Robertson Buchanan Stewart (1793-1871) - page 2
The Robertson Stewart Hospital
The following was written by Mrs. Anne L Buchanan of 17 Craigmore Road, Rothesay, Bute, PA20 9LB:
"Blain's history of Bute written circa 1818 (sic) p. 334:
"In 1797 Mr Robertson Buchanan, an ingenious young gentleman of this place invented a pump for the sole making and vending of which he obtained a royal patent etc. etc."
"There is no record of Mr. Robertson Stewart's death in our local registers so he must have died in Glasgow or elsewhere but I found the following extract about him in the ‘Buteman Guide to Rothesay' published about 1890:
"The Robertson Stewart Hospital was built by the late Mr Robertson Stewart, a native of Bute and eminent merchant in Glasgow and was extended at the joint expense of Messrs Ninian and A.B. Stewart, his sons. A further addition was made to it more recently by the late Mr A.B. Stewart, Convenor of the County. It is a very complete cottage hospital constructed on the newest and most approved principles and the site is a most admirable one on a rising ground half a mile to the south of the town commanding magnificent views."
"This hospital is now called the Victoria Hospital Annexe and is used for the accommodation of geriatric patients. The Robertson Stewart Hospital was built in 1873. "
The following is an extract from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland, Vol 5, p 275:
"Half a mile south of the town [Rothesay] is the Robertson Stewart Cottage Hospital, built in 1873 for £1500 by Mr. R. Stewart , a native of Bute and merchant in Glasgow, and enlarged subsequently by his sons."
I had previously been informed by great aunt Mrs Walker (nee Jean Hester Fellowes Stewart) that Robertson Buchanan Stewart built and endowed a hospital at Rothesay, which is still there and used by old people, as a holiday home for patients.
Ascog Hall
Furthermore I was informed that he built for himself a house called Ascog Hall and had a tame Cassowary that lived in the grounds. I found the following in John Eaton Reid's ‘History of the County of Bute and Families Connected Therewith':
" Beyond these, on the Ascog Estate, are some [houses] of a very superior character, and among others those of … R.B. Stewart, Esq. … etc. etc."
See also the Ascog Hall website which mentions RBS:
"Ascog Hall was built in 1844 by the Rev. James Monteith of Dalkeith who moved to Bute at the time of the Disruptions, when he joined the Free Church. In 1856 the estate was acquired by Robertson Buchanan Stewart, and subsequently by his son, Alexander Bannatyne Stewart, one of Glasgow's merchant princes, whose family claimed descent from two of the oldest proprietors on the island of Bute - the Stewarts of Ascog and the Bannatyne's of Kames. Mr. Stewart built the fernery and also the now ruined coach house and stables. After he died in 1880, Ascog Hall changed hands frequently and at one period in its history, in the years preceding world war two, it became a hotel. It was abandoned just prior to the war and lay empty for several years. It was during this period that it was extensively vandalised and was used by the army for various training exercises."
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Close up of Robertson Buchanan Stewart's face from the portrait described on the previous page.
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