Do you live in Clackmannanshire, or near Rosewell and Carrington? Then you will see the name Ramsay popping up on binns, coal mines, streets and elsewhere. That’s because the Wardlaw Ramsay family had been doing its very best to hang on in this lovely part of Scotland since the middle ages. The old house was integral to their identity as Ramsays of Whitehill, so when it was at risk of being sold in the 17th century, the estate was entailed on male heirs which meant that the property was carefully passed from one generation to the next, changing names when required.
They sent their boys to learn business skills in the Low Countries and, later on, posted a younger son to India. Careful marriages and selection of godparents meant that by the 19th century, the Wardlaw Ramsays had lots of money, mainly derived from coal mines and early industrial ventures.
Their wealth allowed them to marry women from aristocratic families and over a generation, their, interests turned to art. They could afford to travel, and several younger men went on the Grand Tour. The Wardlaws were an old family too; they sailed ships for the East India Company, and some of their treasures and papers have survived. For over two centuries, Ramsays, later Wardlaw Ramsays, wrote to each other, and they kept these letters, along with their land and business records. In fact, an astonishing number of personal letters has survived, the bulk of which is now in the Scottish National Archive.
This website is dedicated to sharing the portraits, artefacts and records that cast light on a family with deep roots in the Lothians and Clackmannanshire. They can tell us lots about the early industrialisation of this area, about relationships, costume, cultural interests, travel opportunities and, quite simply, what people were thinking about.