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Sir William Douglas, 1st Baronet (died 1809) was a
Sir William Douglas, 1st Baronet (died 1809) 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 and industrialist, best known for founding the planned town of Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas ( gd, Caisteal Dhùghlais) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ...
in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...
(now within Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...
), south-west 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 ...
.
He began life as a humble pedlar but soon became wealthy from dealings in an unspecified 'American trade
Foreign trade of the United States comprises the international imports and exports of the United States. The country is among the top three global importers and exporters.
The regulation of trade is constitutionally vested in the United St ...
'. He returned to Scotland in the late 18th century, where his major work was the development of cotton mills and a town next to Carlingwark Loch
Carlingwark Loch is a small freshwater loch in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland lying just south of Castle Douglas and is roughly rectangular in shape, trending nearly north and south. The name of the ...
. This was a planned town set around a grid plan
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
system of streets, similar to that 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 ...
's New Town
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New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
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, planned at around the same time. This town was named Castle Douglas
Castle Douglas ( gd, Caisteal Dhùghlais) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in the ...
in 1792, having previously been known as "Carlingwark". Sir William also established cotton mills in Newton Stewart
Newton Stewart ( Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland.
The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and ...
, which was temporarily renamed "Newton Douglas" in his honour, and a range of industries in Castle Douglas including a brewery, woollen mill, soap works and tannery.
Douglas was granted a baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
cy in 1801. In 1805 he built himself a mansion at Gelston Castle, which has been attributed to architect Robert Crichton. The castellated mansion is currently a vacant shell.
An obelisk was erected in the village of Gelston in his memory. He died unmarried, in 1809, and his lands were divided amongst his nieces and nephews, whilst his baronetcy became extinct.
His body was buried in a mausoleum which has been attributed to architect Walter Newall
Walter Newall (3 April 1780 – 25 December 1863) was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, born at Doubledyke in the parish of New Abbey in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. He was the leading architect in the Dumfries a ...
, named The Douglas Mausoleum, and this was added upon with at least 20 more members of family over the years. The site on Kelton Hill overlooks Carlingwark towards Castle Douglas.
References