Andrew Buchanan of Drumpellier (1690–1759) was a Scottish tobacco merchant who was one of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

's "

Tobacco Lords The Tobacco Lords were a group of Scottish merchants and slave traders who in the 18th century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco. Many became so wealthy that they adopted the lifestyle of aristocrats, lavishing vast sums on great hous ...

". He served as

Lord Provost of Glasgow The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Glasgow is the convener of the Glasgow City Council. Elected by the city councillors, the Lord Provost serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. The office is equiv ...

from 1740 to 1742.

Buchanan Street Buchanan Street is one of the main shopping thoroughfares in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. It forms the central stretch of Glasgow's famous shopping district with a generally more upmarket range of shops than the neighbouring streets: ...

in Glasgow is named after him.

Life

Andrew Buchanan was born in 1690. He was the second of four sons to George Buchanan, a maltster in

, and his wife, Mary Maxwell, daughter of Gabriel Maxwell a Glasgow merchant. His father had been a Covenanter who had fought at the

Battle of Bothwell Bridge A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

and was descended from the Buchanans of Buchanan and Leny.Dictionary of National Biography: Andrew Buchanan In his youth, he shared lodgings with Robert Carrick, then a Divinity student, and later Rev Robert Carrick. The Reverend's son, also Robert Carrick became a rich banker, and clearly an admirer of the Buchanans later left his entire fortune to them. He was one of the first Scots to have tobacco plantations in "the New World", with major holdings in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He is believed to have owned up to 300 slaves. In 1719, he purchased a property at the Long Croft in Glasgow. He purchased two further properties nearby in 1732 and 1740. Having assembled sufficient adjoining properties he then created a new street: Virginia Street, lined with new villas. His own house on the street, Virginia Mansion, was not completed in his lifetime. Virginia Street still exists in the

Merchant City The Merchant City, a new name introduced through urban renewal by the Scottish Development Agency and the city council in the 1980s is one part of the metropolitan central area of Glasgow. It commences at George Square and goes eastwards reachin ...

but none of the original houses survive. In 1725, with his brothers Neil and Archibald Buchanan, he founded the

Buchanan Society Buchanan may refer to: People * Buchanan (surname) Places Africa * Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town Antarctica * Buchanan Point, Laurie Island Australia * Buchanan, New South Wales * Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality * Buchan ...

a charity which gave financial help to apprentices and widows of the Buchanan clan. The Society still exists and provides hardship and educational grants to those of the clan and its septs. In 1735, with his new-found wealth, he purchased the estate of

Drumpellier Drumpellier Country Park is a country park situated to the west of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was design ...

building Drumpellier House there from 1736 to 1739 and extending it twice thereafter. In 1737 he bought an additional estate at Auchentorlie. He had served in Glasgow Town Council since 1728 as Dean of Guild and, in 1740, he was elected

. In 1745, after the

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobite forces, led by the Stuart exile C ...

, Buchanan was one of the commissioners who met John Hay, quarter-master to

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

's army. However, he became deeply unpopular with the prince in reducing the required levy from 15,000 shillings to 5,500 shillings. This resulted in a personal levy of 500 shilling bounty being levied by the Prince against Buchanan. In 1750, he was one of the joint founders of the Old Ship Bank on the corner of Saltmarket and Bridgegate, Glasgow's first local bank. He died in Glasgow on 20 December 1759 and is buried in the

Ramshorn Cemetery The Ramshorn Cemetery is a cemetery in Scotland and one of Glasgow's older burial grounds, located within the Merchant City district, and along with its accompanying church, is owned by the University of Strathclyde. It has had various names ...

in the centre of the city. Andrew's descendant, Lt Col Carrick Buchanan, gifted Drumpellier House and its grounds to the town of

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbrid ...

in 1919 and it is now

Drumpellier Country Park Drumpellier Country Park is a country park situated to the west of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The park was formerly a private estate. The land was given over to the Burgh of Coatbridge for use as a public park in 1919, and was design ...

Legacy

Although built after his death (1777)

in Glasgow was built on lands owned by his son James, and therefore links also to Andrew.

Family

He was married to Marion Montgomery and had two sons and four daughters. His eldest son

James Buchanan of Drumpellier James Buchanan of Drumpellier (1726–1786) was an 18th-century tobacco merchant who twice served as Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1768 to 1770 and 1774 to 1776. Life He was born at Long Croft in Glasgow (now known as Virginia Street) in 1726 ...

(1726–1786) was twice

. His second son was George Buchanan of

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

(1728–1762). His daughter Mary Buchanan married Alexander Speirs of Elderslie in 1755 and he too then became a tobacco lord.The Glasgow Slavery Tour notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Andrew 1690 births 1759 deaths Businesspeople from Glasgow Lord Provosts of Glasgow Scottish slave owners