Lawson Memorial Hospital, Golspie

ID: QZP40_CARD_5599 DESCRIPTION: Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie. Situated at the foot of Ben Bhraggie the hospital was gifted to the County of Sutherland by Alexander Brown Lawson of Clynelish, Brora. The architect was J. Hinton Gall. Mr Lawson had been an invalid for several years and was never able to visit the building site. He followed every stage of construction but died on 30 December 1899 before it was completed. The hospital was opened on Friday 27th July 1900. On July 1st 1969 the Beatle John Lennon, his son Julian, Yoko Ono and her daughter, Kyoko, were taken to Lawson Memorial Hospital after a minor road accident on their way to visit Durness where John's aunt had a croft. Behind the hospital on top of Ben Bhraggie is 'The Mannie'. This colossal statue of George Grenville Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower, Viscount Trentham, 2nd Marquis of Stafford and 1st Duke of Sutherland, sculpted by Sir Francis Chantrey, overlooks the town of Golspie. The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland owned vast estates in Scotland. They are best remembered for their role in clearing the people from the inland straths to the coast to make way for sheep. The Duke died in 1833. The 100 foot high statue was completed in 1837. Its existence continues to be a subject of controversy. PLACENAME: Golspie DISTRICT: Golspie, Rogart and Lairg OLD COUNTY/PARISH: SUTHERLAND: Golspie PERIOD: 1910s SOURCE: Highland Libraries COLLECTION: Highland Libraries' Postcard Collection Asset ID: 37224 KEYWORDS:

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