Introduction
The most imposing building in the centre of the Aberdeenshire village of Aboyne is the Huntly Arms Hotel, built out of local granite in several phases mostly during the 19th century. During the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries this building also dominated the commercial, social and political life of the village and much of its development and prominence was due to two landlords, father and son, Francis and Alexander Sandison. In spite of hailing from generations of sheep farmers and enjoying only a local education, Francis Sandison proved to be a natural entrepreneur who seized his chance when it came. Alexander Sandison picked up the baton on the death of Francis and proved to be at least as adept and astute as his father had been, eventually becoming the hotel’s proprietor. The Sandisons were remarkably successful in developing the commercial potential of the hotel but were also stalwarts of village life, as sportsmen, farmers, churchmen and community leaders.
The most imposing building in the centre of the Aberdeenshire village of Aboyne is the Huntly Arms Hotel, built out of local granite in several phases mostly during the 19th century. During the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries this building also dominated the commercial, social and political life of the village and much of its development and prominence was due to two landlords, father and son, Francis and Alexander Sandison. In spite of hailing from generations of sheep farmers and enjoying only a local education, Francis Sandison proved to be a natural entrepreneur who seized his chance when it came. Alexander Sandison picked up the baton on the death of Francis and proved to be at least as adept and astute as his father had been, eventually becoming the hotel’s proprietor. The Sandisons were remarkably successful in developing the commercial potential of the hotel but were also stalwarts of village life, as sportsmen, farmers, churchmen and community leaders.
“Sandison”, “Sanderson”, “Sandeson” and similar variants are
derived from the patronymic, “Alexanderson” – son of Alexander. However, the spelling variants show
remarkably different geographical distributions. In the 1881 Census, “Sanderson” had a
predominantly North of England distribution, while “Sandison” was almost
exclusively Scottish. This latter
variant had its highest concentration in Shetland, followed by Orkney,
Caithness and Banff, tailing off into Moray and Aberdeenshire.
Francis Sandison and Tomnakeist
Francis Sandison and Tomnakeist
Francis Sandison was born in 1839, the son of a sheep farmer
on the farm of Tomnakeist, east of Ballater in the Parish of Glenmuick, Tullich
and Glengairn. The farm is located on
the north side of the River Dee and behind the farm the land rises in a north
westerly direction to the 2,861 ft high mountain, Morven, on the slopes of which
the Sandisons ran their sheep. At the
time, they were tenants of the Aboyne branch of the Gordon family and a
continuous line of Sandisons went back well over 400 years on the farm. In 1680 the Gordons had a “Sandison” tenant
in the area whose rent was “15 merks, half a wedder, half a lamb, 7 poultry and
a half, a capon and a half, one dozen eggs, six feet of peats, two bolls of
lime.”
The Sandisons at Tomnakiest seem to have been a particularly
long-lived family. Charles Sandison, who
was Francis Sandison’s grandfather, was born at the farm about 1759 and died
there in 1861. His great grandfather and
great, great grandfather had a joint age of 170 years and his cousin Alexander
Sandison, who was born at the same farm, died in 1843 at the age of 101. Sadly, the move into the licenced trade may
have been detrimental to the longevity of both Francis and Alexander Sandison
who died at the relatively young ages of 62 and 51 respectively.
Francis (Francie) Sandison became the tenant at Tomnakiest on
the death of his father about 1869.
According to the 11th Marquis of Huntly, who was 22 at the
time and had just taken control of the Aboyne estates, Francis had been left in
somewhat straightened circumstances. He
explained his position openly to Charles Gordon, Marquis of Huntly, which was
appreciated by the landlord and led to a lifelong, cordial friendship. Indeed, in later years Charles Gordon came to
rely on Francis Sandison as a dependable pair of hands who could substitute for
him. Francis proved to be a competent
farmer and soon escaped from impoverishment by greatly improving his grazing
with surface drains and fencing, to which Lord Huntly contributed and by
stocking with Cheviots, a better sheep breed.
At the 1871 Census, Francis Sandison was described as a farmer of 1120
acres of which 67 were arable. He
employed one woman and one boy. In
subsequent years his sheep always commanded high prices when offered for sale
at Aboyne and other markets.
The Marriage of Francis Sandison to Mary McHardy
The Marriage of Francis Sandison to Mary McHardy
In 1872, at the age of 33, Francis Sandison married Mary
Gordon McHardy, the 18-year old daughter of another local farmer. It appears that Francis had delayed marriage,
as often happened at the time, in order to consolidate his financial
position. Charles Gordon tells a
fascinating tale about the wedding. He
was out fishing on the Dee at Cambus O’May with his ghillie, Sandy Grant, in
the spring of 1872, when they heard what appeared to be gunfire to the
north. He enquired of the ghillie if he
had heard the shooting. “I ken weel what
it be”, was the reply, “it is Francie Sandison’s wedding and I wish I were
there!” The opportunity of joining in
the conviviality of a “Hielan” wedding was too good to pass by and the two of
them left the river and travelled to Tomnakeist. Guests were firing guns and exploding
homemade bombs manufactured from old cartwheel bosses and there was food, drink
and dancing to pipers and fiddlers. All
this fun continued to nightfall after which local loons periodically disturbed
the couple’s conjugal bliss by firing guns, hammering at the door and singing
loudly.
The Huntly Arms, Aboyne
The Huntly Arms, Aboyne
There has been a coaching inn on the site of the present
Huntly Arms since 1432, though the current building appears to have originated
in the 18th century. It was
owned until the late 19th century by the Aboyne branch of the
Gordons. Before 1838 the hotel was
called the Aboyne Arms, named after the Earls of Aboyne. In 1836, the most senior member of the Gordon
Clan was the 5th Duke of Gordon, also the 8th Marquis of
Huntly. He had no direct male heir and
the title of Marquis of Huntly passed to his relative, the 5th Earl
of Aboyne, whose accession to the marquisate was acknowledged by the House of Lords
in 1838. This stimulated a change of
name for the hotel to the “Huntly Arms”.
Charles Cook and the Huntly Arms
Charles Cook and the Huntly Arms
Before the coming of the railway to Aberdeen in 1850, the 9th
Marquis of Huntly was a frequent user of the “Defiance” stage coach between
Aberdeen and Edinburgh, as a result of which he got to know Charles Cook, one
of the chief whips. George Gordon, the 9th
Marquis must have been impressed by Cook because in 1848 he appointed him as
landlord of the Huntly Arms, a sensible move, since the hotel in Aboyne had
large stables and derived much of its business from commercial and tourist
traffic arriving and leaving by coach.
Cook proved to be a competent landlord and very adept at spotting opportunities
to extend the Hotel’s coaching business.
Charles Cook also seems to have been the person who changed the name of
the establishment from “Inn” to “Hotel”.
In 1853 the Deeside Railway reached Banchory and in 1859 it was extended
to Aboyne, attaining its final terminus at Ballater in 1866. During the period when Aboyne was the
terminus, Queen Victoria and her party would travel by coach from the railway
station behind the Huntly Arms onwards to Balmoral. The 10th Marquis of Huntly would
walk down from Aboyne Castle to the station to greet the royal party while everyone
was settling in their coaches drawn up in front of the hotel. Charles Cook was in charge of the posting
arrangements for the royal party and practised walking backwards so as to
remain respectfully facing the Monarch.
On one occasion he tripped and fell and, in this instance, Queen
Victoria was amused!
Charles Cook was landlord of the Huntly Arms from 1848 to
1868, when he retired due to ill-health, dying shortly afterwards. This was a period of substantial growth for
Scottish tourism, since Highland dress and culture had become modish. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert first
visited Balmoral, a few miles west of Aboyne, in 1848. They fell in love with the place, bought the
estate and built a new castle, which was finished in 1856. In 1859 the Deeside Railway reached Aboyne
and in 1867 the Aboyne Highland Games were inaugurated. Many wealthy tourists arrived to stay at the Huntly
Arms while fishing the Dee for salmon.
Also, some well-to-do Aberdonians spent the summer in lodgings in Aboyne. As the coaching business declined for Charles
Cook, so the hotel trade increased and in 1860 substantial alterations and
additions were made to the hotel.
Charles Cook also leased the Haugh Farm and Dee salmon fishings from the
Marquis of Huntly and in 1860 he also gained a licence for the Refreshment
Rooms at Aboyne station.
William Johnstone and the Huntly Arms
William Johnstone and the Huntly Arms
In 1868, the 11th Marquis of Huntly reached his
majority and took control of the family estates. He was thus rather young, inexperienced and
in trepidation at the responsibilities which had been thrust upon his
shoulders. One of his simpler tasks was
to find a replacement for Charles Cook as landlord of the Huntly Arms. At this stage the hotel consisted of 2 public
rooms, taprooms, 5 parlours, 20 bedrooms, kitchen, servants’ accommodation and
posting accommodation. In the short term
the management of the hotel was in the hands of Charles Cook’s widow and his 2
sons, Charles junior and Thomas. The
hotel was advertised as being available for let from Whitsunday 1871, but no
new landlord was found. It was
advertised again from Whitsunday 1872 and on this latter date William Johnstone
became the lessee. Prior to Johnstone
taking up his lease, the Cooks held a displenish sale, the items relating to
posting and coaching giving a good idea of the scale of the operation at the
hotel, namely, 25 useful horses, single and double harness, riding saddles, one
omnibus to carry 14, one stage coach to carry 20, one open carriage, three
barouches, one wagonette, one large brake, one 4-wheeled dog cart, one 2-wheeled
dog cart, one spring cart and a large omnibus to carry 40.
A welcome dinner for William Johnstone was held at the
hotel, which was attended by the movers and shakers of Aboyne and chaired by
William Milne, Factor to the Marquis of Huntly.
The band of the Aboyne Highland Volunteers in their neat Highland garb
played outside the hotel. Mr Cameron,
the Marquis’ piper entered and played after each toast. The dining room was decorated by Mr Hurry,
the Marquis’ gardener and colleagues and Francis Sandison proposed a toast to
the Marquis and Marchioness. Sadly,
this promising start was not sustained. According
to Charles Gordon, the choice of Johnstone as landlord was a mistake. Although he was a well-meaning man, he was
always at loggerheads with his staff and this had unfortunate consequences when
two of the Marquis’ cousins were guests at the Huntly Arms and held a dinner
party. The soup was late in arriving and
had an unsavoury smell. The Marquis’
cousin said “I don’t know what this soup is composed of but it appears to be
flavoured with mice. Will anyone have
some?” No one had the soup. It appears that Johnstone had been upbraiding
his cook and she, being resentful of her treatment, took revenge on the hapless
Johnstone by throwing a dead mouse into the soup. This incident probably sealed his fate and he
was gone within three years of starting.
William Barclay and the Huntly Arms
William Barclay and the Huntly Arms
The next landlord, from Whitsuntide 1875, was William
Barclay who, for 17 years, had been the tenant of the Gordon Arms at
neighbouring Kincardine O’Neil. Some
renovation and repairs were carried out immediately, which resulted in the
development of a Commercial Room, for the exclusive use of “Commercial
Gentlemen” and the laying out of the Pleasure Grounds to the south of the hotel
“furnished with Arbours, Couches and every other provision for the ease and
enjoyment of visitors”. As was the
tradition on Deeside, the new lessee of the hotel was entertained at a welcome
dinner in July 1875, which was held in the Masonic Hall due to the ongoing work
at the hotel. A pleasant evening of
toasts and song was much enjoyed. Sadly
for William Barclay, like his predecessor, he did not last long. Although in his autobiography “Milestones”
the Marquis of Huntly did not say anything on the negative side about Barclay,
equally he did not say anything positive in his support “he soon gave it
up”. However, the Marquis did not
clearly remember the events, since he reversed the order of Barclay’s and
Johnstone’s residencies in his account.
