Stewarding an Inheritance
The Ogilvy Family
William the Lion, King of Scotland from 1165, granted the lands of Ogilvy in Forfarshire to Gilbert, 3rd son of the 2nd Earl of Angus, whereupon Gilbert took the name of these lands. Around 1400, Sir Walter Ogilvy, a descendant of Gilbert, was made Sheriff of Angus. His sons, Walter and John, founded two branches of the Ogilvy family. The Ogilvys at Winton are descended from John’s line, taking the title Barons of Inverquharity in 1420.
200 years later, in 1626, in return for support to James VI and I, Sir John Ogilvy was given one of the newly created Nova Scotia Baronetcies. This title remains today: Sir Francis is the 14th Baronet of Inverquharity.
The ancestral home is the castle of Inverquharity which remained in the possession of this branch of the family for 17 generations. It was sold in 1779 when Sir John Ogilvy, 5th baronet, moved to Baldovan, the home of his wife, Charlotte Tulliedeph.
In 1920, Gilbert Ogilvy inherited Winton on the death of his aunt, Constance Hamilton Nisbet. He and his family moved from Baldovan, north of Dundee, and Winton has been an Ogilvy home ever since.
Changing Times
World War 1 changed the way estates were run. Reduced land and labour due to war, taxation, and the shaking of class structures, all had an impact; estates became less economically sustainable, and landowners took up professional jobs. Gilbert, a practising architect, ran offices in London and Dundee, and his son David, trained as an accountant after studying maths at Oxford.
Today, Winton is both a family home and a business, moving into the future with a combination of hospitality and rural estate enterprises. Our aim is to share the privilege of the estate’s natural beauty, whilst conserving its heritage and positively stewarding resources for generations to come.
The Ogilvys Board
You can see the story of the Ogilvys from 1204 to 2024 by clicking on the link to the Ogilvys History board.
The Ogilvys were hereditary Sheriffs of the County of Angus. The three principle lines of the family were established from Sir Walter Ogilvy in the fourteenth century, including those of Airlie and next door at Inverquarity.
When they were not fighting with their neighbours the Lindsays, subsequent generations would be present at Flodden, for the Royalists at Philiphaugh, the Stewarts at Culloden and in the Napoleonic Wars at sea.
Military exploits lessened as the centuries passed. Around the same time that Mary Hamilton bought the Winton Estate, the family moved to Dundee from their ancient seat of Inverquarity Castle in the Angus Glens.
They were knighted by James VI, just a few years after the Earldom of Winton was granted to the Setons; their title of Baron was replaced with Baronet, like the Hamiltons, when they supported King Charles I in his mission to colonise Nova Scotia.
Into this family and social arena entered Henry Ogilvy, advocate and younger son of Sir John Ogilvy, liberal MP for Dundee.
Mary’s social considerations were followed by Constance, her granddaughter. Constance inherited an amalgamation of Mary Nisbet’s estates, Winton and the Christopher estates of Bloxholm and Wellvale in Lincolnshire.
In East Lothian alone, these included 3 mansion houses included pictures and contents collected on grand tours of Europe or from the Elgin’s time in Constantinople and Athens. They also included 4 villages which the family had built and cherished, and nearly 40 farms, some of the best in Scotland.
A party thrown by this heiress to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee is worth reporting: she entertained 1,000 at Biel, 1,200 at Dirleton, 500 at Innerwick and 800 at Winton! Some party! The party goers sent a message to the Queen by carrier pigeon!
Enter a Liberal and a Highlander!
Into this family and social arena entered Henry Ogilvy, advocate and younger son of Sir John Ogilvy. They married in 1888 when Constance was 45.
As with the Jubilee parties, reports of the wedding matched what would be reserved for a royal wedding today.
Together they spent time on their estates, living mainly at Biel, but moving from one property to another. Latterly, after Henry’s death in 1909, Constance lived mainly at Winton Castle.
Church Building
Henry and Constance were involved in church building not only with the 9 parishes for which they were principal heritors in East Lothian, but also in Henry’s native Dundee and Angus.
This theme was shared with Henry’s grandmother, Lady Kinnaird of Rossie Priory, Dundee, whose influence may have come from her cousin, the 7th Earl of Shaftsbury.
With no children of their own, they were involved with orphanages in Angus and also at Biel, set up for children from Dundee.
Golf Links
Golf was perhaps bound to feature for the Nisbet Hamilton Ogilvys since the Archerfield Estate was home to Muirfield and the links courses at Gullane.
The East Lothian Golf Club met first at Archerfield and Henry was later president of the Archerfield Club with its 13 holes as well as the Gullane club. Local fuars in Gullane played for free and Muirfield was leased to the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.
Together, they promoted the game to the best of their ability, sometimes with practical initiatives such as ensuring a public water supply for Gullane and the concessionary grant of the extension for North Berwick Golf Club.
Other Interests
Henry was on Councils and Committees concerning schools, churches, parishes, the ‘lunacy board’, railways and clean water for Gullane and Dirleton. He was a keen curler and was President of the Biel and Dirleton Clubs and Patron of the club at Winton. He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for the County.
Their homes were enjoyed by all walks of life, with dances for the tradesmen and their friends as well as balls for the gentry. They hosted concerts at Winton Castle and elsewhere, a practice that has continued at Winton now for over 100 years.
When Henry died in 1909, Constance came to live at Winton for her last 11 years. She apparently used to enter a tenant farmers cottage and sit down without a word on account of her shyness.
When she died, the Pencaitland Parish Minister said that “To outsiders she might seem stiff and proud, but under great shyness, there was a very humble and tender heart. No good object appealed to her in vain and she was ever ready to help where there was distress”.
Copyrights & attributions
Winton Library and Octagonal Hall © T Marsh
