John Newland
St Andrew Parish, Surrey County, Jamaica
Slave-owner in St Andrew, benefactor and founder of Bathgate Academy (which was eventually built 1833). Died c. 1799.
- Will of John Newland of St Andrew, county of Surrey, Jamaica proved 21/03/1802. Under the will, after legacies of £100 each to his nephews and nieces (children of his brother Patrick Newland of Glasgow), £100 to David Russell shoe maker of Edinburgh and £50 to his sister Margaret, he left his estate in trust, with the interest for 10 years to fund a school in Bathgate.
From Newland Orations
Cuthbert: Founded boat-building business in Jamaica. Left Bathgate about 1754. Died 1799.
1824 -Trustees acquired Rule’s Acre
Russell: Because of shortage of funds trustees compelled – against Newland’s wishes – to charge fees for tuition. Only after 56 years when the government made education grants available was Newland’s dream of free education realised.
Easton: Left Bathgate 1755. Made fortune – sugar and cattle.
White: First Procession 17th April 1844
Wingate: Baptised 17th April 1737. Left Bathgate aged 17. Died aged 62.
Four trustees: Lord Polkemmet; Alexander Marjoribanks; Rev. Mr. Jardine; Col. Andrew Gillon.
Robertson: First Oration 17th April 1844 in church. Children paraded to and from church. 1849: Beginning of parade through town after church.
Davis: Newland had three brothers: William, Robert and David. His mother died 1753. Father remarried. – From this second marriage came three boys and a girl. Left for Jamaica 1754 or 55.
He wrote a letter home and later a will. Both documents show him to be almost illiterate. In the letter he remonstrated against the conduct and character of his stepmother.
Donoghue: John’s father came to Bathgate from Shotts. At this time the population of Bathgate
was 800 – 1000. Main occupations: Coal mining, iron works, weaving, farming, tanning, tile and brick works, farming. John had three brothers and three half-brothers. All predeceased him. Only his half-sister Margaret outlived him. She proved a thorn in the flesh of the inheritors.
In Jamaica he dealt in cattle. When he died, £15 000 of his estate was the value of his slaves. The bulk of his estate of £70 000 was left to Bathgate for the provision of a free school. Inadequacies in drawing up the will allowed some relatives to challenge it. Litigation went on for fifteen years.
Telfer: Mother’s name – Isobel Russell. Aged 18 he went to Jamaica and settled near Port Royal, in the parish of St Andrew in the county of Surrey.
His bequest dated 8th July 1799. Prolonged litigation took place in Jamaica and here. It was finally decided by the King [George III], in Council, on 17th August 1815 after 12 years of lawsuit that only the interest from ten years on the whole estate (real and personal) i.e., £14 500 should be devoted to the provision of a free school. Alexander Marjoribanks committed himself to meeting the cost of the lawsuit.
Slater: Mother Isabel Russell. John was oldest of four sons. Father remarried 1753. John left Bathgate 1755. He left well over £30 000 – probably about £50 000.
Wolfe: When John left Bathgate the town had a population of 800. At the time of his death the population was 1400.
Somerville had Founder’s Day in March. His Founder’s Day caused cleavage which has contributed to the Procession Committee’s difficulties in recent years.
Hunter: Father William Newlands and mother Isabel Russell came from Shotts.
Walker: John found work in Chatham Naval Dockyard.
Kerr: John received little or no education. After working in Chatham he returned to Bathgate.
From Bathgate Academy 1833 – 1933 by Thomas Davidson
John Newlands was born in the early spring of 1737, the eldest child of William Newlands by his first wife, Isabel Russell. The Newlands family came from Shotts and William is described as a ‘merchant’. John was baptised on 17th April 1737. Of the Newlands family practically nothing is known, but in the burial ground which adjoins the High Church, there is, at the right-hand side of the steps from Jarvey Street, a tombstone recording the burial of John’s brother David, who died in 1794 at the age of fifty-two.
Somewhere about 1755, when he would be eighteen years old, John Newlands left Bathgate to seek his fortune overseas. Although some interesting theories have been advanced, the reason for this step must remain a matter of conjecture, as must also his motive for selecting the West Indies as his new sphere. To Jamaica he went, and there, in the county of Surrey and the parish of St. Andrew, his plantation grew and flourished. He died in 1799 and his will is dated 8th July 1799.
