Thomas Gardyne of Middleton and Finavon (1780–1841) was a Scottish

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

and founder of the village of

Friockheim Friockheim is a village in Angus, Scotland dating from 1814. It lies between the towns of Arbroath, Brechin, Forfar and Montrose. History The name 'Friockheim', literally translated, means 'Heather Home', with Friock being a derivative from t ...

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

Family

He was the third son of James Gardyne of Lawton and Middleton and Mary Wallace, daughter of Thomas Wallace a merchant, ship-owner and Provost of

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

Friockheim

A flax miller called Jon Anderson approached Gardyne about building a village around his flax mill, which stood on Gardyne's land, to house workers for the mill. Gardyne agreed and in 1814 they advertised the new village of

, letting the houses on good terms to workers in the mill. The village was built by the Lunan Water, north-east of Middleton and

Gardyne Castle Gardyne Castle is a 16th-century tower house in Angus, Scotland. It is located south-west of Friockheim. The castle is still in use as a family home, and is protected as a Category A listed building. History The house was built by the Gardyn ...

on farmland around the original Friock Feus. At its peak it had a population of approximately 1,200, although this has dropped to around 800 today.

Death

Gardyne died unmarried in 1841 and was succeeded as laird of Middleton by his nephew, Major William Bruce-Gardyne, while Finavon Castle passed to another nephew, James Carnegy. Bruce-Gardyne sold much of the village, although the family remain large landowners in the district.

References

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About Friockheim
The Railway Inn web site People from Angus, Scotland 1780 births 1841 deaths {{scotland-bio-stub