Later Years
Returning to his native Scotland after 42 years, in 1829 John Gladstone bought the Fasque Estate in Kincardineshire from Sir Alexander Ramsay for £80,000. In 1846 he was created a baronet by the outgoing Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel.
In 1838 he paid for several philanthropic works in his home town of Leith, all built on Mill Lane, the old western route out of the town, namely: St Thomas' Church (now a Sikh temple); an adjacent manse; a free school for boys; a separate free school for girls; and a "house for female incurables" (what at the time would normally be called a lunatic asylum); and at the end a public rose garden. The original free school on Mill Lane (1820) linked to the Poorhouse opposite, and was made redundant due to Gladstone's new schools. Ironically the latter was converted c.1995 to a public house, named "Gladstones" though having only this very tangential link.
Sir John Gladstone died at Fasque House in December 1851, aged 86, and was buried at St Andrew's Episcopal Church at Fasque. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Thomas Gladstone, 2nd Baronet.
A plaque has been erected on the corner of Great Junction Street and King Street in Leith commemorating John Gladstone.
Read more about this topic: Sir John Gladstone, 1st Baronet
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