Number 31 - Information on residents
1809 – 1812 Robert and Mary (neé Bannatyne) Stark After Stark’s first wife died in 1805, he remarried Mary Bannatyne, a widow and the daughter of a Glasgow merchant, Dugald Bannatyne (portrait). Dugald Bannatyne was a partner in the hosiery and stocking manufacturing firm Johnston, Bannatyne & Co, with premises in Glasgow’s Trongate and a warehouse in Ingram Street. In the late 18th century he and his brother John acquired land to the west of the city centre and built houses and warehouses in and around George Square; the area which became known as the Merchant City. He was the Secretary of the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce between 1809 and 1830, and early supporter of Free Trade and the abolition of the Corn Laws and Glasgow's postmaster, 1806-1842. Robert Stark died just three years after moving to Albany Street and it is likely that Mary returned to Glasgow, as her stepson and son were educated there, and she is buried in the city. Her son from the first marriage, Mark, completed theological studies at Glasgow in 1824 and was licensed to preach by the Glasgow presbytery of the Church of Scotland. However, unable to obtain a ministry, he travelled extensively on the Continent, becoming proficient in French, German, and Italian. Still finding no success in Scotland, he emigrated to Canada and later was elected moderator of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. He was a keen botanist and corresponded with the noted British botanist, Sir William Hooker, and hunted out rare specimens in Canada at his request. The son of Robert and Mary, Dugald, studied art at the University of Glasgow and emigrated to Trinidad where he died in 1843.
1812 -1824 John and Isabella (neé Robertson) Lawson
John Lawson was the 14th Laird of Cairnmuir and owned Cairnmuir House (sometimes referred to as Baddinsgill House) in Peeblesshire. He became a solicitor (WS) in 1805 and married Isabella in 1808. Isabella was born and had lived at Number 26. In 1806, Lawson discovered objects at Shaw Hill on his Cairnmuir estate and wrote to Walter Scott describing the large perforated ornament, enriched with late Celtic ornamentation, and gold pellets and gold tores that he had found. These items are recorded in the Catalogue of Antiquities in the National Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. In 1822, Isabella died and John and his teenage children moved to Dundas Street. Three years later Lawson remarried Janet Brown. One of the children of the first marriage, Elizabeth, married David Cousin, an architect. He became a specialist in the layout of cemeteries, including Warriston, and then became architect to the British Linen Bank, its branch bank building programme becoming the mainstay of his private practice. In 1847, he was appointed Edinburgh's Superintendent of Public Works and under the Improvement Act planned St Mary Street, Blackfriars Street, Jeffrey Street and Chambers Street, the architecture of which reflects his transition from pure Italian Renaissance to a mid- Victorian freestyle. He was one of the founder-members of the Architectural Institute of Scotland in 1850.
1824 – 1840 John and Mrs (first name not traced - neé Mackenzie) Mackintosh
John Mackintosh was born at sea when his mother was returning from America where his father was serving in the army. In 1804 he undertook a medical apprenticeship and then followed his father, Captain Russell Mackintosh, into the army, serving as a medical officer in the Royal Artillery in South America and in France in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo. In 1820 he attended Marischal College in Aberdeen where he received his medical degree and in 1821, set up his doctor’s practice which focused on midwifery in Edinburgh.
Mackintosh was not averse to upsetting colleagues, and gained the reputation as ‘one of the wildest men in Edinburgh.’ In spite of upsetting many, he ran successful lectures on midwifery. Attendance at these was three guineas for the first course, and two guineas for the second. Dr Mackintosh also participated in a lecture series on the subject of intemperance, focusing on the effects of ‘Ardent Spirits’ on the human constitution. The rest of the series focused on the moral consequences of drink.
In 1825, he and Dr James Syme, a dominant figure in Scottish surgery, established a small medical school in which they taught anatomy and surgery. However, Syme abandoned anatomy, due in part to the difficulties in obtaining bodies that had led to the notorious murders by Burke and Hare, and established a private surgery clinic of his own.
