland`s People.

10. Glasgow Post Office Directories.

11.  Ancestry.com (Census Data)New York, Passenger Lists, 1820 – 1957.

12. Glasgow Post Office Directories.

13. Ancestry.com (Census Data)

14. Ancestry.com; New York, Passenger Lists, 1820 – 1957.

15. Ibid.

16. Ibid.

17. Glasgow Herald, 30th September 1916

18. Glasgow Herald, 6th October 1916, page 9.

19. “The Land at Cornwell Farm” by Jean Tibbetts. Copy General, 102 – 9, Executive Drive, Sterling, VA 20166. (Copyright – “The Great Falls Historical Society”, PO Box 56, Great Falls, Virginia 22066).

20. Ancestry.com; New York, Passenger Lists, 1820 – 1957.

21. Ibid.

22. http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Eaglesham-The-Story-of-a-Planned-Village

23. Ibid.

24. “Introducing Leslie Hunter, T.J. Honeyman, Faber and Faber Ltd., 1937.(Also published in “Hunter Revisited”, Bill Smith and Jill Marriner, Atelier Publishing, 2012)

25. The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, 1861-1989: A Dictionary of Exhibitors at the Annual Exhibitions, Roger Billcliffe, (Woodend Press, 1990).

26. Glasgow Herald.

27. Ancestry.com; New York, Passenger Lists, 1820 – 1957.

28. Glasgow Herald, 6th November 1937, p7; also Carmunnock Heritage Trail Booklet – Glasgow City Council.

29. Scotland`s People.

30. Glasgow Herald, 24th January, 1944, p1.

31. Confirmations and Inventories, 1944. National Records of Scotland, CAL/1944/A, pp 236

Catherine Jane Balingall Birrell (1861-1933)

Knox, John, 1778-1845; The Cloch Lighthouse
Figure 1. John Knox, “The Cloch Lighthouse”. Donated by the Misses Birrell, October 1921. © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection.

Women donors frequently present a challenge to the researcher. Many women who have donated paintings to Glasgow Museums seem to be “invisible”.

Obviously, the research is focused on less well known donors to the city, so it is to be expected that information on this group may be less easily available.  The time in which donors lived is also a factor in finding information about them. Many of the donors researched lived in the nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries, a time when women were less active in public life and where their realm was considered to be the domestic one. Women were frequently seen as adjuncts to their husbands, fathers or brothers.

Lady Violet Bonham Carter asked her governess in 1850, “What shall I do with my life?” Her governess replied, “Until you are eighteen you will learn. After that you will do nothing.” This paints a very extreme picture of a woman’s life. Obviously some Victorian women , usually from the upper and middle classes, may have “done nothing” in adulthood. However, Professor Sheila Rowbotham, in her history of twentieth century women, points out that many women, from all classes, were unwilling to be confined by the restrictions placed upon them by society and carved out careers for themselves. (1) At least one of the Birrell sisters was such a woman.

The Misses Birrell came from a large family, two sons and ten daughters, and lived in the west end of Glasgow at Wilton Street. The father, Alexander Birrell, originated from Falkland in Fife. He came to Glasgow and set up as a soft goods manufacturer and calenderer.  The mother of the family was Margaret McDowall Birrell. (2)

Of the two sons, little could be found about Samuel. He is listed in the 1881 census as a clerk to a West India Merchant. Alexander is listed in the same census, aged 18, as a clerk to a calenderer, possibly a start in the family business. He later became a partner in Crawford Easton and Company, a calico printing company,  married well and served in WW1 as an army reserve officer, for which he featured in the “Men You Know” column of the Baillie. (3)

Census returns show that many of the ten Birrell daughters worked for a living, although some had “own means”. Janet is listed in the census of 1891 as a “daily governess”. Agnes is listed as a nurse. Some sisters married and moved away from Glasgow.

This research focussed  on the four sisters who are listed as living in the family home during the 1901 census and who later died there, since they are the most likely donors of the painting. (4)

Lydia, who had no stated profession, was a lay member of Glasgow and West of Scotland Lady Artists’ Club. (5)  Two of the four sisters, Margaret and Catherine, worked as teachers, Margaret teaching music and Catherine teaching English and Classics. Catherine worked from home. Catherine’s distinctive name, Catherine Jane Ballingall Birrell, led to the discovery that Catherine had attended Girton College in Cambridge between 1882 and 1885. (6) This was a relatively exciting find, since young women of the time tended not to go to university, particularly not to Oxford or Cambridge.

Catherine Jane Balingall Birrell Girton College Cambridge
Figure 2. Girton College 1882. Catherine Jane Balingall Birrell (Back row centre) © : The Mistress and Fellows , Girton College, Cambridge.

Catherine was also a member of a number of intellectual societies in Glasgow, including the Royal Philosophical Society, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and the Classical Association of Scotland.

Catherine was also a playwright and poet, writing as C.J.B Birrell. Her play “Two Queens – A Drama” was published by John Mclehose Glasgow in 1889. (7) This play deals with the struggle for succession between Mary Tudor and Jane Grey after the death of Edward VI. The play is  well written, with some feminist ideas explored, as in this conversation between Jane Grey and her husband, who hopes to become king as she becomes queen.

Lady Jane: “If power be equal, I am set aside to whom the crown was due: what sense in that? Why should the king leave me an empty honour ?”

Guildford: “Who argues with a woman? They’ve no wit to know when they are beaten. I shall go. So great a queen can never own a husband; Go, boast yourself in solitary state that you are queen of England, I am king.”

Her second play ” The Lesbians”, (8) appears to have been privately printed around 1914. This play is set on the island of Lesbos and deals with the last days of Sappho, leading up to her suicide on account of unrequited love for a young man. Both plays are available in the National Library in Edinburgh.

The book “Gendering the Nation” sheds a little more light.(9) Edwin Morgan had also discovered C.J.B. Birrell and her plays. Morgan stated that there was some lesbian interest in the Two Queens play which, though not overtly lesbian, does feature two very strong women.Morgan also saw the private publication of “The Lesbians”, alongside what he describes as the “sexless” initials of the author as indicative of “the circumspection of an undeclared interest” in lesbianism, although he also acknowledges that, at the time of publication, the modern meaning of “Lesbian” did exist, but would be found mostly in medical and psychological contexts. Usually, in these times, lesbian was taken to mean an inhabitant of Lesbos.

Morgan discovers more overtly lesbian themes in CJB Birrell’s book of poems “Things Old and New”, which was privately printed in Brighton in 1917. He selects the poem Gulduc and Guldelaun as evidence, the two women of the title  being in love with the same man, but also with each other

“But take ye heed, fair maidens all

How with mankind ye do

For the more love you give to them

The less they give to you.”

Morgan acknowledges his difficulty in trying to find any further information relating to C.J.B. Birrell, but hopes that “some day Catherine Birrell will emerge from the shadows and tell us whether these speculations are out of order”

Unfortunately, the research could not clarify the acquisition of the painting by the Birrell Family, or which of the sisters donated the painting. However, the research does confirm the idea that, if a woman of the nineteenth and twentieth century was strong enough, she could carve out a life and a career for herself, without marriage, and not be required to “do nothing”. It is also important to remember however, that Catherine’s story is not the only one. Hers is the story which has been found. Perhaps the other Birrell sisters have equally interesting stories which may be discovered at a later date.

Note: If you wish to reproduce image 2 please contact Girton College, Cambridge.

Bibliography

1.Rowbotham, Sheila  (1999),  Century of women: The History of women in Britain and the United States in the Twentieth Century: Penguin Publishing

2. Post Office Directories

3. Men You Know, The Baillie, 16/12/1914

4. 1881,1891,1901 census: Births, Deaths and Marriages: Scotlands People

5. Archive Material, Glasgow and West of Scotland Lady Artists’ Club, Mitchell              Library

6.www.googlebooks.com Register, Thomas Gray Cullum: University of Cambridge.1887

7. Birrell,  C.J.B. (1889) “Two Queens”, A Drama.  Maclehose and Sons: Glasgow :National Library of Scotland

8. Birrell,  C.J.B. (1914) “The Lesbians” : Private Publication: National Library of Scotland

9. Morgan, Edwin “A Scottish Trawl”, in Whyte, Christopher (1995) “Gendering the Nation”: Edinburgh University Press. Edinburgh

 

 

 

.

Mrs Janet Rodger (1814-1901)

When Janet Rodger died at 5 Park gardens Glasgow on 31st August 1901, she bequeathed seven paintings by Horatio McCulloch ‘to form part of the collection of pictures for the new art galleries’ (1). Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Museum had just opened as the central showcase of the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition, which aimed to ‘present the progress in Industry, Science and Art of all nations during the 19th century’(2), so this was an ideal opportunity for those who were considering gifts to the city.

Fig.1 ‘Glencoe’ by Horatio McCulloch 1864 (CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection)

Janet was born to John Smith, a coal-master and Margaret Adam who married in May 1807. She was born on 17th July 1814 after her brothers Francis and David (3). Both brothers became involved in the shipbuilding industry on the Clyde which was expanding rapidly at this time. In 1841 Janet married James Rodger who was also involved in the shipbuilding industry. James’ father Thomas was a Glasgow linen merchant but James was destined for greater things. James and Janet lived at 16 Elmbank Crescent for around twelve years and by 1871 they had moved to 5 Park Gardens, Park district, an affluent and popular area of Glasgow with the wealthy merchant classes.

This was a good time to be involved in the shipbuilding industry in Glasgow. Robert Napier, so- called father of Clyde shipbuilding, set up the Govan Old Yard in 1841(4) to develop the new iron hull industry, just one of many innovations which led to Glasgow becoming the world’s pre-eminent shipbuilding centre. David Napier, a cousin of Robert, was also involved in shipbuilding and apprenticed Janet’s brother David, and James Rodger, who set up their own business of ‘Smith and Rodger’ at Middleton Yard, next to Old Govan Yard. Engine works were initially set up in HydePark Street then St James foundry at the Broomielaw was purchased to build iron hulls. Ships were then completed and launched from the new quay (5).

This was a time when many paddle steamers were seen on the Clyde and one of the first built by Smith and Rodger was ‘Edinburgh Castle’, launched 1844, and later to become part of the MacBrayne fleet, now familiar as Caledonian MacBrayne. She was later moved to Inverness (as Glengarry) and eventually scrapped in 1927. Edinburgh Castle was 138 ft in length and was fitted with a one cylinder steeple paddle.

DR Glengarry -McLean Museum
Fig.2 Glengarry’ – former ‘Edinburgh Castle’ in the Caledonian Canal 1844 (c Inverclyde Libraries, McLean Museum and Inverclyde Archives)

Over eighty ships were launched by the firm, many for overseas buyers, and the international reach of Smith and Rodger was reflected in names such as New Granada, Persian, Kangaroo, Athenian and Danube (6). In 1864 it was decided to voluntarily stop trading. Both partners were in their fifties, neither had children, and were financially secure. The business was purchased by London and Glasgow Engineering and Iron Shipbuilding Company Limited, which was formed in that year by a consortium of London bankers and both James and David continued their connection in their role as directors. It was one of the first firms to incorporate limited liability and it was often referred to as ‘the limited’. Rodger stayed on the board until his death in 1873 from a longstanding illness. David Smith retired in 1885. At that time the company advised the shareholders that no-one had been found to replace him.

David never married and he died in 1888, leaving an estate of £96,817, a substantial sum for the time. At least one of the paintings which Janet bequeathed to Glasgow had been owned by David. ‘Glencoe’, one of Horatio McCullochs finest and most popular paintings, was loaned by him to Glasgow Royal Institute of Fine Art in 1875, and is usually on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum (7). McCulloch, sometimes known as ‘Scotland’s Constable’, was a popular artist with Glasgow’s industrialists, merchants and collectors, and the romantic highland themes of his paintings would have well suited the fine drawing rooms of the their Victorian villas.

After James Rodger died in 1873, Janet’s younger brother Francis came to the townhouse at 5 Park Gardens until his death in 1891, and Janet continued to live there until her death in 1901.

She left an estate of £84,273, and it is interesting to note that the informant on her death certificate was David Dehane Napier, a second cousin, who published a biography of his grandfather in 1912, another David Dehane Napier who was a cousin of the well known Robert Napier (8). James and Janet Rodger are interred in Glasgow Necropolis.

References

1) Glasgow Museums Resource Centre; Object Files.
2) Kinchin P, Kinchin J (1988), Glasgow’s Great Exhibitions, Glasgow:Bell and Bain
3) Scotlands people, births,(OPR births 654/0010 0396 Rutherglen) http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
4) Post Office Directories
5) Browning A S E, A History of Clyde Shipyards (Mitchell Library, Glasgow)
6) http://www.clannapier.org
7) Bilcliffe R, RGI 1861-1969 Directory of Exhibitors (Mitchell Library, Glasgow)

8) http://www.clannapier.org

Lt Colonel H.A Campbell OBE 1895-1971

Paintings

In 1946 our donor presented the following family portraits to Glasgow Museums.

Underhill; William Campbell of Tullichewan (1794-1864)
Figure 1 Underhill; William Campbell of Tullichewan (1794-1864)© CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection.
unknown artist; James Campbell of Tullichewan (1823-1901)
Figure 2 Unknown artist; James Campbell of Tullichewan (1823-1901);© CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection.

William Campbell was our donor’s great -grandfather  and one of the founder’s of the family’s prosperity. The artist was” Underhill” but whether William Underhill (1848-1871) or Frederick Charles Underhill(1832-1896)  or another artist by that name is not known at this time. James Campbell was our donor’s grandfather  who continued the management of the family business after his father’s death.

There is no evidence that either painting was exhibited.

The Campbell Family

We cannot discuss the life and exploits of Henry Alastair Campbell (known as Alastair)  without looking into his family background  as the subjects of the portraits played such a great part in the economic and social life of Glasgow and the surrounding area in the 19th Century as well as in the prosperity of the Campbells , which affected future generations.

William Campbell (1793-1864)

“Christian Philanthropist and one of our Merchant Princes” was how William Campbell,great-grandfather of H.A. Campbell was described in his obituary1. William Campbell was one of the founders of the family fortune. His father was a tenant farmer on the Gartmore Estate  near Port of Menteith. He was the fifth of nine children. In 1805 his parents brought the family to Glasgow ,attracted by the burgeoning industry of the city. After learning weaving William was employed by John Craig,who had a “respectable Scotch cloth business “ in the High Street. Such was the good impression he made,through his honesty,cheerfulness and energy for hard work, that on the death of his employer, William was invited by the widow to run the business. However William decided to set up in business for himself. He was 22 years old. He began by selling handkerchiefs from premises in the Saltmarket in 1817. The business prospered ,extending to all types of drapery,eventually outgrowing the premises and William’s ability to run the business single-handed. One of the reasons for his success was his acknowledged  transformation of the art of retailing in Glasgow. He introduced a system of small profits,quick returns and fixed prices. Thus he ended the practice of “prigging” where the price of  everything on  sale was negotiable.  Different people paid different prices for the same product and the whole business was very time-consuming.

William  was eventually joined by his brother  James and together they formed the partnership of ‘J & W Campbell & Co General Warehousemen’ and moved to a purpose-built warehouse in Candleriggs. By 1841  William had became so prosperous he was able to buy the estate of Tullichewan on the shores of Loch Lomond and moved to Tullichewan Castle2. James bought the estate of Strathcatro in Angus. Both sons of James Campbell,James A Campbell and Henry Campbell  became Members of Parliament. Henry Campbell ,MP for Stirling , inherited an estate in Kent from his uncle Henry Bannerman in 1871 with the provision that he change his name to Campbell- Bannerman  He was later to become Henry Campbell Bannerman,Prime  Minister3.

tullichewancastle
Figure 3 Tullichewan Castle © http://www.valeofleven.org.uk

The company continued to prosper, expanding into a wholesale business which traded with every part of the UK as well as Australia ,New Zealand ,South Africa,The West Indies,Canada and the USA. J&W Campbell also acted as agents for manufacturers and other warehouses which wanted to export goods abroad . In 1856 the company moved for the final time to large new premises in Ingram Street which had been built to the company’s specifications.

William Campbell  was an intimate friend of Thomas Chalmers, the minister who led  the Disruption of the Church of Scotland and to the founding of the Free Church of Scotland. Chalmers was a frequent visitor to Tullichewan Castle. William was an avid supporter of the Disruption ,not least in the financial support he gave. He took an active part in the scheme of William Collins to build 20 new churches in Glasgow and that of Thomas Chalmers to build two hundred new churches in Scotland. He is included in that very famous memorial to the Disruption,”The Disruption Worthies”4.

William Campbell’s generosity was not confined to the building of churches. He spent a large part of his fortune on those in need. He was co- founder and financial supporter of The Glasgow Night Asylum  for the Homeless to which he bequeathed a legacy of £1500. He supported The City Improvement Scheme,The Royal Infirmary and the Indigent Gentlewoman’s Fund. He did not shy away from the darker  side of life either in that he supported those who worked to rescue girls from a life working in the brothels of Glasgow and he is credited with financing the rescue of 30-40 girls. He was always alert to the need to improve the lives of working people. To that end he contributed £500 to the financially  struggling Glasgow Botanic Gardens so that  it could open its gates to the general public on the annual  Glasgow Fair Holiday. It is estimated that he gave away between £80,000 and £90,000 to charity of all kinds during his lifetime5.

