Lady Grisell Baillie (4 April 1822 – 20 December 1891) was the first woman to be created a
deaconess
The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited ...
in the
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 ...
.
Biography
Grisell Baillie was born at her family home,
Mellerstain House
Mellerstain House is a stately home around north of Kelso in the Borders, Scotland. It is currently the home of the 14th Earl of Haddington, and is a historical monument of Scotland.
History
The older house or castle at Mellerstain included ...
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 ...
, on 4 April 1822, and baptised on 6 June 1822.
["Scotland's First Deaconess", by D.P. Thompson M.A. A Walker & Son Ltd, Galashiels 1946][New Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press] She was the youngest of the eleven children of George Baillie of Jerviswood, MP for
Berwickshire
Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...
, and Mary Pringle, daughter of Sir James Pringle, Baronet of Stichill.
She was named after her ancestor
Lady Grizel Baillie
Lady Grizel Baillie, ''née'' Hume, (25 December 1665 – 6 December 1746) was a Scottish gentlewoman and songwriter. Her accounting ledgers, in which she kept details about her household for more than 50 years, provide information about soci ...
, a much admired and respected lady who died in 1746.
The Baillies were a
Covenanting
Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian polity, Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious af ...
family and Grisell's ancestors included
Robert Baillie
Robert Baillie (30 April 16021662) was a Church of Scotland minister who became famous as an author and a propagandist for the Covenanters. who was put to death for his Covenanting beliefs and his alleged involvement in the
Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...
. Robert Baillie's great grandfather and Grisell's ancestor was
John Knox
John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
Born in Giffordgat ...
.
Her father died in 1841
and the following year she and her mother moved to Eildon Hall near
St Boswells
St Boswells ( sco, Bosels / Bosells; gd, Cille Bhoisil ) is a large village on the south side of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders, about southeast of Newtown St Boswells on the A68 road. It lies within the boundaries of the historic ...
. In 1858, both she and her brother Major Robert Baillie underwent a religious conversion. They ‘formed plans for the spiritual welfare of all amongst whom they lived’.
In 1859 they moved to another house, Maxpoffle, then to
Dryburgh Abbey House in 1864. On Sundays, they left the house at 9.30am and went to the church to teach, pray and sing with the children (Lady Grisell was a fine singer) and stayed for services, returning home at 3pm. Major Robert had become an elder of
Bowden Bowden may refer to:
Places Australia
* Bowden Island, one of the Family Islands in Queensland
* Bowden, South Australia, northwestern suburb of Adelaide
* Bowden railway station
Canada
* Bowden, Alberta, town in central Alberta
England
* Bowden ...
Church (in 1854) where the minister was Dr. James Mackenzie Allardyce. Lady Grisell attended the church and for nearly fifty years she and her brother were responsible for the Sunday School. She carried out
philanthropic
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
work, providing a water supply for
Newtown St Boswells
Newtown St Boswells ( sco, Newtoon; gd, Baile Ùr Bhoisil ) is a village in the historic county of Roxburghshire which houses the administrative centre of the Scottish Borders council area. The village lies south of the Eildon Hills on the Spr ...
and restoring a bridge over the
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water ( gd, Abhainn Thuaidh, sco, Watter o Tweid, cy, Tuedd), is a river long that flows east across the Border region in Scotland and northern England. Tweed cloth derives its name from its association with the R ...
after flood damage. In 1878, after reading a pamphlet ‘The National Sin’ she gave up her habit of taking a small glass of wine with her meals. She embraced total abstinence and organised a Band of Hope in Newtown St Boswells. As well as being involved with the
Temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
she supported the
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
, young women's meetings and foreign missions.
In 1858 Grisell's oldest brother George inherited the title
Earl of Haddington
Earl of Haddington is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1627 for the noted Scottish lawyer and judge Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Melrose. He was Lord President of the Court of Session from 1616 to 1625. Hamilton had alread ...
from a distant cousin, the
9th Earl, who had died childless. The courtesy title ‘Lady’ was given to Grisell 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 ...
.
Shortly before her mother's death in 1865, Grisell's brother Admiral Thomas Baillie had retired and lived with them at Dryburgh. Major Robert died in 1888 and such was her love and respect for him that she had the Baillie Hall in Newtown St. Boswells erected in his memory. They were described as ‘constant companions who walked with God and with each other in saintly lives of Christian service’.
The plaque on the building says ‘In loving memory of Major Robert Baillie 1888’. The clock was added in memory of her brother Admiral Thomas Baillie who died in 1889.
![Bowden Church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Bowden_Church.JPG)
On 9 December 1888 she was ordained at Bowden Kirk as the first deaconess of the
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 ...
in a service conducted by Dr. Allardyce.
In 1890 Lady Grisell moved to The Holmes near Newtown St Boswells.
In November 1891 she attended the first conference of the Women's Guild in Edinburgh where she was the main speaker and presided over the morning session. For her opening address (‘delivered in ringing tones as of a silver trumpet’) she took the words ‘Go, work today in my vineyard.’ (Matthew 21:25-32) Two weeks later, on 20 December 1891, she died of
influenza
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...
aged 69, and was buried at Mellerstain on 24 December.
There is a memorial tablet to Lady Grisell and Major Robert in Bowden Kirk.
She was commemorated in 1894 by the opening of the Lady Grisell Baillie Memorial Hospital in Edinburgh which was later renamed the Deaconess Hospital. It closed in 1990 and for a time became Deaconess House, headquarters of
Lothians NHS Trust.
In Bowden Church a new communion table was given in her memory.
It was said of her that ‘''She was beautiful, educated, gracious and above all a woman of deep faith, dedicated to the service of others. Not content with daily visits to the sick, teaching in Sunday School, the holding of meetings for young women, the organizing of bazaars to support foreign missions and so forth; she also provided a water supply for the village of St Boswells at her own expense and paid for the building of a new bridge across the Tweed''.’
Brothers and sisters
*George (1802–1870) became the
10th Earl of Haddington in 1858. Married Georgina Markham.
[Debretts][Earlston Parish Church records]
*Lady Elizabeth (1803–1861) married the 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane.
*
Charles Lord Jerviswoode (1804–1879) married Anne Scott.
*James Pringle (1806–1842)
*Robert (1807–1888) became a major.
*
The Revd
The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...
The Hon
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...
John (1810–1888), Canon Residentiary of York. Married Cecilia Mary Hawkins in 1837.
*Thomas (1811–1889) became an admiral.
*Georgina (1812–1859) died in Nice. Married Henry Hepburne Scott, 7th Baron Polwarth.
*Lady Mary (1814–1900) married
5th Earl of Aberdeen.
*Lady Catherine-Charlotte (1818–1894) married the 4th Earl of Ashburnham.
Lady Grisell also had two half siblings:
*Janet Baillie (born 1793), mother Susan Miller.
*Lockhart Baillie (born 1799), mother Catherine Sangster.
[Scotland, Births and Baptisms, 1564–1950]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baillie, Grisell
People from the Scottish Borders
1822 births
1891 deaths
Church of Scotland
History of the Scottish Borders
1888 in Christianity
Deaths from the 1889–1890 flu pandemic
19th-century Scottish women
19th-century Scottish people