Susan Carnegie (née Scott; 7 August 1743 - 14 April 1821) was a writer and benefactor who helped found the

Montrose Asylum Sunnyside Royal Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located in Hillside, north of Montrose, Scotland. It closed in 2011 and is now used for housing. History The hospital was founded in 1781 by Susan Carnegie as the Montrose Lunatic Asylum, Inf ...

, the first public asylum in Scotland.

Early life and education

Carnegie was born on 7 August 1743 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

to Mary Brown (1712-1794) and David Scott (1700-1768), who was the Treasurer of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by t ...

. She was baptised in 1744. Tutored at home, she studied various subjects including philosophy, and became fluent in French and Italian. She also became skilled in drawing, composed poetry, and was interested in both economics and society. Influenced by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

's treatise

Emile, or On Education ''Emile, or On Education'' (french: Émile, ou De l’éducation) is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the "best and most important" of all his writings. Due ...

, she drew attention to the differences in educational opportunities afforded to women and their treatment in society, refusing the notion that women were less capable intellectually than men.

Charitable work

In March 1799, Carnegie was successful in persuading the

kirk session A session (from the Latin word ''sessio'', which means "to sit", as in sitting to deliberate or talk about something; sometimes called ''consistory'' or ''church board'') is a body of elected elders governing each local church within presbyterian ...

of the town council in Montrose to approve her plan for an asylum. She was assisted in her work by Provost Alexander Christie. She was motivated by the then-unusual belief that the treatment of mental illness should be what one modern source describes as "humane and science-based", rather than being a matter for prisons. Funds for the project were raised from the profits of her own estates, which she had secured through her marriage contract, and also through her own networks. The asylum was built and opened in 1781, as the Montrose Lunatic Asylum, Infirmary and Dispensary; it was the first public asylum to be opened in Scotland, and one of the first in the English-speaking world. The institution gained a Royal Charter in 1810, closing eventually in 2011, and the building sold for housing development in 2016. Carnegie's influence on the ethos of the institution persisted even after her death; in 1834, in accordance with her wishes concerning the kind of care which should be provided, the asylum hired

William A. F. Browne Dr William Alexander Francis Browne (1805–1885) was one of the most significant British asylum doctors of the nineteenth century. At Montrose Asylum (1834–1838) in Angus and at the Crichton Royal in Dumfries (1838–1857), Browne introduced ...

. Carnegie was an active campaigner and philanthropist, gathering support for action following a number of local drownings; in 1808 she founded the Montrose Female Friendly Society, was involved in the poor relief activities of the local kirk (as well as raising funds for the kirk itself), and in 1815 founded a local savings bank.

Writing

Carnegie was a poet, and published several works under the pseudonym Juliette North. She also corresponded with the poet and moral philosopher James Beattie under the pseudonym Arethusa. A copy of her work ''Dunottar Castle: a poem'', published in the 1820s, is held by the University of Aberdeen.

Personal life

On 17 March 1769 she married George Carnegie (born 1726), who was 18 years older than her, and with whom she had nine children; six sons and three daughters. Eight of her children survived into adulthood, although three of her sons died as soldiers during her lifetime. Before their marriage, George had fought in the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took ...

and, after the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite Army (1745), Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a Kingdom of Great Bri ...

, was exiled in Gothenburg until his eventual return in 1769. He died thirty years later, in 1799.

Death

Carnegie died on 14 April 1821 in Charleton, Montrose, at the age of 77. Her obituary, published in the

Caledonian Mercury The ''Caledonian Mercury'' was a Scottish newspaper, published three times a week between 1720 and 1867. In 2010 an online publication launched using the name. 17th century A short-lived predecessor, the '' Mercurius Caledonius'', published for ...

and the Montrose Chronicle, stated ''"To befriend the widow and fatherless, to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked, to assist the honest and industrious in time of need, and to shield, by the utmost extent of her influence, the weak and unprotected, ever yielded her the highest gratification."''

NHS Tayside NHS Tayside is an NHS board which forms one of the fourteen regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in Angus, the City of Dundee and Perth and Kinross. NHS Tayside is headquartered at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee; one of the la ...

named the Susan Carnegie Centre, opened on 5 December 2011, after her. A portrait of her, by an unknown artist, is owned by NHS Tayside.

References