[ Page 1 ] [ Page 2 ] [ Page 3 ]
History (3)
Five years later, when building was finished, Sir James married
again; Elizabeth Hay of Haystoun from Peeblesshire. They had six more
sons and two more daughters. He took an active part in the life of the
county. The one great sadness was that towards the end of his life his
son James, who was a lively and much loved character, and Member of
Parliament for Ayrshire, died from wounds after the battle of Inkerman
(1854) where he was Lieutenant-Colonel in the Scots Fusilier Guards. A
very moving note to his father from the field-hospital is preserved in
the Museum at Blairquhan.
 Blairquhan
passed to his brother who lived with his family there nearly to the end
of the century.
His eldest son, Sir David, became an
Abbot, and the estate became the property of his second son, later Sir
Edward, a Captain in the Navy, who virtually rebuilt the village of
Straiton around 1900.
He was succeeded by his second son Sir
James, 7th Baronet, who, as a former District Officer with the Forestry
Commission, did a lot for the woods on the property. He added many
pictures to the collection at Blairquhan.
His second son James inherited the
estate, and he continued the development of the woods and the policies
at Blairquhan. He undertook a major program of modernisation, upgrading
and restoring many of the fine rooms and installing more bathrooms. In
1970 he opened the house for paying guests wishing to use the house for
weddings and functions, and this continues in the same manor to this
day.
Since James died with
no offspring, the property passed to his cousin,
Sir Patrick Hunter Blair,
the
present owner.
[ Page 1 ] [ Page 2 ] [ Page 3 ]
[ Welcome ] [ History ] [ Newsletter ] [ Testimonials ] |
