Sir Andrew Orr (1801–1872) was a Scottish wholesale stationer who 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 1854 to 1857.
Life
He was born in
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 ...
in 1801 the son of Francis Orr, originally a pocket book maker at 15 Princes Street but later the founder of Francis Orr & Sons stationers.
He became a town councillor in 1842 and was elected Lord Provost in 1854. He was knighted by
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
in 1858.
During his period in office he lived at 5
Blythswood Square
Blythswood Square is the Georgian square on Blythswood Hill in the heart of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. The square is part of the 'Magnificent New Town of Blythswood' built in the 1800s on the rising empty ground west of a very new Buchana ...
, previously the home of
Dr John Burns.
From 1849
to 1871
he was also Chairman of the
Glasgow and South Western Railway
The Glasgow and South Western Railway (G&SWR) was a railway company in Scotland. It served a triangular area of south-west Scotland between Glasgow, Stranraer and Carlisle. It was formed on 28 October 1850 by the merger of two earlier railway ...
Company.
He retired to
Harviestoun Castle
Harviestoun is an estate in Tillicoultry parish, Clackmannanshire, central Scotland. It lies at the base of the Ochil Hills, around east of Tillicoultry and west of Dollar.
History
The Harviestoun estate was bought in around 1780 by Edinburg ...
near
Dollar, Clackmannanshire
Dollar ( gd, Dolair) is a small town with a population of 2,800 people in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is east of Stirling.
Toponymy
Possible interpretations are that Dollar is derived from ''Doilleir'', an Irish and Scots Gaelic word mean ...
which he had bought in 1859 together with
Castle Campbell
Castle Campbell is a medieval castle situated above the town of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, in central Scotland. It was the lowland seat of the earls and dukes of Argyll, chiefs of Clan Campbell, from the 15th to the 19th century, and was visited ...
.
[Glasgow Post Office Directory 1871]
He died at
Bridge of Allan
Bridge of Allan ( sco, Brig Allan, gd, Drochaid Ailein), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a town in the Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on the A ...
on 19 April 1872.
Artistic Recognition
He was painted by
Sir Francis Grant in 1871.
Family
His wife and infant child died before him.
Trivia
Orr's neighbours at Blythswood Square included the Smith family, and was home of the infamous
Madeleine Smith
Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857.
Background
Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...
.
References
1801 births
1872 deaths
Lord Provosts of Glasgow
Businesspeople from Glasgow
Scottish knights
Wholesalers
Stationers (people)
19th-century Scottish businesspeople
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