In 1822 William had married Margaret Roxburgh. They went on to have five children  and became one of the leading families in Dunbartonshire.

When Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Dumbarton Castle in 1847,  Mr and Mrs William Campbell as well as their son James and his wife, Jessie, were among the party which greeted the queen6.

Figure 4 Painting by Hope J Stewart 1816-1881; Landing of Queen Victoria at Dumbarton © West Dunbartonshire Council

William Campbell died on April 2nd 1864 at the home of his son James at 200 Bath Street7. He is buried at Glasgow Necropolis“among the great of Glasgow”8 .

James  Campbell of Tullichewan (1823-1901)

Even before the death of his father in 1864  his second son, James, our donor Alastair’s grandfather, had taken over the running of  J&W Campbell & Company aided by two of his Campbell cousins, sons of James Campbell ,later Sir James Campbell, Lord Provost of Glasgow. In 1846 James had married Janet Black(always known as Jessie) daughter of the owner of a bleaching business. They were married for over fifty years and had five children-William born in 1848;Eliza  born 18519;Margaret born  1854;Jessie G born in 1855 and James Adair,Alastair’s father, born in 186010.

Under James’s leadership the company went from strength to strength. Since about 1856 when the company moved to the Ingram Street premises, it  had become a  completely  wholesale enterprise. The Ingram Street premises had three floors and a basement. The ‘counting house’ was on the ground floor,the basement housed  ‘heavier classes of goods’ for example ‘flannels and blankets…waterproof fabrics, moleskins…towellings … carpets and floorcloths…stock…representative of the best national products of its kind’. The first floor housed woollen cloth ‘embracing every variety of the tweeds of Scotland and England’ among many other drapery items.The second and third floors were equally well-stocked with every kind of drapery one could imagine including ‘a ready-made clothing department…silks and satins,ribbons,laces,flowers,fancy goods,smallwares,fans,bags,umbrellas,stays,braces,mantles,millinery and shawls’. The company employed between five and six hundred employees11. The Campbells had come a long way from selling handkerchiefs from a tenement in the Saltmarket!

On the death of William Campbell  James and Jessie moved from their home at 200 Bath Street to Tullichewan Castle. Like his father James continued to support  the Free Church,later the United Free Church, and carried on many of his father’s philanthropic works,for example he was president of the Glasgow Night Asylum For the Homeless for many years. James was also an ardent  Liberal and supporter of William Gladstone. He supported many Liberal associations in the Vale of Leven  both financially and by giving advice.He was also very interested in the education of young people12.

Although living at Tullichewan, James continued to take an active part in the life of the City of Glasgow. He was very interested in the education of the young and served on the School Board of  Glasgow. He was  a member of the Executive Council  for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition. He was also very interested in drama and music. The Glasgow Music Festival of 1874 owes no small thanks to James who was Chairman of the Executive Committee. James was also President of the Glasgow Choral Union and a patron of the Glasgow Amateur Dramatic Club which had been founded in 1883  as a charitable institution,’to promote the study and practice of Dramatic Art’. Tickets were only available from members13.

Jessie Campbell LLD
Figure 5 Jessie Campbell LLD © Glasgow University Archives

We cannot forget Alastair’s grandmother Jessie as she was an extraordinary woman for her time.Jessie was involved in many social and intellectual movements but her main interest was the promotion of the cause for the higher education of women in Scotland. It was she who first suggested in 1868 that Glasgow University hold lectures for women in Natural History,Moral Philosophy,English Literature and Astronomy,given by professors from the university. These lectures were held at the university and at the Corporation Galleries( known to us as McLellan Galleries where the city’s art collection was housed at that time). These lectures were very successful and continued until 1877 when the Glasgow Association for the Higher Education of Women was formed  to offer women the opportunity to study at University level. Jessie became Vice President of the Association. In 1883 the Association was incorporated as Queen Margaret College. Jessie took on the role of Vice President and chaired its executive committee. She persuaded her friend Isabella Elder, wife of ship builder David Elder and one of the greatest  Glasgow philanthropists of her  time, to buy North Park House,(Queen Margaret Drive)  in the West End of Glasgow for the college. Jessie was  the main fund-raiser of the £20,000 college endowment fund. At this time Queen Margaret College was the only college of higher education for women in Scotland. The college amalgamated with Glasgow University  in 1892 and was particularly noted for its medical faculty for the training of female doctors-separate from the training of male doctors of course! In 1901 Jessie Campbell was  awarded  an honorary LLD degree in gratitude for her services14.

Unfortunately the year 1901 was not a happy one for the Campbell family. In April 1901, James and Jessie’s grandson, George Gildea,son of their daughter Eliza and her husband, the late Major General George Frederick Gildea , died of enteric fever in Johannesburg  while serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Highland Fusiliers as his father had done. Young George and his step-sister, Alleine,  spent a lot of time at Tullichewan with the Campbell grandparents while their parents were with his regiment.

Eliza was the second wife of George Fredreick Gildea who was a distinguished soldier. He fought in the Crimean War and in the Anglo-Boer war of 1880-81 when he was Garrison Commander of a fort near Pretoria. This fort was built around 1880 and he named it Fort Tullichewan after his wife’s home in Scotland15. Eliza accompanied her husband to South Africa and was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her services attending the wounded at the ‘investment of Pretoria’16. On  the Major -General’s retirement in 1886 the Gildea’s lived at Broomley House on the Tullichewan Estate.  According to his obituary James never recovered from the death of his young grandson and on August 14th 1901 he died  at Tullichewan and was buried in a newly built family vault in Alexandria17.

James Adair Campbell ( 1860-1932)  

At the time of his grandfather’s death our donor Alastair was living at Broomley House on the Tullichewan Estate with his parents James Adair Campbell (known as Adair) and his mother Jean Blanche Campbell. Alastair was five years old  his eldest brother ,James Haldane Adair Campbell was seven and his younger brother Melvin was two. A sister , Shena ,was born in 190318.

Adair Campbell had not married until the age of 32. He had served in the Matabele  with the British South African Company Police in 1890 and along with Cecil Rhodes  was in the pioneer column which penetrated what later became Southern Rhodesia . He received one of the few medals which were awarded during this campaign19. At St Mary’s Church in Tuxedo , New York ,in November 1892 he married  Jean Blanche Havermeyer whose grandfather  had been Mayor of New York. According to the Dundee Courier “they met and loved in Algiers”  during the previous summer20. The couple returned to Scotland in January 189321. Blanche was 10 years younger than her husband. Adair Campbell was involved in the running of J&W Campbell and Company during this period. The marriage appeared to be happy for the first ten years ,during which time,as we have seen, they had four children. Then, according to Blanche, Adair changed and ‘lost interest in home and in her and his interests appeared to be centred elsewhere’. They were divorced in 1925 , having not lived together since 191422. Divorce was unusual at that time and was not regarded as entirely the correct way to behave!

Blanche Campbell and her children Melfort,Sheena,Alastair
Figure 6 Melfort,Shena,Blanche and Alastair c1914 © Rupert Plummer

Perhaps the state of his marriage was the reason that on the outbreak of war in 1914 at the age of 55 Adair joined up on the first day. He was a Captain in the 8th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (AS&H). He was wounded and sent home from France after which he continued to serve in training camps, in Ripon for example.

Sadly  the Campbells suffered an even worse war casualty as on 7th June 1916 The Scotsman reported that Midshipman Melfort Campbell ,third son of Blanche and Adair,was killed in action aboard HMS Defence on May 31st. He was only 17 years old.

In 1919 Adair returned to Glasgow to continue as a businessman. Apart from his interest in the family firm he was also a director of the Royal Exchange Insurance Company. He was a member of The Royal Company of Archers, a keen yachtsman ,a first class shot and an enthusiastic fisherman. There is little information as to how much contact he had with his children after the divorce . His last permanent address,according to his death certificate, was The New Club Edinburgh.  According to his obituary ‘He had a happy capacity for making friends and will be missed by staff and customers alike23.

Henry Alastair Campbell OBE (1895-1971) 

Schooldays

Having looked at Alastair’s family background we can go on to look at the life of this donor. Alastair went to school at Wellington College in Berkshire from 1909 until 1912. Wellington College was built as a national monument to the Duke of Wellington. The school opened in 1859 and was originally intended to educate the sons of deceased army officers. While at the school  Alastair was in Mr Bevir’s House, was a ‘Gentleman of the Hunt’-a member of the cross-country running team -and played Rackets for the school24.

