The Gentry Links Trilogy
North Berwick, 1832 ... and its Gentry Links
Chapter Summaries
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CHAPTER 1: ABOUT THE FIRST MEETING OF NORTH BERWICK GOLF CLUB, BY SIR FRANCIS GRANT PRA, RSA
An original look at a little-known, but unique, painting (first known as The Fathers of North Berwick Golf
Club) and how it may have come about.
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CHAPTER 2: THE CLUB’S BEGINNINGS, AT A TIME OF STRESS
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The North Berwick Golf Club was a deliberately constructed Club, one that was very different from two others that had recently experienced difficulty: the Thistle Golf Club of Leith and The Company of Edinburgh Golfers (known now as the HCEG). The Minute Books and the published press of the 1830s capture the detail. Sir David Baird, Bart, was the driving force behind the creation of this new Club.
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CHAPTER 3: THE ‘HONORARY MEMBER’: THE DALRYMPLE DYNASTY
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The Dalrymples were one of Scotland’s most influential dynasties, from the era of powerful lawyer/landowners who were also politicians. Most significantly, the Dalrymples were amongst the biggest landowning families in Ayrshire and East Lothian (in the vicinity of North Berwick), with a long golfing heritage. Is this why golf spread across Scotland from North Berwick and Musselburgh to Prestwick, the birthplace of The Open Championship?
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CHAPTER 4: SIR DAVID BAIRD, BART, THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS AND HIS FAMILY CONNECTIONS
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Who was Sir David, and who were the ‘Original Members’? Why were gentlemen, in the strict Victorian interpretation, invited to join the new Club? The majority of these gentlemen were related to Sir David, whose family had deep and widespread connections.
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CHAPTER 5: THE SHIPPING FAMILIES
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The Scottish aristocracy had benefited hugely from their involvement in the maritime division of the Honourable East India Company (known as HEIC). ‘Shipping families’, and their connections with the Royal Navy, evolved and a number of the members of the new Club comprised a second large grouping of related interests.
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CHAPTER 6: FELLOW GOLFERS ON THE LINKS
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Quite naturally, Sir David would also have wanted to invite his golfing friends, gentlemen from St Andrews and Leith, to be members of this new Club. A number of these gentlemen were more than just golfing friends: they were major contributors to the evolution of golf.
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CHAPTER 7: CROSS-COUNTRY LINKS: NORTH BERWICK AND PRESTWICK
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Why did golf’s spirit of challenge and competition further evolve at Prestwick? We can trace developments in the game through family histories and land ownership, east to west. The North Berwick Golf Club had a seat at the table with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the HCEG and Prestwick Golf Club in the lead-up to The Open Championship in 1860. A number of the members of The North Berwick Golf Club made a major contribution to the creation of The Open Championship.
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CHAPTER 8: NORTH BERWICK’S GOLFING DIASPORA
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Many golf professionals emigrated from North Berwick, taking with them the customs and know-how of the way the game of golf had been played in Scotland for centuries. They left lasting golfing legacies in their new home, the United States of America.
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EPILOGUE: WHY WAS THE FIRST MEETING OF NORTH BERWICK GOLF CLUB IMPORTANT FOR CHARLES LEES, AND HIS CREATION OF THE GOLFERS?
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Examines currently unanswered questions about the possible links between the two paintings. Does the 1832 painting hold clues which may develop our understanding of Lees’ famous 1847 work, The Golfers? Did Lees learn from Grant’s techniques? Could Sir David, with his interest in art, have been the person who commissioned Lees to paint The Golfers?