HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Robert Barclay Allardice of Ury (25 August 1779,
Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...
,
Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...
– 8 May 1854), generally known as Captain Barclay, was a notable Scottish walker of the early 19th century, known as the celebrated pedestrian. His most famous feat was
walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...
1000 miles in 1000 hours for 1000
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...
in 1809. He is considered the father of the 19th-century sport of
pedestrianism Pedestrianism was a 19th-century form of competitive walking, often professional and funded by wagering, from which the modern sport of racewalking developed. 18th- and early 19th-century Britain During the late eighteenth and nineteenth cen ...
, a precursor to
racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...
. He should not be confused with his father, who had assumed the name Robert Barclay Allardice and undertook the first redevelopment of the town of
Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...
.


Family

Robert Barclay Allardice was a member of an ancient Scottish family (see
Clan Barclay Clan Barclay () is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Lowlands. History Origins of the clan Since the eighteenth century, Barclay historians, noted for their low level in medieval scholarship, have assumed the Scottish family Barclay (de Berch ...
) and the great-great-grandson of Robert Barclay, 2nd of Ury (1648–1690), who in 1678 published a noted ''Apology'' (i.e. defence) of the
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
faith. The family that founded
Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...
was descended from this 2nd Laird. Captain Barclay's father was Robert Barclay, 5th of Ury (1732–1797), MP for Kincardineshire from 1788. The MP was descended via his mother, Une, daughter of
Ewen Cameron of Lochiel Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eòghain Camshròn Mac Dhòmhnaill Dubh''; February 1629 – 12 June 1719) was a Scottish highland chief, soldier and courtier. He was the Chief of Clan Cameron – the 17th Lochiel, and was renow ...
from
Clan Cameron Clan Cameron is a West Highland Scottish clan, with one main branch Lochiel, and numerous cadet branches. The Clan Cameron lands are in Lochaber and within their lands lies Ben Nevis which is the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Chief ...
. The 5th laird's first wife ( and cousin) was Lucy, daughter of
David Barclay of Cheapside David Barclay of Cheapside (1682–1769) was a Scottish merchant and banker. He was the second son of Robert Barclay, the Scottish Quaker writer, and was active in the Society of Friends. An apprentice in London in 1698, he became a leading lin ...
, a wealthy London merchant. She died in childbirth, leaving a daughter, also Lucy, who married Samuel Galton Jr. of the
Lunar Society The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a British dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 ...
. Robert Senior remarried many years later, in 1776, Sarah Ann Allardice, a descendant of
Robert II of Scotland Robert II (2 March 1316 – 19 April 1390) was King of Scots from 1371 to his death in 1390. The son of Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, and Marjorie, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, he was the first monarch of the House of Stewa ...
and of the
Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
s of
Airth Airth is a Royal Burgh, village, former trading port and civil parish in Falkirk, Scotland. It is north of Falkirk town and sits on the banks of the River Forth. Airth lies on the A905 road between Grangemouth and Stirling and is overlooked by ...
,
Menteith Menteith or Monteith ( gd, Mòine Tèadhaich), a district of south Perthshire, Scotland, roughly comprises the territory between the Teith and the Forth. Earlier forms of its name include ''Meneted'', ''Maneteth'' and ''Meneteth''. (Historically ...
and
Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (, from gd, Srath Èireann) is the strath of the River Earn, in Scotland, extending from Loch Earn in the West to the River Tay in the east.http://www.strathearn.com/st_where.htm Derivation of name Strathearn was one ...
. In recognition of the nobility of his wife's family Robert Barclay thenceforth took the surname of Allardice. Robert Barclay Allardice, the subject of this article, was born the year after the marriage. Several brothers and sisters followed. Several of the Barclay family were noted for unusual strength. The first
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 ...
of Ury was reputed one of the strongest men in the country at the time of the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
, and Robert Barclay Allardice senior was himself a noted pedestrian, who once walked 510 miles (820 km) from Ury to London in 10 days. Captain Barclay made his home at
Fritwell Manor Fritwell Manor is a house in Fritwell, Oxfordshire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History In 1520, the manor at Fritwell was owned by Margaret Boleyn, grandmother of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England. The presen ...
in Oxfordshire.