After Easter in 1912 Alastair enrolled at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst as a Gentleman Cadet. According to the Military Announcements in the Aberdeen Press and Journal of May 2nd 1914 he graduated from Sandhurst in May 1914 and was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant into the 2nd Battalion A S&H (Princess Louise’s Regiment) at Fort George. He was subaltern   to Lieutenant Hyslop in B Company25.

World War 1914-1918

Alastair was at Fort George when war was declared. He entrained for Southampton on 9th August and embarked with the 2nd battalion on 11th August on the ship “Sea Hound” for Boulogne. They were the first fighting troops to land in France26. He fought at the battles of Mons ,Cambrai and  Le Cateau  where it appears he was wounded and was shipped home. The Scotsman reported this on 11th September 1914. Alastair  was visited in his private nursing home by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, who was not only Honorary  Commander-in- Chief of the regiment but had been a friend of the family for many years. Since 1890 the Princess’s main home had been Rosneath Castle in Argyll and so was a “neighbour “ of the Campbells, mixing socially with Mrs and Mrs James Campbell. The princess shared Jessie’s interest in the education of women and was a supporter of the suffragette movement27. Alastair  returned to France in May 1915 as part of a draft to join the 2nd Battalion. He was now a lieutenant. In August 1915 Alastair was appointed temporary Captain and in December 1915 set sail from Marseilles for Egypt as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. In  February 1916 he was transferred to the 1st Battalion the Lovat’s Scouts and was appointed adjutant. The battalion was sent to Salonika as part of the British Salonika Force. Alastair was adjutant until October 1917 when he was transferred back to the 1st Battalion A S &H, remaining in Salonika until Spring 1918. He arrived in the UK from Salonika on 4th June, one of the last  officers to leave Salonika28. He was then posted to the 4th Battalion A&SH in Edinburgh . In  the autumn of 1918, just after the end of the war, he was appointed a staff captain to the Adjutant General’s Department at the War Office in London29. Alastair was awarded  the 1914 Star,The British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal-known to the British  “ Tommy”as,“Pip, Squeak and Wilfred” after popular cartoon characters of the time which appeared in the Daily Mirror .

Between the Wars 1919-1939

Alastair continued his career as a professional soldier after the war. He remained a Staff Captain at the Adjutant General’s Office in London until January 1920 when he was seconded to The Staff Training College in Camberly on a four month course after which he re-joined the 2nd Battalion A&SH at Aldershot. He remained with his battalion until 21st June 1921 when he was given 3 months leave to accompany the Earl of Dundonald and Lady Cochrane  as Military  Attache  to Peru to represent the British Government at the celebrations of the Centennial of that country’s independence, arriving back in England on 14th September30.

At some point in 1922 Alastair underwent additional training at the musketry school in Hythe. According to his Army Record he passed the course with distinction.

He then took up the post of acting  adjutant,then adjutant to the 2nd Battalion AS&H , in Aldershot, a post which he retained until 30th April 1925 after which he was restored back to the 2nd Battalion establishment31.

At the end of September 1923 the 2nd Battalion was posted  to Parkhurst Barracks on  the Isle of Wight to replace the Royal Ulster Rifles who had been stationed there for four years. The battalion remained in the Isle of Wight until September 1927. During the General Strike of 1926 the battalion  was sent to Gosport from 6-17th May “on General Strike duties” though there is no information as to whether Captain Campbell took part in these duties32.

During this period several events took place in Alastair’s personal life. In 1922 Tullichewan Castle and Estate were sold. Although William McOran Campbell was the eldest son of James and Jessie Campbell he  and his wife Marianne do  not appear to have lived  at Tullichewan which was in the hands of a Trust set up by James Campbell in 190033.  It is unclear whether Alastair’s father lived there permanently though he did take an interest in the affairs of the estate. For example in July 1922 The Scotsman  reports that Major Adair Campbell  won the medal for the best turkey at the Highland and Agricultural Society Show held in Dumfries34 and  in August he attended   the grouse shooting on the Tullichewan Estate35. The Estate had been put up for sale in May 1922 at an auction at the McLellan Galleries in Glasgow but did not sell. Despite dividing the 987 acre estate into smaller lots, there were no buyers. This was a time of depression after WW1 and there were many estates for sale at the time as landowners struggled to cope with the death duties which resulted from the death of so many men during the war. It was not until December 1922 that the Sunday Post reported that part of the Tullichewan estate had been bought by a Mr Scott Anderson “a Glasgow business gentleman”36. Tullichewan Castle was demolished in 1954 to make way for the A82 bypass around Alexandria along Loch Lomondside37.

In 1922 also the family firm of  J&W Campbell amalgamated with another Glasgow company  Stewart and McDonald to form Campbell, Stewart and McDonald, the warehouse in Ingram Street which continued in business until the 1980s. Apparently it was Stewart and MacDonald  who were in financial difficulties, not J&W Campbell.38

In 1922 Alastair acted as best man at the wedding of his elder brother James Haldane Adair Campbell to Princess  Ekaterina  Galitzine, daughter of Prince Paul  Golitzyn who had been Master of the Imperial Hunt and a State Councillor to Tsar Nicholas 2nd and  who had fled the Russian Revolution. Apparently Catherine had made her way to the South of France  possibly in the company of the Grand Duchess Vladimir of Russia and there met  Captain James Haldane Adair Campbell. The couple’s wedding was a big London Society affair held on Sunday 12th November at St Philip’s Church Buckingham Palace Road and was attended by that old friend of the Campbells, Princess Louise39.

In 1922 Alastair was awarded the Order of  the Star of Serbia with Crossed Swords (fifth class) for his services to that country during WW1.

The Dundee Courier of 23rd April 1925 reported that Captain Alastair Campbell and his fiancée Miss Aileen Emmett were entertained to lunch at Kensington Palace  by  Princess  Louise ,Duchess of Argyll, in order to receive a wedding present-a silver box for cigarettes and cigars engraved with the Princess’s initials. She could not attend the wedding as she was about to leave for the South of France. The couple appear to have known one another since at least December  1923  when Alastair was a guest at the wedding of Aileen’s eldest brother, J. A. Garland Emmett40.

On April 29th 1925 Alastair married Aileen (known as ‘Muffy’) ,daughter of Major and Mrs Robert Emmett of Moreton Paddox in Warwickshire. Robert Emmett and his wife,natives of New York, had settled in England early in the 20th Century and built a magnificent house. They bred horses and Aileen was a keen rider and fox-hunter.

Wedding H A Campbell (2)
Figure 7 © Rupert Plummer

They married at St James’ Church, Spanish Place in London .The Emmetts were a wealthy Catholic family and  the wedding ceremony  a Catholic one. It is not known if Alastair changed his religion  but ,as we shall see later, the children were probably  brought up in the Catholic Faith. At least one of the sons attended Ampleforth College , a famous Catholic boarding school in Yorkshire41. The wedding reception was held at 66 Grosvenor Square,the London home of the Emmetts.

The pipers of the A S&H played the tune, “Highland Laddie “as the happy couple left the church42. It would appear that the couple  lived in Elizabeth Street,Eaton Square in London as there is a report of the theft of £7000 of jewellery  belonging to Aileen43. It is not known if Aileen accompanied her husband on the posting to the Isle of Wight. She was certainly in London when their first child,John Alastair, was born in 192744.

One would have thought there would be few better postings for a soldier than the Isle of Wight  but the next posting for  the 2nd battalion was even better. In September 1927 the 2nd Battalion AS&H was posted to Bermuda in the West Indies!

Aileen  and infant John  Alastair were among the  eight officers’ wives, and five officers’ children who accompanied  husband  and father on this posting along with 34 soldiers’ wives and 40 soldiers’ children45. A second son, Robert Adair was born in Bermuda around March or April 192846 and a daughter Fiona was born in May 192947. A second daughter, Morag Nada, was born in 1932 after the family returned  to the UK48.

From August 1931 until  November 1934 Alastair was seconded to the post of adjutant to the 14th London Regiment ,known as the London Scottish, a Territorial Regiment. Shortly afterwards he was promoted Major and transferred to the 2nd Battalion A&S H in Edinburgh.

In November 1934 he exchanged postings with Major Ritchie of the 1st Battalion and joined that battalion in Edinburgh. Perhaps this exchange was because the 2nd Battalion was due to be posted to India and for some reason ,a young family perhaps, Alastair felt unable to go. The 1st Battalion was then transferred to  the Lucknow Barracks at Tidworth Camp, Wiltshire49 .  In 1936 he attended a training course for senior officers in machine gunnery at Sheerness50. This was because it was planned that the 1st Battalion was to become a machine gun unit.

