Old Photograph Bellfield House Scotland

Old photograph of Bellfield House near Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. George Buchanan bought Bellfield Estate, near Kilmarnock from Mr James Fairlie of Holmes. George had established himself as merchant in Glasgow and he and his brothers were involved in the cotton spinning trade. He married Miss Crawford of Cartsburn, who brought with her the estate of Woodlands, at that time some distance to the west of Glasgow. George and his wife had three sons and three daughters, none of whom ever married. The three sons all predeceased the daughters and their shares and personal wealth obviously increased the wealth of the daughters. In 1861, the sisters jointly executed a will and their legacy was known as The Buchanan Bequest. £30,000 to be held by the trustees of the estate and accumulated for ten years, the object of which was to found as hospital for the maintenance of indigent and infirm burgesses of Glasgow of 60 years of age and more, preference if the name was Buchanan. The trustees were to purchase two acres of ground within eight miles of Glasgow and erect a hospital , after ten years the hospital and the funds accumulated were to be handed over to the Lord Provost and Magistrates of Glasgow. Bellfield House was to be turned, in part, into a library and the remaining portion of Bellfield to be used as an asylum for the poor people of sixty years of age and upward from the parishes of Kilmarnock and Riccarton. This facility was also to serve young people permanently injured by accident.



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