George Coats, Baron Glentanar 1849-1918
George Coats owned Belleisle estate in Ayr for over thirty years from
1886 until 1918, longer than any other owner in the estate’s history.
He took a great pride in his rural domain, building a new wing on to
the mansion house, maintaining the stables, embellishing the gardens
and decorating the conservatory by, for example, adding a painted,
terracotta statue of an African woman.
Despite having been brought up as one of eleven children, George
was accustomed to living in some comfort. The Coats family had
accumulated substantial wealth from the manufacture of thread in
mills which they had built in Paisley. The family home was Ferguslie
House, a palatial mansion located near one of their thread mills.
George’s father, Thomas, was the patriarchal figure of the family and
a devout member of the Baptist Church. He employed George, his
third son, as a commercial clerk for a few years before appointing him
as a director
In 1880 Coats married Margaret Lothian Black, daughter of the
Edinburgh publisher James Tait Black and they lived first in a
substantial townhouse in Claremont Terrace in Glasgow’s west end.
Their purchase of Belleisle and removal there in 1886 set the scene
for most of their subsequent married life. They raised a family of two
daughters and one son, employed a household of domestic servants
and a range of estate workers including gardeners and tradesmen.
George and Margaret Coats were keen collectors of paintings, china,
glass and other objets d’art. The blackamoor female statue in the
conservatory was manufactured by the German ceramics firm of
Villeroy and Boch in1881 having been sculpted by artist W Pfohl.
Statues in this style, made of plaster or terracotta and depicting
historical, religious or mythical figures were in demand among
wealthy people and institutions across Europe in the 19 th century.More
than one copy of this particular exotic sculpture were produced at that
time and one is currently to be viewed on the website of the Brussels
antique company Antiques Sablon.This item was just the type of
decorative object which would attract the interest of a young, well-to-
do couple like George and Margaret Coats. As an image from a land
far away, in the heart of a conservatory displaying
George Coats owned Belleisle estate in Ayr for over thirty years from
1886 until 1918, longer than any other owner in the estate’s history.
He took a great pride in his rural domain, building a new wing on to
the mansion house, maintaining the stables, embellishing the gardens
and decorating the conservatory by, for example, adding a painted,
terracotta statue of an African woman.
Despite having been brought up as one of eleven children, George
was accustomed to living in some comfort. The Coats family had
accumulated substantial wealth from the manufacture of thread in
mills which they had built in Paisley. The family home was Ferguslie
House, a palatial mansion located near one of their thread mills.
George’s father, Thomas, was the patriarchal figure of the family and
a devout member of the Baptist Church. He employed George, his
third son, as a commercial clerk for a few years before appointing him
as a director
In 1880 Coats married Margaret Lothian Black, daughter of the
Edinburgh publisher James Tait Black and they lived first in a
substantial townhouse in Claremont Terrace in Glasgow’s west end.
Their purchase of Belleisle and removal there in 1886 set the scene
for most of their subsequent married life. They raised a family of two
daughters and one son, employed a household of domestic servants
and a range of estate workers including gardeners and tradesmen.
George and Margaret Coats were keen collectors of paintings, china,
glass and other objets d’art. The blackamoor female statue in the
conservatory was manufactured by the German ceramics firm of
Villeroy and Boch in1881 having been sculpted by artist W Pfohl.
Statues in this style, made of plaster or terracotta and depicting
historical, religious or mythical figures were in demand among
wealthy people and institutions across Europe in the 19 th century.More
than one copy of this particular exotic sculpture were produced at that
time and one is currently to be viewed on the website of the Brussels
antique company Antiques Sablon.This item was just the type of
decorative object which would attract the interest of a young, well-to-
do couple like George and Margaret Coats. As an image from a land
far away, in the heart of a conservatory displaying