Had the Will been carried out as Newlands undoubtedly intended, a princely legacy of over £60 000 would have fallen to Bathgate parish. As is well known, however, the document was challenged, and there ensued a protracted and costly litigation which ended in 1815 with a ruling by the Privy Council that the Trustees were entitled to only ten years’ interest on the whole estate, free of all burdens such as legal costs. The estate of the testator, real and personal, passed respectively to Patrick Newlands, his cousin, and Margaret Newlands, his half sister. The sum that fell to the Trustees was approximately £14 500. As this was to be a capital sum, they could not proceed to the erection of a school until sufficient interest had been accumulated.
From John Newland by David Graham
P13:
John Newland, born early in the year 1737, leaving Bathgate, according to tradition, in his early youth, settled in Jamaica as a planter, and by dint of incessant industry and application amassed a fortune, which fortune by a will, dated 8th July 1799, he bequeathed, with the deduction of a few trifling legacies and expenses, to the inhabitants of Bathgate for the erection and endowment of a free school; but after a prolonged course of litigation in Jamaica and in this country, it was finally decided by the King in Council that only the interest for ten years on the whole estate, real and personal – the interest amounted to £14 500 – should be so devoted. Beyond this brief statement absolutely nothing, excepting the usual vague generalities and tame suppositions which surround the memory of everyone of note, stands against the name of John Newland.
P22: [paraphrased]
William Newland of Shotts had two sons. John went to Glasgow while William settled in Bathgate as a ‘merchant’. He was probably a packman or petty shopkeeper. William was twice married; first to Isabel Russell, and on her death to Jean Robertson. [July 17, 1753, William Newlands and Jean Robertson gave up their names for proclamation in order to marriage.] John Newland was the first born of the first marriage. He was baptised on April 17, 1737. His date of birth is unknown. William Newland had three other sons by his first marriage – William born 14th September, 1738; David born 30th June, 1742; and Robert born 2nd March, 1748. By his second marriage he had four children – three sons and a daughter Margaret. All the sons died without issue before John. In the churchyard, at the right-hand side of the steps from Jarvey Street is a tombstone marking the grave of David Newlands, died 15th October, 1794, aged 52 years; and his wife Marion Nicest, died 23rd February, 1802, aged 61 years.
P34: [paraphrased]
The reason why John Newland left Bathgate is not known though there are four stories – all purely legendary:
- He set fire to a plantin’ on the Hopetoun estate.
- Owing to a love entanglement he fled rather than face the Kirk Session
- He qualified as a joiner and went to work in Chatham Docks. The Governor of Jamaica was looking for trained men to work in the Colonial docks so John went to Jamaica.
P42: [paraphrased]
I believe that that this second marriage of William Newland was productive of mischief in the family; Jean proving a terror to the children of Isabel Russell. This broke up the family and led to John’s departure from Bathgate.
P46:
Newland’s plantation was in the parish of St Andrew in the county of Surry [sic]. His estate must have bordered on the sea because among his effects were boats and among his slaves were carpenters and boatmen. There seems to be some justification for the statement that he went out originally as a carpenter to work in the Government docks; and it is probable that his estate was in the vicinity of Port Royal.
P48:
We are bound to think of Newland as a plodding, imperturbable figure, intent upon his business. He is essentially a prosaic figure, a determined, hard-working planter.
The value of his estate, according to an inventory prepared by one of his executors, was £33 000; but it must have been worth a great deal more. His slaves, of whom he had a great number, were worth over £15 000. Among other things enumerated in the inventory are lime, lime-kilns, cattle, mules, carts, boats; and among the slaves, some are designated carpenters, coopers, boatmen, etc..
Cattle raising seems to have been an important estate activity.
P50 The Disputed Will [paraphrased]
Jamaica:
I, John Newland, of the parish of St Andrew, in the County of Surry in the said Island, Esquire, being at present weak in bodily health, but of sound mind, memory, and understanding, do make, publish and declare my last will and testament as follows:
First, my debts and funeral expenses to be fully paid.
Item, I give to each of the children of my brother Patrick of Glasgow, the sum of £100 sterling; I give to David Russel, shoemaker in Edinburgh, the sum of £100 sterling; and I give unto Margaret Newland of the Parish of Bathgate, the sum of £50 sterling.
