Glenbuchat Heritage

11 Tornashean House Strathdon

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Tornashean Lodge

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Tornashean Lodge was built on land originally owned by the Candacraig Estate. The Candacraig land had been sold by Sir Charles Forbes of Newe to Mr Alexander Falconer Wallace around 1900. He had previously had been a shooting tenant since 1890.
Mr. A. F. Wallace created the Tornashean estate, (Torr-na-Sithean), from the Candacraig estate. In 1908 he built an Edwardian lodge, Tornasheen House, featuring granite construction. The house sits within about 65 acres of fields and woodland and historically had its own walled garden and river beat for fishing on the Don. Mr Wallace gave the Lodge to his only daughter, the Hon. Mrs. Thesiger, in 1918. Mr Wallace’s daughter, Katharine Frances Thesiger nee Wallace was married to Hon. Percy Mansfield Thesiger

The Wallace Family:
The Wallace brothers were the six sons of Edinburgh architect Lewis Wallace. In varying combinations, the brothers established themselves as one of the leading nineteenth century East India merchants, trading in cotton, tea, coffee and other commodities. Through their investments in Burma, they became the world's leading exporter of teak.

The brothers gradually removed their residence from India. William retired in 1864, George followed suit two years later and Robert had moved to Manchester to oversee that end of the cotton trade. Alexander was the last of the brothers to leave India, in 1867. An illustration of the prominence that the brothers had achieved is that Alexander had become Chairman of the Commercial Bank of India in 1864 and three of his brothers had also been directors. Alexander was later become Governor of the Bank of England. He died in 1925aged 88.

The rise of independent governments after World War II meant the progressive loss of the family's Eastern assets and the redeployment of capital back to London. This capital was used in the 1960s to establish Wallace Brothers as a banking house but this strategy did not long survive the secondary banking crisis of 1973-75.

The Thesiger Family.

Frederick Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron of Chelmsford (1837 - 1905)

Frederic Augustus Thesiger was born 31 May 1827, the eldest child of Frederic Thesiger, a lawyer who later became Lord Chancellor and was created Baron Chelmsford. Thesiger was educated at Eton College. Frederick Jnr wished to pursue a military career.
In 1857, he was promoted captain and lieutenant colonel, and transferred (1858), as a lieutenant colonel, to the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot, serving with that regiment at the end of the Indian Rebellion, for which he was again mentioned in dispatches. He served as deputy adjutant general to the forces in Bombay from 1861 to 1862, and was promoted brevet colonel in 1863. There, he befriended the then governor of Bombay, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, He served, again as deputy adjutant general, in the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and made an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria in 1868. He was Adjutant-General, India from 1869 to 1874.

An expeditionary British imperial military force under Chelmsford's command subsequently entered the Zulu Kingdom uninvited, and was in consequence attacked on 22 January 1879 by a large Zulu army at Isandlwana, during which the Zulus overran and destroyed the central column of Chelmsford's separated forces. The engagement was an unexpected victory for the Zulus and one of the worst defeats of the British Army by native tribesmen in the history of the British Empire.

He left four sons, the eldest of whom succeeded as 3rd Baron Chelmsford and later became Viceroy of India and first Viscount Chelmsford. Another son was Lieutenant Colonel Eric Thesiger who served in the First World War and was also a Page of Honour for Queen Victoria. The diplomat Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger, who served in Addis Ababa in 1916, was another son, and father of the author and explorer Wilfred Thesiger. Another son was Hon. Percy Mansfield Thesiger, MBE (1869 - 1959) husband of Katharine Frances Wallace

Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford (1868 - 1933)

"Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC (12 August 1868 – 1 April 1933) was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland (1905–1909), Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. After serving a short time as First Lord of the Admiralty in the government of Ramsay MacDonald, he was appointed the Agent-General for New South Wales by the government of Jack Lang before his retirement."


Frederick Augustus Thesiger,
Wikipedia contributors. "Frederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Frederic Augustus Thesiger was born 31 May 1827, the eldest child of Frederic Thesiger, a lawyer who later became Lord Chancellor and was created Baron Chelmsford. Thesiger was educated at Eton College.

He wished to pursue a military career.

In 1857, he was promoted captain and lieutenant colonel, and transferred (1858), as a lieutenant colonel, to the 95th (Derbyshire) Regiment of Foot, serving with that regiment at the end of the Indian Rebellion, for which he was again mentioned in dispatches. He served as deputy adjutant general to the forces in Bombay from 1861 to 1862, and was promoted brevet colonel in 1863. There, he befriended the then governor of Bombay, Sir Henry Bartle Frere, He served, again as deputy adjutant general, in the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, for which he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath and made an aide-de-camp to Queen Victoria in 1868. He was Adjutant-General, India from 1869 to 1874.

In expeditionary British imperial military force under Chelmsford's command subsequently entered the Zulu Kingdom uninvited, and was in consequence attacked on 22 January 1879 by a large Zulu army at Isandlwana, during which the Zulus overran and destroyed the central column of Chelmsford's separated forces. The engagement was an unexpected victory for the Zulus and one of the worst defeats of the British Army by native tribesmen in the history of the British Empire.

He left four sons, the eldest of whom succeeded as 3rd Baron Chelmsford and later became Viceroy of India and first Viscount Chelmsford. Another son was Lieutenant Colonel Eric Thesiger who served in the First World War and was also a Page of Honour for Queen Victoria. The diplomat Wilfred Gilbert Thesiger, who served in Addis Ababa in 1916, was another son, and father of the author and explorer Wilfred Thesiger. Another, Hon. Percy Mansfield Thesiger, MBE MP married Katherine Wallace.

Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 3rd Baron Chelmsford 1st Viscount Chelmsford (1868 - 1933)

"Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC (12 August 1868 – 1 April 1933) was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland (1905–1909), Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms. After serving a short time as First Lord of the Admiralty in the government of Ramsay MacDonald, he was appointed the Agent-General for New South Wales by the government of Jack Lang before his retirement."


Hon. Percy Mansfield Thesiger, MBE (1869 - 1959)
Wife: Katharine Frances Thesiger (Wallace) (b. - 1958)

He fought in the First World War, where he was mentioned in despatches.1 He gained the rank of Captain in the Royal East Kent Yeomanry.1 He was appointed Member, Order of the British Empire (M.B.E.) in 1918

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