Feats of Pedestrianism

* In 1801 Captain Barclay walked 110 miles (177 km) in in a muddy park * In 1802 Barclay walked 64 miles (103 km) in 10 hours * In 1805 Barclay walked 72 miles (116 km) between breakfast and dinner * In 1806 Barclay walked 100 miles (161 km) over bad roads in 19 hours * In 1807 Barclay walked 78 miles (125 km) on hilly roads in 14 hours


The thousand-hour walk

Captain Barclay's most famous exploit took place between 1 June and 12 July 1809 at Newmarket, during which he walked 1 mile (1.6 km) in each of 1000 successive hours to win an initial wager of 1000
guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...
. The enterprise quite caught the public imagination. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', which carried little general interest news, printed this report alongside an account of the campaigns of
Marshal Soult Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...
in the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
(14 July): :The gentleman on Wednesday completed his arduous pedestrian undertaking, to walk a thousand miles in a thousand successive hours, at the rate of a mile in each and every hour. He had until four o'clock P.M. to finish his task; but he performed his last mile in the quarter of an hour after three, with perfect ease and great spirit, amidst an immense concourse of spectators. The influx of company had so much increased on Sunday, that it was recommended that the ground should be roped in. To this, Captain Barclay at first objected; but the crowd became so great on Monday, and he had experienced so much interruption, that he was at last prevailed upon to allow this precaution to be taken. For the last two days he appeared in higher spirits, and performed his walk with apparently more ease, and in shorter time than he had done for some days before. With the change of the weather, he had thrown off his loose great coat, which he wore during the rainy period, and on Wednesday performed in a
flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, b ...
jacket. He also put on shoes thicker than any which he had used in the earlier part of his performance. He said that during the first night after his walk he would have himself awoke twice or thrice, to avoid the danger of a too sudden transition from almost constant exertion to a state of long repose. :One hundred to one, and indeed any odds whatever, were offered on Wednesday; but so strong was the confidence in his success, that no bets could be obtained. The multitude of people who resorted to the scene of action, in the course of the concluding days, was unprecedented. Not a bed could be procured on Tuesday night at Newmarket,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, or any of the towns and villages in the vicinity, and every horse and every species of vehicle was engaged. Among the Nobility and Gentry who witnessed the conclusion of this extraordinary feat, were:— :The Dukes of Argyle and St. Alban's; Earls Grosvenor, Bessborough and
Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
; Lords Foley and Somerville; Sir John Lode, Sir F. Standish, &c. &c. :Capt Barclay had a large sum depending upon his undertaking. The aggregate of the bets is supposed to amount to £100,000.—He commenced his feat on the first of June. During the 42 days of this exercise his time per mile increased and his weight dropped (186 lbs) (154 lbs). If the report of the total wagers was accurate they were equivalent to some £5 million ($US 8 million) in modern terms. The first woman to emulate his feat successfully was
Emma Sharp Emma Sharp (1832–1920) was an athlete famous for her feat of pedestrianism completing a 1000-mile walk in 1000 hours, the event first completed by Robert Barclay Allardice in 1809. She is thought to be the first woman to complete the challenge ...
.


Financial backer and trainer of boxers

In addition to walking Captain Barclay was active in the financial backing and training of bare-knuckle fighters. The most celebrated fighters that he trained were Tom Molineaux and
Tom Cribb Tom Cribb (8 July 1781 – 11 May 1848) was a world champion English bare-knuckle boxer of the 19th century. Cribb was born near Bristol but moved to London before starting professional fighting. He undertook a series of fights between 1805 an ...
, (Champion of England).


Army career

Captain Barclay's rank was in the
23rd Regiment of Foot Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
, which he joined in 1805. In 1809 he served as aide-de-camp to the
Marquess of Huntly Marquess of Huntly (traditionally spelled Marquis in Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: ''Coileach Strath Bhalgaidh'') is a title in the Peerage of Scotland that was created on 17 April 1599 for George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly. It is the oldest existin ...
on the ill-fated
Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...
, starting out just 5 days after the completion of the 1000-mile feat.


Claims to titles

Captain Barclay claimed the Earldom of Airth, his lawyers claiming that this title could be inherited through the female line. The claim was rejected by the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
in 1839. A similar claim to the Earldoms of Menteith and
Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (, from gd, Srath Èireann) is the strath of the River Earn, in Scotland, extending from Loch Earn in the West to the River Tay in the east.http://www.strathearn.com/st_where.htm Derivation of name Strathearn was one ...
was not pursued. A curious aside to the latter claim is that it would have implied that Captain Barclay was the rightful
King of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
.


Descent of the title

Captain Barclay died in 1854 from injuries from the kick of a horse. The only surviving child from his marriage was a daughter, Margaret, who had moved to America but eventually resettled in Great Britain and retired to Cornwall with her eldest son, also a Robert Barclay-Allardice (who later became Mayor of Lostwithiel between 1899-1901 and 1904-6). This Robert Barclay-Allardice married and had one daughter, Mary Graham Barclay-Allardice, whose descendants (through an only daughter, Margaret – the great-great granddaughter of Captain Barclay) live in Gloucestershire and Hampshire. The Lairdship of Ury, heritable only through the male line, passed to a third cousin, Charles Barclay, who lived in Surrey.


References


Bibliography

* 342pp. * 278pp.


External links


The Celebrated Pedestrian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allardice, Robert Barclay 1779 births 1854 deaths People from Stonehaven People from Richmond, North Yorkshire Walkers of the United Kingdom Scottish male racewalkers British male racewalkers Athletes from Yorkshire British military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars