Lord Woolavington
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James Buchanan, 1st Baron Woolavington, (16 August 1849 – 9 August 1935), known as Sir James Buchanan, Bt, from 1920 to 1922, was a British businessman,
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
, and racehorse owner and breeder.


Early life

Buchanan was born in
Brockville Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and ...
,
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, the third and youngest son of Alexander Buchanan and his wife Catherine (née McLean),
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immigrants, but his parents returned to the United Kingdom shortly after he was born and he was brought up in
Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
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is a to ...
, where his father worked as a
quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...
manager. Due to ill health as a child, he was educated privately.


Business career

Buchanan joined William Sloan & Co, a
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
shipping firm, as an office boy when he was fourteen or fifteen, and was later promoted to be a clerk. In 1868, he joined his brother William in his
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
business, also in Glasgow. In November 1879, he moved to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
as an agent for the
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
whisky blenders Charles Mackinlay & Co. He realised that there was an untapped market in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
for bottled Scotch whisky and set about producing his own, the '' Buchanan Blend'', which is still available today. He went into business on his own in 1884. Buchanan did not, however, produce his own whisky. It was produced for him by the Glasgow blenders W. P. Lowrie & Co. Marketed in distinctive black bottles with plain white labels, it was commonly known as " black and white whisky", a name that was eventually actually used on the label. By 1903, when his firm was incorporated as a
private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in Privately held company, "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a Public company, publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Example ...
, Buchanan was worth £750,000. By 1909, Buchanans was the best-selling Scotch in England. He supplied whisky to the
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from 1885. In 1898, he received Royal Warrants to supply
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, the
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, and the
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. Buchanan opened a Paris office in 1902 and a New York office shortly afterwards. In 1898 he opened Glentauchers
malt whisky Malt whisky is whisky made from a fermented mashing, mash consisting of malted barley. If the product is made exclusively at a single distillery (along with other restrictions), it is typically called a single malt whisky. Although malt whisky ca ...
distillery on Speyside and later acquired two more distilleries. In 1906, he bought Lowrie's and rapidly mechanised their production facilities in Glasgow. In 1907, he acquired an interest in the North British Bottle Manufacturing Company and purchased the Acme Tea Chest Company, both to aid his business. Both were rapidly mechanised. He was a master of publicity, driving a red-wheeled buggy pulled by a black pony and accompanied by a liveried
footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...
. In 1909, Buchanan proposed a merger between the "big three" whisky firms: Buchanan's,
Dewar's Dewar's () is a brand of blended Scotch whisky manufactured by John Dewar & Sons, Ltd., a unit of Bacardi Ltd. History The Dewar's whisky brand was created by John Dewar, Sr. in 1846. Under the control of his two sons, John A. Dewar Jr. an ...
, and Walker's. This, however, was not successful. He tried again in 1914, and in April 1915 Buchanan's and Dewar's formed a joint holding company, Scotch Whisky Brands Ltd, renamed Buchanan Dewar Ltd in 1919. In 1925, the "big three" merged with the
Distillers Company The Distillers Company plc was a leading Scotch whisky company and, at one time, a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was taken over in 1986 by Guinness & Co. and is now part of Diageo. History The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade ...
. Buchanan was a director, but his age and failing health (he had never been in the best of health) meant he played little part in the company, attending only a single board meeting.


Other interests

Buchanan was vice-president of the
Tariff Reform League The Tariff Reform League (TRL) was a protectionist British pressure group formed in 1903 to protest against what they considered to be unfair foreign imports and to advocate Imperial Preference to protect British industry from foreign competiti ...
. He owned properties in
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and
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and part-owned, with
Lord Aberdeen George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (28 January 178414 December 1860), styled Lord Haddo from 1791 to 1801, was a British statesman, diplomat and landowner, successively a Tory, Conservative and Peelite politician and specialist in fo ...
, a 20,000-acre fruit farm in
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, Canada. He was appointed
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in 1910.