In 1828 he published, Principles of Pathology, and Practice of Physic and later became surgeon to the Ordnance Department of North Britain and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh. As part of his work he created a collection of items related to pathology which were housed in the museum of the Great Windmill Street School of Anatomy, run by the surgeon Charles Bell. In 1837, the collection was purchased for The Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, now one of the largest and most historic collections of surgical pathology material in the United Kingdom. The museum paid £400 for Mackintosh’s collection and to pay the amount it was determined that to help towards the cost: ‘ The expense of the biennial breakfast be defrayed by the members attending it.’
During the 1832 cholera outbreak in Edinburgh, Mackintosh attended the sick and attempted to throw light on the nature of the disease. In April 1832 it was reported that there had been 113 cases in the city and of those 61 had died. Thus no surprise that Mackintosh's workload in the Edinburgh Cholera Hospital in Drummond Street was demanding He reported that he felt compelled to make frequent night visits because of ‘the young medical gentlemen being worn out, and also from the drunkenness that too often prevailed among the nurses.’ Mackintosh worked with Dr Thomas Latta and they were the first to use intravenous therapy; at this time a remarkable attempt to correct the catastrophic loss of body fluids which is the main cause of death in cholera. Mackintosh reported that saline treatment given to 156 patients had enabled 25 to survive. Although Dr Latta reported his findings in a letter to The Lancet in May 1832 many decades were to pass before fluid replacement became recognised as the standard treatment that is in use today. Mackintosh said of Latta following his death: ‘Although Dr Latta's exertions and fate must have been known to a number of influential men, his grave does not exhibit any monument of public gratitude.’
Mackintosh had an interest in the arts and was a member of the Art Manufacturer’s Association, set up in 1856 to encourage good design. His interests were not solely limited to medicine and the arts. There is a report that he was detected attempting to enter the houses of two of his female patients by a window at night and that he met another female patient at a hotel and spent time with her in a bedroom.
One wonders what Mrs Mackintosh thought of these reports. In December 1835, she is listed, along with Lady Rollo who lived at Number 15 Albany Street, as one of thirty Patronesses of the Celtic Fancy Ball that was to take place in the Assembly rooms on Friday 29 January 1836. There was a Turkish theme and when the guests arrived, many in flamboyant costumes, they were delighted to find the entrance fitted up as a Turkish tent. The Grand Ball Room was equally splendidly decorated with mirrors and colourful draperies, while at one end a large refreshment table stretched the entire length. Guest began to arrive about 9.30pm, although many did not appear until nearer 11pm when the dancing started. To the ‘inspiring strains of Spindler’s band, the quadrilles were succeeded by waltzes, country dances, gallopades, and Scotch reels.’ Lady Kerr and the two of her daughters old enough to attend, were singled out for their costumes, all three being dressed as Turkish Sultans. One Albany Street resident, the Hon. John Rollo, also received a mention for his Tyrolean costume. Supper was served from 1 until 3am, when the dancing resumed and went on with great spirit for several hours.’ One trusts the merry ball-goers from Albany Street did not disturb their neighbours as they returned to their beds in the morning.
John Mackintosh died in 1837. His obituary is noteworthy for while it recounts many of his virtues, it also says that these ‘were mixed with striking defects. He was too boastful and confident in his own opinions, and did not hesitate rashly to disparage others from whom he differed. …And if he was boastful, his deeds were always at hand to support him, though not exactly to the extent which he claimed. …His superabundant self-esteem and want of prudent caution excited considerable opposition among his medical brethren.’ Tempered praise indeed!
The Mackintoshs had four sons and one daughter. One son, Henry, joined the army and died in India in his early thirties. Nothing has been traced for the other children.
The Valuation record for 1855 shows that the Mackintosh family retained ownership and let it.
