Old Photograph Balbegno Castle Scotland

Old photograph of Balbegno Castle by Fettercairn located North West of Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This Scottish castle was built was first built in 1569 in the time of John, the second of the Woods, proprietors of Balbegno And Thanes of Fettercairn. William Gladstone, who served as prime minister four times between 1868 and 1894, often visited the estate after it was bought by his family in 1829. He is said to have been so taken by it that he tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade his father to leave it to him over his older brother, Thomas. Liberal politician Gladstone was the oldest ever prime minister when he finally resigned at the age of 84. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer on four occasions and was committed to low public spending and to electoral reform. In his final years as a politician he proposed home rule for Ireland twice but was defeated by the House of Commons in 1886 and denied by the House of Lords in 1893. Gladstone believed his early experience in estate management was useful when he was chancellor.



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