Francis Sandison becomes the landlord of the Huntly Arms
Francis Sandison becomes the landlord of the Huntly Arms
May 1879 saw yet another displenish sale at the Huntly Arms
as William Barclay prepared to leave.
The Marquis of Huntly’s thoughts then turned to Francis Sandison for the
tenancy of the hotel “as I had in several ways become aware of his ability,
shrewdness, and straightforwardness.” By
the Marquis’ own assessment Francis Sandison was an instant success in his new
role and never looked back.
At the age of 40 and a sheep farmer, albeit a successful
one, Francis Sandison embarked on a new career.
But what was particularly remarkable was the fact that, not only did he
keep on the tenancy of his ancestral farm, Tomnakeist, in addition to the
tenancy of the Huntly Arms, he also took on the tenancy of the Haugh Farm, the
Boat (later Bridgend) hotel (both Aboyne), the public house at Aboyne station
and he leased substantial fishings on the Dee from the Marquis of Huntly. By 1894 he was also leasing the Upper Dess
waters from Mr Davidson. Francis
Sandison was smart enough to know that he could not be in several places at once
and he used a strategy of entrusting different ventures under his control to
relatives and employees. His wife, Mary
took control of the kitchen, his sons worked on the farm and in the hotels, his
friend William Anderson, an experienced businessman in his own right, was
grieve at the hotel farm and his brother-in-law James McHardy became licensee
of the Boat Hotel. In 1884 Mrs Sandison
became the lessee of the farm at Aboyne mill.
It was not long before Francis Sandison started to receive
plaudits in press reports for the quality of his food, organisation and
service. In August 1879 Aberdeen City
Council paid a visit to their water works at Invercannie and afterwards dined
at the Huntly Arms “by Mr Sandison in first class style”. Similarly, in September 1880, the Aboyne
Highland Games Committee met at the Huntly Arms and afterwards “sat down to an
excellent dinner purveyed in Mr Sandison’s best style.” Similar descriptions appeared consistently
throughout his tenure and in 1893, the local newspaper described a meeting as
being held in “Sandison’s Hotel, Aboyne”, such was the strength of the
association between Francis Sandison and the Huntly Arms. Other evidence of his growing status could be
seen in repeat business. In 1879, when
William Cunliffe Brooks remarried, Francis Sandison was entrusted with the
catering and subsequently was engaged by WCB on a regular basis to serve meals
for the large annual gatherings of the Deeside Habitation of the Primrose
League, which were usually held at his home in Glentanar. The local newspaper report on the 1888 meeting
of the League recorded an amusing
encounter between a self-important young attendee and Francis Sandison, who was
clearly under pressure to cater for the 300 guests. Sandison had introduced what would today be
called a “standing buffet” in a marquee, in order to feed all the attendees. There were four large tables for the food but
no seats. “One young leaguer not seeing
the force of the arrangement asked for a seat, when “mine host” of the Huntly
Arms brusquely reminded him that a “standing sack filled best,” and that it
might be to his advantage to try the experiment on the present occasion else he
could “gang teem””!
The Hotel business expands
The Hotel business expands
Previous landlords at the Huntly Arms had derived significant
business from posting and staging but that began to decline once the railway
was extended beyond Aboyne to Ballater in 1866.
However, Francis Sandison proved to be adept at seeking out new business
uses for the hotel and its facilities.
Many organisations began to dine at the hotel at the close of a meeting
and some of those organisations also held their meetings within the hotel. These included the Presbytery of Kincardine
O’Neil (but not the Free Presbytery which was staunchly teetotal), the Deeside
District Committee of Aberdeen County Council (after its genesis in 1890),
Aboyne Freemason Lodge 281, Aboyne Town Council, Aboyne Curling Club, Aboyne
Highland Games Committee and Aboyne Flower Show Judges. Organisations from Aberdeen, such as the
Aberdeen Society of Chemists and Druggists and the Cairngorm Club, often made
their annual outings to Aboyne to enjoy the countryside, frequently ending with
dinner in Mr Sandison’s esteemed establishment.
In August 1881 the local newspaper commented that “In the Huntly Hotel
every corner is occupied besides the many spare beds that Mr Sandison has
secured in the village.” Further
expansion of the hotel was needed and this eventually arrived in 1892. A large new wing was added to the building on
the south side, which today is easily recognised by its crenellated frontage. It contained a drawing room, smoking room,
bathroom, lavatory and 12 bedrooms and was finished about the end of June. At that time the Aberdeen Journal described
the hotel as being “under the efficient management of the much-respected
landlord, Mr F Sandison.”
Francis Sandison the farmer
Francis Sandison the farmer
Francis Sandison already had an established reputation as a
sheep farmer when he became landlord of the Huntly Arms and his interests in
raising sheep continued, there being regular reports in the local papers of his
sheep being offered for sale and gaining high prices at Ballater, Aboyne and
the Aberdeen marts. He was also
recognised as being a leader of the local agricultural community. For example, in 1881 at a meeting of
landlords, tenants and others at Aboyne concerning the agricultural depression,
he took the chair on the motion of Dr Farquharson, the local MP. After he became tenant of the Haugh Farm in
Aboyne, which was largely arable, his interests extended to the cultivation of
root crops and cereals. He became a
regular exhibitor and prize winner at local agricultural shows, such as
Tarland, with different varieties of potatoes, barley and oats. In
June 1886 the Aberdeen Journal commented as follows in a piece on the state of
local agriculture. “On Mr Sandison’s
farm near the railway, the fields are as far advanced as anywhere in the
county. The land is undoubtedly good,
but Mr Sandison farms well and the liberal treatment of the soil gives a quick
response” and again in 1896 it referred to “…Mr Sandison’s finely cultivated
farm.” He was also keen on agricultural
innovation, often allowing the Haugh Farm to be used as a demonstration site
for new equipment, such as a patent prairie plough in 1886 and the use of
mechanical binders in 1892. He was
admitted as a member of the Royal Northern Agricultural Society in 1886.
The 11th Marquis of
Huntly, owner of the Huntly Arms, was a passionate breeder of polled black
cattle (Aberdeen-Angus), known locally as “Doddies”. However, his chronic financial difficulties
led to regular disposals of stock from 1878 until the final dispersal of the
residue of the herd after the Marquis’ bankruptcy in 1899. Ironically, just as the Marquis was suffering
a forced disposal of cattle, Francis Sandison, at least from 1885, started to
build up a herd of Aberdeen-Angus, making regular acquisitions, for example on
the dispersal of the Auchlossan herd belonging to Mr Barclay, MP, in 1887 and
on dispersal of the Marquis’ Aboyne herd in 1899. Cattle sales were held in early December each
year at local agricultural marts to supply the London Christmas market and
Sandison regularly sold his cattle by this route.
Francis Sandison's sporting pursuits
Francis Sandison was a keen and, in local terms, successful sportsman and being landlord of a hotel probably allowed him to partake of sports which would have been barely attainable as a sheep farmer at Tomnakeist, due both to lack of time and opportunity. His principal sporting pursuits were Curling, Golf and Billiards. The Aboyne Curling Club was already in existence in 1879 when Francis Sandison arrived at the Huntly Arms and by 1882 he was a skip and regularly winning matches. He continued to be elected as a skip throughout his life and latterly served on the Representative Council of the club. In the late 19th century winters were severe in Aboyne and several locations were used for the sport, including a curling pond at Bellwade, the artificial lake at Glentanar and the Loch of Aboyne to the east of the castle. In January 1893 the Aboyne curlers competed for a broom, donated by Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, on the ice at Glentanar. On this occasion the prize was won by John Davidson, the village baker but Francis Sandison was chosen as the representative of the club to respond to Sir William’s speech. Sandison took the opportunity to butter up both Sir William and his wife for their hospitality on the day and to recall their financial generosity to the club when it happened on hard times in the past. The North East of Scotland Curling Association held an annual Bonspiel, where representative teams from the north and the south of the area competed against each other. The competition was often held at Aboyne, for example in 1892, usually on the Loch of Aboyne. Francis Sandison was involved in the organisation of this event and it ended with the consumption of Irish stew provided by the kitchen of the Huntly Arms.
Francis Sandison was a keen and, in local terms, successful sportsman and being landlord of a hotel probably allowed him to partake of sports which would have been barely attainable as a sheep farmer at Tomnakeist, due both to lack of time and opportunity. His principal sporting pursuits were Curling, Golf and Billiards. The Aboyne Curling Club was already in existence in 1879 when Francis Sandison arrived at the Huntly Arms and by 1882 he was a skip and regularly winning matches. He continued to be elected as a skip throughout his life and latterly served on the Representative Council of the club. In the late 19th century winters were severe in Aboyne and several locations were used for the sport, including a curling pond at Bellwade, the artificial lake at Glentanar and the Loch of Aboyne to the east of the castle. In January 1893 the Aboyne curlers competed for a broom, donated by Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, on the ice at Glentanar. On this occasion the prize was won by John Davidson, the village baker but Francis Sandison was chosen as the representative of the club to respond to Sir William’s speech. Sandison took the opportunity to butter up both Sir William and his wife for their hospitality on the day and to recall their financial generosity to the club when it happened on hard times in the past. The North East of Scotland Curling Association held an annual Bonspiel, where representative teams from the north and the south of the area competed against each other. The competition was often held at Aboyne, for example in 1892, usually on the Loch of Aboyne. Francis Sandison was involved in the organisation of this event and it ended with the consumption of Irish stew provided by the kitchen of the Huntly Arms.
Golf has been played regularly in
Aboyne since at least 1874. The Aboyne
Golf Club was formed in 1883, largely on the initiative of Mr WE Nichol, the
proprietor of the Ballogie estate and the club’s first captain. The game was played over 9 holes on the Green
in the middle of the village until the club moved to its present site near to
the Loch of Aboyne in 1905. Francis
Sandison quickly mastered the game and in 1883 he played off against Rev Andrew
Gray, the village schoolmaster, for the Nichol Challenge Cup, Sandison being
victorious. Francis Sandison was a
frequent winner of competitions and captain of teams on numerous
occasions. He was elected president of
the club in 1894 and retained that position until his death in 1901.
In the 1890s the Public Hall in
Aboyne had a billiards room and the game became popular in the village. Both Francis Sandison and his eldest son
Alexander were keen players of the game, perhaps aided by the presence of a
billiards table in the hotel.
Competitions were played between married and single men in Aboyne,
between Aboyne and other villages, such as Ballater and between individuals in
handicapped competitions, for example, in 1894 when both Alexander (then aged
19) and Francis were scratch players in such an event. The prizes were a gold medal donated by
Sandison senior and a silver medal donated by Andrew Gray. However, billiards never attained the level
of interest that those Scottish staples, curling and golf, achieved.
Sponsorship
Sponsorship
Francis Sandison was also a
supporter of a number of other hobby and cultural organisations in Aboyne and
the surrounding area, his sponsorship being expressed by donating prize money,
medals, or prizes, or by providing support in kind. It is not clear if this was a calculated
business strategy or if it was simply a reflection of his outgoing personality
and generosity. Either way, the effect
was that his standing in the Aboyne community, at all levels, became very high
and he was widely acknowledged as a pillar of society. His status probably contributed to the
popularity of the Huntly Arms.
Aboyne Highland Games
Aboyne Highland Games
Highland Games became fashionable
along with the establishment of all aspects of Highland culture during the 19th
century, as being an expression of Scottishness. The Braemar Gathering was instigated in 1832
and patronised by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert when they became regular
visitors to Deeside after 1848.
Ballater, the next village westwards from Aboyne established its
Highland Games in 1864 but Aboyne was a bit tardy, not initiating its Games
until 1867. However, this event rapidly
attracted patronage and by the turn of the century it was second only to
Braemar in size and importance. When
Francis Sandison arrived at the Huntly Arms in 1879 he must have quickly
realised that this annual September event, on the Green across Charleston Road
from his hotel, represented a major business opportunity. In 1881 he had a large marquee erected on the
Green to supply refreshments to the visitors and this provision was repeated in
future years. For the upper classes
Highland Games were to be enjoyed for the spectacle but, more importantly, they were events at which
to meet and greet those of a similar level in society: to see and to be seen. The primacy of this societal role of Highland
Games can be deduced from newspaper reports of the time, where the list of
important attendees was longer and had precedence over the list of prize
winners! Francis Sandison and his family
quickly achieved this mark of status and his presence was reported at such
events up and down the Dee valley.
Aboyne Horticultural Society
Aboyne Horticultural Society
Curling and golf were
complementary to each other in being played respectively in winter and
summer. In other ways they were closely
similar in that the players were drawn from the landed and trading classes, who
could get away to indulge their sports during daytime of the working week. On the other hand, Aboyne Horticultural
Society was one of the few cultural organisations in the village which seemed
to encompass all strata of society. It
held an annual show each year at the same time as the Aboyne Highland Games and
was usually divided into two sections, for professionals such as the gardeners
employed by the landed proprietors and amateurs from all parts of the village
and its surrounds. The show was often
opened by Sir William Cunliffe Brooks, who took great enjoyment from lecturing
the crowd on horticultural matters. In
1885 Mr WE Nichol of Ballogie was president, William Milne, Factor on the
Aboyne estate was Vice President and Francis Sandison was Chairman, a role he
retained for the rest of his days.
Aboyne Ploughing Association
Aboyne Ploughing Association
The Aboyne Ploughing Association
also received the support of Francis Sandison but, unlike most other
organisations that he patronised, this one was firmly grounded in the farming
community. The association held an
annual ploughing match, typically in January or February and often in a field
made available by him at the Hotel farm.
The entrants were almost all farmers and farm servants. Indeed, ploughmen from Sandison’s own farm
were frequently prize winners. Prize
money and prizes in the competitions were mostly donated by local traders, such
as Francis Sandison, who undoubtedly benefitted
from the custom of the ploughing contestants.
Deeside Highland Volunteers
Deeside Highland Volunteers
In May 1859 a military Volunteer Force, organised at County
level, was established in Great Britain.
Its purpose was national defence in case of invasion. H Company of the Deeside Highland Volunteers
recruited in Aboyne and the surrounding area.
With the exception of its officers, recruits were working men, who were
attracted to military activities, such as shooting rifles for prize money and
attending annual camps. Francis Sandison
was a supporter, again providing competition prizes on a number of
occasions. In 1883 the Deeside
Highlanders held a camp on the Home Farm at Aboyne on a site provided by
Sandison. According to the Aberdeen
Journal, Francis Sandison “has taken a warm personal interest in the success of
the meeting.”
Public representation
Public representation
Outwith leisure, sport and culture, Francis Sandison played
a full and popular role as a leader of the community in representative organisations
within the growing democracy of the times.
When Sandison assumed the role of
landlord at the Huntly Arms in 1879, toll roads trusts had been abolished and a
single county authority, supported by district surveyors and roads trustees was
in existence. At least in the period
1885 – 1887 Francis Sandison was a trustee of the 4th Kincardine
O’Neil Road District of Aberdeenshire, interestingly as a parish representative
for Glenmuick, Tullich and Glengairn, the parish of his birth, not Aboyne. In 1886 and 1887 the Kincardine O’Neil Road
Trustees held their AGM in the Huntly Hotel.
Kincardine O’Neil, having been by-passed by the Deeside Railway, had
ceded its former role as the main town in mid-Deeside to Aboyne.
The 1872 Education (Scotland) Act introduced a system of
state schools, which were largely free and where attendance was compulsory
between the ages of 5 and 13. They were
managed by local school boards, with members being popularly elected. School boards had responsibility for
educational standards, appointment of staff and all financial matters. In 1882, Francis Sandison stood for election
to the Board of the Aboyne Public School for the first time and came top of the
poll with 140 votes cast for him.
A major source of income for the local public schools was
the Milne Bequest. Dr Milne had left a
£50,000 legacy for the benefit of school teachers and the education of poor
children in Aberdeenshire (plus the parish of Banchory-Devenick). However, with primary education becoming
essentially free, it was felt that the Milne money could be used differently
but this raised alarm amongst both teachers and parents of children benefitting
from, or hoping to benefit from, the Milne Bequest. A public meeting, with Francis Sandison in
the chair, was held in Aboyne to protest at the proposed changes to the Milne
Bequest. He summarised the situation for the audience of 50. At that time about 72 schools and 2,000
children (40 in Aboyne) benefitted from the Bequest. However, if the money were
to be redirected to help the universities, as was being proposed, he estimated
that the number of children benefitting would drop to about 200 and the
widespread benefit to the children of the poor would be lost. Eventually the meeting passed 2 resolutions,
the first stating that the proposed changes were contrary to the intentions of
Dr Milne and the second appointing a committee to draw up a petition against
the changes. However, Francis Sandison’s
careful conduct of the proceedings was hijacked by a totally unanticipated tiff
between Mr MacKenzie and Mr Moir, the Church of Scotland and Free Church
ministers respectively. Mr MacKenzie
claimed it was out of order for Moir to speak because he lived in Birse, a different
parish. Sandison tried to find the
middle ground by saying it was a meeting to protest against the proposed
changes and that he had no objection to hearing what Moir had to say. However, Moir had by this time gone into a
huff and refused to speak, even though invited to do so. Francis Sandison must have been glad to close
the meeting and get back to his hotel that evening!
After his initial election to the School Board, Francis
Sandison was re-elected at each subsequent triennial election until his death
in 1901. In 1885 he was elected chairman
of the School Board by his peers and was re-elected every subsequent year. It was his duty as Chairman to liaise with
Sir William Cunliffe Brooks over the Brooks donation of a new school at
Glentanar and to preside at the opening ceremony. It was also the duty of Francis Sandison to
make the presentation to his friend and golfing companion, Rev Andrew Gray on
the retirement of the latter from the role of headmaster of the Aboyne Public
School in 1900, after 44 years of service.
The latter half of the 19th century saw the
emergence of democratic organisations such as the school boards, the county
councils and their district committees, which gradually eroded the power and
influence of the landed proprietors.
However, Aboyne, being a borough of barony, had elected a Town Council,
headed by the Provost (mayor) since before 1800. Many of the functions of the provost and
baillies were ceremonial, but the provost was a traditional leader of the
village community and presided on many occasions. There was an annual election to the Town
Council but only one third of the officials retired each year, thus each served
a 3 year term. Retiring members were
also eligible to stand for re-election.
One of the traditions of the Town Council was that after each election,
the provost and council retired to the Huntly Arms to participate in a tripe
supper (in 1898 it was a tripe and haggis supper “and with toast and song a
lively and pleasant evening was spent”.)
Aboyne Town Council
Aboyne Town Council
Francis Sandison was first elected to Aboyne Town Council in
1880 and was continuously a member until 1901.
In 1887 the Town Council organised local events to mark Queen Victoria’s
Jubilee and as part of the celebrations Sandison gave a treat to the poor of
the parish. After the January 1889 Town
Council election, the Aberdeen Journal described the situation as follows. “The Aboyne Town Council have now got fairly
into working order, and the offices at the disposal of the Council Board have
been most judiciously filled up. The
right men have been most happily found for the leading places, and what with
Provost Anderson (the local Bank Agent) supported by such a good man and true
as mine host of the Huntly Arms, Baillie Sandison, the work of the Council will
undoubtedly be most assiduously and successfully prosecuted.” Francis Sandison twice served a 3 year stint
as Provost, from 1892-1895 and from 1898 – 1901. His friend John Troup, the village butcher,
was Provost in the intervening 3-year period.
In 1890 the Town Council, led at the time by Provost
Anderson, revived the ancient custom of Riding the Marches of Aboyne, which had
last been observed in 1877. At 3pm on 31st
January 3 large brakes, provided by First Baillie Sandison, set off from the
Huntly Arms on the first leg of the journey to Dess where the “Doupin”
(dipping) Stone was situated. This stone
had a hole into which a pole was inserted and was formerly used to dip any
malefactor who had displeased the Provost of the barony into the river as a
punishment. On reaching the stone a
ceremony was held celebrating this ancient practice. The baillies took “a little Highland
refreshment” and were then lifted off their feet and duly “doupit”. The party then retraced its route back to
Aboyne and on to Dinnet, making a short stop at the Temperance Hotel to toast
the lodgers! The party continued on over
Dinnet Brig and back to Glentanar where they were met by Sir William Cunliffe
Brooks and provided with refreshments.
The Town Council finally returned to Aboyne at 6pm where they were
entertained at the Huntly Arms to a cake and wine banquet. Provost Anderson gave a speech and toasted
Baillie Sandison, speaking of the great trouble he had taken to make the day’s
proceedings a success.
It fell to the Provost of Aboyne to take the lead in
organising and officiating at events of significance to the village. In his time as Provost, Francis Sandison was
called upon to deal with several such events and showed by his speeches that he
was indeed a consummate leader with a finely developed ability to catch the
mood of the moment. In April 1894, Sir
William and Lady Brooks returned to Aboyne after a long absence on holiday in
the West Indies. Work on many building
projects on Sir William’s estates had dried up during his absence and there was
a great sense of relief when the travellers returned. Also, Sir William had recently consented to
provide a fresh, piped drinking water supply to the village, at his own expense,
from burns at Glentanar. Provost
Sandison headed the party that greeted Sir William and his lady wife at Aboyne
station. After a gushing eulogy, Provost
Sandison presented the ever-preening Sir William with an illuminated address
and Lady Brooks with bouquets of flowers.
The large crowd cheered them enthusiastically on their way back to
Glentanar House.
In 1900 Provost Sandison was prominent in organising and
leading public celebrations to mark significant victories in South Africa where
the British Army was in the middle of the Second Boer War. Celebrations were held on the Green in May,
when news of the relief of Mafeking reached Aboyne and again in June on the relief of Pretoria. After the latter event Provost Sandison
received a telegram from the Queen’s secretary “Balmoral. To The Provost, Aboyne. – The Queen thanks
you and the inhabitants of Aboyne for your loyal congratulations on occupation
of Pretoria. – A Bigge.”
The second half of the 19th century saw the
progressive evolution of local democratic structures. Commissioners of Supply were originally
established in 1667 to collect land tax in each county for the financial needs
of the monarch. Some members were ex
officio but most were appointed from the ranks of the major landowners. Progressively, additional functions were
allotted to the Commissioners. In 1718
they were given responsibility, along with JPs, for the maintenance of roads
and bridges in each county and in 1857 they were required to establish county
police forces.
Up to 1845 parishes were ecclesiastical entities but in that
year the concept of the civilian parish was established to administer the Poor
Law (Scotland) Act 1845. Under this Act,
Parochial Boards were appointed each year to administer the poor law. Later civil parishes were also made
responsible for registering births, marriages and deaths. In 1894, Parochial Boards were replaced by
more democratically elected Parish Councils, though their roles did not
change. Parish councillors were elected
for 3 years at a time.
Aberdeen County Council and the Deeside District Committee
Aberdeen County Council and the Deeside District Committee
Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, partly-elected
and partly-appointed county councils were established. The first county council election was held
the following year. Virtually all the
functions of the Commissioners of Supply were handed over to the new county
councils. Counties were in turn organised
into districts and each district had its own committee, which was largely
independent of the parent county council.
Aberdeenshire was divided into 8 districts, one of which was Deeside and
the Deeside District Committee held its meetings in the Huntly Arms Hotel.
In 1894 Francis Sandison was elected to the Aboyne Parish
Council and was then appointed, in room of Lt Col Innes, to serve as their
representative on the Deeside District Committee of the County Council. He remained as an active member of the
Deeside District Committee for the rest of his life. Francis Sandison was now regularly rubbing
shoulders with the most powerful men on Deeside, most of whom also sported big
personalities. One of them, Sir William
Cunliffe Brooks, was his present landlord and another, Charles Gordon, 11th
Marquis of Huntly, was his sponsor and former landlord. When a serious disagreement broke out between
the Deeside District Committee and Sir William over the siting of the proposed
Aboyne Isolation Hospital, Francis Sandison found himself in a very
uncomfortable place.