Philanthropy

He spent much of his wealth on philanthropic projects. He bought the
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of HMS ''Victory'' and presented it to the
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, financed the fitting out of HMS ''Implacable'' as a
training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...
, and donated £125,000 to fund a wing at
Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
in 1928 in honour of his late wife, £50,000 to restore the
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of
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, £10,000 to the
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to fund animal breeding research (later receiving an honorary
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), £10,000 to fund a
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at the
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, £5,000 to the West of Scotland Agricultural College, £2,500 to the
Licensed Victuallers' School LVS Ascot is a private, co-educational, day and boarding school for pupils aged 4 to 18, situated near Ascot in the English county of Berkshire. It is operated by the Licensed Trade Charity, and parents who work in the licensed drinks trade rec ...
, and £2,500 to the Licensed Victuallers' Benevolent Institution. In 1928 Woolavington purchased the
Will Longstaff William Frederick Longstaff (25 December 1879–1 July 1953) was an Australian painter and war artist best known for his works commemorating those who died in World War I. Birth and education Born in Ballarat, Victoria, Longstaff was educated a ...
painting Menin Gate at Midnight for 20,000Guineas (equivalent to £21,000) and presented it to the
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. It was then being displayed in the United Kingdom and Australia before becoming a core part of the
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collection.


Thoroughbred racing

For more than two decades, Woolavington was a significant owner/breeder in the sport of
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
who twice won The Derby and
St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...
. Among his best known runners were Epsom Lad,
Hurry On Hurry On (7 May 1913 – 1936) was an undefeated British Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse and sire that revived the Matchem sire line.Leicester, Sir Charles, "Bloodstock Breeding", J.A. Allen & Co, London, 1969 English trainer Fred Darling c ...
, who became the foundation sire for his
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, Captain Cuttle,
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,
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, and
Coventry Stakes The Coventry Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is scheduled to take plac ...
winner
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who went on to become the
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in 1944 and 1945. He set up a
stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...
at his
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estate, Lavington Park, East Lavington, which he had bought in 1903. He was elected to the
Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...
in 1927. He also bred pedigree cattle and sheep.


Honours

Buchanan was created a
baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
, of Lavington in the County of Sussex, in the 1920 New Year Honours, for "public and local services" and was raised to the
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in the
1922 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1922 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 30 December 1921. The recipients of honours are displayed her ...
as Baron Woolavington, of Lavington, in the County of Sussex, for being a "generous supporter of many public and charitable objects". However, it is said that he paid £50,000 for his peerage, signing the cheque "Woolavington" and dating it 2 January – the day after the title was to be gazetted – so that the payment would bounce if he did not receive the honour he had been promised. He was appointed
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...
(GCVO) in the
1931 New Year Honours The 1931 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1930. The recipients of honou ...
.


Family and personal life

On 5 December 1891, Buchanan married a young widow thirteen years his junior, Annie Eliza Bardolph (née Pounder). Annie already had a son and a daughter; together the couple had a daughter, the Honourable Catherine Buchanan, and a son who died in infancy. Annie was a nurse and worked in London hospitals during the First World War. In 1903, Woolavington bought the manor of
Graffham Graffham is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England, situated on the northern escarpment of the South Downs within the South Downs National Park. The civil parish is made up of the village of Graffham, part of the h ...
from the Wilberforce family, and built a village hall. Lady Woolavington died suddenly in October 1918. The peerage and baronetcy became extinct on Woolavington's death at Lavington Park in August 1935, aged 85. He left an estate worth over £7 million and was buried in the nearby churchyard of
Graffham Graffham is a village, Anglican parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England, situated on the northern escarpment of the South Downs within the South Downs National Park. The civil parish is made up of the village of Graffham, part of the h ...
. The manor of Graffham was bought by Euan Wallace MP.


Footnotes


References


James Buchanan & Co Ltd 1961
– Histories of Bristol Companies
National Photographic Record (NPR): List of subjects commissioned - 1917-1958
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woolavington, James Buchanan, 1st Baron 1849 births 1935 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order People from Brockville People from Larne Whisky distillers 19th-century Irish businesspeople 19th-century Scottish businesspeople British racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Epsom Derby winners High sheriffs of Sussex Scottish philanthropists 19th-century Irish philanthropists Barons created by George V