During this period Alastair continued his interest in sporting activities  and won the Individual Cup in the Highland Brigade Point to Point 51. He remained at Tidworth as second in command of the battalion until he retired from the army,aged 43, in March 1938. During the period at Tidworth Alastair was awarded the King’s Jubilee Medal(1935) and the Caledonian Medal(1937)52.

Also during the 1930s, probably as a result of his family’s connections, Alastair had represented the Duchess of Argyll at several formal occasions such as the funeral of the Laird of Ardgour in June 1930 and at the Requiem Mass for the late King Albert of the Belgians in 1934 at Westminster Cathedral 53 .

Henry Alastair campbell
Figure 8 Major H.A.Campbell © Rupert Plummer

World War Two 1939-1945

If Alastair and Aileen  had hoped for a peaceful life after Alastair’s retirement from the army they were sadly mistaken. Only 15 months later Alastair was “back in the saddle”. In June 1939  at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel T.A. he was appointed Commanding Officer of the 8th Battalion A & S H(a territorial battalion). In August 1939 he was transferred to the 11th Battalion, again as Commanding Officer54. The Stirling Observer reported  on 19th November 1939 that the 11th Battalion had arrived in Doune,near Stirling, and were billeted in halls , hotels and private houses.The following June his army records show he was admitted to hospital but it not known where or why. However he must have recovered as on 12th November 1940 he was appointed  Local Defence Commander-defence advisor to the station commander- at RAF Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire55. It would appear that many army personnel were seconded to the RAF,part of the RAF Regiment, to carry out defence duties at airfields at a time when the threat of invasion was very real.

On 23  February 1943, Lt Colonel Campbell was appointed GSO1,ie Chief-of-Staff  ,No 2 Group RAF Western Europe. This was one of ten ,later more ,groups of Bomber Command .In 1943 the HQ was at RAF Huntingdon ,Cambridgeshire ,and one presumes this is where Alastair was based. In 1943 2 Group  consisted of more than a dozen operational squadrons ,spread out over at least ten different areas. Alastair’s job was to keep the Group operation-a daunting task indeed!

In May 1943 2 Group left RAF Bomber Command to join the new  Second Tactical Airforce whose  main task was to prepare for the  allied invasion of Europe. It was felt that the threat of invasion was over and army personnel were more valuable training for the  invasion of Europe than defending RAF bases . Eventually the Group became part of the first occupational forces in Germany. There is no detailed information as to Alastair’s actions during this period other than he seems to have remained with 2 Group until June 1945 and left the service in August 194556.

In March 1945 Lt Colonel H A Campbell was awarded the  OBE for his service during the war57.

Aileen Campbell had also played her part in the war effort. From some point in  1939 the Campbells rented  Kilsythe  Castle near Dunblane, Stirlingshire, possibly because Alastair’s battalion, the 11th , was based at Doune which was not far away. Aileen remained there throughout the war. Throughout the war she was Commandant of the  local  Doune Voluntary Aid Detachment. The VAD had been formed in 1909 with the help of the Red Cross and St John’s  Ambulance  in order to train volunteers in medical ,nursing and other related skills. VADs played a valuable part in nursing wounded soldiers both at home and abroad during World War One. It is not known how or why Aileen  had become involved . Perhaps her interest was aroused during WW1 when her family home,Moreton Paddox in Warwickshire ,had been a military hospital  largely organised by her mother. There had been 50 beds in 8 wards at Moreton Paddox 58.

Aileen was also on the organising committee of the A&SH War Comforts  Depot,based at 19 Park Terrace in Stirling. The Stirling Observer reported that Fiona and Morag Campbell had presented bouquets to the Duchess of Argyll on her visit to the depot early in December 193959.

Post War Years 1945-1971

On 20th September 1945 The Stirling Observer reported the sudden death of Captain James Adair Campbell, Alastair’s elder brother , of a heart attack at the age of 52. Apparently Captain Campbell had been wounded at Gallipoli during WW1 and had been a semi -invalid ever since. At the time of his death he was living in Edinburgh60. Perhaps this is  the reason why, a year or so later, the two portraits of Campbell ancestors were given to Glasgow Museums . One  could believe that  it was decided by the family to give these paintings to Glasgow at a time when Captain Campbell’s estate was being dealt with. As the eldest son , he would probably have inherited the paintings from his father, Adair Campbell.

The  Campbells  left Dunblane in  November1945 as there is an account in The Stirling Observer of Mrs Campbell’s receiving a presentation as thanks for her work with the VAD in  “as she was leaving the district”61.  They moved to Ardhuncart Lodge near Alford in Aberdeenshire. There they played a full part in local society attending many local events such as the Aboyne Ball in September 1949 and the Ballater Ball in the same month62. In this article there is mention of Fiona Campbell’s skill as a skier and that she was a member of the British Olympic team in 1948. Lt Colonel Campbell was also involved in the formation of the Aberdeenshire Home Guard while at Ardhuncart Lodge63.

Next the Campbells moved to their final home Altries Estate near Maryculter, Aberdeenshire. In 1960 the Altries Fishing Company Ltd was set up, a private company controlled by the Campbells, renting out the Altries stretch of the River Dee to fishermen. A very keen rider ,Alastair took part in many local point -to-points on his horse,Lear. He continued his life of service in the local community.

He was a Deputy Lieutenant of Kincardineshire, a member of the Aberdeenshire County Council and Chairman of the Dee and Don River purification Board. He was also a member of The Royal Company of Archers,the Queen’s Bodyguard in Scotland.64

According to his obituary in The Thin Red Line Aileen and Ali, as he was known to his friends, had,”a particularly happy marriage” and ,”kept open house for their friends ,who will remember with gratitude their ever warm welcome and hospitality”65 .

Henry Alastair Campbell died in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on 3rd September 1971 at the age of 76. He is buried in the cemetery of Kirkton of Maryculter. The Altries Fishing Estate is still in the hands of the Campbell family.

 

References

1.Glasgow Morning Journal  (GMJ)11/04/1864

2.James Maclehose.Memoirs and Portraits of One Hundred Glasgow Men. 1886. Mitchell Library

3.J&WCampbell &Co .www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/1880Book/Campbell;www.stirling-lhs.org/5thdecember-1905

4. Rev John Roxburgh DD. A Memorial of the Disruption Worthies.1843.  Mitchell Library

5. Maclehose.Memoirs and Portraits of 100 Glasgow Men.

6.Dundee Courier (DC)  25/08/1847

7.Paisley and Renfrewshire Advertiser 09/04/1864

8. GMJ 11/04/1864

9. http://www.ancestry.co.uk Census Records 1851

10.ibid 1861

11.J&W Campbell &Co www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk/1880Book/Campbell

12.The Bailie 17/04/1878 and 05/12/1883

13Glasgow University Archives(GUA) ref GB248UGC055/1

14.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

15.www.westfulworth.org.uk

16.samilitaryhistory.org

17.Glasgow Herald  (GH )16/08/1901

18.www.ancestry.co.uk Census Records  1901 and 1911

19.G H  05/09/1932

20. DC 16/11/1892

21.www.ancestry.co.uk Incoming Passenger Lists 1878-1960

22.Sunday Post 25/01/1925

23.G H 05/09/1932

24.Archive@wellingtoncollege.org.uk

25.www.argylls.co.uk/2014/08/war-Diaries-Hyslop

26. ibid

27.C.Myers.University Co-Education in the Victorian Era:Inclusion and Exclusion in the United States and the United Kingdom. NY Palgrave Macmillan 2010

28.Thin Red Line  Vol 26 1971 p88

29.Army Form B119A  .Service Record of Henry Alastair Campbell ( HAC Army Record)

30.HAC Army Record; http://www.ancestry.co.uk. Incoming and Outgoing Passenger Lists 1878-1960

31.HAC Army Record

32.A History of the 2nd Battalion Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders(Princess Louise’s)(Formerly 93rd Sutherland Highlanders)1919-1947. Brigadier R.C.B. Anderson DSO MC.Unpublished. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum Collection ,Stirling.

