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Moray history: Slave trade profits built Aberlour landmarks


By Alistair Whitfield

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A clergyman is calling for more to be done to acknowledge how profits from the slave trade built two of Aberlour's most prominent buildings.

Rev Yousouf Gooljary is hoping plaques will be placed on both Aberlour House and St Margaret's Episcopal Church, stating where the money for their construction came from.

It is part of a wider campaign to look closer at Scotland's involvement in the slave trade.

Rev Gooljary, who is an Edinburgh-based minister with the Episcopal Church, said: "Scotland can be really proud of its past.

"But it has to be a past that is historically accurate and doesn't miss out certain bits.

Reverend Yousouf Gooljary
Reverend Yousouf Gooljary

"About 10million people died due to the slave trade.

"It might have happened a long time ago but we are the custodians of this story.

"Both National Trust Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland have started to move on this, but more research is still needed into the history of Scotland's churches and other historic buildings.

"I believe this would actually do us all a favour.

"If we're more honest about the past, then we're better able to face the future."

The exact year of Alexander Grant's birth is not known.

However he left Aberlour as a young man to seek his fortune, succeeding spectacularly after becoming a planter and merchant in Jamaica.

When he died in 1853, Alexander left the equivalent of £34million in today's money.

Of this about £27million came from a government scheme to compensate slave owners following the Emancipation Act of 1833.

Childless, Alexander left all his money and property to his young niece Margaret McPherson Grant.

Margaret was aged just 20 when her life suddenly changed forever.

The huge bequest would allow her to live in a manner which was unorthodox, and even scandalous, for the times.

However, her wealth does not appear to have brought her much happiness.

Aberlour House
Aberlour House

During a visit to London in 1864, she met Charlotte Temple, the 22-year-old daughter of a Wiltshire landowner.

The following year Margaret persuaded Charlotte's parents to let their daughter come live with her in Moray on the promise she would be made heir to the Jamaican fortune.

The pair stayed together at Aberlour House, the mansion which had been built by Alexander in 1838.

Charlotte wore a ring that Margaret had given her and commonly referred to herself as "wifie" in letters between them.

Meanwhile, Margaret would sometimes wear men's clothing and was widely known for her "strong-minded nature".

One commentator described their lifestyle as "remarkable tomfoolery", but Margaret's great wealth and charitable donations afforded them considerable latitude.

One example of this was St Margaret's Church which she had built between 1866 and 1869.

St Margaret's Church
St Margaret's Church

But then, at some point in 1875, a retired Royal Navy commander called Harry Yeatman visited Aberlour.

The following December he and Charlotte became engaged.

Already a heavy drinker, Margaret became completely dependent on alcohol.

She died at the age of 42, having cut Charlotte out of her will.

Aberlour House, a category A-listed building, was requisitioned by the military during the Second World War.

It later went on to become the preparatory school for Gordonstoun.

The building was purchased in 2004 by Walkers Shortbread, who were not aware of its history at the time, and now serves as the company's headquarters.

As regards St Margaret's, a spokesperson for Mark Strange, the Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, said information regarding slave-derived wealth was currently being collected from across the diocese.

The spokesperson added: "This will form a diocesan report and, in due course, opportunities for discussion on what might be the best way to acknowledge this legacy."


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