1840 – 1856 Matthew and Janet (neé Spottiswoode) Weir Unusually for the son of a baker, Matthew Weir trained as a solicitor (WS). His father’s bakery in Kirkgate in Leith was carried on by his brother Thomas. Around 1842, Weir went into partnership with James Gardiner, another solicitor, and the son of the Reverend Matthew Gardiner, Minister in Bothwell. Gardiner appears to have lived in the house through to 1855 when he married Charlotte Ferrier, the widow of Sir John Eyton Campbell of Auchinbreck who had died in Gibraltar in 1853. Janet’s father was William Spottiswoode, the laird of Glenfernate in Perthshire. She was one of around 15 children, and the majority ended up living abroad. As well as brothers who went to India, America and Singapore, all of the daughters except for Janet, married men serving in the British colonies, mainly India. One sister, Catherine, was the first, marrying Robert Robertson Bruce, a lieutenant in the East India Company, when only sixteen. She gave birth to a daughter in India but soon after her husband died. A year later she remarried another EIC officer. Just before marrying Matthew, Janet, accompanied her younger sister, Agnes, to India. Like many women of this period - referred to at the time as ‘The Indian Fishing Fleet’ - Agnes was looking to find a husband, which she did. Like Catherine, Agnes, and two other sisters who married in India, were widowed and all remarried.
Along with a number of the residents in Albany Street, the Weirs sent their son James to the Edinburgh Academy. The school's founders, Henry Cockburn and Leonard Horner, thought that Edinburgh required a new school to promote classical learning. While Edinburgh's Royal High School provided a classical education, the founders felt that greater provision was needed for the teaching of Greek, to compete with some of England's public schools. James became a merchant and for a time lived in Singapore before residing in London.
One daughter, Catherine, married John Henry, a solicitor in 1854. Intriguingly another daughter, Janet, is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, where she died in 1883. What took her there is not known, although it is recorded that she applied for a passport in 1876. On her gravestone (shown here) is an epitaph from Parish Musings by John Monsell, Vicar of Egham in Surrey. ‘Where is my grave? Neath some foreign sky shall I lay down my wearied limbs and die? Where is my grave? It matters not where! But my home beyond – it is there, it is there where God wipes tears from every eye and the lam is the light of the sunless sky.’
In 1856, the Weirs moved to Danube Street. and Matthew died the same year. Janet lived on in Danube Street until her death in 1875.
1856 – 1877 Lodgings
These were run by Mrs Jane Stalker.
1857 and 1858 Lodger - Theresa Yelverton
One Sunday evening, the lodging keeper, Mrs Stalker, heard that one of her lodgers was unwell and went up to the dining room to check how she was. There she found Major Charles Yelverton holding wine and water to the lips of his wife, Theresa, who was lying on a sofa, clearly poorly. ‘I am so sorry to see you in that state, Mrs Yelverton,’ Mrs Stalker said, ‘but all you young wives are like to be that way occasionally. You will be worse before you’re better, I am afraid,’ she added, never imagining just how much worse the young woman’s life would become. A few days later, Theresa Yelverton had recovered sufficiently to leave the Albany Street lodgings to travel to France. Before leaving she told Mrs Stalker that she and her husband would return in a few months.
Theresa Yelverton did return, arriving back in Edinburgh late on the night of Friday, June 25, 1858, by steamer from London. She was alone when she arrived at Mrs Stalker’s as her husband had to go back to his barracks in the city. On the Saturday afternoon, Major Yelverton called to see Theresa, but did not stay for long. On the Monday morning, an advocate arrived at the lodgings and asked Mrs Stalker if he might have a private word. Imagine the lodging keeper’s astonishment when the advocate told her that he had discovered that Major Yelverton had married another woman on the previous Sunday morning. The advocate asked her if she would be willing to impart this upsetting news to Mrs Yelverton, and Mrs Stalker reluctantly agreed. The news ‘rendered Mrs Yelverton speechless for a considerable time.’ Theresa’s brother-in-law, Mr Bellamy, was immediately summoned, and also a Church minister, who confirmed that Theresa’s marriage certificate was genuine. A few days later, having recovered from the shock of the news, Theresa began legal proceedings to claim her status as Yelverton’s legal wife.
Theresa Longworth and Charles Yelverton had first met on a ship returning from France to England, but as Charles was stationed in Malta, any further meetings were impossible. Then, by chance, both ended up in the Crimea at the same time: Charles fighting in the Crimean war and Theresa serving as a nurse with the Sisters of Charity, working in a French hospital. According to Theresa, Charles proposed marriage at this point, but she declined because she could not leave her nursing post until the war was over. On her return to Britain she went to live with a friend in Edinburgh and Charles visited her there. While Theresa was smitten by the major, she insisted that they could not have a sexual liaison unless they were married. As at this time they were living in Edinburgh, William agreed to an ‘irregular marriage’, by acknowledging her as his wife, but insisted the irregular marriage be kept secret, as he had promised his family he would not marry. At this time Scotland had different marriage arrangements from elsewhere in Britain, resulting from pre-Reformation canon law, based on principles of mutual consent rather than religious ceremony. This meant there were both 'regular' and 'irregular' marriages. A 'regular' marriage normally required marriage banns to be read in the church some weeks in advance, although regular marriages did not have to take place within a church building. An irregular marriage could be where a couple declared themselves to be married in front of witnesses; a promise of marriage, followed by a sexual relationship; or where a couple behaved as husband and wife in public. Although the Church of Scotland did not approve of irregular marriages, it tolerated them because it feared that if the law did not recognise such relationships, the couple would end up 'living in sin.'
After a time Theresa sought more certainty [it may be that she was already in the early stages of pregnancy at this point] and, being Catholic, insisted that they have a religious marriage in Ireland. Reluctantly, Charles agreed and they travelled to Waterford where they were married by a Father Mooney for the sum of five pounds. It was on their return from that ceremony in Ireland that the couple first lodged in Albany Street.
Theresa’s bout of sickness while at Mrs Stalker’s was the early onset of a pregnancy, and the decision to travel may have been to keep the baby’s birth quiet. they travelled to France where Theresa miscarried, and became ill. In spite of Theresa being seriously ill , Charles abandoned her in Bordeaux and returned to army duties in Britain. Fortunately, Theresa’s sister was able to travel to France to assist her to recover. When she had recovered, Theresa wrote to Charles imploring him to make their marriage public. He refused, saying this would bring ruin on him. However, the truth was that Charles had met another woman, Emily Forbes, and marriage to her would bring him money and a title. He kept this new liaison secret from Theresa, so she was disconcerted when he suddenly demanded that she renounce her status as his wife, and offered her money to relocate to New Zealand. Theresa refused. Thus, Charles decided to ignore what he saw as a sham marriage to Theresa and marry Emily Forbes anyway, and on the very weekend that they returned to Edinburgh, that is what he did.
The charge of bigamy led to Major Yelverton being suspended from the army, but Theresa’s legal action dragged on for three years. It was not until February 1861 that the Major was put on trial for bigamy in a Dublin court - it being in Ireland that the marriage for which there was a certificate had taken place. The Yelverton Court Case transfixed mid-Victorian society, and it became the inspiration for two plays, and various books, including Wilkie Collins’ 1870 novel Man and Wife and, more recently, Wild Romance, The True Story of a Victorian Scandal by Chloe Schama.
At the heart of the Yelverton Court Case were the inconsistent marriage laws at the time. The prosecution argued that the fact that they had lived together in Scotland evidenced their marriage but the Irish court did not consider this pertinent. The Caledonian Mercury was incensed by the Dublin court’s dismissal of Scottish law: ‘If Yelverton and Theresa Longworth deliberately consented to be man and wife in Scotland, she is as much his wife as if they had been married by the Bishop of Canterbury in St George's, Hanover Square.’ For the Dublin court, the case hinged on whether or not the Irish marriage was legal. There was uncertainty over whether the Irish marriage had been properly officiated by a priest, for at this time it was a penal offence in Ireland for a Catholic priest to perform a marriage ceremony between a Catholic and Protestant, unless first celebrated by a Protestant minister. At the trial Father Mooney confessed that the marriage ceremony he had carried out had not been valid.
Theresa was the chief witness in the trial which lasted three days, and she made a very favourable impression. Charles, on the other hand, was judged to have behaved dishonourably throughout. The newspaper report of the final verdict gives a sense of the drama: ‘When Mrs Yelverton's counsel, Mr. Whiteside, entered the room where she was waiting, his countenance and significant gestures, as well as the cheers which rang through the Court, told her that the verdict was in her favour. She sprang forward without saying a word, clasped him in her arms, pressed him convulsively to her breast, and, seizing his two hands, kissed them. Overcome by the violence of her emotions, after such a long and terrible tension of the nervous system, she sank down exhausted and found relief in a flood of tears. The excitement in the Court, when the verdict was announced, was quite unprecedented. The whole audience rose and cheered tumultuously, the ladies waving their handkerchiefs, the gentlemen their hats, and the barristers their wigs. It was a delirium of joy. The contagion spread through the multitude outside, and the shouts of triumph passed along the whole line to the Gresham Hotel, in Sackville Street. The crowd insisted on taking the horses from Mrs Yelverton’s carriage and drawing it to the hotel, where she was obliged to appear on the balcony to gratify her admirers. She said: "My noble-hearted friends, you have, by your verdict this day, made me an Irishwoman. You will forever live in my heart, as I do in yours this day." Her being an English woman had no effect in dampening the ardour of the most bigoted Ultramontanist; her having been a Sister of Charity and a convert to the Church of Rome did not check the sympathy of the most intolerant Orangemen.’
In spite of the popular support for the verdict, Charles initiated a series of appeals. For almost six years there were retrials and appeals, until, finally, the House of Lords overturned the verdict. Theresa was thus left in a state of limbo and almost penniless as she had spent so much in litigation. Charles, on the other hand, was free to return to his now legal wife and family. He was re-instated as a Major and later become Viscount of Avonmore. Throughout the long saga the press alternately denigrated and celebrated Theresa. Some portrayed her as a victim who had been 'mercilessly abandoned' and an innocent victim, while others accused her of being ‘a lascivious seducer’ and a ruthless social climber. Theresa proved resilient. The extensive newspaper coverage had turned her into a minor celebrity and she used that fame to her advantage. Although she had no claim to any title, Theresa adopted the name Therese Yelverton, Viscountess Avonmore, to flaunt the name of the man who had misused her. She left Britain and travelled to America, and earned money by writing and by giving spoken recitals. Walter Leman, a well-known American actor, who met her, wrote: ‘Her conversational powers were wonderful, her affability was endearing, and her lovely face was a pleasure to the sight. She was at this time twenty-eight years of age, highly accomplished, a superb pianist, and had a rich contralto voice which, in conversation, was music. She went to Missouri, where she purchased a stock-farm, and for some years lived almost entirely alone. It was said that she never saw a piano while in Missouri, but this was untrue, for her log-house contained, in addition to a piano, other musical instruments and a great many books.’ Leman had met Theresa in 1870, when she was staying in the Yosemite Valley. There Theresa had been smitten by the Scottish born naturalist John Muir, and for a time it appeared that John Muir and Theresa might form a relationship; but it came to nothing. However, she used her experiences there, as material for a novel, Zanita, a Tale of the Yo-Semite. The book contained a character based on Muir, and he thought the description a good representation, and praised the book’s accurate accounts of the theories by him and others regarding the geological formation of the Yosemite Valley. Theresa (photo c. 1870s) continued to travel throughout the world for many years, eventually settling in South Africa where she died in 1881, aged 48. Viscount Avonmore died two years later.