As to all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate I give, devise and bequeath
unto Alexander Marjoribanks of Balbairdy, William Innes of Cathlaw, Andrew Gillon of Wallace, ——–Wardrop of Cuilt, and ———-Bailie of Pockannet, all of the County of Linlithgow, their heirs and assigns forever, nevertheless, upon trust that they my said trustees do put and place out the same in some public or private fund upon good and sufficient security so as the best annual interest be made thereof, and to receive and take the annual interest or produce thereof for and during the term of ten years after my decease, in trust, to place out the same annually in like manner so as that the interest may become the principal sum, and at the end and expiration of such term of ten years, then that my said trustees pay and apply the annual interest of the whole of such principal money in the erection of a free school in such part of the said parish of Bathgate as my said trustees shall think fit and proper for the education of the youth of the said parish; such school to be under such management and to be carried on and conducted in such manner as to my said trustees shall seem best but it is my will and desire that the annual interest only may be so applied, and it is my further will and desire that the minister of the said parish of Bathgate for the time being shall be one of the trustees for the purpose of this, my will.
I appoint John Jacques, James Laing, Humphrey Ewing, and David Innes of the Parish of Kingston, Jamaica, executors of this my will.
Dated 8th July, 1799.
See above. The will fell when challenged. Thomas Davidson tells us that
“the Trustees were entitled to only ten years’ interest on the whole estate. The sum that fell to the Trustees was approximately £14 500. As this was to be a capital sum, they could not proceed to the erection of a school until sufficient interest had been accumulated.” Building was completed in 1833.
From The Scotsman 3rd June 2000
Town benefactor who won wealth from slave trade.
By Simon Wilson and Sally McLean
He is hailed as a hero in the town where he was born, and his money provided a school for generations of children. For more than 150 years, the people of Bathgate, West Lothian, have celebrated the life of John Newland, a man who made his fortune in the West Indies. But few of the children leading today’s colourful parade in tribute to their benefactor will know the man they are honouring was a slave master, who built his wealth on the back of the trade where oppression, brutality and terror were rife. By the time of his death in 1799, he had built a fortune, mostly from the lucrative trade of using slave labour to import quarried limestone from a tiny island he owned off the coast. Despite never returning to Scotland he left money to build a school for his home town, built 30 years later as Bathgate Academy.
The evidence of Newland’s use of slave labour has prompted criticism that the annual Bathgate procession and John Newland Festival is no longer an appropriate tribute. A spokesman for the Commission for Racial Equality said, ‘If his money has been made from the slave trade then it is wholly inappropriate to celebrate the person today.’
Ian Hossack, 52, a local historian who has recently shed new light on the expatriate’s life, yesterday admitted that many people were unaware of his past.
He said, ‘John Newland did have 100 slaves valued at £12 000 and this makes an uncomfortable link with the money for the school.’
But Mr Hossack added that he thought it was unfair to demonise Newland as his use of forced labour needed to be understood in the context of the times. He believed that Bathgate’s favourite son may have been one of the more benevolent slave owners.
He said, ‘He left his farmland and the three homes he owned to Martha Crane, a freed black woman who was his common-law wife, and their two children John and Elizabeth. The law placed limits on what could be left to coloureds, so Newland found a way of round this by granting them a lifetime peppercorn rent to ensure they were well taken care of.’
As has been pointed out above there is much speculation about John Newland’s travels and character. He may not have gone to Chatham. Ships were being built in Aberdeen and on the Tay, Forth and Clyde so he would not have had to go all the way to Chatham to find employment. When he left Bathgate aged 17 he would have had no thought of going to Jamaica. It may be that John went to Glasgow and joined the crew of a slave ship. That would take him to the West Indies. Since the death rate in Jamaica was very high there would be no lack of opportunities for young men.
One of the people attending the 1991 Newland Oration was a relative of John Newland. He was lean with strong facial features. I can only wonder if John Newland looked something like him. Whatever, we can say with some certainty that John was a very tough man with a sense of decency and a respect for learning. He must have had some good times when he lived in Bathgate, otherwise he would not have thought of leaving his money to our parish for the erection of a free school.
