George Ramsay Davidson (1801–1890) was a Scottish minister in the 19th century who was senior minister of the influential

Lady Glenorchy's Church Lady Glenorchy's Church or Chapel in Edinburgh was a curious quoad sacra parish church founded in the 18th century, with an unusual history, both due to its enforced relocation caused by the building of Waverley Station and the splitting of the ch ...

and Lady Glenorchy's Free Church.

Life

Lady Glenorchy's Free Church, Greenside Place, Edinburgh

He was born in Brechin in 1801 the son of David Davidson. He was educated at Brechin Grammar School and then studied at St Andrews University, graduating MA in 1820. He was licensed to preach as a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister by the Presbytery of

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

in 1823 but initially failed to find a patron. He was ordained as minister of Drumblade in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

in May 1828. In July 1842 he replaced Thomas Liddell at

in central

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Given Glenorchy's long tradition of Nonconformism and distancing from the established church, it was inevitable in the Disruption of 1843 that Davidson and the bulk of his congregation left to join the Free Church of Scotland. As they waited for their new church to be built at Greenside Place they met at the school halls of the Royal High School, Edinburgh on nearby Calton Hill. Meanwhile Brechin architect John Henderson, a childhood friend of Davidson, was building the new church: one of the largest in the city and on one of the city's most awkward sites. The site in Greenside stretched from the upward plateau down a steep slope more than 10m high. The resultant building looked conventional from the front, but entered on an upper gallery level relative to the floor of the huge interior, with multiple galleries, more like a theatre than a church. It held 1500 people. The building was completed and occupied in 1846. Davidson took residence a few doors to the north at 2 Baxters Place. The huge Georgian townhouse had previously been the home of

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...

the lighthouse designer. He retired fully in 1880 and moved to 1 Laverockbank Terrace in the Trinity district. He died at home on 17 May 1890.

Family

In 1830 he married Jessie Lumsden, daughter of William Lumsden, an Edinburgh architect. His daughter Eliza Maule Davidson (b.1831) married Thomas Clark an Edinburgh publisher who later became Sir Thomas Clark, 1st Baronet. They named their first son Thomas George Ramsay Davidson Clark in memory of Rev Davidson. His daughter Mary (b.1833) married Rev Alexander Cusin (1835-1890), who became his assistant in the church from 1865 and succeeded him on retiral.Ewings Annals of the Free Church His first son, also George Ramsay Davidson, was born in 1836 and David William Davidson was born in 1838.

Publications

*Privilege and Duty, a Pastoral Address (1845)

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, George Ramsay 1801 births 1890 deaths People from Brechin 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland