John Christie

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(1824-1902) was a Scottish industrialist, arboriculturalist and landowner.

Early life

He was born in

Old Monkland Monklands (''Bad nam Manach'' in Scottish Gaelic) was, between 1975 and 1996, one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. History The district was created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act ...

on 4 July 1824, the son of Isabella Robertson and Alexander Christie (1789-1859), a colliery-owner and ironfounder. His first cousin, John Hill, lived with him. He attended Grange School in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

and then the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

Adult life

On his father's death in 1859 he inherited vast lands in

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

and

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

, largely focussed upon coal-mining and iron-foundries. In 1865 he purchased a 524-acre estate lying between

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...

and

Muckhart Muckhart () commonly refers to two small villages in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, Pool of Muckhart () and Yetts o' Muckhart. Muckhart is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated on the A91 road, A91 around northeast of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, ...

, and renamed it from Castleton to Cowden Castle. This estate provided a more rural environment than his other landholdings and focussed on farming, forestry and raising deer and pheasant. John married Alison Philp (b. about 1817), daughter of Alison Coldwells and William Philp, of Stobsmills,

(the home of her uncle John Coldwells) on 27 April 1859. Christie was a keen traveller and filled Cowden Castle with a wide range of artefacts.Stewart, Averil. ''Alicella''. London: John Murray, 1955. The estate grounds were replanted with many exotic species from around the world, and it was one of the estates that established the fashion for

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

s in the late 19th century. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

in 1875, his proposers including

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the Edinburgh University, University of Edinburgh and also becomin ...

. In 1887 he suffered at attack of

pernicious anaemia Pernicious anemia is a disease where not enough red blood cells are produced due to a deficiency of vitamin B12. Those affected often have a gradual onset. The most common initial symptoms are feeling tired and weak. Other symptoms may includ ...

, leaving him in poor health. The illness had a dramatic effect on his character, which became eccentric, insular and argumentative. However, his lifestyle also changed to be more philanthropic (although not known to his family). In 1889 he founded Christie Homes, a series of orphanages for girls in the

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

area, later renamed Lothian Homes Trust. His wife died in 1894. John Christie's eccentricity increased, dyeing his moustache and proposing to a woman 50 years his junior. On 19 August 1902 Christie died at his home at 19 Buckingham Terrace, Edinburgh (age 78). He is buried in

Churchyard, against the east gable of the church. At the time of his death his will demonstrated that, apart from the huge estates inherited from his father, he had acquired further estates in

Glenfarg Glenfarg (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Fairg) is a village in the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Until 14 June 1964, the village had a railway station, Glenfarg railway station, on the Railways of Kinross#The Glenfarg Line, main line betw ...

Carnbo Carnbo is a hamlet in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies approximately west of Kinross, on the A91 road A91 or A-91 may refer to: * A91 road, a trunk road in Scotland * Dutch Defence, in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings * A-91, a Soviet ...

and other lands in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

.The Will of John Christie of Cowden: The Scotsman newspaper, 21 July 1903

Family

John and Alison Philp Christie had three children; John Coldwells, who died in childhood, Isabella (Ella) Robertson Christie (1861-1949) and Alice Margaret Christie. He encouraged his daughters to travel the world from an early age. Ella was a noted author and world traveller. Alice Christie married Robert King Stewart, KBE, of

Murdostoun Murdostoun is an estate in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, which includes a castle, which lies on the South Calder Water near the village of Bonkle in the parish of Shotts, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The name Murdostoun was derived from the wor ...

at the age of seventeen in 1881. Thereafter she made her home at Murdostoun Castle in

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark (; ), is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands and Southern Uplands of Scotland. The county is no l ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christie, John 1824 births 1902 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish industrialists Scottish landowners 19th-century Scottish businesspeople