33.www.scotlandspeople.co.uk Wills and Trusts

34.Scotsman  (S) 19/07/1922

35. S .18/08/1922

36. S .11/05/1922 ; Sunday Post 10/12/1922

37.www.valeofleven.org.uk

38.Anthony Slaven;Sidney  Checkland (ed)Dictionary of Scottish Business Biography Vol 2 AUP 1990

39.Dundee Evening Telegraph 27/11/1922

40.Warwick and Warwickshire Advertiser (WWA) 01/12/1923

41.Aberdeen Evening Express 30/12/1953

42. S. 30/04/1925

43.Yorkshire Post and Leeds Inteligencer  14/12/1925

44.www.ancestry.co.uk Statutory Births

45.The 93rd Sutherland Highlanders Now 2nd Bn The Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess     Louise’s)  1799-1927. p281.Brigadier General A.E.J Cavendish CMG.Published privately 1928. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum Collection ,Stirling

46.www.ancestry.co.uk Statutory Births

47.Aberdeen Press and Journal  (APJ)15/05/1929

48.www.ancestry.co.uk Statutory Births

49.Brigadier R.C.B Anderson  DSO. MC.History of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1st Battalion 1909-1939. p155. Privately printed  T.A.Constable Ltd Edinburgh.Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum Collection ,Stirling

50.HAC Army Record

51. Anderson. History of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1st Battalion 1909-1939. p152

52.HAC Army  Record

53. DC. 02/06/1930 ; Nottingham Evening Post 28/02/1934

54.Thin Red Line Vol 26 1971 p88

55.HAC Army Record

56.Kris hendrix@rafmuseum.org; HAC Army Record

57.London Gazette 20/03/1945 8424

58.WWA 24/10/1914

59. Stirling Observer  (SO) 07/12/1939

60. SO 20/09/1945

61. SO 29/11/1945

62. SO 10/09/1949 ; Tatler 21/09/1949

63. Aberdeen Evening Express 19/01/1952

64.  APJ 04/09/1971

65. Thin Red Line Vol 26 1971 p88

 

 

 

 

Acknowledgements

Many thanks for all their help to Fiona Thornton of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum in Stirling and to Kris Hendrix of the RAF Museum .

J M M

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Campbell of Jura (1880-1971)

In June 1945 Captain Campbell of Jura donated two paintings to Kelvingrove. The first by the Scottish portrait painter Colvin Smith was titled ‘Daughters of Colin Campbell of Jura’, the other by Scottish landscape artist Gourlay Steel was called ‘Deer Stalking on Jura’ and was painted circa 1870.[1]

The genus of Campbell control of Jura began in the fifteenth century when John McDonald entered into a treaty with Edward IV of England from which he anticipated he would become King of a large part of Scotland. This was not to be and the treaty proved to be undoing of Clan Donald paving the way for a long period of Clan Campbell control of Jura from the seventeeth century on.[2] The first Laird was Duncan Campbell of the House of Lochnell. He was born in 1596 and died in 1695, being succeeded by his son John Campbell. There were to be 11 lairds in total from the early 1600s to 1971 when the last one died.[3] The succession line was a mixture of father to son and brother to brother, particularly in the nineteenth century when three sons of the sixth Laird Colin Campbell inherited the title, their combined ‘tenure’ totalling fifty three years from 1848 to 1901.

Colin Campbell was born on the 8th November 1772[4] to Archibald and Sarah Campbell.[5] He married Isabella Hamilton Dundas Dennistoun in 1806 and was described as a merchant in Glasgow.[6] What his business activities were is not entirely clear however he was involved in the Caribbean sugar trade through Campbell, Rivers & Co.[7] and is described as a ‘name partner’ in the research report ‘Legacies of British Slave-ownership’ by University College London.[8] His father-in-law Richard Dennistoun is also named as partner in the company and was also a partner in George and Robert Dennistoun and Co and Dennistoun, Buchanan and Co., both companies heavily involved in the trade. [9]

Colin’s sisters Anne Penelope and Barbara both married individuals who were shareholders or partners in companies involved in the Caribbean. In 1797 Anne married Robert Dennistoun, son of Richard Dennistoun.[10] He was against the anti-slavery movement and was a founder member of the Glasgow West India Association which was formed to resist that movement.[11] When slavery was finally abolished his trust, he died in 1815[12], represented by his widow, his brother in law Colin and others as trustees were awarded compensation of £12,545 14s 9d in 1836 for the freeing of 253 slaves on three plantations he or his company owned in Trinidad.[13]

Barbara married Alexander Campbell of Hallyards in 1800[14], a cousin of John Campbell senior and one of the original partners of John Campbell, senior & Co.[15], a major Scottish company in the sugar trade.

There were eleven,[16] possibly twelve children of the marriage between Colin and Isabella, five or six sons and six daughters, three of whom are in the portrait by Colvin Smith.

Smith was born 1796 and between 1811 and 1822 studied at Edinburgh University, travelled to London, Antwerp and Paris, where he studied in the Louvre. In 1826 he was in Rome, returning to Edinburgh the following year. The painting must have been completed sometime after 1827 when Smith returned to Scotland and before 1875 when he died.[17]

Smith, Colvin, 1795-1875; The Daughters of Colin Campbell of Jura
Figure 1 Daughters of Colin Campbell of Jura © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection. (www.artuk.org)

The painting is of young ladies. Three of the daughters had married by 1838 and it seems unlikely that they are the subjects of the painting. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the painting is of the three unmarried daughters and was done after 1838 and probably before Colin’s death in 1848 at which time all three remained unmarried. I suspect it was probably painted around the early 1840s, say 1841, the age of the three daughters Mary Lyon, Ann Caroline and Barbara being at that time 21, 22 and 17 years respectively.[18]

One of these daughters, Mary Lyon Campbell did eventually marry in 1852[19] Dr. James Loftus Marsden, a homeopathist and practitioner of water therapy to cure or prevent illness. Marsden was a widower with five daughters and was not without controversy. Nor was Mary Lyon. She had become a patient of his in 1851 after a bad fall from a horse in 1849 which apparently left her unable to walk. She was cured and it seems that subsequently they became lovers. This however was not the first time that Mary had an affair.

Her sister Isabella Dundas[20] had married Lachlan Macquarie in 1836[21]. In 1841, age 21 years, whilst living with her sister and her husband on the Isle of Mull Mary was accused of sleeping with her brother-in-law. In January 1842 Lachlan was forced to write to his father-in-law denying the rumours blaming them on his in house medical advisor. However the gossip damaged her reputation within the close knit and interconnected Highland community and probably adversely impacted on her local marriage opportunities.[22]

Colin died on the 6th September 1848 having succeeded his elder brother James as laird in 1838.[23] His estate was valued at £49,609,[24] a considerable sum for the time, worth somewhere between £5m and £155m today dependant on the measure used.[25] In his Trust Deed and Settlement his trustees included his sons Archibald, an advocate, who as the eldest son succeeded him as Laird, and Richard, and George Scheviz, a partner in Campbell Rivers & Co.[26]

Just over £20,000 of his estate was cash deposited with the Western Bank.[27] This bank was formed in Glasgow in 1832 and in its short history, had several periods of liquidity problems resulting in it eventually collapsing in 1857 through bad management and three major customers defaulting on loans amounting to £1.2 million. At that time it was the second largest bank in Scotland with 1280 shareholders and 101 branches, the larger being the Royal Bank of Scotland.[28]

Archibald Campbell was Laird for only three years, dying unmarried in 1851[29], age 43.[30] His estate was valued at £53,259, which included £218 cash deposited with the Western Bank, but more crucially 350 shares in the bank valued at £22,529.[31]

When the bank failed in 1857 its shareholders not only lost their paid up capital of £2 million but had to provide a further £1.1 million to pay off all its liabilities.[32] That, in due course, became his brother, Richard Dennistoun Campbell’s problem, who succeeded him and was Laird for twenty seven years. [33]  Whilst the Campbells remained a very wealthy family this set in motion a train of events which saw them gradually divest themselves of their properties, the last of the Jura estate being sold in 1938 by the eleventh and last Laird of Jura Charles Graham Campbell,[34] who was the Captain Campbell who donated the paintings to Kelvingrove.

Steel, Gourlay, 1819-1894; Deerstalking on Jura
Figure 2 Deer Stalking on Jura © CSG GIC Glasgow Museums Collection. (www.artuk.org)

The painting by Gourlay Steel ‘Deer Stalking on Jura’ includes four figures, who are as follows, from left to right, Neil Clark, gamekeeper Angus McKay, the Laird Richard Dennistoun Campbell, and Angus McKay jnr.[35]

In 1875 the Campbells owned twenty three properties on Jura including crofts, a distillery, the school house, shootings, Jura House, woodlands and pauper’s houses.[36] Richard died in 1878, unmarried,[37] the title passing to the fourth son James, born in 1818 in Glasgow[38]. The third born son Colin, died in 1827 aged 11 years.[39]

James married Mary Campbell in 1848 at Treesbanks in Ayrshire.[40] They had seven children, five daughters, two of whom were born in Germany, and two sons,[41] the youngest boy dying aged two years in 1857.[42]  James and his family lived at various locations between 1851 and 1901 including Edinburgh (with his mother Isabella at West Coates House[43]), Ayr,[44] Tunbridge Wells[45] and Kensington.[46] They also lived in Germany for some time it would appear as two of their daughters Christiana and Jessie were born there in 1859 and 1863 respectively.[47] He lived the life of a landed proprietor with no obvious occupation being recorded in any of the censuses between those years, generally being described as living off ‘interest from money’ or ‘holder of bank stock’.

