Thursday 31 October 2013

(85) Alexander (later Hagart-Alexander) of Ballochmyle, baronets

The family trace their ancestry back to one John Alexander who was a tenant of Paisley Abbey in 1472, but the first to be unambiguously of gentry status was Robert Alexander (b. 1604), a baillie of Paisley who acquired lands at Blackhouse and Boghall in Ayrshire and at Newton in Renfrewshire. Boghall and Blackhouse passed to the descendants of his eldest son, Rev. James Alexander (1634-69), a Presbyterian minister who was deprived of his benefice at Kilmacolm in 1662 for nonconformity, and were later sold. Robert’s second son, Claud Alexander (1645-1703) inherited Newton and seems to have built a mansion house there in the late 17th century.  He too was a zealous Presbyterian and was for a time imprisoned at Edinburgh, before being released in 1686 on giving a bond for his future conformity. Newton passed in turn to Claud’s son Robert Alexander (1681-1738) and grandson, Claud Alexander (1724-72).  Claud (d. 1772) had five sons and six daughters.  The eldest son, Robert Alexander (b. 1747) inherited Newton and subsequently sold it to the Speirs family; they in turn sold it in 1806, when the house was demolished and the materials used to build a house in Paisley later called Newton House.  The third son, Boyd Alexander (1758-1825) purchased Boghall from his distant cousins and also Southbar in Renfrewshire, and served as MP for Renfrew in 1796 and for Glasgow in 1806. He died without issue and his property passed to his nephews, the sons of his elder brother, Claud Alexander (1753-1809).  Claud had entered the service of the East India Company and rose to be Paymaster-General of the Forces in India, traditionally a highly lucrative role.  On his return to Scotland in about 1785 he purchased the Ballochmyle estate from the Whitefoord family, acquiring a small but fashionable house designed about twenty-five years earlier by John Adam, which he extended to accommodate his substantial family of three sons and five daughters.

Although the family properties were apportioned among the three sons of Claud (d. 1809), the two older ones died without issue and so all the estates ultimately devolved on Boyd Alexander (1796-1861).  His eldest son, Maj-Gen. Sir Claud Alexander, 1st bt. (1831-99) fought in the Crimea with the Grenadier Guards and later became MP for South Ayrshire, 1874-85.  He was given his baronetcy in 1886 on his retirement from Parliament, and he seems to have celebrated it with a massive aggrandisement of Ballochmyle House, which was doubled in size in a slightly grim style in 1886-90.  His son and successor, Sir Claud Alexander, 2nd bt. (1867-1945), a zoologist who kept a private zoo, lived at Faygate Wood in Sussex and never occupied the house, which let throughout the early 20th century.  In 1938 he sold it to the Government as an emergency war hospital.  He retained the estate, however, and his son, Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander, 3rd bt. (1927-2006), a scientist, engineer and inventor who assumed the additional name of Hagart in 1948, remodelled the former dower house, Kingencleugh House, in 1957 as a new centre for the estate.  Kingencleugh is now the home of Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander, 4th bt. (b. 1963).


Newton House, Paisley, Ayrshire

The mansion house seems to have been built in the late 17th century for Claud Alexander (1645-1703), but no illustration of it has been found.  It was demolished about 1806 and the materials were used to build a house in Paisley town later called Newton House, which stood at the south-west [possibly south-east] angle of the junction between St. James' Street and Glen Lane.

Descent: Robert Alexander (b. 1604); to son, Claud Alexander (1645-1703); to son, Robert Alexander (1681-1738); to son, Claud Alexander (1724-72); to son, Robert Alexander (b. 1747), who sold to Alexander Spiers; who sold c.1806, when the house was demolished.



Southbar House, Inchinnan, Renfrewshire

For some three hundred years, Southbar was the seat of a branch of the Maxwell family.  It was acquired by Boyd Alexander (1758-1825) after he returned from India, and he is said to have improved both the house and grounds, creating "a most beautiful property, with an elegant mansion that overlooks the whole country", but I have been unable to discover any record of the building prior to its rebuilding after a fire in 1827, which destroyed all but one wing.  The house had then lately passed to his nephew, William Maxwell Alexander (d. 1853), who was a partner in a London merchant house. The house seems not to have been rebuilt until after he retired in 1836, as it was recorded in 1834 that it remained in ruins. The new mansion is recorded in some early photographs, and some rather ethereal reconstruction drawings made by the descendant of a former owner.  


