Old photograph of Mervyn's Tower on a headland on the North Sea near Wick, Caithness. Scotland. Sir Francis Tress Barry built this ornate monument dedicated to his nephew Mervyn. Francis was born in 1825, the eldest son of Charles Barry from Orpington, Kent, England. He was educated in London at Camberwell Collegiate School. In 1851 he married Sarah Douglas, the daughter of Arthur Herron from Northiam in Sussex. The couple had four sons and two daughters, and celebrated their golden wedding in 1901. Leaving school at the age of 16, Barry went to Spain to work in a business in Bilbao. He became the British vice consul for the Biscay province in 1846, and the following year he served as temporary consul for the Biscay, Santander and Guipúzcoa provinces. In the 1850s he was offered the post of consul in Madrid, but turned down the job to concentrate in his business interests. He returned to England, where he joined with his brother in law James Mason to take a 50-year lease on the Sao Domingos copper mine in Portugal. They switched production technique to opencast mining, and made large profits. In 1863 was awarded the Order of Christ by King Luís I of Portugal, was promoted to Commander of that order in 1868, and ennobled as Baron de Barry in 1873. He also received the Cross of Naval Merit from the King of Spain. In 1872 he purchased a country estate: St Leonard's Hill near Windsor, Berkshire, which he used to lend to the Prince of Wales during Royal Ascot. He also owned Keiss Castle in Scotland, where he served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Caithness. Barry died on 28 February 1907, aged 82.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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