He died in 1901 at 11 Cornwall Gardens, Kensington. The gross value of his estate was just under £73,000, his wife Mary and brother in law William Hugh Campbell, a colonel in the Royal Scot Fusiliers, being his executors.[48]

Mary died in 1909 in Kensington leaving her estate to her unmarried daughters, of whom there were four, and to her youngest daughter Jessie[49] who had married Allan Gordon Cameron in 1885.[50]  They had twin boys, Allan Gordon and James Frederick, in 1892[51] both of whom became officers in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Allan won the Military Cross in 1917,[52] and James was awarded the Military Cross in 1916,[53] and Bar in 1917,[54] and finally the Distinguished Service Order in 1918.[55]

James and Mary’s only living son Colin, who was born in 1851[56], succeeded to the title becoming the 10th and penultimate Laird of Jura. Between 1860 and 1862 he was a pupil at Loretto School [57] and, later on, attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst.[58]

He joined the 91st Highlanders serving in Enniskillen in Northern Ireland which was where he was resident when he married his wife Frances Monteath Sidey in 1876.[59] She was born in New Zealand[60] the daughter of Charles Sidey and Allison Isabella Walker who married in New South Wales in 1854.[61]

Colin Campbell did not remain in the army for long as in the 1881 census he was described as a ‘late lieutenant in the 91st Highlanders’[62]. The censuses following 1881 cite no obvious occupation for him except to refer to him as ex-army or, in 1911, when he and his wife were staying at the Pulteney Hotel in Bath, as a ‘Landed Proprietor’ [63]

He did however have other duties. He was a justice of the Peace, Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Argyllshire (1914-1918), head coast watcher for Jura, and from 1890 to 1897 was Government Inspector in Technical Education in Agriculture.[64]

He and Frances had four sons and two daughters, born between 1877 and 1894.[65] The sons all saw military service in the army. The eldest James Archibald Lochnell Campbell (b.1879)[66] joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1900 and served in South Africa, Northern Nigeria and Malta. In 1914 he went to France with the 6th Battalion Gordon Highlanders.[67] He died in battle at Neuve Chapelle in 1915, three days after his 36th birthday.[68]

The youngest son Ronald Walker Francis Campbell (b.1888)[69] also died during the Great War. He went to France with the Royal Fusiliers and was severely injured during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.[70]He died of his injuries in a military hospital in Manchester later that year.[71]

The other sons were more fortunate. Charles Graham Campbell, the second eldest, was initially not accepted for military service as he had only one eye. Late in 1914 he was given a commission in the Royal Field Artillery and posted to East Africa where at some point he was attached to the headquarters of General Smuts. He served in Africa until 1917 at which time he was sent to France, remaining there until the end of the war.[72]

The third son Colin Richard Campbell (1885)[73] also served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, eventually returning home at the end of hostilities.[74]

Noblesse oblige indeed!

Colin Campbell died in Eastbourne in 1933 leaving £51,290[75], having previously made the estate over to his son Charles.[76]

The eleventh and last Campbell Laird of Jura, Charles Graham Campbell was born in Edinburgh in 1880[77].

He was educated at St Paul’s School London, having previously attended Colet Court, the preparatory school for St Paul’s. He served an engineering apprenticeship with James Simpson and Co. of Pimlico from 1898 to 1900, then as a pupil with the same company from May 1901 until December 1902 when he was proposed for membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.[78]

There was a gap in his apprenticeship from February 1900 to May 1901 which was explained to the Institute in a letter from his employer and on the 16th January 1903 he duly became a graduate member.[79]

The following years saw him travelling to Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA where he undertook a variety of occupations including gold digging (Alaska), farming, and cattle, sheep and horse raising. He spent eighteen months in the Chilliwick Valley in British Columbia ranching and fruit packing eventually becoming an engineer to the first successful fruit cannery there. He returned to Scotland for a short period before returning to Australia where, in 1910, he bought his own station at Kooringarro, New South Wales where he raised horses.[80] In 1913 he was a registered voter for the district of Wollondilly, listed as a pastoralist at Kooringgarro[81]. When war broke out he returned home and as described before, eventually joined the Royal Field Artillery.

He left the army in 1920 and went on his travels again, visiting Australia, Canada, Java and New Zealand, returning home via the South Sea Islands and the Panama Canal.[82]

He married Deborah Sylvester Lambarde at Eastbourne in 1930.[83] She had been born in 1904 and was the daughter of William Gore Lambarde, Lord of the Manor of Ash and Ridley in Kent, and Florence Lucy Fetherstonhaugh, the family home being Bradbourne Hall in Kent.[84]

Charles sold the last of the Campbell’s Jura estate in 1938 to William Riley-Smith of Tadcaster, Yorkshire, the final impact of the Western Bank failure in 1857.[85]

He bought a small estate in Melrose where he and his wife lived[86], travelling in 1955 to Ceylon (Sri Lanka)[87] and in 1958 to South Africa[88].

He died in St Marylebone, London in 1971[89].

Of the 10th Laird’s offspring only Charles and his brother James married, James marrying Dorothy Rosalinda Frances Black in April 1914 before he went France.[90]  A month after James died in France his wife gave birth to a daughter Celia in London.

Charles Graham Campbell was therefore the last Laird of the line from Duncan Campbell in all respects, which is perhaps not surprising. Legend has it that one of his ancestors evicted an old lady from property on Jura who cursed him and his descendants by saying that the last of the Campbells will be one eyed. “He will leave the island and all that he will take with him will be carried to the ship on a cart drawn by a white horse.”

In the event that’s how Charles apparently left the island after he sold it, with his family possessions, presumably including the two paintings he donated to Kelvingrove in 1945, on a cart pulled by a grey horse that was turning white![91]

[1] Glasgow Museums. GMRC Object files.

[2] Isle of Jura History. http://isleofjura.scot/isle-of-jura-history/

[3] Johnston, G Harvey. (1920) The Heraldry of the Campbells. Vol.1 Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnston Ltd. pps. 34,35. https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE94700

[4]  Clan MacFarlane and associated clans genealogy. Kilearnadail Graveyard Jura, Monumental Inscriptions. http://www.clanmacfarlanegenealogy.info/genealogy/TNGWebsite/getperson.php?personID=I9631&tree=CC

[5] Ibid

[6] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 18 August 1806. CAMPBELL, Colin and DENNISTOUN, Isabella Hamilton. 644/1 280 49. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[7] Stephen Mullen (2015) ‘The Great Glasgow West India House of John Campbell, senior and Co’. In: Devine T.M. ed. Recovering Scotland’s Slavery Past. p.128.

[8] University College London: Legacies of British Slave Ownership

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/firm/view/-641488528

[9] It should be noted that there was another Colin Campbell, of Colgrain, son of John Campbell, senior, who was involved with these companies. Stephen Mullen (2015) ‘The Great Glasgow West India House of John Campbell, senior and Co’. In: Devine T.M. ed. Recovering Scotland’s Slavery Past. p.124.

[10] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 2 October 1797. DENNISTOUN, Robert and CAMPBELL, Anne Penelope. 644/1 270 239. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[11] University College London: Legacies of British Slave Ownership

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146635336

[12] Testamentary Records Scotland. 27 August 1815. DENNISTOUN, Robert. Glasgow Sheriff Court Wills. SC36/48/10. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[13] University College London: Legacies of British Slave Ownership https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/28579

[14] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 2 October 1800. CAMPBELL, Alexander and CAMPBELL, Barbara. 644/1 270 300. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[15] Stephen Mullen (2015) ‘The Great Glasgow West India House of John Campbell, senior and Co’. In: Devine T.M. ed. Recovering Scotland’s Slavery Past. p.128.

