Ann Barnard
Barnard, Lady Ann (1750-1825), author and artist
Godmother and aunt to Lady Anne, she was born Anne Lindsay, one of nine children in the family of the fifth earl of Balcarres whose forebears had adhered to the Jacobean side in previous conflicts, with the result that the family’s wealth, land and power were depleted. Ann Barnard was a lively socialite with many Enlightenment friends in Edinburgh and London. She remained single until the age of 42 when she married an army officer called Andrew Barnard. They sailed to the newly-acquired colony of South Africa, where Andrew served as Colonial Secretary of the Cape and Anne wrote her fascinating journals, which were subsequently published.
Correspondence – The ladies were devoted to each other, and Anne drew her aunt (wearing a veil) in her party cartoon. They maintained a life-long correspondence; Lady Ann Barnard was a prolific writer of letters. She was fond of Lady Anne’s children and wrote obligingly about young Robert after he paid her a visit.
In 1824, she requested a photograph of Tillicoultry House; aware that many of her godchildren and younger relatives had cameras, a recent invention, she wrote asking all of them to send a photo of their home for her album.
Her letter arrived in January and Lady Anne duly spent some very chilly hours setting up her camera to take the required photo. We are grateful to Lady Ann Barnard for that photo of Tillicoultry! It was demolished in the 1950s and the grounds were covered with a housing estate.