Stewart McGlashan or McGlashen (1807–1873) was a Scottish sculptor and mason, responsible for creating the company Stewart McGlashen (sic) which flourished from 1842 to 1974. He was responsible for devising a series of machines capable of creating highly polished granite (sometimes with a mirror finish) for the first time, and capable of carving intricate designs accurately and fast. At his time he was not held in high esteem by sculptors who saw him as undermining their artistry. Despite not being "hand-carved" the artistry value of his work is exceptionally high. He was very fond of the use of pink and red granites rather than the typical grey granites. His work is usually done as a single piece of granite, except in unusual pieces such as the Dean Cemetery pyramid. His work was in high demand and changed the face of cemetery design, also adding immeasurably the durability of monuments.

Life

He was born in

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port. The 2018 populatio ...

in western Scotland on 2 November 1807, the son of James McGlashen or McGlashan, a builder. He was christened on 17 November. In 1842 he set up a monumental mason business at the entrance to the newly opened Southern Necropolis in

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 ...

, living at that time at 81 Lawmoor Place, nearby to the south (now demolished). In 1846 he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and set up a yard immediately north of the entrance to

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

(later absorbed into the first cemetery extension in 1871). He was living at

Canonmills Canonmills is a district of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies to the south east of the Royal Botanic Garden at Inverleith, east of Stockbridge and west of Bellevue, in a low hollow north of Edinburgh's New Town. The area was formerl ...

Bridge where he had a second yard and an office. This was more publicly visible, and in theory served

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

in the north of the city. By 1865 he was living in a house at 6 Huntly Street, close to the Canonmills yard. He brought his son, Stewart McGlashan (1844–1904) into the firm around this time, creating McGlashan & Son. From 1881 (without explanation) the spelling of the company changed to McGlashen. From around 1875 they had a sister company (involved in quarrying) the Edinburgh Granite and Stone Company. He died of heart disease at home 1 Eyre Place in Canonmills, Edinburgh on 9 September 1873. He is buried in

. The modest granite stone lies in the overgrown area to the south-west and is hard to access. In 1898 the company opened a third yard at 8 Grange Road serving

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

. Stewart McGlashan Jr was also buried in

. His grave is marked by a "typical" McGlashan Celtic cross. The company became a subsidiary of

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...

in 1974.The Herald 27 December 2002 The Canonmills office and yard on Canonmills Bridge survived until 2019 when they were demolished for a housing development.

Family

In 1833 he married Mary Buchanan (1810–1907) at the

Barony Church The Barony Hall, (formerly the Barony Church), is a deconsecrated church building located on Castle Street in the Townhead area of Glasgow, Scotland, near Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow Royal Infirmary and the city's oldest surviving house, Provand ...

. They had at least nine children, two of whom died in infancy.

Notable works

*Dramatic pyramid to

Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd, (born Andrew Greenfield; 21 June 1791 – 13 December 1854) was a Scottish advocate, judge and politician. Early life Rutherfurd was born at Bristo Port (near Greyfriars Kirkyard) in Edinburgh on 21 June 179 ...

(1853) to a design by

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and many of Edinb ...

*Monument to Major General William Gairdner,

(1861) *Monument to Rev Francis Gillies,

(1862) *Monument to John Cunningham,

(1873) *Drinking fountain in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

(1874) *Monument to Lt John Irving of the

Franklin Expedition Franklin's lost expedition was a failed British voyage of Arctic exploration led by Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Sir John Franklin that departed England in 1845 aboard two ships, and , and was assigned to traverse the last unnavigated sec ...

(1881) including low relief by

William Brodie William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a burglar in order to supp ...

*Monument to Dr Daniel Richmond, Woodside Cemetery in Paisley (1885) *Monument to Thomas Glen, Woodside Cemetery in Paisley (1886) *Monument slab to

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

inside

Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland parish church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was confiscated and sacked in 1560 during the S ...

(1889) *Memorial to Catherine Watson,

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

(1890) *Memorial to Scottish-American soldiers in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Old Calton Burial Ground The Old Calton Burial Ground is a cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Scots, including philosoph ...

(1891) including statue of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

by George Edwin Bissell *Monument to James Brown Howard,

(1895) *Monument to James Wilson of the Scottish Fisheries,

(1898) *Monument to

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

Robroyston Robroyston () is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, located around northeast of the city centre. To the north, it directly adjoins Auchinairn (part of Bishopbriggs) in the neighbouring East Dunbartonshire local authority area. The Glasgow neighbo ...

(1900) *Monument to the Scottish Horse Regiment, Edinburgh Castle Esplanade (1905) *Boer War Memorial in

(1905)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGlashan, Stewart 1807 births 1873 deaths People from Campbeltown Scottish sculptors 19th-century Scottish businesspeople