Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell, 10th Baronet, KT, DL,

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 ...

(6 June 1866 – 30 May 1956) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

landowner, Tory politician and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Life

Sir John Stirling Maxwell by William Ranken

The eldest son of

Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet MP KT, of Pollok FRSE DCL LLD (8 March 181815 January 1878), was a Scottish historical writer, art historian and politician. Until 1865 he was known as William Stirling, and several of his books were ...

and Lady Anna Maria Leslie-Melville, second daughter of

David Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven David Leslie-Melville, 8th Earl of Leven, 7th Earl of Melville (1785–1860) was a Scottish peer and admiral. He entered the Royal Navy c. 1800; he became Rear Admiral in 1846, and Vice Admiral in 1858. He was a Representative Peer (Tory), for Sc ...

and Elizabeth Anne Campbell, he was educated at Eton College and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He succeeded his father to the baronetcy in 1878. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for the College Division of Glasgow between 1895 and 1906, and later served as Chairman of the Forestry Commission from 1929–1932. He was also Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland, and a Trustee of the

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...

, Chairman of Ancient Monuments Board. He was a Lieutenant in the Royal Company of Archers and an active

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, being a member of The Pollokshaws Royal Arch Lodge No. 153, a founding member of Lodge Blythswood No. 817, and an honorary member of Lodge Pollok, Pollokshields No. 772. He was a founder member of the National Trust for Scotland (1931), becoming one of its first Vice-Presidents and President from 1943 until his death. He realised the importance of green spaces within a city. In this context, he was determined to protect the Pollok Estate and give the people of Glasgow access to it, which he undertook in 1911. Stirling-Maxwell was also involved in trying to resolve the protracted problem of finding a home for the art treasures presented to Glasgow in 1944 by Sir

William Burrell Sir William Burrell (9 July 1861 - 29 March 1958) was one of the world’s great art collectors. He and his wife Constance, Lady Burrell (1875–1961), created a collection of over 8,000 artworks which they gave to their home city of Glasgow, ...

. After his death, his daughter gave Pollok House, a substantial proportion of the

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

and her father's art collection to the

Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one of ...

. This gift of land eventually allowed the Glasgow city fathers to erect a building to hold the Burrell Collection. In 1929 he was appointed a Knight of the Thistle. He held the honorary degree of

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

from the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and Edinburgh University. Hon. RSA; Hon. RIBA; Hon. RWS; Hon. RSW and a DL. Sir John and Lady Stirling-Maxwell were both elected Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1902. In 1938 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 Sir

Ernest Wedderburn Sir Ernest MacLagan Wedderburn (3 February 1884 – 3 June 1958) was a Scottish lawyer, and a significant figure both in the civic life of Edinburgh and in the legal establishment. He held the posts of Professor of Conveyancing in the Universi ...

, Sir John Sutherland, Sir Thomas Henry Holland and Sir William Wright Smith. Sir John Stirling-Maxwell died at Pollok House on 30 May 1956.

Family

On 12 November 1901 he married Ann Christian Maxwell, daughter of The Rt. Hon.

Sir Herbert Maxwell, 7th Baronet Sir Herbert Eustace Maxwell, 7th Baronet, (8 January 1845 – 30 October 1937) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, artist, antiquarian, horticulturalist, prominent salmon angler and author of books on angling and Conservative politician who ...

, at Mochrum Parish Church in Mochrum in Wigtownshire. The couple had one daughter,

Dame Anne Maxwell Macdonald, 11th Baronetess ''Dame'' is an honorific title and the feminine form of address for the honour of damehood in many Christian chivalric orders, as well as the British honours system and those of several other Commonwealth realms, such as Australia and New Zea ...

Legacy

Sir John Stirling Maxwell is commemorated by a Wetherspoons pub on Kilmarnock Road in Shawlands, Glasgo

The pub has a rating of 3.5 on Tripadvisor

References

Sources

*Kidd, Charles & Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stirling-Maxwell, Sir John, 10th Baronet 1866 births 1956 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Deputy Lieutenants of Inverness-shire Anglo-Scots Knights of the Thistle Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Glasgow constituencies UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 People educated at Eton College Members of the Royal Company of Archers John, 10