Southbar House: garden front.  Image: © Bil Fulton

The garden front was of two storeys above a basement, and seven bays, with the end bays given emphasis by slight projection, tripartite windows and pedimented attics.  The central bay was slightly wider and also projected, with its angles defined by rusticated quoins.  The entrance side was extensively altered later buts its original appearance was perhaps a plainer version of the same arrangement.  By the early 20th century, the main entrance was into the left-hand projecting end bay, and this may have been the original arrangement. Victorian alterations, and further changes made by Robert Alexander Brydon after 1898, gave the house a chaotic elevation with a mix of windows of different shapes and sizes and three small projecting wings tacked on.  


Southbar House: entrance front after the fire of 1920. Image: © Bil Fulton.

The house was burned for a second time in 1920 and not rebuilt, although a temporary timber-framed house was built nearby for the owner's family which they used until c.1940.  The ruins of the main house were demolished c.1950 but the farm steading survives and has been converted into apartments.  

Descent: Maxwell family sold c.1785 to Boyd Alexander (1758-1825); to nephew, William Maxwell Alexander (1790-1853); to brother, Boyd Alexander (1796-1861); to son... sold c.1898 to Robert Sutherland; burnt 1920.


Ballochmyle House, Ayrshire

Ballochmyle: the Adam house c.1885.

A plain five bay two-storey house designed by John Adam (1721-92) for Allan Whitefoorde (d. 1767) in about 1760, which was a modest version of Dumfries House.  The ‘chaste Palladian house’ he created was given a new nursery wing in 1791 for Claud Alexander.  It remained a relatively small house and in 1813 David Hamilton supplied an unexecuted design for additions.  Further additions were made in 1835-36, followed by a thorough reconstruction on a dramatic scale.  The Georgian house was wrapped around by large extensions in red sandstone in an eclectic style by Hew Montgomerie Wardrop and George Mackie Watson of Wardrop, Anderson & Browne for Sir Claud Alexander in 1886-90.  

Ballochmyle: construction of the Wardrop & Watson house in progress, c.1887.
Described by one reader as "like Sophia Lauren in curlers"!

Ballochmyle House: the Wardrop and Watson house from an old postcard
The Georgian mansion is still apparent in the rear elevation but the entrance side was extended forwards with dominant roofs and bay windows that mix Georgian and Jacobean details.  An enormous three-storey porch dominates the entrance front, with three superimposed orders and at the top a coat of arms crowned by an elephant, highlighting the Indian source of the Alexanders’ wealth.  Inside, Wardrop’s planning revolved around three interlocking corridor-halls, each with its own staircase, and there was a sequence of painted and beamed ceilings; but all the original interiors have gone.  The house was let after Sir Claud’s death in 1899 and sold to the Government in 1938 as a new emergency hospital.  After 1948 it became part of the NHS until 1969, when it was abandoned by the Ayrshire and Arran Health Board.  Lead was stripped from the roofs, chimneypieces were stolen, ceilings collapsed, and the house quickly became riddled with dry rot.  The Health Board made attempts in 1975, 1977 and 1987 to get permission for demolition, but this was refused each time.  Finally, the house was bought in 2005 by local businessman Allan McEwan, whose life had been saved at the hospital as a child, and who with architect Steve Watt has restored the house and converted it into apartments; work was completed in 2010.

Ballochmyle House after restoration.  Image: Ardgowan Homes


Descent: Allan Whitefoorde (d. 1767); to Sir John Whitefoord, who sold c.1785 to Claud Alexander (1752-1809); to son, Boyd Alexander (b. 1796); to son, Sir Claud Alexander, 1st bt. (1831-99); to son, Sir Claud Alexander, 2nd bt. (1867-1945), who let the house and sold 1938 to Government as a hospital.

Kingencleugh House, Ayrshire

Kingencleugh House in 2012.  Image: Rosser1954.  Licenced under this Creative Commons licence.

The house, originally a dower house on the Ballochmyle estate, described in 1922 as ‘a quaint and very pleasing specimen of an old-world country house’ was possibly built as a farmhouse by Robert Campbell c.1765 in succession to Kingencleugh Castle of c.1600, and was extended in 1777.  The house was restored and remodelled by Mervyn Noad of Glasgow c.1957 for Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander when it became the family’s principal house.  He gave the house a complete overhaul and added the excellent project porch, with its rather Edwardian-looking doorcase and a sculptured elephant (reputedly by Hew Lorimer) as a finial – the latter a reference to the elephant which is depicted on the family crest.  The service wing has also been sympathetically raised in height by ARP Lorimer c.2003.

