Captain Randolph Gordon Erskine Wemyss (11 July 1858 – 17 July 1908) was Laird of
Wemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...
and Chief of
Clan Wemyss
Clan Wemyss is a Lowland Scottish clan.
History
Origins of the clan
The surname Wemyss is derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''uaimh'' which means ''cave''.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Forewor ...
.
Family
He was born in
Wemyss Castle
Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...
on 11 July 1858, the eldest son on
James Hay Erskine Wemyss
James Hay Erskine Wemyss (29 August 1829 – 29 March 1864) was a Scottish Member of Parliament, representing Fife from 1859 until his death.
Family
He was the son of James Erskine Wemyss by his wife Emma, daughter of William Hay, 17th Earl of Er ...
and Augusta Millicent Anne Mary Kennedy Erskine, youngest daughter of the Honourable John Kennedy Erskine of Dun in the County of Forfar.
He was tutored at home by Revd. John Thomson; minister of St. Adrian's church in West Wemyss, until he entered
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
in 1873.
Randolph married twice. Firstly Lady Lillian Mary Paulet, daughter of
John Paulet, 14th Marquess of Winchester
John Paulet, 14th Marquess of Winchester (3 June 1801 – 4 July 1887), styled Earl of Wiltshire until 1843, was a British peer and soldier.
Life
Born at Amport House in 1801 as the eldest son of the 13th Marquess of Winchester, he was educated ...
and the Hon. Mary Montagu, on 18 July 1884. There were two children:
*Mary Millicent Erskine-Wemyss, 15 May 1885, married Ernest Caswell Long on 30 April 1917
*Michael John Erskine-Wemyss, 8 March 1888 – 1982, married Lady Victoria Alexandrina Violet Cavendish-Bentinck, daughter of
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland
William John Arthur Charles James Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland, (28 December 1857 – 26 April 1943), known as William Cavendish-Bentinck until 1879, was a British landowner, courtier, and Conservative politician. He notably ser ...
on 25 November 1918
They were divorced in 1898.
His second marriage was to Lady Eva Cecilia Margaret Wellesley, daughter of the
William Henry Wellesley, 2nd Earl Cowley on 23 November 1899. In 1911 Lady Eva hosted
suffragette
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
standard-bearer
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
at Wemyss Castle on the latter's tour of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, as reported in
Votes for Women
A vote is a formal method of choosing in an election.
Vote(s) or The Vote may also refer to:
Music
*''V.O.T.E.'', an album by Chris Stamey and Yo La Tengo, 2004
*"Vote", a song by the Submarines from ''Declare a New State!'', 2006
Television
* " ...
, the organ of Pankhurst's
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and ...
.
Military career
In January 1900 he embarked on the steam yacht "Vanadis" for a honeymoon cruise to Egypt and South Africa. The honeymoon, however, was interrupted by the outbreak of the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
. Wemyss donated the yacht to the war effort as a hospital ship and he was promoted to the rank of Captain and on 4 September 1900 travelled to Mafeking with
Charles Cavendish, 3rd Baron Chesham
Charles Compton William Cavendish, 3rd Baron Chesham, (13 December 1850 – 9 November 1907), styled The Honourable Charles Cavendish between 1863 and 1882, was a British soldier, courtier and Conservative politician. He served as the last Mast ...
. He returned from South Africa in July 1901.
Business
Following the early death of his father in March 1864, he inherited the Lairdship and the estates. Day-to-day management was carried out by his mother until he reached the age of twenty-one.
The principal activity on the estate was coal extraction centred on West Wemyss, under the
Wemyss Coal Company. A new wet dock was opened in 1872 at a cost of £10,000 (equivalent to £ as of ). Railway schemes were developed to assist the business, and construction of the
Wemyss Private Railway
The Wemyss Private Railway was a network of lines, sometimes known as the Wemyss Estate Railway. The lines were a group of mineral and other railways in Fife, Scotland, mainly on the land of the Wemyss family. They were built to connect coal pit ...
from Thornton to Buckhaven began in 1879, and was completed in 1881 at a cost of £25,000 (equivalent to £ as of ).
After his service in the Boer War, business continued in the coalfields on his estates, the docks at
Methil
Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...
and the creation of the
Wemyss and District Tramways Company
Wemyss and District Tramways operated a tramway service between Leven, Fife, Leven and Kirkcaldy between 1906 and 1932.
History
The Wemyss Tramway Order of 1905 authorised the construction of this tramway. It was financed by the Wemyss Coal Co ...
from Leven to Kirkcaldy.
As a benevolent landlord, he provided improved housing for workers. He oversaw the developments at East and Coaltown of Wemyss, and a new village at Denbeath. He personally spent around £75,000 (equivalent to £ as of ), on housing in the parish.
Death
Following a death in November 1907 at the Lochhead and Victoria of a miner, Wemyss, assisted with the underground rescue operations, and developed symptoms from shock and exposure. He never recovered and died on 17 July 1908. He was buried at Wemyss in the Chapel Garden.
In a speech in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 21 October 1909,
James Falconer
James Falconer (9 June 1856 – 21 April 1931) was a Scottish solicitor and Liberal Party politician.
Family and education
Falconer was born in Carmyllie, Forfarshire, the son of Donald Falconer. He was educated at Arbroath High School and the U ...
MP for Forfarshire said:-
“Mr. Wemyss had taken all the risks in developing his property at a cost of £1,000,000. He has provided employment for thousands of men, had provided them with travelling facilities and built dwelling houses which were a model to everyone. The rates paid in respect of the enterprise amounted to £8,000 to £9,000 a year. I know no instance which is so much to be commended from the point of view of anyone interested in the development of the country. It is a real romance of enterprise, which has not been equalled in my time in Scotland.” [Randolph Gordon Erskine Wemyss. An Appreciation", And. S. Cunnigham, Purves & Cunnigham, Leven, James Orr, 74 George Street, Edinburgh, 1909]
The
Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital
Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital is a community hospital located in Buckhaven, Fife. It is managed by NHS Fife.
History
The original hospital was designed by Alexander Tod and opened on 28 August 1909. It was erected in memory of landowner Ra ...
was erected in
Buckhaven in his memory at a cost of £10,000, and opened on 28 August 1909.
Publications
*1895 "The Maid of Norway and other poems by R. Erskine Wemyss". Published privately.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wemyss, Randolph
People educated at Eton College
1858 births
1908 deaths
Liberal Unionist Party parliamentary candidates