Alexander Henderson of Press (c.1770–1826) was an 18th–19th century Scottish nurseryman and seed merchant, who was first Chairman of the

National Bank of Scotland The National Bank of Scotland was founded as a joint stock bank in 1825. Based in Edinburgh, it had established a network of 137 branches at the end of its first hundred years. In 1918 the bank was bought by Lloyds Bank, although it continued ...

and

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is the convener of the City of Edinburgh local authority, who is elected by the city council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the ...

from 1823 to 1825.

Life

He was from an affluent family who owned Press Castle a 650-acre estate near

Coldingham Coldingham ( sco, Cowjum) is a village and parish in Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwi ...

. He ran a seed shop, Eagle & Henderson, at the head of Todricks Wynd on the Royal Mile from at least 1800, but did not live in Edinburgh at that time. Around 1820 the shop moved to 99 High Street on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh's Old Town. He lived in a large house on

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to th ...

at the Old Physic Garden, having bought it when the gardens moved to Inverleith in 1820. This is where he then raised his plants and seeds. In 1823 he replaced William Arbuthnot as Lord Provost of Edinburgh. In 1825 he co-founded the National Bank of Scotland and they acquired Dumbreck's Hotel on St Andrews Square to build a new bank. Eagle Henderson of "Eagle & Henderson" does not appear in directories until 1830 and is then presumably his son. It is unclear who the original Eagle was. Curiously Eagle and Henderson remain at 99 High Street and are listed as having three nurseries:

(the old Physic Garden); Meadowbank; and Princes Street. The Princes Street nursery appears on John Wood's map of 1831 at the west end of the

Nor Loch The Nor Loch, also known as the Nor' Loch and the North Loch, was a man-made loch formerly in Edinburgh, Scotland, in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens and Waverley station which lie between the Royal Mile and Princes Street. G ...

and appears to be the first beginning of Princes Street Gardens. Press Castle survives and is now a

Listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. He died on 3 March 1826 of a severe stomach complaint whilst Master of the Edinburgh Company of Merchants and was replaced by Sir

James Spittal Sir James Spittal (1769–1842) was a Scottish silk merchant who was Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1833 to 1837. Spittal Street in the west of Edinburgh is named after him. He was a strong Whig politician who campaigned for election reforms to increa ...

, a previous Master.

Family

He married the sister of

Sir Thomas Mills ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

who had served under

General Wolfe James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec. ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. His sons included Thomas Henderson (d.1840) and the unusually named Eagle Henderson. His grandson was the landscape photographer, Alexander Henderson (born 1831) to whom an exhibition is devoted until 16 April 2023 (McCord museum, Canada).

References

1826 deaths Lord Provosts of Edinburgh Scottish landowners Year of birth uncertain {{Scotland-bio-stub