The “Pope” of Holland House
John Whishaw to Thomas Smith, 15 September 1820
Dalquharran Castle, Ayrshire,
Sept. 15, 1820.
I have now been more than a week at Mr. Kennedy’s2 in Ayrshire, and am
happy to inform you that I found my friends here very well, and
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their place very beautiful, much
exceeding my most sanguine expectations. The house is of stone, handsome, warm, and
substantial, such as the climate requires, having been built between thirty and
forty years ago when labour and materials, then comparatively cheap, were much less
thought of than at present.
I had a very pleasant journey, and contrived to see several new
and interesting objects on my way, passing through Nottinghamshire to see the
series of Dukes’ parks, and afterwards through the West Riding of Yorkshire.
I saw Birkstall and Bolton Abbey, the latter of which, with its beautiful grounds
kept so well by the Duke of Devonshire,
detained me a full day. I passed a day also at Brougham Hall, near Penrith, and was
highly gratified by the kindness and good sense of old Mrs. Brougham (the niece of Dr.
Robertson), who received me, in her son’s absence, in the most
cordial and hospitable manner. At Dumfries I came by a beautiful road, along the
vale of the Nith, to Sanquhar, and from thence crossed into Ayrshire.
I have had another good letter from Mallet, which may perhaps be worth sending, after I have shown it
to Leonard Horner at Edinburgh. He speaks of
the great diffusion of Liberal principles throughout the Continent, and entertains
no doubt that France will shortly put herself at the head of a new order of things
in Europe, with far greater advantage than she possessed in 1792. Of course this
will not be till the termination of the Bourbon Dynasty, an event not supposed to
be very distant.
Eleanor Brougham [née Syme] (1750-1839)
The daughter of James Syme, niece of the historian William Robertson, and mother of Lord
Brougham.
Leonard Horner (1785-1864)
Scottish geologist, brother of Francis Horner; he was educated at Edinburgh University
and was secretary of the Geological Society (1810) and fellow of the Royal Society
(1813).
Thomas Francis Kennedy (1788-1879)
Educated at Harrow (where he was a contemporary of Byron) and Edinburgh University, he
was a Whig MP for Ayr (1818-34) who married the daughter of Sir Samuel Romilly and was a
friend of Francis Jeffrey.
John Lewis Mallet (1775-1861)
The son of the French journalist Jacques Mallet du Pan; he was Secretary of the Audit
Office.
William Robertson (1721-1793)
Educated at Edinburgh University of which he became principal (1762), he was a
highly-regarded historian, the author of
History of Scotland in the Reign
of Queen Mary and of King James VI (1759) and
The History of the
Reign of Charles V (1769).
Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818)
Reformer of the penal code and the author of
Thoughts on Executive
Justice (1786); he was a Whig MP and Solicitor-General who died a suicide.
