Govane family of Drumquhassle

The Barony of Drumquhassle is recorded as early as 1550, when it was owned by John Cunningham. The estate, which extended from south east of Drymen, north of Glasgow (where it bordered the estate of the Buchanan, later Leith Buchanan Family) to Gartness on the River Endrick, was purchased by the Govane family in the 17th century from the heirs of Archibald, Lord Napier. The estate comprised farms, houses, corn, lint and woollen mills, and the mansion house, Park of Drumquhassle. The earliest record of the family in the area is in 1637, when William Govan was a merchant in Drymen. In addition to the landed estate, the family had business interests (probably textiles) locally and in Glasgow. They also appear to have had business interests overseas, in South America, Antigua and Maryland, where they were among the founding families of Baltimore. A grand new mansion house was built in 1839 to replace the old Park of Drumquhassle. After the death of Barbara Govane in 1870, the house was leased to tenants and was eventually sold to Mr George Mitchell around 1919.

ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

Created by Victoria Peters, December 2009.

A brief history of the family, The Govanes of Drumquhassle, was written by Jim Leiper and published by Drymen and District Local History Society in 2000.