See also Unflattering recollections
1858 – 1861 Lodger - Alexander Erskine Murray Alexander Erskine Murray (portrait by an unknown artist) was an Advocate. In 1866, he married Helen Pringle and they moved to Glasgow as he had been appointed the Sheriff substitute for Lanarkshire. In Glasgow one of the cases that came in front of him was an investigation into the stranding of the British steamship Westfalia at San Vincente de la Barquera, Spain, in which a crew member lost his life. The Report of Court stated: ‘Having carefully inquired into the circumstances attending the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons stated in the annex hereto, that the stranding was caused by having insufficient coal on board and faulty navigation of the vessel by the master, and the Court suspends his certificate for the period of six months from this date.’ 1857 – 1863 Lodger - Middleton Rettie Middleton Rettie became an advocate in 1855 and after marrying Isobel Kerr in 1863, moved with his wife to Great Stuart Street. Rettie acted as a law reporter, and was the main editor of the series of Session Cases reports. A flavour of the content of his reports is one from 1873: ‘In an action of damages brought by a sailor Gibson & Co. against his employers, the ship-owners, on the ground of personal injury caused by the fault of the captain, held that the captain and he were collaborators, and that, consequently, the owners were not responsible. This action was brought by Terence Leddy, formerly sailor on board the steam-boat "Osborne" against George Gibson and Co., merchants, Leith who were his employers, and owners of the vessel, for payment of £500 in name of damages and reparation.’
1858 – 1860s Lodger - J. Badenach Nicholson
J. Badenach Nicholson was another advocate and lodged here when in Edinburgh, as his main home was Glenbervie House, an impressive 17th century castle-style mansion near Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. There he had two estates totalling 1,160 acres and it is reported that he spent £10,000 on such improvements as draining, reclaiming, planting, etc. With a fellow advocate, J. Mure, he wrote The county council guide for Scotland : a handbook to the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889, and was editor of the revised An Institute of the Law of Scotland. He acted as the Counsel to the Scotch Education Department, and had a number of directorships, including the Great North of Scotland railway Company and The North of Scotland Canadian Mortgage Company.
Interestingly neither Nicholson nor Rettie were at the house at the time of the 1861 census, although the street directory records this as the address for both. In the house on the census day were Mrs Stalker and her son, Robert, a lawyer’s assistant; Jane Gordon, a widow, and her three daughters aged 19 to 24; Stewart Dow, an accountant; Madeline Johnstone, a shipmaster’s wife; Mrs Agnes Cooper, living off income from land; and three servants, Anne Baytopp from England, and Elizabeth Stewart and Jessie Hutcheson, both from Edinburgh.
In 1868 Mrs Marshall took over as the lodging house keeper, but at the census in 1871 only her two sisters are recorded as being at the address.
1877 Archibald Vincent Smith-Sligo of Inzievar and Carmyle
Archibald Smith-Sligo had just returned from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was 77 and the trip to the Holy land clearly had taken its toll, for on his return his health began to fail. Thus he lived in Albany Street only for a short time before moving to stay with one of his brothers, William, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, in whose house he died three weeks later.
Having converted to the Roman Catholic faith Sligo-Smith argued powerfully for the Catholic Emancipation Act. His obituary stated: ‘He never followed a profession, and he lived a good deal abroad for a time, but when at home he took a keen interest in various social movements. In politics he was Conservative. In church affairs he took a very prominent part, and was ever ready to help by word and means the various schemes of the church, and was an influential member of the Brotherhood of St. Vincent de Paul. Recently he made up his mind to become a Franciscan monk at Jerusalem, and had completed his arrangements with that view; but family circumstances prevented him from carrying out his desire. The obsequies were the occasion of a very imposing requiem ceremonial at the Cathedral, Edinburgh, on Saturday forenoon. The interior of the building was heavily draped in black, relieved at intervals by white hatchments; in front of the high altar, on a catafalque surrounded by numerous lighted candles, lay the remains of the deceased. …a procession of nearly fifty mourning carriages was formed to the place of interment in Warriston Cemetery.’
