George MacPherson of Edinglassie Lodge

George MacPherson was born on 28 May 1851 in Edinglassie Lodge, Aberdeenshire. He became an Ironmaster and industrialist based in the West Midlands, living in Lloyd House, Penn.

Edinglassie Lodge

Edinglassie Lodge

Edinglassie Lodge and Bridge

Edinglassie Lodge and Bridge

On 3 Apr 1894 he married Hilda Mary Marten, the second child of Edward Bindon Marten of Pedmore. Hilda was the first cousin of Florence Evans, who was the daughter of Edward Bindon’s older brother Henry Marten. The Evans and MacPhersons remained neighbours and in close family contact well into the 1920’s. A number of photos from this period remain in our possession.

George Macpherson and Hilda had two children, Kathleen (b 1895) and George (b 1896). George, the son was killed as a tank commander in 1916. Kathleen married Clive Pinsent on 14 Jul 1921. Both George (snr) and his wife Hilda died at the Lloyd House in Penn within a few months of each other in 1924. George’s estate was valued at £126,000.

Kathleen Pinsent and Molly Evans were second cousins, both were married immediately after the war, both had lost their only brother in the war and had children of the same age. Molly’s husband Noel Downing  had an Aunt, Dolly Crombie who lived nearby the MacPherson’s Scottish property in Parkhill House Dyce. The Downings and the MacPhersons probably shared a passion for the outdoor pursuits of shooting and fishing. It would appear Clive Pinsent and Noel Downing became good friends.

Some of the photos below come from a trip to Scotland in the late Summer of 1927. Noel and Molly, leaving their three young children in Edgbaston in the hands of Phyllis and Nanny, drove up first to Dyce and then on to Edinglassie.  Clive and Noel went fishing most days. Others joined the large holiday party. Molly’s diary mentions Daisy Petrie (her old friend Daisy Hatton) and Molly Shaw-Hellier (the older Shaw-Hellier sister) as well as someone called Flavia.

Sources and Notes

  • The story of the suicide of George MacPherson features in the programme ‘Who do you think you are?” (Matthew Pinsent). Sir Matthew Pinsent is the grandson of Clive Pinsent and Kathleen MacPherson.
  • Molly Downing’s Pocket Diaries
  • Clive Pinsent’s father Sir Richard, was a Chairman of the Law Society and an academic at Birmingham University. He was probably one of a network the contacts that secured Pamela Downing, Noel’s daughter an interview to join Bletchley Park in 1941. Clive himself was a retired commander in the Navy.
  • Bernard Docker, industrialist is simply called Mr Docker in Molly’s diary