Records of the Garscube Estate, Glasgow, Scotland
- Reference:GB 248 DC 080
- Dates of Creation:1837-1968
- Name of Creator:
- Language of Material:English
- Physical Description:19.6 metres
Scope and Content
The collection consists predominantly of factor's papers and includes some papers relating to estates in Murrayfield, Edinburgh; Craigton, West Lothian; and Millichen, East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.
- Feu records 1866-1960
- Incoming factor's letters 1885-1902
- Factors correspondence by subject 1919-1959
- General correspondence 1903-1921
- Furniture valuations 1908
- Catalogue of the Garscube House library 1909
- Catalogue of painting in Garscube House 1864-1891
- Taxation papers 1928-1953
- Excerpts from Trustee minutes 1875-1903
- Cashbooks 1919-1968
- Ledgers 1866-1960
- Rentals records 1857-1913
- Journals 1837-1953
- Letting records 1842-1908
- Accounting records 1866-1878
- Estate plans including plans for proposed railways that affect estate land 1854-1924.
Administrative / Biographical History
Garscube Estate , Scotland, was acquired by the Colquhouns of Luss, Argyll & Bute, Scotland, in 1558 . The western section of the estate lay in the County of Dunbartonshire, Scotland, the eastern section within the City of Glasgow, the boundary between the two being the River Kelvin. In 1687, the disposition of Garscube (c950 acres) was granted by Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss and his spouse, Margaret Houston, to John Campbell of Succoth, Argyll & Bute, son of William Campbell of Succoth, Burgess and Provost of Dumbarton. He had been granted the lands of Kipperminster in 1677, and Dunottar (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) in 1683. He was succeeded by his eldest son, William Campbell of Succoth (1679-1764), who had disposition of the estate from 1689. His second son, Archibald Campbell of Succoth (died 1790) married Helen, only child and heiress of John Wallace of Elderslie, Renfrewshire, Scotland, in 1731. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Ilay Campbell, 1st Baronet, Lord Succoth (1734-1823).
The original Garscube House was demolished on the instructions of Sir Archibald Campbell (1769-1846), 2nd Baronet, and a new house built in 1827 , to a design by William Burn, in Elizabethan style. Sir Archibald died on 23 July 1846, and the barony and lands passed to his grandson, Sir Archibald Ilay Campbell (1825-1866), 3rd Baronet. He died on 11 September 1866 and, having no children, the estate passed to his brother, Sir George Campbell (1829-1874), 4th Baronet. He died without an heir on 17 February 1874 and the estate and barony passed to his cousin, Sir Archibald Spencer Lindsay Campbell (1852-1941), 5th Baronet. Sir Archibald and his wife, Lady Lucy, lived in Garscube House until the outbreak of the World War in 1939. By this time, fields in the Dunbartonshire section of the Estate had been set aside for the building of residential housing, whilst 55 acres of the 75 acre Glasgow section had been town planned as open space. The ground floor and basement area of Garscube House were requisitioned by the Ministry of Works for use during the War, whilst the first floor and attics were used as residential accommodation for nursing staff of Glasgow Royal Infirmary who were on duty at Canniesburn Hospital and Schaw Hospital, Bearsden.
Sir Archibald died on 1 March 1941 and was succeeded by his only son, Sir George Ilay Campbell (1894-1967), 6th Baronet, who inherited both the title and the lands, although his home was in Inveraray, Argyll & Bute. At the close of War in 1945, Sir George was faced with a decision as to the future of Garscube House. Between 1944 and 1947 several options were pursued: Gateside House School, Drymen, Stirling, Scotland, offered to rent the house for use as a girls' boarding school, but Sir George declined to make a decision as the house was still being used by the Ministry of Works. In February 1944 , the house was offered to Sir William Burrell ( 1861-1958 ) for his art collection, but the surrounding atmosphere was considered too smoky for the valuable items and the site still too close to the city. Sir George then offered to gift the house to the Thistle Foundation, a disabled person's charity based in Edinburgh, for use as a clinic and residential accommodation although this offer was declined. Glasgow Royal Infirmary was interested in the house for residential accommodation and a nurses' training school, but the hospital management were not convinced of the long term suitability of the property. However, as a temporary measure, they did agree to lease the whole house when the Ministry of Works vacated their part of the building. Another possibility was that the house be used by the Glasgow Royal Mental Hospital, however, the proposed nationalisation of the hospitals led Sir George to withdraw this offer. Instead, in 1947 , Sir George made an offer to gift the Manor House, South Lodge, East Lodge, and outbuildings to the University of Glasgow , and to sell part of the surrounding land to the University. This offer was accepted and the University took possession of Garscube House and lands on Whitsunday 1948 . The original intention had been to keep Garscube House, but following the discovery of extensive dry rot, the building was demolished in 1954 . There had been a suggestion to build a complete new campus at Garscube, but the University gave preference to the site at Hillhead. The University lands at Garscube became the home of the Department of Veterinary Medicine. Sir George Ilay Campbell died in 1967, and the title, though not the Estate, passed to his son, Sir Ilay Mark Campbell of Murrayfield (b.1927), 7th Baronet.
Arrangement
The arrangement of this material reflects the original order in which it was received
Access Information
Open
Acquisition Information
Deposit : Garscube Estate Factor, on behalf of Sir Ilay Campbell, September 1980 : ACCN 0172
Note
Compiled by Moira Rankin, Senior Archivist, 07 April 2000
Other Finding Aids
Digital file level list available in searchroom. A fully searchable item-level digital catalogue of parts of this collection relating to game and vermin, and flooding and pollution, is available via the RSLP Navigational Aids for the History of Science, Technology and the Environment http://www.nahste.ac.uk website.
Alternative Form Available
No known copies
Conditions Governing Use
Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Archivist.
Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents
Appraisal Information
This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 248 procedures
Custodial History
Unknown
Accruals
None expected
Related Material
GB 243 TD 219 Papers of the Campbell family of Succoth and Garscube 17th-20th century (Glasgow City Archives). For contact details of all repositories with a GB code, see the Archon repository search page, at the Historical Manuscripts Commission.
Location of Originals
This material is original
Bibliography
No known publications using this material
Subjects
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