1879 – 1880 Edward Hamilton Blyth
It is likely that the house was rented by St Paul’s Episcopal Church as the church manse. In 1895, the church purchased Number 53 as the rectory. So when the Reverend Edward Blyth accepted the invitation to become the senior incumbent at St Paul’s Episcopal Church in York Place at a stipend of £700 per annum he moved here. It was reported that his decision to take up the post came after some hesitation as he was uncertain whether his 'catholic’ understanding of the church would be wholly shared. Although he thought he had made it clear that he would wish to celebrate the Eucharist in the 'eastward position' rather than from the north end of the altar, which was customary at St. Paul’s, but there was disquiet among some in the congregation at this change. Although the Vestry (the committee) decided not to make an issue of this point, they made it very clear that they believed that a new incumbent should try to avoid causing dissatisfaction in the congregation. The Vestrymen, although professional men in law, banking, and accountancy, underestimated Blyth’s convictions for he resigned, perhaps seeing that staying could only lead to further doctrinal differences.
1881 – 1883 Reverend Charles and Susan (neé Fitzgereld) Ridgeway
While Blyth was briefly the minister St Paul’s, the Reverend Charles Ridgeway (photo c. 1890) had been a guest preacher at the church and made a most favourable impression. The day he first preached there, two hundred children belonging to the Mission Sunday School were marched to the church, and took part in a very hearty Children's Service. Having made a strong impression Ridgeway was appointed in Blyth’s place. He had married to Susan in 1868 and they and their two teenage children moved in. His brother, Frederick was already making his mark as the incumbent of St. Mary's, Glasgow, and both men would go on to become Bishops; Charles of Chichester and Frederick of Salisbury. Whether also due to difficulties with the members of the vestry or simply because he received a superior offer, Ridgeway left after just 18 months to move to Lancaster Gate Church in London.
1883 – 1899 Lodgings
The house returned to being lodgings, run by Mrs Elizabeth Hart, a widow with three daughters. From 1887 to 1893 Arthur Macarthur, a ventilating and commission agent, lodged here with his son who was studying architecture.
1899 – 1901 John Whitelaw and Mary (neé Henderson) John Whitelaw moved here from Dublin Street with his wife and family. He then moved to Number 46, where he died, aged 75. He began as a mining engineer and was manager of the Fordell Colliery before also working as an architect. Among the small number of buildings he is known to have designed are Cowdenbeath Parish Church and Mossgreen Manse in Dalgety in the 1870s.
In 1892, he was awarded a silver medal by the Royal Scottish Society for the Arts for his paper on miners’ safety cages. Whitelaw was concerned that there was no Government regulation insisting on miners’ cages having safety devices and presented a design that ensured a cage could not fall. His design was successfully tested at Preston Grange Colliery. He received another silver medal in 1901 for another paper related to coalfields.
In 1890, Whitelaw participated in a meeting of the Edinburgh Architectural Association that debated the proposal for a railway tunnel under Princes Street, to replace the cutting through the gardens. The running of a rail line from Glasgow into the centre of the city had been a source of debate ever since it was first considered. The first attempt in the mid-1830s to run the railway line through the Princes Street gardens to a station at the North Bridge was defeated by the owners of properties in Princes Street who had spent large sums turning the ‘filthy and offensive bog’ of the Nor Loch into quiet gardens. The rail company’s assurance that the trains would be concealed from view, and smoke from them ‘would scarcely be seen’ cut no ice and so the line ended at a terminus at Haymarket. However, pressure grew to extend the railway into the centre of the city and agreement was eventually reached in 1844, with walls and embankments created to conceal the railway. Yet the idea of a tunnel as a more satisfactory solution arose again and thus was being debated by the Edinburgh Architectural Association. Many of those present expressed concern that a tunnel could lead to damage to the National Gallery building or worse still, the Scott Monument, but Whitelaw disagreed as he thought a tunnel to be feasible. However, in the end, the rail line remained where it was.
In 1897, he surveyed the Townhill Colliery near Dunfermline to assess its remaining coal reserves. His eldest son, also called John, was a civil engineer, so it is uncertain whether it was his father, who died in 1903, or him who published the book, Surveying as Practised by Civil Engineers and Surveyors in 1902. The other son, Alexander, became a mechanical engineer.