Gilbert Innes of Stow

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

DL MWS (1751–1832) was a Scottish banker, antiquarian and patron of the arts during the

Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment ( sco, Scots Enlichtenment, gd, Soillseachadh na h-Alba) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century ...

. He served as Deputy Governor of the

Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS; gd, Banca Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a major retail and commercial bank in Scotland. It is one of the retail banking subsidiaries of NatWest Group, together with NatWest (in England and Wales) and Ulster Bank ...

for 38 years. He was described as “the richest commoner in Scotland”. A notorious womaniser, another more damning quote was “the acts of his whoredom are written in the parish chronicles of Scotland”. He had at least 67 illegitimate children.

Life

He was born on 7 February 1751 the fourth son of Marion Lauder of Huntly Wood and her husband, George Innes of Stow. His father was second cashier of the

later becoming Cashier (the then equivalent of Chief Executive of the bank). He was the great grandson of

John Lauder, Lord Fountainhall Sir John Lauder of Fountainhall, 2nd Baronet, Lord Fountainhall (baptised 2 August 1646 – 20 September 1722) was one of Scotland's leading jurists who remains to this day an oft consulted authority. He was knighted in 1680 and matriculated his ...

. Innes studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

but did not graduate. By the time of his father's death in 1780, Innes was the sole surviving son, and inherited the family estate of Stow, near Lauder in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. In 1787 Gilbert became a Director of the Royal Bank of Scotland. He helped the Bank survive the financial crises of 1793 and 1797. In 1793 Innes was one of the jury on the trial of

Thomas Muir of Huntershill Thomas Muir (24 August 1765 – 26 January 1799), also known as Thomas Muir the Younger of Huntershill, was a Scottish political reformer and lawyer. Muir graduated from Edinburgh University and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 178 ...

on the charge of sedition (campaigning for parliamentary reform). In 1800 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were John Walker, Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet and

Thomas Charles Hope Thomas Charles Hope (21 July 1766 – 13 June 1844) was a British physician, chemist and lecturer. He proved the existence of the element strontium, and gave his name to Hope's Experiment, which shows that water reaches its maximum density at ...

. He was Deputy Lieutenant of

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 ...

and was created a Freeman of the City in 1814. At this time he lived at 24 St Andrew Square in

Edinburgh's New Town The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was built in stages between 1767 and around 1850, and retains much of its original neo-classical and Georgian period architecture. Its best known street is Princes Street ...

. In 1815 he became the artistic patron of

Thomas Campbell Thomas Campbell may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Thomas Campbell (poet) (1777–1844), Scottish poet * Thomas Campbell (sculptor) (1790–1858), Scottish sculptor * Thomas Campbell (visual artist) (born 1969), California-based visual artist ...

. Other artists in his patronage included Henry Raeburn who was also a close friend. Also a keen musician he was patron to the Edinburgh violinist, Matthew Hardie. He had a fine singing voice and was a chorister with the Edinburgh Music Society based at St Cecilia's Hall . In 1820 he purchased rights to work coal in southern Edinburgh around the Drum Estate, later to become the Seafield Mine. He died at St Andrew Square following a brief illness on 26 February 1832 a few days after his 81st birthday. He is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh in the section known as the Covenanters Prison.

Other Positions of Note

*Treasurer of the Highland Society 1814–1832 *Treasurer of the Pitt Club 1814–1832 *Manager of

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...

*Member of the Board of Manufactures *Director of the Edinburgh Assembly Rooms *Member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland *Member of the

Walpole Society The Walpole Society, named after Horace Walpole, was founded in 1911 to promote the study of the history of British art and artists. From 1762 on, Walpole had published the first history of art in Britain, based on the manuscript notebooks of G ...

Family

Although he never married Innes is said to have fathered 67 illegitimate children. On his death, his fortune of over £1million was left to his sister Jane Innes. It was the largest ever inheritance in Scotland at that time and equates to around £115 million in modern terms. When his sister died childless and without a will in 1839 a scramble for the fortune began amongst his numerous illegitimate children. The personal estate ultimately passed to his nephew (a second sister's son) William Mitchell cashier (Chief Executive) of the Royal Bank of Scotland 1814 to 1825 who thereafter was known as William Mitchell-Innes. However, the real estate went to Alexander Mitchell, thereafter known as Alexander Mitchell-Innes, who was Jane's heir-at-law. William's son was the golfer, Gilbert Mitchell-Innes, named after his wealthy great uncle. His illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth Burnet Innes, married his junior colleague, John Dewar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Innes, Gilbert 1751 births 1832 deaths Scottish bankers Scottish antiquarians 18th-century Scottish businesspeople 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish Enlightenment Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard