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The following article appeared in the Friends of the Monteath Mausoleum
newsletter in August 2019.
I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Opening of the Monteath
Mausoleum in July, and noting how the wealthy Thomas Monteath Douglas
had spent some of his fortune on such a magnificent monument to himself.
I was particluarly struck by how inherited Douglas wealth has a legacy
that is not reflected at Douglas Support where his cousin, Archibald
Douglas became its owner.
 The
Historic Douglas Support Estate, in North Lanarkshire, split by the new
M8 link, is a shadow of its former self. Now owned by a family trust,
much has already been sold off, inluding the area, once a bing, that is
home to the Strathclyde Business Park. Now, the Trustees have offered
part of the estate to the local community, and the Viewpark Conservation
Group has been successful in obtaining a grant from the Scottish Land
Fund towards the purchase cost.
In 1691, the estate was named Haggs, and in the possession of Edinburgh
merchant Archibald Hamilton, who had acquired the estate from heavily
indebted Sir Alexander Hamilton MP's trustees and renamed it Rosehall.
In 1757, it passed to Archibald Hamilton of Dalzell, whose eldest son
James Hamilton sold Rosehall in 1783.
By now, the land had risen in value due to a combination of the minerals
below it and the construction of the Monkland Canal, which enabled coal
to be transported easily. Alexander Houston, Governor-General of
Grenada, acquired the estate and made extensive alterations to the
house, but he sold off some of the land before finally disposing of the
rest to Archibald Douglas, 'Duchess Meg's' nephew. She had died in 1774
bequeathing him the residue of her estate. Just as Thomas was required
as a condition of the will to change his name to Douglas, so too was
Archiibald obliged to change the estate's name to Douglas Support, in
recognition of the support given during the famous Douglas Cause trials
that followed the death of the Duke.
The estate passed to Rev. Sholto Douglas Campbell Douglas, who also
succeeded to the Blythswood estates. But tragedy struck in July 1908
when first his wife, Violet Mary Paget died and then the house burnt
down, destroying many relics dating back to Robert the Bruce. It was,
however, covered by insurance and Douglas Support was rebuilt, with the
addition of a chapel.
The mine workings under the estate extended under the mansion house, and
by 1932 it was unsafe and was demolished.
The last of the tenant farmers died in February 2018 and the land now
lies fallow, the once beautiful gardens are untended, though still rich
with interesting plants, trees and wildlife.
Plans were drawn up to build offices and factories on the site, but now
the surviving members of the Douglas family have offered it to the local
community who are keen to keep their 'green lung' in an otherwise area
of commercial and industrial development.
Viewpark Conservation Group is actively seeking contributions to help
buy the estate for the community. Details on how to donate can be found
at www.viewpark.org.uk
You can download this article
as a pdf.
See also:
• The Historic Douglas
Support Estate
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