The Aboyne Isolation Hospital
The Aboyne Isolation Hospital
The Deeside District Committee had a responsibility for
public health in its area and proposed the building of an isolation hospital at
Aboyne. The issue was first discussed in
1894 and the decision taken to build at Bellwood at the east end of the village
in 1895, with the contract finally being signed and construction started late
in 1896. The land on which the hospital
was to be sited was owned by the Marquis of Huntly. All the proceedings to this point had been
made in public and reported in the local press.
Sir William Cunliffe Brooks had been made aware of the proposals and had
not offered a site for the hospital, nor objected to the proposal, but in June
1897 he suddenly decided that the hospital site posed a threat to his interests
and presented a petition, opposing the hospital site, to a meeting of the
Deeside District Committee. The
Committee operated under the authority of the Local Government Scotland) Act
1889. It had taken its decision
democratically, in accordance with the law and was simply not free to bow to
Sir William’s will, powerful though he was.
It did offer to consider other sites if Sir William would indemnify it
against all costs incurred but he doggedly refused to meet this unavoidable
condition. The result was a protracted
and increasingly bitter dispute in which lies were told, fictitious supporters
invented and insults traded, with Sir William being the prime mover. Francis Sandison and the Marquis of Huntly
were caught in an uncomfortable position.
Sandison was a tenant of Sir William and depended on him for much
catering trade. The Marquis was married
to Sir William’s older daughter, Amy.
Also, the Marquis and his wife lived at Aboyne Castle, which was now
owned by Sir William. Both the Marquis
and Sandison had been supporters of and had voted for the site that Sir William
now opposed so vociferously and, in addition, the Marquis had innocently agreed
to feu the land to the Deeside District Committee.
Sir William’s implacable hostility to the hospital site at
Bellwood caused his tenant and his son-in-law to row back from their previous
positions and seek to find a compromise solution, albeit at the cost of their
own consistency and impartiality. A
letter appeared in the Aberdeen Journal in June 1897 from “Inhabitant”
(probably Sir William writing under a pseudonym) quoting Francis Sandison
saying that there was a growing desire that the hospital “should be erected a
little farther away from the village.”
The next meeting of the Deeside District Committee was on 23 July. It was called because Francis Sandison had
written to Col Innes, the chairman, “You will see from the enclosed wire that
Lord Huntly can attend a meeting on Saturday or any day after. I enclose Sir William Cunliffe Brooks’
letter, and shall be glad if you will call a meeting to consider it.” Clearly, Francis Sandison was acting as a
messenger for both the Marquis and Sir William.
Part of Sir William’s letter read as follows, “Mr Sandison, - Sir, -
Thanks for letter: but as you will see from enclosed, they ask so much it
appears they make negotiations impossible!”
It was almost as though Sir William considered Sandison not to be part
of “they”, ie the Deeside District Committee.
When the matter was discussed at the meeting, Francis
Sandison, in effect, presented Sir William’s case, saying that the site was not
far from the nearest house, the people of the village were unanimous that the
hospital was too near and that the tourist trade of the village would be
damaged. He then urged the Committee to
re-examine the matter and they agreed to set up a sub-committee for that
purpose. However, at the next Committee
meeting in early November the offer of Sir William was put to a vote. Four votes were cast for the motion to accept
the Brooks offer (Francis Sandison, the Marquis of Huntly, Sir Alan Mackenzie
and Mr AH Farquharson) but there were 8 votes against. Mr Nichol of Ballogie,
who seconded the motion to reject the offer was brutal in exposing the
shallowness of Francis Sandison’s position, “Six months ago there was not a
single individual in Aboyne who objected to the present site. They had their representative (Sandison) at the Parish Council and he
did not object and they had their representative (Sandison) from Aboyne at the District Committee and he did not
object (“He did object.” “No”, and
laughter). Well, if he did object it did
not come out (Laughter).”
It must have been to the relief of both sides when the
hospital was completed and Sir William’s objections were finally overcome. The Deeside District Committee continued to
meet at the Huntly Arms and Francis Sandison continued to play a full part in
its work, as well as continuing to provide catering of a high order. In August 1899, the Deeside landed
proprietors gave their annual dinner to members of the DDC in the Huntly Arms
Hotel. “Mr Sandison, proprietor of the
hotel had the tables tastefully decorated with flowers and purveyed an
excellent dinner.”
Public leadership
Public leadership
Leadership and public speaking came naturally to Francis
Sandison. In addition to playing these
roles in representative structures he was often called upon to represent the
views of a gathering or of some section of the community. In 1884 a proposal was made to build a
railway from Strathspey to Strathdon and on to Deeside. Francis Sandison was one of a small group of
Deeside residents to travel down to London to give evidence in favour of the
proposed railway. Whenever tenants
gathered to pour praise on their landlord it was usually Francis Sandison who
stepped forward to give voice to the required sentiments. For example, after the Morven Estate, on
which Tomnakeist Farm lay, was sold to Mr John Keiller, the Dundee marmalade
manufacture, the tenantry gathered to celebrate the birth of a son to Mrs
Keiller. Mr and Mrs Keiller were present
and Sandison praised John Keiller as a model landlord who invested wisely in
his property and who formed a partnership with his tenants. Francis Sandison did not forget to mention
Mrs Keiller, whom he said “had already by her liberality managed to gain many
friends.”
Charity
Charity
Francis Sandison was frequently involved in charitable
events to raise money for deserving causes.
Typically this involved the organisation of a concert in the public hall
which was inevitably followed by clearing the floor for a riotous dance,
usually “kept up until an early hour”.
On one such occasion in February 1894, Provost Sandison and the Town
Council organised a concert and dance in support of a local man who had been in
bad health. In addition to the
contributions of the attendees, Sir William Brooks sent £5. Francis Sandison chaired the occasion and at
the end of the evening the Church of Scotland minister, Rev James McKenzie
proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman, remarking that Mr Sandison was
always foremost in the promotion of any work for the public good, especially of
a benevolent nature.
Disestablishment - a clash of faith and politics
Disestablishment - a clash of faith and politics
Francis Sandison was a fervent supporter of the Church of
Scotland and a regular worshipper. He
became a church elder while he was a resident of the parish of Glenmuick and
attained the same status on his move to Aboyne.
In 1892 he presented a handsome plate to the Aboyne church for receiving
donations at the church door. Francis
Sandison was also a Liberal by political persuasion and a member of the West
Aberdeenshire Liberal Association. Indeed, the West Aberdeenshire constituency
consistently returned a Liberal member from its formation in 1868 until its
demise in 1918. Before the 1880 general
election Sandison had proposed Dr Robert Farquharson (who ran the Finzean
Estate with his brother Joseph, the painter) as a fit and proper person to
represent the constituency in Parliament, but that support for Farquharson was
soon to be tested. He became MP for West
Aberdeenshire at the 1880 general election and held the seat until he retired
before the 1906 election. In 1869 during Gladstone’s first
administration the Anglican Church of Ireland had been disestablished as part
of his attempt to pacify the Irish Nationalists. However, a similar proposal by
the Liberals to disestablish the Presbyterian Church of Scotland provoked a
violent debate which persisted over a 20 year period. The Radical wing of the Liberal Party
supported disestablishment in Scotland but this was opposed by the Whigs. The Free Presbyterians and the United
Presbyterians were supporters of disestablishment, as were many urban
industrial voters but in the Aberdeenshire countryside the Church of Scotland
held sway and was implacably opposed to any change in the status of the
Church. Ministers of the Church of
Scotland were further concerned that disestablishment would also bring about
disendowment and the loss of church property rights. Liberal-supporting members of the Church of
Scotland found themselves pulled in opposite directions by their competing
loyalties. This clash of politics and
religion produced extreme turbulence and Francis Sandison found himself caught
up in the storm.
As a result of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland discussing the issue of disestablishment and disendowment in 1885, a
call went out to establish Church Defence Associations in local areas. Such an association was set up in Aberdeen in
November of that year to represent the congregations in the city and
county. This association sent a letter
to all Parliamentary candidates in its area asking two questions, firstly would
they oppose disestablishment and disendowment and secondly, did they agree that
this matter should be considered at district level before being debated in
Parliament. The two candidates in the
West Aberdeenshire constituency both replied.
Mr Irvine of Drum (Conservative) gave a positive and unambiguous reply
to both questions but Dr Farquharson, the Liberal candidate and standing MP,
was evasive and said he would explain his views shortly. A church defence meeting was also held in
Aboyne at about the same time to hear local views. The first speaker was Lord Huntly who gave a
hand-wringing justification for sitting on the fence (he was a Liberal and also
worshipped in that church) before leaving the meeting to those who did not share
in his agonised indecision. Dr McKenzie,
the Aboyne minister, was quite certain about where he stood. He was implacably opposed to disestablishment
and disendowment and urged all members to action. It was resolved to form a committee with
Francis Sandison presiding. However, in
spite of some haemorrhaging of his traditional support, Dr Farquharson was
returned as the MP for West Aberdeenshire at the 1886 general election, though
his majority was reduced to 80.
The issue then seems to have gone quiet in the period to
1890, when attention started to turn to the next general election. The General Assembly recommended that a
church defence organisation should be established in every parish. A meeting was held in Aboyne in December at
which Francis Sandison proposed the reorganisation of the Church Defence
Association which had been established 4 years previously. The motion was passed and Sandison was one of
3 delegates deputed to liaise with neighbouring associations and a meeting was
held in Aberdeen the following month.
Pressure immediately started to mount on Dr Farquharson again. Francis Sandison moved a resolution at a
meeting of the West Aberdeenshire Church Defence Associations to canvass the
electorate in each parish in order to gauge the voting power in favour of the
church and John Henderson, the secretary of the Aberdeen association, wrote to
Farquharson asking him to pledge himself not to support any movement in
Parliament in favour of disestablishing and disendowing the church. The canvass of congregations showed (on
certain assumptions) that 63% of voters in West Aberdeenshire were in favour of
retaining the Church of Scotland as the established church, while 37% were
either in favour of disestablishment or were neutral. The information was passed to Dr
Farquharson. In his reply to the
Association, Dr Farquharson admitted the strength of feeling amongst the
electorate but declined to pledge himself, since he had twice voted for
disestablishment and he could not change his position and retain any
credibility. Francis Sandison successfully
moved that this reply was unsatisfactory and remitting the matter to a
committee of 25 to decide what action to take to defend the church at the next
general election.
At a further meeting of the WACDA in October 1891 the
committee presented its report which recognised that Sir Arthur Grant, the
Conservative candidate, was sound on church matters but unlikely to carry the
constituency and recommending that they should try to find a Liberal candidate
who would support the status quo on
the church. However, the meeting was
divided on whether to support Sir Arthur or to seek a new candidate, with Rev
Mackie of Drumoak promoting the support of the Conservatives. Francis Sandison moved the acceptance of the
committee report and it was carried by 20 : 13.
Mackie then resigned from the committee, taking 3 others with him. John Henderson then canvassed the parishes on
a proposal to approach Mr Robert Cox of Gorgie, Edinburgh, to be the Liberal
Church candidate in West Aberdeenshire and found that the parishes were
overwhelmingly in favour. The Rev Mackie
was infuriated and raged in the press against the “absurd and ruinous policy”
of John Henderson and Francis Sandison (not unexpected) and against the Marquis
of Huntly (quite a surprise, since he had kept a low profile). At this point the strategy of the WACDA fell
apart. After first agreeing to be their
candidate, Robert Cox then dumped West Aberdeenshire in favour of an offer to
represent the Conservatives and Unionists at Kirkaldy. WACDA then had no alternative but to throw
their support behind Sir Arthur Grant who duly lost to Dr Farquharson at the
1892 general election.