[16] Births (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. Searches 1806 – 1830. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[17] Cust, L.H. (2004) ‘Smith, Colvin (1796-1875).’ In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[18] Births (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 19 November 1820. CAMPBELL, Mary Lyon. 644/1 300 138; 7 September 1819. CAMPBELL, Ann Caroline. 644/1 220 257; 8 March 1824. CAMPBELL, Barbara. 644/1 310 371. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[19] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. St Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh. 9 December 1852. MARSDEN, James Loftus and CAMPBELL, Mary Lyon. 685/2 470 592. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[20] Births (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 9 June 1815. CAMPBELL, Isabella Dundas. 644/1 210 227. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[21] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 18 January 1836 MACQUARIE, Lachlan and CAMPBELL, Isabella Hamilton Dundas. 685/1 650 78. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[22] Conolly, Pauline (2014) The Water Doctors Daughters. London: Robert Hale. Chapters 7, 8.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=0719814812

[23] Johnston, G Harvey. (1920) The Heraldry of the Campbells. Vol.1 Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnston Ltd. pps. 34,35. https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE94700

[24] Testamentary Records Scotland. 15 March 1849. CAMPBELL, Colin. Dunoon Sheriff Courts. SC51/32/6. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[25] Measuring Worth (2016). https://www.measuringworth.com/m/calculators/ukcompare/

[26] Testamentary Records Scotland. 15 March 1849. CAMPBELL, Colin. Dunoon Sheriff Courts. SC51/32/6. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[27] Ibid

[28] RBS Heritage Hub. Western Bank of Scotland. http://heritagearchives.rbs.com/companies/list/western-bank-of-scotland.htm

[29] Johnston, G Harvey. (1920) The Heraldry of the Campbells. Vol.1 Edinburgh: W. & A. K. Johnston Ltd. p. 35. https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE94700

[30] Testamentary Records Scotland. 05 April 1852. CAMPBELL, Archibald. Dunoon Sheriff Court. SC51/32/7. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[31] Ibid.

[32] RBS Heritage Hub. Western Bank of Scotland. http://heritagearchives.rbs.com/companies/list/western-bank-of-scotland.htm

[33] Johnston, op. cit.

[34] Budge, Donald (1960) Jura, An island of Argyll.  Glasgow: John Smith & Son.

[35] Budge. op. cit. frontispiece.

[36] Valuation Rolls (1875) Scotland. Jura, Argyll. CAMPBELL, Richard Dennistoun. VR008900021. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[37] Deaths (CR) Scotland. Jura, Argyll. 4 November 1878. CAMPBELL, Richard Dennistoun. 539/1 8 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[38] Births (OPR) Scotland. Glasgow. 25 June 1818. CAMPBELL, James. 644/1 220 71 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[39] Campbell of Jura Mausoleum, Argyll. Born 1816, died 1827. CAMPBELL, Colin. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/media/viewer/viewer/319e233a-21c1-4bc9-85e2-43ce315f1e92/33944861/20455075554

[40] Marriages (OPR) Scotland. Monkton and Prestwick. 9 March 1848. CAMPBELL, James and CAMPBELL, Mary. 539/1 20 127. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[41] Census. 1871. Scotland. Ayr, Ayrshire. 578/ 12/ 13.  http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[42] Deaths (CR) Scotland. Ayr, Ayrshire. 1857. CAMPBELL, George James. 578/76 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[43] Census. 1851 Scotland. St. Cuthbert, Edinburgh. 685/2 202/ 11 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[44] Census. 1871. Scotland. Ayr, Ayrshire. 578/ 12/ 13.  http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[45] Census. 1881. England. Tunbridge Wells, Kent. ED 13a, 914, 33, p.9. http://ancestry.co.uk

[46 Census. 1891. England. Kensington, London. ED 27, 34, 117, p.25. http://ancestry.co.uk

[47] Census. 1871. Scotland. Ayr, Ayrshire. 578/ 12/ 13.  http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[48] Testamentary Records Scotland. 10 February 1901. CAMPBELL, James. Dunoon Sheriff Court Wills. SC51/32/53. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[49] Testamentary Records Scotland. 8 January 1909. CAMPBELL, Mary. Dunoon Sheriff Court Wills. SC51/32/62. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[50] Marriages (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 20 August 1885. CAMERON, Allan Gordon and CAMPBELL, Mary. 685/1 281. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[51] Births. (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 21 August 1892. CAMERON, James Frederick and Allan Gordon. 685/1 1401. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[52] The Gazette. (1917) Supplement 30188, p.7223. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30188/supplement/7223

[53] The Gazette. (1916) Supplement 12894, p, 105.

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/12894/page/105

[54] The Gazette. (1917) Supplement 13146, p. 2049. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/13146/page/2049

[55] The Gazette. (1918) Supplement 13192, p.231. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/13192/page/231

[56] Births (CR) Scotland. Craignish, Argyll. 30 August 1851. CAMPBELL, Colin. 508/ 20 120. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[57] Dunford, June C. (2017) Colin Campbell at Loretto School. E-mail to George Manzor confirming Campbell’s attendance at the school. 24 April, 09.49. jdunford@loretto.com

[58] Budge, op.cit. p. 61.

[59] Marriages (CR) Scotland. St George, Edinburgh. 7 June 1876. CAMPBELL, Colin and SIDEY, Frances Monteath. 685/1 144. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[60] Census 1881. Scotland. Ayr, Ayrshire. 578/ 13/ 9 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[61] Marriages. Australia, Marriage Index, 1788-1950. RD: Bowenfels, Vale of Clwydd, New South Wales. 1854 SIDEY, Charles and WALKER, Allison Isabella.  Vol.V  http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[62] Census 1881. Scotland. Ayr, Ayrshire. 578/ 13/ 9 http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[63] Census 1911. England. Bath, Somerset. Class: RG14; Piece: 14682; Schedule Number: 187a http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[64] Dunford, June C. (2017) Colin Campbell at Loretto School. E-mail to George Manzor confirming Campbell’s attendance at the school. 24 April, 09.49. jdunford@loretto.com and Sinclair, Emma J (2017) Colin Campbell at Loretto School. E-mail to George Manzor confirming Campbell’s attendance at the school.  4 May, 14.22. emma.sinclair@loretto.com.

[65] Births (CR) Scotland. Glasgow. Searches 1877 – 1894. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[66] Births (CR) Scotland. 16 March 1879 CAMPBELL, James Archibald Lochnell 685/1 599. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[67] Budge, op.cit. p. 62.

[68] Deaths (SR) Scotland. Neuve Chapelle, France. 19 March 1915. CAMPBELL, James Archibald Lochnell. 137/ AF 174. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[69] Births (CR) England. Richmond, Surrey. 14 June 1888. CAMPBELL, Ronald Walker Francis. Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912. Ref. 2069/1/2. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[70] Budge, op.cit. p. 62.

[71] Death Index (CR) England. Manchester, Lancashire. 3rd Qtr. 1916. CAMPBELL, Ronald Walker Francis. Vol. 8d. p. 194. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[72] Budge, op.cit. p. 62.

[73] Births (CR) Scotland. Edinburgh, Mid Lothian. 26 January 1885. CAMPBELL, Colin Richard. 685/1 244. http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[74] Army Medal Office (Great Britain). WW1 Medal Index Card. CAMPBELL, Colin Richard. Collection: British Army Medal Index Cards, 1914-1920. http://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=gbm%2fmci%2f5434498

[75] Testamentary Records. Scotland. 21 December 1933. CAMPBELL, Colin. National Probate Index (Calendar of Confirmations and Inventories), 1876-1936. Vol. 1933, p. c17. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[76] Budge, op.cit. p. 61.

[77] Births (CR) Scotland. Edinburgh, Midlothian. 3 June 1880. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham. 685/1 1231.

http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk

[78] Application for Membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. 1 December 1902. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham. Collection: Mechanical Engineering Records, 1847-1930. p. 40 no. 4531. Collection: Mechanical Engineering Records, 1847-1930. p. 40 no. 4531. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[79] Membership of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. 16 January 1903. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham. Collection: Mechanical Engineering Records 1847-1930, Register of Members. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[80] Budge, op.cit. p. 60-62

[81] Electoral Rolls. (1913) Australia. Wollondilly, New South Wales. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham. Collection: New South Wales State Electoral Roll 1913, vol. 16. http://search.findmypast.co.uk

[82] Budge, op.cit. p. 60-62.

[83] Marriages (CR) England. Eastbourne, Sussex. 3rd Qtr. 1930 CAMPBELL, Charles Graham and LAMBARDE, Debora Sylvester. Vol. 2b, page 154. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[84] Featherstone Genealogy. http://www.featherstone.org/getperson.php?personID=I10037&tree=Southern_England

[85] Budge, op.cit. p. 188-190.

[86] Budge, op.cit. p. 61.62

[87] Passenger List for S.S. Oranje departing Southampton. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham and CAMPBELL, Debora Sylvester. 7 January 1955. Collection: UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[88] [Passenger List for S.S. Capetown Castle departing Southampton. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham and CAMPBELL, Debora Sylvester. 9 January 1958. Collection: UK, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[89] Deaths Index (CR) England and Wales. St Marylebone, London. 1971. CAMPBELL, Charles Graham. Collection: England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[90] Marriages (PR) England and Wales. Kensington and Chelsea. 23 April 1914. CAMPBELL, James Archibald Lochnell and BLACK, Dorothy Rosalinda Frances. Collection: Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921. http://www.ancestry.co.uk

[91] Budge, op.cit. p. 188-190.

 

Author: harmonyrowbc