Descent: as for Ballochmyle until 1938; then to son, Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander, 3rd bt. (1927-2006); to son, Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander, 4th bt. (b. 1963).


Hagart-Alexander family, baronets


Alexander, Robert (b. 1604) of Boghall and Newton.  Son of John Alexander and his wife Elizabeth Carswell, born 1604.  Baillie of Paisley.  He married 1st, 1633, Marion, daughter of Claud Hamilton of Blackhole and 2nd, Janet, daughter and co-heir of David Henderson, and had issue:
(1.1) Rev. James Alexander (1634-69) of Boghall; educated at Glasgow University (BA 1653); minister of Kilmacolm 1655-62, when he was deprived of the living; married Mary (d. 1670), daughter of John Maxwell of Southbar and had issue one son and four daughters; died 1669, aged 34;
(1.2) Claud Alexander (1645-1703) (q.v.);
(2.1) Robert Alexander; Principal Clerk of the Court of Session; married Janet, daughter of Alexander Smith of Reidston and had issue two daughters;
(2.2) John Alexander; settled in Carolina, USA.
He inherited Boghall (Ayrshire) and Newton (Renfrewshire) from his father.  At his death Boghall passed to his eldest son and thence to the latter's son, John; Newton passed to his second son, Claud.
His date of death is unknown.

Alexander, Claud (1645-1703) of Newton.  Second son of Robert Alexander (b. 1604) and his first wife, Marion, daughter of Claud Hamilton of Blackhole, born 1645.  A zealous Presbyterian, imprisoned at Edinburgh for his beliefs and released 1686.  He married, 1677, Jean, daughter of William Ralstoun of that ilk and had issue:
(1) Robert Alexander (1681-1738) (q.v.);
(2) Marion Alexander (b. 1683), married 1709 Alexander, son of Gavin Cochrane of Craigmuir;
(3) Claud Alexander;
(4) Ursula Alexander (b. 1688); married 1706 John Russell of Braidshaw, from whom descended the Russells of Charlton Kings (Glos).
He was granted property at Paisley in 1669 and Newton in 1671 by his father.
He died in 1703.

Alexander, Robert (1681-1738) of Newton.  Elder son of Claud Alexander (1645-1703) and his wife Jean, daughter of William Ralstoun of that ilk, born 1681.  He married, 1720, his cousin Margaret, daughter of Robert Alexander the younger of Blackhouse and had issue:
(1) Claud Alexander (1724-72) of Newton (q.v.);
(2) Jean Alexander; married Robert Nelson of Paisley and had issue.
He inherited Newton from his father in 1703.
He died in 1738.

Alexander, Claud (1724-72) of Newton.  Only son of Robert Alexander (1681-1738) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Robert Alexander the younger of Blackhouse, born 1724. He married, 1746, Joanna, daughter of Alexander Cuninghame of Craigends and had issue:
(1) Robert Alexander of Newton (b. 1747); inherited Newton in 1772 but later sold it; died without issue;
(2) Catherine Alexander;
(3) Claud Alexander (1752/3-1809) (q.v.);
(4) Margaret Alexander (b. 1753);
(5) Anne Alexander (b. 1754);
(6) Wilhelmina Alexander (c.1755-1843), Robert Burns' "Lass of Ballochmyle"; kept house for her brother Claud at Ballochmyle and lived there until his death; died unmarried;
(7) Boyd Alexander (1758-1825); born January 1758; educated at Glasgow University; in East India Company service c.1771-83; painted by Zoffany in a double portrait with his elder brother, 1784; MP for Renfrew, 1796 and Glasgow, 1806; purchased Southbar, Boghall and Gryfe Castle; married his cousin, Camilla, daughter of Boyd Porterfield but died without issue, 15 July 1825;
(8) Alexander Alexander (b. 1766); died unmarried in Jamaica;
(9) Lockhart Alexander (d. 1807); married Claud Neilson of Ardarden and had issue; painted by John Hoppner; died 13 January 1807;
(10) Maj. John Alexander; officer in 56th Regiment; married his cousin, Jane/Jean, daughter of Robert Neilson, but died without issue;
(11) Lilias Alexander.
He inherited Newton from his father in 1738.  At his death it passed to his eldest son, who sold it.
He died in 1772.

Alexander, Claud (1752/3-1809) of Ballochmyle. Younger son of Claud Alexander (1724-72) and his wife Joanna, daughter of Alexander Cuninghame of Craigends, born 1752/3. Employed by the East India Company; Paymaster-General of Forces in India, where he was painted by Zoffany in a double portrait with his younger brother, 1784; on his return to Scotland, established a cotton mill at Catrine with David Dale. Burns said of him and men like him that “When fate swore that their purses should be full, nature was equally positive that their minds should be empty”, but this seems a misplaced jibe, since his success in India and later in business implies judgement and acumen. He married, 1788, Helenora, daughter of Sir William Maxwell, 2nd bt. of Springkell and had issue:
(1) Col. Claud Alexander (1789-1845), born 26 January and baptised 23 February 1789; officer in the Guards; married Elizabeth (d. 1843), daughter of Col. Keatinge but died without issue, 22 January 1845; inherited Ballochmyle from his father in 1809 and bequeathed it to his brother, Boyd;
(2) William Maxwell Alexander (1790-1853) of Southbar, born 20 July and baptised 3 August 1790; partner in Fraser, Alexander, Neilson & Co. of London (retired 1836); died unmarried;
(3) Margaret Stewart Alexander (1791-1861), born 20 October and baptised 7 November 1791; died unmarried, 15 August 1861; her will was proved 11 November 1861 (estate under £30,000);
(4) Anna Joanna Alexander (1793-1859), born 26 March and baptised 11 April 1793; a friend of Felix Mendelssohn; died unmarried, 24 February 1859; will proved 21 March 1859 (estate under £20,000);
(5) Catherine Maxwell Alexander (1794-1834), baptised 16 September 1794;
(6) Boyd Alexander (1796-1861) (q.v.);
(7) Helenora Alexander (b. 1798); born 12 and baptised 26 February 1798; died young;
(8) Helenora Alexander (b. 1802); born 17 August and baptised 2 September 1802; died young;
(9) Mary Alexander (1806-67), born 20 October and baptised 6 November 1806; married, 1834, Joshua Samuel Crompton (1799-1881) of Sion Hill (Yorks) and Azerley Chase, Ripon (Yorks) and had issue; a friend and pupil of Felix Mendelssohn.
He purchased Ballochmyle House in 1783 and occupied it on his return from India in 1786.
He died in 1809.

Alexander, Boyd (1796-1861) of Ballochmyle.  Third son of Claud Alexander (1752-1809) and his wife Helenora, daughter of Sir William Maxwell, 2nd bt., of Springkell, born 27 March and baptised 14 April 1796.  Partner in Fraser, Alexander, Neilson & Co. of London.  He married, 17 January 1828, Sophia Elizabeth (d. 1859), daughter of Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, 1st bt., and had issue:
(1) Maj-Gen. Sir Claud Alexander (1831-99), 1st bt. (q.v.);
(2) Capt. John Hobhouse Inglis Alexander (1832-75) CB RN; officer in the Royal Navy; served in East & West Indies, Crimea and Japanese War (where he was severely wounded); aide de camp to HM Queen Victoria; married, 23 January 1860, Isabella Barbara (who married 2nd, John Archibald Shaw-Stewart of Ardgowan, widow of Helenora Margaret Angela Alexander, see below), daughter of Thomas Cochrane Hume and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 22 November 1875;
(3) Lt-Col. Boyd Francis Alexander (1834-1917) of Swifts Place, Cranbrook (Kent), born 17 April and baptised 23 June 1834; educated at Harrow; officer in the Rifle Brigade; served in Turkey, India (where he was wounded twice and mentioned in despatches during the Indian Mutiny) and Canada; married, 1865, Mary, daughter of David Wilson of Castleton (Surrey) and had issue four sons and two daughters; purchased the Swifts estate in Kent in 1871; died 19 August 1917, aged about 83; buried in Winchester Cathedral, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 3 October 1917 (estate £74,378);
(4) William Maxwell Alexander (1836-91), born 3 February and baptised 31 March 1836; officer in the East India Company; served as a volunteer at Agra during the Indian Mutiny; married, 20 February 1870, Emma, daughter of Rev. William Thorp; died without issue at Badenweiler, Germany, 5 September 1891; will proved in London, 2 November 1891 (estate £15,478)
(5) Helenora Margaret Angela Alexander (1837-65), born 6 December 1837 and baptised 18 April 1838; married, 27 August 1857, John Archibald Shaw-Stewart of Ardgowan (who married 2nd, after 1875, Isabella Barbara, daughter of Thomas Cochrane Hume and widow of Capt. John Hobhouse Inglis Alexander, see above) and had issue one son and two daughters; died 24 January 1865.
(6) Michael Stewart Alexander (1839-55); born 8 October and baptised 19 November 1839; died unmarried, 1855.
He inherited Ballochmyle from his eldest brother Claud in 1845 and Southbar from his next brother William in 1853.
He died at Southbar, 13 October 1861.

Alexander, Maj-Gen. Sir Claud (1831-99), 1st bt., of Ballochmyle.  Eldest son of Boyd Alexander (1796-1861) of Ballochmyle and his wife Sophia Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Benjamin Hobhouse, 1st bt., born 15 January 1831.  Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; Major-General in Grenadier Guards; fought in the Crimea; MP for South Ayrshire, 1874-85; JP and DL for Ayrshire and Renfrewshire.  He married, 12 February 1863, Eliza (d. 1927), only daughter of Alexander Spiers MP of Elderslie and his wife Eliza Hagart of Bantaskine and had issue:
(1) Sir Claud Alexander (1867-1945), 2nd bt. (q.v.).
He inherited Ballochmyle from his father in 1861 and greatly extended the house in 1886-90.
He died in London, 23 May 1899, aged 68; his will was confirmed 2 November 1899.  

Alexander, Sir Claud (1867-1945), 2nd bt., of Ballochmyle.  Only son of Maj-Gen. Sir Claud Alexander (1831-99) and his wife Elizam daughter of Alexander Spiers of Elderslie, born 24 February 1867.  Educated at New College, Oxford (BA); served as a Lieutenant in the 3rd battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers.  Zoo-keeper and zoologist; JP for Ayrshire.  He married 1st, 14 December 1889 (divorce 1894), Lady Diana Montgomerie (who married 2nd, 30 August 1894, Harold Kenneth Allison of Dunmoe, Navan (Meath) and d. 1914), youngest daughter of 14th Earl of Eglinton and 2nd Earl of Winton; and married 2nd, 28 January 1896, Rachel Belasyse (d. 1944), youngest daughter of Rev. Henry Holden DD, and had issue:
(1.1) Arnulph Claud Alexander (1891-92); born 6 September 1891; died 6 January 1892;
(1.2) Wilfred Archibald Alexander (1892-1927) (q.v.)
(2.1) Lt-Col. Claud Alexander (1897-1976), born 4 June 1897; educated at Eton; served in Second World War with Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers; married 1st, 1 February 1928, Maude (d. 1936), only daughter of Lt-Col. John Oswald Clazey and had issue one son; married 2nd, 8 November 1949, Peggy, daughter of Ewart Raby Le Mare of Birchington (Kent) and formerly wife of Bernard Lawrence Silley; died 1976;
(2.2) Boyd Alexander (1902-84), born 3 December 1902; died unmarried, 25 March 1984;
(2.3) Wilhelmina Alexander (1907-86), born 18 May 1907; died unmarried, 31 August 1986.
He inherited Ballochmyle from his father in 1899, but did not live there and sold the house (but not the estate) to the Government as a hospital in 1938; lived in 1916 at Fay Gate Wood (Sussex).  At his death his title and estates passed to his grandson, Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander (b. 1927) (q.v.).
He died 18 March 1945, aged 78; his will was proved 26 October 1945 (estate £57,536).

Alexander, Wilfred Archibald (1892-1927).  Only surviving son of Sir Claud Alexander (1867-1945), 2nd bt. and his first wife, Lady Diana Montgomerie, daughter of 14th Earl of Eglinton and 2nd Earl of Winton, born 6 October 1892.  Served with British Consulate in China.  He married, 17 November 1919, Mary Prudence (d. 1960), daughter of Guy Frances Hamilton Acheson, commissioner of customs in China, and had issue:
(1) Mary Primrose Alexander (1921-88), born 17 December 1921; married, 30 December 1947, Lt-Col. John Edward Margesson MBE, son of Maj. Edward Cuninghame Margesson, and had issue three sons;
(2) Penelope Marion Acheson Alexander (b. 1924), born 9 August 1924; married, 25 January 1967 as his second wife, Sir Francis David Somerville Head (1916-2005), 5th bt., son of Sir Robert Pollock Somerville Head, 4th bt. but had no issue; 
(3) Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander (1927-2006), 3rd bt. (q.v.).
He died in Peking, 26 March 1927, aged 34; his will was confirmed in London, 22 July 1927. His widow died in Caerphilly, 25 July 1960; her will was confirmed in London, 21 November 1960.