In the run-up to the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland in 1894 the Kincardine O’Neil Presbytery sought 2 representatives to
attend. Francis Sandison and John Whyte,
an Aberdeen advocate, were elected. At
the Assembly Lord Balfour of Burleigh presented a report to the Church
Interests Committee on Disestablishment.
The motion to accept the report was proposed by Dr Marshall and seconded
by Francis Sandison, who spoke in its support.
This enhancement of his profile led to Francis Sandison being lampooned
by political opponents in Aberdeenshire.
At the end of August 1894 Dr Farquharson gave a speech at Bucksburn
(then spelled Buxburn) and a Mr Macphail, clearly from the Radical wing of the
Liberals, made a few digs at Francis Sandison.
“The oracle had spoken in regard to West Aberdeenshire – not in the
constituency itself but in the historic Assembly of the Church of
Scotland. The oracle was the innkeeper
of Aboyne, who, in seconding a motion against disestablishment, told the
fathers and bretheren that Dr Farquharson narrowly escaped being turned out,
and that at next election he would be swept completely from the field. (Laughter)
Threatened men lived long. On the
day after he addressed the fathers and bretheren, Mr Sandison was canonised by being
elected an office-bearer in the Publicans’ Defence Association. (Laughter).”
The issue of disestablishment was still alive the following
year, in the run-up to the 1895 general election. Dr Farquharson was not afraid to speak his
mind after four successive general election victories and Sir Arthur Grant was
his opponent again. Farquharson held an
election meeting at Aboyne, where Francis Sandison and Rev Andrew Gray were,
predictably, in the audience and to the fore with their questioning of the
candidate. Dr Farquharson referred to a
letter in the local paper from “A Crofter” and hinted that it might have been
written by Sir Arthur. For this he was
hissed and called upon to retract. Mr Sandison then asked his opinion on the
disestablishment of the Church and he replied that it was unchanged from 3
years ago, but he was not allowed to get away with this evasion. Andrew Gray asked him to state his opinion to
the meeting and he replied that he was in favour of disestablishment. Rev Gray also asked if it was consistent to
be advocating the abolition of the House of Lords while at the same time
creating new peers. Dr Farquharson
replied that this was done to get the use of them while the House of Lords
existed. Gray then pressed him to say if
he was in favour of a second chamber at all.
He replied that he was but in a very modified form. Francis Sandison kept up the attack by asking
if he was in favour of the Government giving contracts to foreign nations and
so depriving British workmen of employment.
He replied that it was best to buy in the cheapest markets and certain
kinds of work could not be done at home at all owing to being patented in other
countries. At the end of the meeting Dr
Farquharson could have been in no doubt that the ill-will generated by his
stance on disestablishment was still to the fore in Aboyne and this was
confirmed at a Church Defence meeting held in the village a few days later. Rev James McKenzie, the Aboyne Church of
Scotland minister, said that in 15 years in Parliament he had not heard
anything eloquent or practical from Dr Farquharson, surely an unfair
characterisation of the MP by a minister whose blood was still running hot?
However, after the general election of 1895, which was won
by the Conservatives, the issue of disestablishment quickly lost its power to
excite local passions in the North East as the Liberals’ enthusiasm for this
radical policy cooled. Francis Sandison probably came out of the melee with his
reputation enhanced. He had held to his
convictions and proved that he could be an effective operator not only on the
local stage but also in the national arena.
But Robert Farquharson had also done well. He had stuck to his position even though it
was treated with hostility by many rural parishes and he had won yet another general
election, perhaps judging that the Church of Scotland held less sway than its
leading members thought.
Francis Sandison and the 11th Marquis of Huntly
Francis Sandison and the 11th Marquis of Huntly
The success of the Francis Sandison as a landlord of the
Huntly Arms, Bridgend and the Haugh Farm must have convinced the Marquis of
Huntly that he had made a good choice back in 1879. Sandison was always careful to be respectful
to the Marquis and his wife and to take every opportunity to butter them
up. Even so they clearly had respect for
each other and the Marquis’ level of confidence extended to having Francis
Sandison act as a substitute for him on a number of occasions. In September 1884, Premier Gladstone called
at Aboyne on his way from Ballater to Aberdeen.
For some reason Lord Huntly was unable to greet the prime minister, so
he got Francis Sandison to attend at the station. Sandison handed a telegram to the prime
minister and expressed regret on the part of the Marquis of Huntly that his
lordship had been unable to come to the station. He further remarked that it was the desire of
Lord Huntly that he should bid Mr Gladstone a hearty welcome to “our Highland
hills” and assured him that the desire of the people might be expressed in the
words “Haste ye back”.
The Marquis of Huntly also turned to Francis Sandison for
help and support in other circumstances.
In 1895 Francis Sandison and John Troup (the village butcher and another
Huntly tenant) nominated the Marquis when he stood as a candidate for Aberdeen County
Council. The following year Francis
Sandison played a leading role in promoting an auction mart at Aboyne, the
company being chaired by Lord Huntly. At
one meeting Sandison said publically that they stood a good chance of getting a
good site from Lord Huntly near the station, perhaps indicating that he had
already discussed a site informally with the Marquis. Francis Sandison also played a key role in
trying to get Lord Huntly and Sir William Cunliffe Brooks off the hook when
Brooks took exception to the siting of the Aboyne Isolation Hospital, after
Lord Huntly had agreed to the siting and had feued the land for the
building. On that occasion Sandison was
not successful and damaged his own reputation for consistency in the process.
Middle Class intermarriage
Middle Class intermarriage
In rural areas in the late 19th century land
ownership equated to power and influence and the major landed proprietors
formed a top layer of society which visited each other, shot and fished
together and intermarried. Aboyne
conformed to this structure. But there
was another layer of society below this which consisted of the major village
traders, tenant farmers and professionals, who played sport together (such as
golf and curling), were mostly members of the Freemasons and played leadership
roles in village representative organisations.
In Aboyne Francis Sandison (Huntly Arms), John Troup (butcher), John
Davidson (baker) and Andrew Gray (schoolmaster) were typical examples of this
societal stratum. They also intermarried. Francis Sandison’s son, Alexander, married
Maud Alexandra Troup, daughter of Alexander Troup, butcher in the next village,
Ballater. His brother, John, was the
village butcher in Aboyne. Alexander
Troup married Susan Gray, sister of village schoolmaster, Andrew Gray. Another sister, Martha Mary Gray, married
John Davidson, the Aboyne village baker.
The Death and Funeral of Francis Sandison
The Death and Funeral of Francis Sandison
About 17th June 1901, Francis Sandison suffered a
serious stroke. He lingered on for 7
days before dying at the Huntly Arms on 24th June. The funeral took place 3 days later. Such was the local regard for Francis that
all local businesses were closed. The
service began in the parish church of Aboyne and was conducted partly by Rev
James Mackenzie and partly by Rev Charles Dunn of Birse. The tolling of the bell summoned mourners to
the parish church at the west end of the Green.
Miss Club, daughter of the local saddler, was at the organ and played “I
know that my redeemer liveth” as the prelude and the Dead March from “Saul” while
the coffin was born from the church.
Francis Sandison had chosen to be buried at the old Tullich churchyard,
near Tomnakeist, the farm of his ancestors.
The cortege which carried the coffin the 9 miles to Tullich was one of
the largest ever seen in Aboyne. As the funeral procession neared Tomnakeist
the farm servants, shepherds and other inhabitants of the neighbourhood began
to fall into the ranks of the mourners.
A very large number of people from Ballater, Crathie and beyond Braemar
had assembled at the gateway to the churchyard.
Rev Charles Dunn conducted the graveside service and the coffin was then
lowered and covered by wreaths. The
following Sunday, Rev James Mackenzie spoke in his sermon of the personal
qualities of Francis Sandison, describing him as kind and unobtrusive, a man
who gave advice and served on public boards.
He had an equable temper, never ruffled, modest and never boasted about
his ability or his deeds. So ended the life of a remarkable man, who rose from
the obscurity of Easter Morven to become one of the best known and most
respected citizens of Deeside.
Francis Sandison and his wife Mary had a family of 8 children,
4 of each gender. Of the girls, Mary
Jane married late, at the age of 42 to the headmaster of the Aboyne Public
School, James Cruickshank, Catherine (Kate) also married late, aged 33, to
William Proctor of Aboyne, Jessie appears never to have married and Margaret
died tragically young at the age of 25.
The Aberdeen Journal said of Margaret :
“Her death removes one of the best known and most popular young ladies
in the district. Of a bright and
thoughtful disposition, she was ever active in the promotion of good work and
was always eager to help or comfort those in need.” Of the boys, John died in infancy, Charles
died of his wounds in Flanders in 1916, Francis emigrated to farm in Canada and
Alexander stayed in Aboyne, progressively taking over the Sandison businesses. He was the oldest son and 26 at the time of
his father’s death in 1901.
Alexander Sandison and the Huntly Arms Hotel
Alexander Sandison and the Huntly Arms Hotel
It would be fair to say that Alexander Sandison, like his
father Francis, was a natural businessman who seamlessly assumed the cloak of
hotel keeper, farmer and local leader.
He had clearly observed his father’s modus
operandi over a number of years and was smart enough to be able to apply
the lessons learned when Sandison senior died unexpectedly. Alex Sandison’s mother, Mary, successfully
applied to have the certificate for the sale of excisable liquor transferred to
her name and she retained control of hotel catering operations until 1916, when
she retired. The plaudits for catering
quality at the Huntly Arms continued to flow, for example in 1903 a report in
the Dundee Courier dealing with the Deeside tourist trade said “There is a very
fine hotel, the Huntly Arms of which Mr(!) M Sandison is proprietor….It is
undoubtedly one of the best hotels in Deeside” and at a wedding reception later
the same year, the Aberdeen Journal reported “After the ceremony the company
sat down to dinner, which was sumptuously prepared and elegantly served by Mrs
Sandison and her assistants.” Alex
Sandison immediately took over responsibility for salmon fishing in the waters
leased for the use of hotel guests and made a success of the venture. In 1903 the Aberdeen Journal reported “On the
Huntly Arms (angling waters) at
Aboyne Mr Sandison has his compliment of rods well booked up.”
The Bridgend Inn
The Bridgend Inn
When his mother retired in 1916 Alex Sandison applied for
the excisable liquor certificate for the Huntly Arms and his uncle, James
McHardy applied for the certificate for the Sandison’s other Aboyne hotel, the
Bridgend Inn, which had been formerly tenanted by Alex Sandison. Inspector Dreghorn of Aboyne Police Station
said that the Chief Constable had no objection to the certificates being
granted and that Aboyne was fortunate to have such applicants. Although both establishments appear to have
been run responsibly there was inevitably a degree of drunkenness, often
accompanied by petty violence, in and around both locations.
In 1924 James McHardy died at Bridgend of a defective heart
valve and chronic nephritis, which necessitated the identification of a new
landlord. Alex Sandison settled on Alex
Thomson Adam. By this time Alex Sandison
was a powerful, wealthy and respected local business personality and it must
have been a surprise to him when the application for a licence for the Bridgend
Hotel met strong opposition in the form of a petition from some citizens. The Deeside District Licensing Court met in
the Public Hall, Aboyne and the protesters were legally represented by Mr
Hector, advocate. The conduct of the
petition and its wording, however, were amateurish and the protesters were made
to look as though they had reached their conclusion first and then cast around
for evidence afterwards.
