Inverness Royal Academy: Raigmore Medal, 1881

ID: PC_ROYALACADEMY2_024 DESCRIPTION: Inverness Royal Academy was opened in the summer of 1792, using both subscription money from Scotland and significant sums from Inverness citizens living in the West Indies who had made their money in the slave trade. In the autumn of 1808, Lachlan Mackintosh of Raigmore returned from Calcutta, India, to become a Director of Inverness Royal Academy. He brought with him from Bengal promises of subscriptions of £2605 5s towards funding the Academy and the Northern Infirmary (which was also being promoted at this time), with an actual draft for £2300 of this money. He said that most of the money was for the Academy, so it was agreed that £2000 would go the Academy, and the balance of £300 would go towards the Infirmary. Raigmore's money was a lifeline to the Academy as subscriptions from other sources had largely dried up. In 1810 Mackintosh established what is now known as the Raigmore Medal which was given to the most proficient student in the classics and mathematics classes. The medal was awarded twice-yearly with a gold medal being awarded during the summer vacation and a silver medal during the winter vacation. In due course there were disputes as to exactly how the medal was to be awarded, and eventually, through inflation, the money started to run out. Other donors added money to the fund, including a contribution from a later senior member of the clan Mackintosh. The Raigmore silver medal was awarded for the last time in 1888, and from this date medals for other subjects were also donated, for instance by the Member of Parliament for the Inverness Burghs of the time. Over the years various medals have been returned to the school, the oldest of which dates from the 1840s. This illustration shows the medal for 1881, awarded to James Forsyth for mathematics. At the start of the 20th century, Peter J. Anderson, a former pupil who was then librarian to King's College, Aberdeen, produced lists of all those who had been awarded the medal, with brief biographical notes where information was available, covering the period 1811 to 1906. One of the winners (in 1840) was Alexander Penrose Hay, who became a solicitor and the Town Chamberlain for Inverness. His bust is to be found in Inverness Town Hall. His medal is held in Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Another winner, in 1827, was Edward Strathearn Gordon, who became Solicitor-General, Lord Advocate, and afterwards Lord Gordon of Drumearn. Peter Anderson himself was the winner of two Raigmore Medals, first in 1867 for mathematics and then in 1868 for classics. PLACENAME: Inverness OLD COUNTY/PARISH: INVERNESS: Inverness and Bona SOURCE: Inverness Royal Academy COLLECTION: Inverness Royal Academy (photographs) Asset ID: 29911 KEYWORDS:

• schools
• medals
• awards
• academic awards;