Hagart-Alexander, Sir Claud (1927-2006), 3rd bt. of Kingencleugh House. Only son of Wilfred Archibald Alexander (1892-1927) and his wife Mary Prudence, daughter of Guy Frances Hamilton Acheson, born 6 January 1927.  Educated at Sherborne School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (BA 1948); changed his name to Hagart-Alexander, 15 December 1948, in order to perpetuate the name of the Hagarts of Bantaskine; vice Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran, 1983-98; DL 1973; JP 1983.  He married, 16 April 1959, Hilda Etain, younger daughter of Miles Malcolm Acheson, and had issue:
(1) Helenora Etain Alexander (b. 1960), born 22 May 1960; married, 1983, Carl C. Smith and has issue two sons;
(2) Anna Joanna Elizabeth Alexander (b. 1961), born 18 November 1961; married, 14 January 1984, Michael C.L. Adam, son of C.L. Adam, and has issue one son and three daughters;
(3) Sir Claud Hagart-Alexander (b. 1963), 4th bt., born 5 November 1963; educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond and Glasgow Univ (BSc); married, 24 June 1994, Elaine Susan, only daughter of Vincent Park of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and has issue one son; now of Kingencleugh House;
(4) Boyd John Alexander (b. 1966), born 11 April 1966; educated at Trinity College, Glenalmond and Liverpool Univ.; married, 1995, Cynthia, daughter of Jose Ayala and Tita Lacambra, and has issue one daughter.
He inherited the Ballochmyle estate from his father in 1945 and remodelled Kingencleugh House as a new centre for the estate from 1957.
He died 23 January 2006, aged 79.


Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, successive editions; G. Craufurd, A general description of the shire of Renfrew, 1818, p. 386; New Statistical Account of Scotland, 1834-45, vol. 7, pp. 120-24; Rev. C. Rogers, Memorials of the Earl of Stirling and the House of Alexander, 1877, vol. 2; M.C. Davis, The castles and mansions of Ayrshire, 1991, pp. 40, 99, 130, 164, 302-03;  H.M. Colvin, A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600-1840, 2008, p. 43; R. Close & A. Riches, The buildings of Scotland: Ayrshire and Arran, 2012, pp. 179-80, 479-80; http://www.ayrshirehistory.com/mauchline_alexander_family_of_ballochmyle.html; http://www.oldshirburnian.org.uk/index.php/obituaries/120-alexander-sir-claud.

Location of archives

Hagart-Alexander family, baronets: legal and estate papers, 1474-1904 (Private collection: enquiries to the National Register of Archives for Scotland)

Coat of arms

Per pale argent and sable a chevron between a fleur-de-lis in chief and a crescent in base all counterchanged, a bordure per pale gules and or.


Revision & Acknowledgements


This post was first published on 31st October 2013, and was revised on 28th September 2014 and 16th June 2015. I am most grateful to Bil Fulton and Veronica Hagart for additional information and images.

5 comments:

  1. At first I was wondering when you'd get through the "A"s; now I'm wondering if you'll ever get through Alexanders. :)

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  2. I've been trying to find out who lived at Ballochmyle/Kingencleugh in the late 1840s - research for part of a novel. Very useful, thanks.

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  3. Richard Stenlake10 June 2022 at 23:27

    Claud Alexander of Ballochmyle’s ( he spells it as Ballamyl in a letter I have) sister was Wilhelmina, the lady Burns spied while trespassing and about him he wrote The Bonnie Lass of Ballochmyle. Burns had a complex relationship with the Alexanders and wanted an invite to the house, but was snubbed. This was awkward as when a mutual friend Dugald Stewart later took Claud to Tarbolton Masonic Lodge Burns was officiating. Burns had great admiration for George Dempster, known to Claud Alexander, so his acidic comments about the two Alexanders seem to have been borne of sour grapes. Typical sulky Burns!

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  4. I grew up on Southbar estate.

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