The reasons for objection contained in the petition were as
follows. 1. The licence was unnecessary
as Aboyne already had an hotel with a drinking bar attached. 2. The Bridgend was in a purely residential
district and the hotel caused drunkenness and rowdyism. 3. The licence-holder of the Huntly Arms (ie Alex Sandison) was also the principal
tenant of the Bridgend, contrary to the spirit and intentions of the Licensing
Acts. Mr George Wilson, the Aberdeen advocate representing Mr Sandison tore the
objectors’ case to pieces. The petition,
he said, was a tissue of falsehoods so far as material or relevant facts were
concerned. It had been got up regardless
of truth or statutory requirements. He
also criticised the way the petition had been conducted. Most of the petitioners did not live close to
the hotel, some had not been shown the wording of the petition and some had not
indicated their support by signature. One claim made by Mr Wilson was
intriguing. He said that “the petition
had been got up through spite, jealousy and malice against a gentleman who had
been successful in business, and who, because he had many irons in the fire,
had trampled on some people’s toes.”
Mr Hector for the petitioners had a difficult time
maintaining their case but in attempting to do so he made two challenging
assertions concerning the hotel. It was
“a constant temptation to a certain class, about a score of whom might be seen
any Saturday night squandering the first fruits of their weekly toil on drink.” Also, “It is well-known that the police here
have been very tolerant and generous. In
the opinion of many they have been far too tolerant, and many think that their
administration has been far too slack.”
Without objective evidence to support these claims, Mr Hector could not
have been surprised that his clients had their objection overruled. Major Coltman of Blelack, president of the
court, gave their decision. “While we do not approve of the principle of
granting two licences to one party, we have decided unanimously – (a member of
the Court – “By a majority”) – we have decided on the evidence before us, that
the licence be granted for this year.”
So it appeared that the objectors had one supporter on the bench!
Alexander Sandison and Farming
Alexander Sandison and Farming
The role played by Mary Sandison, widow of Francis Sandison,
in continuing to run the Huntly Arms allowed her son Alex to concentrate on
farming matters and public affairs in the early years of the 20th
century. Over a period of 25 years, Alex
Sandison continued the work of his father in building up a herd of Aberdeen-Angus
cattle, in particular buying stock from the Ballaterach herd, often for record
prices. His judgement seems to have been
sound as the reputation of stock attained a high standing. This was reflected in prizes won at
agricultural shows and in prices gained for animals in the sale ring. There was an annual show and sale of fatstock
at the Aboyne Auction Mart in early December to catch the Christmas trade. In December 1905 Alex Sandison secured the
prize for the best butcher’s beast and the best fat cow. His entries were 1st and 2nd
for a pair of bullocks any age, in the single ox class he was 1st
and 2nd and in the fat bull class he was 2nd. Such success was repeated many times.
The other great agricultural interest of the Sandisons was
the raising of (mostly) Cheviot sheep on the slopes of Morven. These animals were typically sold at the
Aberdeen auction marts at Belmont and Kittybrewster, where his offerings were
frequently described as “superior”, or identified as being from his flock. They invariably attracted high prices. Unlike his father, Alex Sandison does not
seem to have had much interest in arable farming, as he never seemed to enter
his produce, such as oats or turnips, at local agricultural shows. Similarly with horses, he would occasionally
make entries in equine classes but the horse was in decline and his attention
was soon attracted to the motor car.
Like his father, Alex Sandison was quickly accepted as a
leader in the Deeside agricultural community, especially after he became a
member of Aberdeen County Council in 1910 and was in a better position to exert
influence. He followed his father as a
director of the Aboyne Auction Company whose mart displaced the tradition
cattle market held on the Green. It was
eventually sold to Messers Reith and Anderson, owners of the Kittybrewster
Auction Mart, Aberdeen, in 1911. In 1912
the Government proposed under the Insurance Act to require farmers to collect
contributions from their employees. This
caused uproar in the Deeside farming community.
Alex Sandison chaired the protest meeting held in Aboyne and outlined
the implications of the Act. A
resolution was passed declining to act as tax collectors on behalf of the
Government. In 1914 Sandison presided at
a meeting with Aboyne farmers where he explained that there was Government
money available to deal with agricultural pests. It was agreed that they would apply for that
part of the grant available to Aboyne and Birse and a committee was formed to
take the matter forward. When
agricultural issues arose at county level, Alexander Sandison was usually
invited to become involved, for example in dealing with contagious abortion,
sheep scab and the control of foxes. In
1922 he was appointed to the committee of management of the Royal Northern
Agricultural Society.
Leisure, Sporting and Charitable activities
Leisure, Sporting and Charitable activities
Alex Sandison was active in support of leisure and sporting
activities and charitable endeavours in and around Aboyne. Like his father he supported the ploughing
championship held early in the New Year by sponsorship or the provision of a
venue on the Hotel Farm. Not
surprisingly, given his family’s long history of sheep farming, he was also an
enthusiastic supporter of sheep dog trials, which were introduced to Aboyne in
1924. He was Vice President of the North
East Sheepdog Trials Society from 1924 until his death and was largely
responsible for organising events held on land at Aboyne Castle.
The Boys’ Brigade was the first uniformed youth organisation
in the world, formed in 1883 in Glasgow by William Smith. Smith came from a family background strongly
influenced by the Army and the Church and he conceived the BBs as a way of
harnessing the robust behaviour of boys on a Sunday, as an alternative to
Sunday School. It had the objective of
instilling the virtues of Reverence, Discipline, Respect, Christian Manliness
and Obedience amongst a clientel that was often deficient in these character
traits. The BBs quickly became popular
in Scotland and Boys’ Brigade camps were regularly held at Aboyne from the early
years of the 20th century.
Alex Sandison was a strong supporter and regularly provided camping
ground, both for the Aboyne BBs and for those from elsewhere on Deeside. The Sandison family regularly attended
parades at the BB camps, along with other prominent locals and also provided a
refreshment tent on the camp site. John
Davidson, the local baker and Provost of Aboyne for many years was another
enthusiastic BB supporter.
The Sandison family were also dedicated fund-raisers for
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and the Royal Aberdeen Hospital for Sick Children,
continuing a tradition established by Francis Sandison. This charitable work was duly recognised in
1917 when Alex Sandison was admitted to the honorary position of Life Manager
of the Infirmary. The substantial equine
resources of the Huntly Arms were also used to support good causes by in-kind
contributions. For example, in August 1909,
a 40-strong party from Aboyne Parish Choir and Sunday School teachers were
driven to the Forest of Birse, where they had a picnic, in 3 brakes provided by
Alex Sandison and in July 1910, 230 pupils and adults from Tarland School were
transported to Aberdeen beach in Huntly Arms vehicles.
The Aboyne Highland Games were established in 1867 and held
annually in the first week of September.
Although Francis Sandison benefitted greatly from the Games, through the
trade that it brought to the Huntly Arms, he appears never to have been a
member of the organising committee. His
son Alex first joined the Games organising committee about 1908 and was a
member at the time of his death in 1926, though it is not certain that his
membership was continuous throughout this period. He was also a subscriber to the Games on many
occasions. After the 1908 Games, the
Chairman of the organising committee, Mr WE Nichol, entertained the members to
dinner at the Huntly Arms in November.
As usual, the celebration graduated from eating to toast-making and on
to song. Alex Sandison, who was a fine
singer, contributed “Over the sea to Skye”.
He made another musical offering at the same event in 1913, the last
year the Games were held before being suspended for the duration of WW1. Nineteen nineteen saw the resumption of the
Aboyne Highland Games, with a large attendance of more than 15,000
spectators. Upwards of 2,000 bicycles
were used along with many motor vehicles to transport the public. By 1922, when the attendance was over 16,000
and 700 motor conveyances were drawn up on the Green, the Aberdeen Journal
employed the heading “Aboyne Gathering Surpasses all Previous Games” and went on to describe the
event as “One of the first of the fashionable Scottish outdoor functions”. The VIP list was long and impressive and
included Sir Harry and Mrs Lauder and the 11th Marquis of Huntly,
attending for the first time since his re-marriage. Alex Sandison was also mentioned, as he had
been since 1904, when present at either
the Braemar or Aboyne events. He had
quickly acquired the social status that his father, Francis, had achieved on
Deeside.
Golf
Golf
Alex
Sandison inherited his father’s love of golf.
At the time of Francis Sandison’s demise golf was played on a 9-hole
course on the Green in the centre of Aboyne.
This was an inadequate arrangement, due to the short length of the
course and the lack of hazards and in 1905 a new 9-hole course was created on
land between the Castle and Aboyne Loch.
The course was formally opened in September of that year by Lord
Aberdeen. After Mrs Coates, wife of
George Coats, laird of Glentanar, had driven off the first ball, a celebration
match was played between the Royal Aberdeen club and Aboyne. The Aberdeen club proved to be too strong for
the locals. Alex Sandison was in the
Aboyne team but lost his game 4 and 3.
Because of the continuing growth in the popularity of the game among the
middle and upper classes of Aboyne (residents and visitors), the Golf Club
Committee took the decision in 1908 to extend the new course to 18 holes. Ean Cecil, at that time the owner of Aboyne
Castle, offered the land needed for the extension on generous terms. The opening took place in September of that
year, with a repetition of the line–up of Lord Aberdeen performing the opening
and Mrs Coats driving off the first ball.
Alex Sandison backed up his enthusiasm for the game by donating the
horsework required almost entirely free of cost. He regularly played for the club in
competitions and in 1910 became Vice-President, a position he retained for some
years.
Tennis and Bowls
Tennis and Bowls
In
the early 20th century, before the outbreak of WW1, Aboyne’s attractiveness
to tourists grew rapidly. The golf
course was a significant attraction both for the locals and the visitors and
there was great enthusiasm in the village to expand its sporting facilities
further. At a public meeting held in the
village in August, 1909, it was proposed that a bowling green and tennis courts
should be constructed. Alex Sandison was
present and proposed the formation of a small committee to develop the idea
further. The tennis courts were
completed by May 1911, again backed enthusiastically by Ean Cecil, with the
sporty Mrs Coats performed the opening ceremony. Alex Sandison was one of many donors who
provided the initial finance and at the opening ceremony he gave the vote of
thanks to Mrs Coats and to Admiral Farquhar, who had acted as chairman. Two of Alex Sandison’s sisters played in the
initial mixed doubles games on courts 1 and 2.
Sadly,
the Bowling club did not immediately get off the ground and WW1 prevented its
development until after the end of hostilities.
However, in 1923 the idea of creating a Bowling Club, with a green and
additional tennis courts, resurfaced. In
that year Ean Cecil sold Aboyne Castle and its small surrounding estate to Mr
James Mearns, a successful Aberdeen businessman but before making that transaction
he gifted a site next to the Victory Hall for the bowling green. James Mearns subsequently agreed to make more
ground available behind the bowling green for the additional tennis
courts. Fund-raising began in the
village with much enthusiasm with the Sandisons, Provost and Mrs Davidson and
Mr Smith, the Postmaster, strongly to the fore.
The Bowling Green was opened, with the usual attendance of VIPs, in July
1924. Mrs Taylor threw the first jack
and Mr Mearns the first bowl. Alex
Sandison, as usual, was on hand to propose the vote of thanks. The additional
tennis courts, four in number, did not materialise until 1926, when they were
formally opened in June of that year. It
was largely due to Alex Sandison’s efforts that these courts were opened free
of debt. Alex Sandison
acted as Chairman at the opening and Mr Taylor formally opened the gates of the
new courts. Sadly, this was to be the
last public appearance by Alex Sandison.
Alexander Sandison and Education
Alexander Sandison and Education
In
1899 on the retiral of Andrew Gray, who had been headmaster of Aboyne Public
School for 44 years, James Cruickshank was appointed in his place. He proved to be a competent teacher and
joined in enthusiastically with village life.
It is perhaps surprising that it took him 16 years to find a bride in
the village community – Mary Jane Sandison the eldest daughter of the late
Francis Sandison, who was 42 at the time.
The Red Cross Society presented the pair with a handsome candelabra in recognition
of their services as quartermasters to the Society, perhaps indicating how the
two of them became enamoured. Alex
Sandison, Mary’s brother had become a member of the School Board for Aboyne and
Glentanar some years earlier and at least by 1909, when he came second in the
School Board poll. He continued as a
member of the board until it was abolished in 1919, though he appears not to
have served as chairman, perhaps because he had higher aspirations. However, his status was such that he often
chaired meetings concerning the Aboyne Public School and frequently popped up
at school functions to propose votes of thanks.
In 1918, from his position as Chairman of the Deeside District Committee
of Aberdeenshire County Council, he was appointed a member of the Aberdeenshire
Education Committee, though he continued as a member of the new Aboyne and
Glentanar School Management Committee.
During
the period of his association with Aboyne Public School, the most important
development was the opening of an extension in 1911, by Lord Huntly, to house
the Higher Grade Department. The
Sandisons were present en famille,
with Alex Sandison proposing the vote of thanks. Lady Glentanar also took a close interest in
the welfare of the school, especially the celebration of Empire Day. The idea of celebrating the British Empire on
a particular day originated in Canada but was imported to Britain in 1904 “to nurture
a sense of collective identity and imperial responsibility among young empire
citizens”. In 1921 Lady Glentanar gave
an address to the pupils on “The Empire Movement” and then presented prizes to
the winners of a competition for the best essays and drawings on the themes
“Strikes” and “The Empire Movement”. Sheila,
the only child of Alex and Maud Sandison was one of the prize winners.
Aboyne Town Council and Aboyne Parish Council
Aboyne Town Council and Aboyne Parish Council
Like
his father, Alex Sandison was a member of the Town Council for some years
though he appears to have served as Provost of Aboyne for only one period of 3
years about 1911. Interestingly, his
friend John Davidson, the village baker served as Provost from 1901 until the
abolition of the post in 1929, except for the period when Alex Sandison was in
office. The Aboyne Parish Council was a
different matter. Unlike the Town
Council, which was largely ceremonial, the Parish Council had real power and
important functions to fulfil. The
exercise of power and influence, rather than status and ceremonial, was more
Alex Sandison’s cup of tea. He was first
elected to the parish council at the age of 26 in 1901, immediately after his
father’s death and became chairman in 1907, remained in that position for the
rest of his life. His friends and
relatives John Davidson and John Troup were also members for most of the time
that Alex Sandison served on the Parish Council. This group formed a trading class coterie
which was highly influential in village life for more than a quarter of a
century. For example, at the annual
meeting of the Parish Council in December 1909 Alex Sandison was reappointed
chairman on a motion by John Davidson, seconded by John Troup, John Davidson
was appointed the Parish Council representative on the Deeside District
Committee of the County Council and John Troup was appointed to the Managing
sub-Committee for Special Districts.
Alexander Sandison and the Deeside District Committee
Alexander Sandison and the Deeside District Committee
The
1889 Local Government (Scotland) Act created county councils and, under them,
district committees. Alex Sandison first
became a member of the Deeside District Committee in 1908 and was appointed as
its chairman in 1918 on the death of Mr Ranald Macdonald and was reappointed
every year until his death. From the
time of its inception, the Deeside District Committee met in the Huntly Arms
but in those days no one seemed to be concerned by a possible conflict of
interest! By 1909 Alex Sandison had
become a car owner and quickly became an enthusiast for this mode of personal
transport. He took a particular interest
in the District’s roads in his role as chairman of the Committee and was credited with being largely
responsible for improving road maintenance.
During
WW1 there was a considerable increase in heavy traffic on the roads of Deeside
due to the increased extraction of timber.
In consequence the District Committee imposed restrictions on the
movement of timber, which brought it into conflict with the Board of
Agriculture for Scotland. However, it
proved to be difficult to get the contractors to pay for the damage they were
causing. In the aftermath of the War
another problem arose as the economy picked up and tourists returned to Deeside
in increased numbers, which in turn led to more commercial traffic. In 1919 the proposal to build a light railway
from Ballater to Braemar was revived as a means of relieving the pressure on
the roads but the scheme again ran into the sands. A related issue occurred in 1921 when
Aberdeenshire County Council sought to ban motorbuses from using the
picturesque Linn of Dee road to the west of Braemar on safety grounds, due to
its narrowness and, in places, its exposure.
At the public inquiry Alex Sandison appeared as a witness and defended the County’s position of wishing to
ban buses carrying passengers while allowing heavy motorcars, such as
Rolls-Royces and Daimlers of the same weight, to continue to use the road. The examiner pointed out that he would have difficulty
recommending any prohibition based on a criterion other than weight, leaving
the impression that Alex Sandison’s evidence may have been partial.
In
the early 1920s the increase in tourist traffic continued unabated. In 1922 an average of 12 motor vehicles per
hour passed Dess Corner, while in 1925 this rate had increased to 27/hour. Half of the Deeside District road maintenance
budget was now taken with maintaining only 40 miles of road on the principal tourist
route. The Deeside District Committee
took its own action to mitigate the problem on the Linn of Dee road. They opened negotiations with all contractors
using heavy lorries on the route, suggesting to them that they should confine
themselves to using the road only in the mornings. All agreed except Mr McKenzie and, as a
result, Alex Sandison instructed the clerk to write to McKenzie telling him
that if he did not fall into line it was possible that the Ministry of
Transport might close the road to all heavy traffic. McKenzie acquiesced.
A tragic motor accident
A tragic motor accident
In
1923 Alex Sandison’s enthusiasm for the motorcar received a severe jolt. In April of that year he was travelling from
Ballater with his shepherd, William Urquhart, east along the North Deeside
Road. At the crossroads opposite Dinnet
Station he was in collision with a motorcycle driven by a South African medical
student, Theodore Chanock, which was travelling in a northerly direction. Chanock was killed almost immediately, due to
a dislocated neck and Dr Dirk Tom, a compatriot whom he was carrying as his
pillion passenger, suffered severe, but not life-threatening injuries. At the subsequent inquiry before a sheriff
and jury both Alex Sandison and Dirk Tom appeared as witnesses. Tom had no recollection of events after the
motorcycle had crossed the rails but he claimed that it was travelling at no
more than 10mph. Sandison gave a much
fuller account of events from his point of view. Before he entered Dinnet he slowed to about
20mph, sounded his electric siren and kept his finger on the button. He slowed further to about 15mph and kept a
sharp look-out but the motorcycle came out of Glentanar Road and hit the front
right hand side of his car. Alex
Sandison’s car then carried on for about 130ft, with Tom sprawled on the
bonnet, before stopping. Sandison’s
explanation for this distance was that he applied his footbreak but must have
also pressed down on the accelerator.
There was no real evaluation of the collision as would happen today and
it is impossible to say where the cause lay.
Alex Sandison privately expressed his profound sympathies to the
relatives of the motorcyclists and his agent, Mr Wilson, repeated his
sentiments in court. Mr Chanock did not
have a horn on his motorcycle, which was against the law and may have counted
against him. The Court then returned a
formal verdict, with no blame being attached to Alex Sandison. It was noticable that after this accident
Alex Sandison took a great interest in the identification of traffic hazards
and the installation of signposts, mirrors and the likes.
Alexander Sandison is elected to Aberdeen County Council
Alexander Sandison is elected to Aberdeen County Council
County
Council elections were held every 3 years and in the 1904 and 1907 elections
Alex Sandison was a proposer of Mr W E Nichol, the proprietor of the Ballogie
estate, which was located on the South Deeside Road, east of Aboyne. However, at the 1910 election Nichol resigned
but then became a proposer, with farmer, Peter Birse, of the candidacy of Alex
Sandison. Sandison was duly elected and
served as county councillor for Aboyne and Birse for the rest of his life. During his time as a county councillor he was
involved in many committees and activities, particularly matters pertaining to
agriculture. He was appointed to the
County Food Committee which operated during the latter part of WW1, he served
on the Education Committee from 1918, the Standing Joint Committee of the
County, the West Aberdeenshire Agricultural Executive Committee, the Joint
Committee on Agricultural Pests, the County Road Board and the Executive
Committee of the County Council. In those
days County Councillors were largely drawn from the ranks of the nobility and
landed proprietors, indicating the status that he had achieved in Aberdeenshire
society. After Alex Sandison’s death Mr
James Mearns, the owner of Aboyne Castle and Estate was elected in his place.
Aboyne and the War Effort
Aboyne and the War Effort
World
War 1 began on 28th July 1914 and quickly spread from the Balkans to
engulf the much of Europe and beyond.
One of the earliest events in Western Europe in the summer of that year
was the German invasion of neutral Belgium and the advance on France, which was
stopped by a combination of the French and British forces. All this seemed to be happening a long way
away from Aboyne in rural Aberdeenshire but the war almost immediately started
to have effects on the life of the village.
At the end of August 1914 a public meeting was held in the village hall,
with Alex Sandison occupying the chair to appoint a local administration
committee in connection with the Prince of Wales’ National Relief Fund. Inevitably, Sandison became the convener of
that committee.
Charitable
fundraising and donation became an almost constant theme of village life. In November 1915 a concert was held under the
auspices of the Aboyne Curling Club to raise money for the Belgian Fund and
such concerts were repeated on several occasions in aid of Belgian homeless in
1916 and to send Christmas presents to “our boys” in 1917. A private house belonging to Mr Milne, “Bona
Vista”, was turned into a Red Cross hospital in November 1914. Its first patients were wounded Belgians,
though the first batch of 10 had been discharged by Christmas of that year. The hospital remained empty for about a month
before reopening at the end of January 1915 to receive 12 wounded British
soldiers. It continued to function until
February 1915 when it was closed and was replaced by a new Red Cross hospital
in Aboyne Castle, with a much greater capacity of 100 beds. The new hospital remained open until February
1919. The whole village, including the
Sandison family, were active in donating to the two Red Cross hospitals
throughout the period of hostilities.
Eggs, cream, plum pudding, apples, grapes, salmon, ham, ox tongue,
potatoes, oatmeal, buns and cakes were typical donated food items. Other items were donated which were more
concerned with raising the spirits of the inmates, such as magazines,
chocolates and large quantities of tobacco and cigarettes. Events and activities were also laid on, including
a weekly concert, whist drives and a pony and trap for the use of the
soldiers. Ean Cecil gave the trap,
Margaret Davidson (daughter of the village baker) raised funds to buy the pony
and Alex Sandison donated the harness.
There
was also a darker, more contentious side to the support of the war effort on
Deeside. By November 1914 a recruiting
campaign was underway on Deeside.
Provost John Davidson, who was a staunch supporter of the military and
had had 5 sons on active service during the Second Boer War, presided at a
meeting held in Aboyne. The platform
party included Alex Sandison. Thirteen
men enrolled at the meeting and volunteers continued to emerge in large numbers
during the first year and a half of the war.
In 1916 a Military Recruiting Tribunal, under the Military Service Act,
was established on Deeside to take decisions on men who had been called up but
who wished to defer or avoid military service.
This tribunal often met at the Huntly Arms Hotel and Alex Sandison was a
member. In its early meetings, Sandison
was not often to the fore in the discussions held at the Tribunal, perhaps
because he felt sympathy with the appellants on occasions. On the other hand some tribunal members saw
it as their duty to overcome almost any argument deployed in support of
deferral or avoidance.
A
typical example occurred in April 1916 when Mrs Walker of Burnroot, Dinnet
asked for exemption for her son James, who worked the family farm of 72 acres,
half arable and half pasture. She had 2
sons already serving in the army and another son who had offered to serve. James was the only son remaining to work the
farm. The Chairman asked if James had
recently worked as a ghillie and this was confirmed, to which the Chairman
implied, in sneering terms, that he had only become a farm hand to avoid
service. Alex Sandison intervened to
confirm that he was the only son left to work the farm but the Chairman was
more concerned to recruit him for the army because of his fine physique. Finally, another tribunal member, FN Innes,
intervened and conditional exemption was finally granted.
Another
matter which caused concern to the members of the Deeside Tribunal who came
from a farming background was the Substitution Scheme. An appeal to avoid military service could be
overcome if a substitute for the man called up could be found. Unfortunately some of these substitutes were
unsuited to the positions allotted to them, causing anger in the farming
community. Alex Sandison sided with the
farmers, telling the Chairman of the Tribunal that the War Office substitutions
were causing chaos on the farms affected and that the Tribunal should put its
foot down by rejecting unqualified substitutes.
By 1918 Alex Sandison had himself become Chairman of the Deeside
Tribunal.
The
most profound impact of the war became evident when the sons of Aboyne and
wider Deeside started to appear in the ranks of the wounded and dead. Charles, the younest brother of Alex Sandison,
died of his wounds in a Flanders hospital on 2 June 1916. He was attached to the Canadian Field
Ambulance and was 32 years old. Lance
Corporal Donald Dawson, from Kinellar was also killed in action, in 1918. He had enlisted in 1914 while he was employed
on Alex Sandison’s Hotel Farm. In August
1917 a service of commemmoration was held in the village for those from Aboyne
and district killed in the war. With the
war over in November 1918, soldiers started to return to their homes and in May
1919 a Welcome Home was arranged in the form of a supper and dance in Aboyne. Alex Sandison presided at that event. In all, 171 parishioners had served and 36
had lost their lives. Two had been
awarded the DSO, one with Bar, two gained the MC, one the DCM, five the MM and one the Croix de Guerre. There were several Mentions in Dispatches.
War Memorial
War Memorial
A
grateful nation began the process of remembering the innumerable sacrifices
made by citizens and their families, through a multitude of local
initiatives. In March 1920 a meeting was
held in Aboyne’s Public Hall under the chairmanship of Lord Glentanar to
consider what form of memorial should be erected in Aboyne. Plans were laid at that meeting for a Victory
Hall, with associated memorial building and a shrine to the fallen. The well-known Aberdeen architect, Marshall
McKenzie was commissioned to design the structures. Substantial contributions to the costs had
already been made and Lord Glentanar generously offered to defay the whole cost
of the Victory Hall, so that the other contributions could be devoted to the
rest of the project. Ean Cecil at Aboyne
Castle came forward with a gift of a site on the north side of the North
Deeside Road, near to the Castle entrance and the Huntly Arms and Lady
Glentanar undertook to organise a Bazaar to raise further funding. Alex Sandison donated £50 to the project and
the Sandison ladies were to the fore in helping at the Bazaar. The foundation stone, with a record casket
underneath, was laid by Margaret Glentanar in May 1921 and she was presented
with a silver trowel by Lady Brooks, the widow of Sir William Cunliffe Brooks
and an indefatigable fund-raiser.
Provost Davidson moved a vote of thanks to Lady Glentanar, Lady Brooks
and Alex Sandison for the part they had played in realising the project.
The
buildings were completed and dedicated in November 1921, the cost being
£14,000. Alex Sandison was allotted the
role of accepting the gift of the Victory Hall by Lord Glentanar and behalf of
the community, which he did with a long speech full of praise and gratitude for
Lord Glenanar’s generosity. The nation
was war-weary and the following year a meeting was held in the Victory Hall to
form a local branch of the League of Nations.
This international organisation dedicated to the maintenance of peace
was formed in 1920. Sadly, during the 1930s
it proved to be ineffective and the idealism of many around the world,
including Aboyne’s civic leaders,
foundered.
After
the death of Alex Sandison in 1926 it came to light that he had provided finance
in his will for the addition of stained glass windows to the three granite
arches of the Memorial Shrine at the Victory Hall. The windows were designed by Dudley Forsyth,
who had recently been responsible for a window in the nave of Westminster Abbey. The figures in the Aboyne window represented Valour,
Patriotism, Victory, Peace, Freedom and Justice. Alex Sandison must have been moved by his own
experiences during WW1, when his brother Charles was killed and he was himself
involved in decisions which sent local men to war, some of whom did not come
back. The window was unveiled and
dedicated in May 1927. Maud Alexandra,
the wife of Alex Sandison was present but, curiously, appeared to play no
direct part in the proceedings.
Post-War recovery
Post-War recovery
The
end of the Great War also saw a return to the fun of pre-war days, at least for
the middle and upper classes. The Aboyne
Games restarted and Alex Sandison was a member of the Games Committee. Tourism was again in the ascendancy. Concerts and dances occurred regularly in the
Public Hall in Aboyne and, after its opening in 1921, the Victory Hall. An Aboyne Jazz Troop was born and entertained
enthusiastically and a local branch of the Women’s Rural Institute thrived in
Dess. The Sandison ladies were ever to
be seen at such events and clearly had a lot of fun. Some newspaper articles covering these events,
no doubt reflecting the then world view of Aboyne folk, would nowadays be seen as
patronising and even racist, but they did not appear to cause offence at the
time. The Aberdeen Journal reporting on
a gay scene at a Masquerade Dance held in the Victory Hall in 1922 wrote
“Slick Chinamen, woolly niggers, feathered Indians, languid Italians, lively
Frenchmen and natives of other distant lands were represented.” The Sandison
ladies took less contentious subjects for their sartorial inspiration. Mrs Sandison, the widow of Francis Sandison,
now living at “Bona Vista”, the former Red Cross hospital, went as a powder
puff, her daughter Jessie dressed as a Quaker Girl and Sheila, daughter of Alex
Sandison, was attired as a bat!
Time is called on Alex Sandison's life
Time is called on Alex Sandison's life
But
time was running out for Alex Sandison.
He had lived a hectic life as a hotelier, farmer, civic leader and
sportsman, probably regularly lubricated with that elixir of camaraderie,
alcohol. In 1926 his health gave cause
for concern to his family and he decided to go to Harrogate in Yorkshire to
receive treatment. Harrogate had been a
spa town since Georgian times and was frequented by the unhealthy wealthy
taking the waters in vain search of a cure.
It is known that Ean Cecil had lived in the town and Alex Sandison may
have gone there on his recommendation.
On the day after the arrival of the Sandisons, Alex became seriously ill
and died a few days later with his wife Maud Alexandra at his side. His body was taken back to Aboyne and his
funeral was held on 1st July 1926 from his home “Eredene” to the
parish church. The pall-bearers
represented his interests and achievements in life, the wider Sandison family,
business, commerce, farming and public life.
The obituary in the local newspaper described him as tactful, able,
courteous and considerate. His
achievements were many but, if he achieved much, it was at least partly because
he had stood on the shoulders of a giant, his father Francis who, through his
diligence and acumen had laid the foundation for the Sandison family wealth.
Sandison family wealth
Sandison family wealth
The
inventory of Francis Sandison’s heritable and moveable estate, published in
1902, amounted to £4,962 gross. This
would have been equivalent to £532,519 in 2014, calculated on an RPI basis, a
remarkable achievement for a man born on a sheep farm who was in financial
difficulties at the start of his career.
Francis died without leaving a will which must have caused the division
of his estate to be decided by the Law of Scotland, where both a surviving
spouse and surviving children had defined rights. Thus Alexander Sandison started his business
life not only with a substantial financial cushion but also with a series of
successful ongoing businesses in his control. On his death in 1926, his heritable and
moveable estate amounted to £103,649 gross.
In today’s money that would be the equivalent of £5,494,485, another
remarkable Sandison family achievement!
Francis and Alexander Sandison compared
Francis and Alexander Sandison compared
It
is tempting to see Alex Sandison as essentially a clone of his father Francis,
since both were successful farmers, both were successful hotel keepers, both
were heavily involved in public affairs, both were keen sportsmen and both were
based in Aboyne for most of their lives.
But there were differences between them, which hint at subtle
divergences in their personal make-up.
Aboyne
Lodge 281 of the Freemasons was a natural meeting ground for the trading
classes of Aboyne, of which Sandison pere et fils were prominent members. However, it appears that Francis Sandison was
never a member of the Lodge, even though many of his close associates, such as
Charles and John Troup, John Davidson and Andrew Gray were not only members but
frequent office-holders. The true reason
for Francis Sandison’s self-exclusion from this bastion of the Aboyne middle
classes is not known. It could hardly
have been a dislike of ceremonial since the Aboyne Town Council (he twice
served as Provost) displayed plenty of that.
It may have been related to the stance taken on Freemasonry by his
some-time mentor, the 11th Marquis of Huntly. The 9th and 10th
Marquises had been prominent Freemasons and held high office in masonic
organisations both locally and beyond Aboyne, but the 11th Marquis
showed no interest in joining the Aboyne Lodge, even though the members at the
time would have welcomed his involvement.
Was Francis Sandison simply mimicking the personal preferences of his
noble friend? In contrast, Alex Sandison
did not share his father’s stance. The
younger Sandison was a long-standing member of Lodge 281, though he confined
his office-holding role within the organisation to acting as Auditor for both
the Craft and Royal Arch branches. It
was almost as though he was only a token member filling a technical role but
not prominent in the ceremonial.
Francis
Sandison was a prominent member of the Church of Scotland and a zealous
defender of his Church when it was threatened by disestablishment and
disendowment. This principled stance
clashed uncomfortably with his Liberal political outlook, when he was involved
in the recruitment of an acceptable anti-disestablishment candidate to stand
against the incumbent Liberal, only to have to turn to the Conservative
candidate when the new candidate defected.
The Conservative promptly lost.
Alex Sandison must have seen at first hand how politics and religion
have the potential to form a toxic mixture.
Perhaps for this reason, Sandison junior, while a member of the
congregation of the local Church of Scotland, where his wife was an active
social member, was not to be found in the limelight when contentious religious
issues arose. Similarly with politics,
he occasionally attended meetings being addressed by political heavyweights but
did not wear his political colours on his sleeve was not an active political
campaigner.
It
also seems to have been the case that Alex Sandison devoted his time to
organisations that wielded real power and presented opportunities to deal
effectively with both village and wider County matters. The Aboyne and Glentanar School Board, the
Aboyne Highland Games Committee, the Deeside District Committee of the County
Council and the County Council itself enjoyed his attention for many years and
all could be described as executive organisations responsible for significant
issues.
In
summary, while both father and son were successful businessmen and both devoted
significant amounts of time to public office, Alex was probably the more
successful and achieved more in his commercial life. In public life Francis seems to have become
involved in anything that attracted his interest, while Alexander was more
pragmatic, making strategic decisions with regard to the promotion of his
various businesses and the apportionment of his time to the public good.
The Sandisons leave the Huntly Arms
The Sandisons leave the Huntly Arms
After
the death of Alex Sandison, his widow, Maude Alexandra, then aged 40, became
proprietor of the Huntly Arms, having been involved in its running for many
years. She was of considerable standing
in the community and had no difficulty having the Liquor licence transferred to
her name. However, she did not continue
for long in this role. Alex and Maude
only had one child, Sheila who was born in 1909 and had gone off to Aberdeen
University to read for an MA degree. She
appeared not to have any interest in continuing in the family tradition by
becoming involved in the management of the Huntly Arms. In 1933 she married John Andrew Lewis, a
marine engineer and son of Sir Andrew Lewis, an Aberdeen trawler owner and
sometime Lord Provost of the City. In
1927 the Huntly Arms acquired a new proprietor, Robert Smith, an Aboyne butcher
new to the licenced trade but described as “a man of shrewd business
capacity and endowed with plenty of good common sense”. Thus the Huntly Arms, which by this time boasted
in its advertisements of “salmon fishing, garage, electric light”, lost its
connection with the Sandisons, who had nurtured this prestigious business for
the previous 47 years. During this time
it had been host to major personalities from Deeside and beyond and witness to
many decisions concerning the development of Deeside and its communities. Francis and Alexander Sandison deserve to be
remembered as sons of Deeside who achieved much in their lives and who were
largely responsible for making the Hotel the fine structure it is today.
Don Fox
20140910donaldpfox@gmail.com