From West Lothian Council – Museums and Local History
“The links between Bathgate’s John Newland and slavery are well-known. John Newland moved to Jamaica in his youth, working initially as a low paid official and later as a carpenter. In 1775 he bought his first slave – Lucy or Lucky – from a free black man at a cost of £140. Gradually his prosperity increased and his status rose. By 1780 he owned 144 acres to the north of Kingston, which came to be known as Newlands Penn – probably a small livestock farm. In 1785 he acquired Little Goat Island west of Kingston, together with its 27 slaves, and also some land at Kingston harbour probably in order to build a wharf. Here his boats would bring the lime from his island to be sold in Kingston. In February 1789, he bought another 40 slaves at a cost of £1,536, and continued to be active in his business and property management until the end of his life. He was not a sugar plantation owner: he owned some livestock, was certainly involved in the lime industry, and made money from leasing his many properties. Listed among his ‘possessions’ at the time of his death were his cattle, his boats and some at least of his slaves: Thomas (the slave-driver) (valued at £230), and his field slaves: Bob (£180), Cufee (£50), James (£180), Nera (£120), Caesar (£180), Sampson (£170), and Will (£180).”
From Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival
Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival is an annual celebration which is known and highly-regarded throughout central Scotland. Local people and those not so local eagerly anticipate the event, which takes place every year on the first Saturday of June. The event was started by the trustees of the Old Bathgate Academy in 1844 to commemorate the school’s founding. The procession began as a Founder’s Day Parade on April 17, 1844, in remembrance of John Newland’s contribution to the building of Bathgate Academy. School pupils marched from The Academy that day to The High Church and the day was designated a holiday for the town by Newland Trustees who believed the date commemorated Newland’s birthday. And in 1849 after the service in the parish church, the pupils paraded through the town and began the tradition of a parade.
From The Daily Record June 2020
The Bathgate Procession has changed its name after pressure from an online petition.
The annual event had previously been named the Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival in honour of the benefactor who built Bathgate Academy.
However, Newland had links to slavery and the petition, which had over 1000 signatures, called for his name to be removed from the celebration following the death of George Floyd in America.
A statement said: “The Procession Committee have taken the decision to change the title of the event to Bathgate Procession and Community Festival. This is something the committee have discussed over the years and also considering a recent petition requesting association with John Newland is removed due to his links to slavery.
John Newland
St Andrew Parish, Surrey County, Jamaica
Slave-owner in St Andrew, benefactor and founder of Bathgate Academy (which was eventually built 1833). Died c. 1799.
- Will of John Newland of St Andrew, county of Surrey, Jamaica proved 21/03/1802. Under the will, after legacies of £100 each to his nephews and nieces (children of his brother Patrick Newland of Glasgow), £100 to David Russell shoe maker of Edinburgh and £50 to his sister Margaret, he left his estate in trust, with the interest for 10 years to fund a school in Bathgate.
From Newland Orations
Cuthbert: Founded boat-building business in Jamaica. Left Bathgate about 1754. Died 1799.
1824 -Trustees acquired Rule’s Acre
Russell: Because of shortage of funds trustees compelled – against Newland’s wishes – to charge fees for tuition. Only after 56 years when the government made education grants available was Newland’s dream of free education realised.
Easton: Left Bathgate 1755. Made fortune – sugar and cattle.
White: First Procession 17th April 1844
Wingate: Baptised 17th April 1737. Left Bathgate aged 17. Died aged 62.
Four trustees: Lord Polkemmet; Alexander Marjoribanks; Rev. Mr. Jardine; Col. Andrew Gillon.
Robertson: First Oration 17th April 1844 in church. Children paraded to and from church. 1849: Beginning of parade through town after church.
Davis: Newland had three brothers: William, Robert and David. His mother died 1753. Father remarried. – From this second marriage came three boys and a girl. Left for Jamaica 1754 or 55.
He wrote a letter home and later a will. Both documents show him to be almost illiterate. In the letter he remonstrated against the conduct and character of his stepmother.
Donoghue: John’s father came to Bathgate from Shotts. At this time the population of Bathgate
was 800 – 1000. Main occupations: Coal mining, iron works, weaving, farming, tanning, tile and brick works, farming. John had three brothers and three half-brothers. All predeceased him. Only his half-sister Margaret outlived him. She proved a thorn in the flesh of the inheritors.
In Jamaica he dealt in cattle. When he died, £15 000 of his estate was the value of his slaves. The bulk of his estate of £70 000 was left to Bathgate for the provision of a free school. Inadequacies in drawing up the will allowed some relatives to challenge it. Litigation went on for fifteen years.
Telfer: Mother’s name – Isobel Russell. Aged 18 he went to Jamaica and settled near Port Royal, in the parish of St Andrew in the county of Surrey.
His bequest dated 8th July 1799. Prolonged litigation took place in Jamaica and here. It was finally decided by the King [George III], in Council, on 17th August 1815 after 12 years of lawsuit that only the interest from ten years on the whole estate (real and personal) i.e., £14 500 should be devoted to the provision of a free school. Alexander Marjoribanks committed himself to meeting the cost of the lawsuit.
Slater: Mother Isabel Russell. John was oldest of four sons. Father remarried 1753. John left Bathgate 1755. He left well over £30 000 – probably about £50 000.
Wolfe: When John left Bathgate the town had a population of 800. At the time of his death the population was 1400.
Somerville had Founder’s Day in March. His Founder’s Day caused cleavage which has contributed to the Procession Committee’s difficulties in recent years.
Hunter: Father William Newlands and mother Isabel Russell came from Shotts.
Walker: John found work in Chatham Naval Dockyard.
Kerr: John received little or no education. After working in Chatham he returned to Bathgate.
From Bathgate Academy 1833 – 1933 by Thomas Davidson
John Newlands was born in the early spring of 1737, the eldest child of William Newlands by his first wife, Isabel Russell. The Newlands family came from Shotts and William is described as a ‘merchant’. John was baptised on 17th April 1737. Of the Newlands family practically nothing is known, but in the burial ground which adjoins the High Church, there is, at the right-hand side of the steps from Jarvey Street, a tombstone recording the burial of John’s brother David, who died in 1794 at the age of fifty-two.
Somewhere about 1755, when he would be eighteen years old, John Newlands left Bathgate to seek his fortune overseas. Although some interesting theories have been advanced, the reason for this step must remain a matter of conjecture, as must also his motive for selecting the West Indies as his new sphere. To Jamaica he went, and there, in the county of Surrey and the parish of St. Andrew, his plantation grew and flourished. He died in 1799 and his will is dated 8th July 1799.
Had the Will been carried out as Newlands undoubtedly intended, a princely legacy of over £60 000 would have fallen to Bathgate parish. As is well known, however, the document was challenged, and there ensued a protracted and costly litigation which ended in 1815 with a ruling by the Privy Council that the Trustees were entitled to only ten years’ interest on the whole estate, free of all burdens such as legal costs. The estate of the testator, real and personal, passed respectively to Patrick Newlands, his cousin, and Margaret Newlands, his half sister. The sum that fell to the Trustees was approximately £14 500. As this was to be a capital sum, they could not proceed to the erection of a school until sufficient interest had been accumulated.
From John Newland by David Graham
P13:
John Newland, born early in the year 1737, leaving Bathgate, according to tradition, in his early youth, settled in Jamaica as a planter, and by dint of incessant industry and application amassed a fortune, which fortune by a will, dated 8th July 1799, he bequeathed, with the deduction of a few trifling legacies and expenses, to the inhabitants of Bathgate for the erection and endowment of a free school; but after a prolonged course of litigation in Jamaica and in this country, it was finally decided by the King in Council that only the interest for ten years on the whole estate, real and personal – the interest amounted to £14 500 – should be so devoted. Beyond this brief statement absolutely nothing, excepting the usual vague generalities and tame suppositions which surround the memory of everyone of note, stands against the name of John Newland.
P22: [paraphrased]
William Newland of Shotts had two sons. John went to Glasgow while William settled in Bathgate as a ‘merchant’. He was probably a packman or petty shopkeeper. William was twice married; first to Isabel Russell, and on her death to Jean Robertson. [July 17, 1753, William Newlands and Jean Robertson gave up their names for proclamation in order to marriage.] John Newland was the first born of the first marriage. He was baptised on April 17, 1737. His date of birth is unknown. William Newland had three other sons by his first marriage – William born 14th September, 1738; David born 30th June, 1742; and Robert born 2nd March, 1748. By his second marriage he had four children – three sons and a daughter Margaret. All the sons died without issue before John. In the churchyard, at the right-hand side of the steps from Jarvey Street is a tombstone marking the grave of David Newlands, died 15th October, 1794, aged 52 years; and his wife Marion Nicest, died 23rd February, 1802, aged 61 years.
P34: [paraphrased]
The reason why John Newland left Bathgate is not known though there are four stories – all purely legendary:
- He set fire to a plantin’ on the Hopetoun estate.
- Owing to a love entanglement he fled rather than face the Kirk Session
- He qualified as a joiner and went to work in Chatham Docks. The Governor of Jamaica was looking for trained men to work in the Colonial docks so John went to Jamaica.
P42: [paraphrased]
I believe that that this second marriage of William Newland was productive of mischief in the family; Jean proving a terror to the children of Isabel Russell. This broke up the family and led to John’s departure from Bathgate.
P46:
Newland’s plantation was in the parish of St Andrew in the county of Surry [sic]. His estate must have bordered on the sea because among his effects were boats and among his slaves were carpenters and boatmen. There seems to be some justification for the statement that he went out originally as a carpenter to work in the Government docks; and it is probable that his estate was in the vicinity of Port Royal.
P48:
We are bound to think of Newland as a plodding, imperturbable figure, intent upon his business. He is essentially a prosaic figure, a determined, hard-working planter.
The value of his estate, according to an inventory prepared by one of his executors, was £33 000; but it must have been worth a great deal more. His slaves, of whom he had a great number, were worth over £15 000. Among other things enumerated in the inventory are lime, lime-kilns, cattle, mules, carts, boats; and among the slaves, some are designated carpenters, coopers, boatmen, etc..
Cattle raising seems to have been an important estate activity.
P50 The Disputed Will [paraphrased]
Jamaica:
I, John Newland, of the parish of St Andrew, in the County of Surry in the said Island, Esquire, being at present weak in bodily health, but of sound mind, memory, and understanding, do make, publish and declare my last will and testament as follows:
First, my debts and funeral expenses to be fully paid.
Item, I give to each of the children of my brother Patrick of Glasgow, the sum of £100 sterling; I give to David Russel, shoemaker in Edinburgh, the sum of £100 sterling; and I give unto Margaret Newland of the Parish of Bathgate, the sum of £50 sterling.
As to all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate I give, devise and bequeath
unto Alexander Marjoribanks of Balbairdy, William Innes of Cathlaw, Andrew Gillon of Wallace, ——–Wardrop of Cuilt, and ———-Bailie of Pockannet, all of the County of Linlithgow, their heirs and assigns forever, nevertheless, upon trust that they my said trustees do put and place out the same in some public or private fund upon good and sufficient security so as the best annual interest be made thereof, and to receive and take the annual interest or produce thereof for and during the term of ten years after my decease, in trust, to place out the same annually in like manner so as that the interest may become the principal sum, and at the end and expiration of such term of ten years, then that my said trustees pay and apply the annual interest of the whole of such principal money in the erection of a free school in such part of the said parish of Bathgate as my said trustees shall think fit and proper for the education of the youth of the said parish; such school to be under such management and to be carried on and conducted in such manner as to my said trustees shall seem best but it is my will and desire that the annual interest only may be so applied, and it is my further will and desire that the minister of the said parish of Bathgate for the time being shall be one of the trustees for the purpose of this, my will.
I appoint John Jacques, James Laing, Humphrey Ewing, and David Innes of the Parish of Kingston, Jamaica, executors of this my will.
Dated 8th July, 1799.
See above. The will fell when challenged. Thomas Davidson tells us that
“the Trustees were entitled to only ten years’ interest on the whole estate. The sum that fell to the Trustees was approximately £14 500. As this was to be a capital sum, they could not proceed to the erection of a school until sufficient interest had been accumulated.” Building was completed in 1833.
From The Scotsman 3rd June 2000
Town benefactor who won wealth from slave trade.
By Simon Wilson and Sally McLean
He is hailed as a hero in the town where he was born, and his money provided a school for generations of children. For more than 150 years, the people of Bathgate, West Lothian, have celebrated the life of John Newland, a man who made his fortune in the West Indies. But few of the children leading today’s colourful parade in tribute to their benefactor will know the man they are honouring was a slave master, who built his wealth on the back of the trade where oppression, brutality and terror were rife. By the time of his death in 1799, he had built a fortune, mostly from the lucrative trade of using slave labour to import quarried limestone from a tiny island he owned off the coast. Despite never returning to Scotland he left money to build a school for his home town, built 30 years later as Bathgate Academy.
The evidence of Newland’s use of slave labour has prompted criticism that the annual Bathgate procession and John Newland Festival is no longer an appropriate tribute. A spokesman for the Commission for Racial Equality said, ‘If his money has been made from the slave trade then it is wholly inappropriate to celebrate the person today.’
Ian Hossack, 52, a local historian who has recently shed new light on the expatriate’s life, yesterday admitted that many people were unaware of his past.
He said, ‘John Newland did have 100 slaves valued at £12 000 and this makes an uncomfortable link with the money for the school.’
But Mr Hossack added that he thought it was unfair to demonise Newland as his use of forced labour needed to be understood in the context of the times. He believed that Bathgate’s favourite son may have been one of the more benevolent slave owners.
He said, ‘He left his farmland and the three homes he owned to Martha Crane, a freed black woman who was his common-law wife, and their two children John and Elizabeth. The law placed limits on what could be left to coloureds, so Newland found a way of round this by granting them a lifetime peppercorn rent to ensure they were well taken care of.’
As has been pointed out above there is much speculation about John Newland’s travels and character. He may not have gone to Chatham. Ships were being built in Aberdeen and on the Tay, Forth and Clyde so he would not have had to go all the way to Chatham to find employment. When he left Bathgate aged 17 he would have had no thought of going to Jamaica. It may be that John went to Glasgow and joined the crew of a slave ship. That would take him to the West Indies. Since the death rate in Jamaica was very high there would be no lack of opportunities for young men.
One of the people attending the 1991 Newland Oration was a relative of John Newland. He was lean with strong facial features. I can only wonder if John Newland looked something like him. Whatever, we can say with some certainty that John was a very tough man with a sense of decency and a respect for learning. He must have had some good times when he lived in Bathgate, otherwise he would not have thought of leaving his money to our parish for the erection of a free school.
From West Lothian Council – Museums and Local History
“The links between Bathgate’s John Newland and slavery are well-known. John Newland moved to Jamaica in his youth, working initially as a low paid official and later as a carpenter. In 1775 he bought his first slave – Lucy or Lucky – from a free black man at a cost of £140. Gradually his prosperity increased and his status rose. By 1780 he owned 144 acres to the north of Kingston, which came to be known as Newlands Penn – probably a small livestock farm. In 1785 he acquired Little Goat Island west of Kingston, together with its 27 slaves, and also some land at Kingston harbour probably in order to build a wharf. Here his boats would bring the lime from his island to be sold in Kingston. In February 1789, he bought another 40 slaves at a cost of £1,536, and continued to be active in his business and property management until the end of his life. He was not a sugar plantation owner: he owned some livestock, was certainly involved in the lime industry, and made money from leasing his many properties. Listed among his ‘possessions’ at the time of his death were his cattle, his boats and some at least of his slaves: Thomas (the slave-driver) (valued at £230), and his field slaves: Bob (£180), Cufee (£50), James (£180), Nera (£120), Caesar (£180), Sampson (£170), and Will (£180).”
From Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival
Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival is an annual celebration which is known and highly-regarded throughout central Scotland. Local people and those not so local eagerly anticipate the event, which takes place every year on the first Saturday of June. The event was started by the trustees of the Old Bathgate Academy in 1844 to commemorate the school’s founding. The procession began as a Founder’s Day Parade on April 17, 1844, in remembrance of John Newland’s contribution to the building of Bathgate Academy. School pupils marched from The Academy that day to The High Church and the day was designated a holiday for the town by Newland Trustees who believed the date commemorated Newland’s birthday. And in 1849 after the service in the parish church, the pupils paraded through the town and began the tradition of a parade.
From The Daily Record June 2020
The Bathgate Procession has changed its name after pressure from an online petition.
The annual event had previously been named the Bathgate Procession and John Newland Festival in honour of the benefactor who built Bathgate Academy.
However, Newland had links to slavery and the petition, which had over 1000 signatures, called for his name to be removed from the celebration following the death of George Floyd in America.
A statement said: “The Procession Committee have taken the decision to change the title of the event to Bathgate Procession and Community Festival. This is something the committee have discussed over the years and also considering a recent petition requesting association with John Newland is removed due to his links to slavery.
Bathgate Old Times 