I was staggered to find out that my great great great grandfather Lloyd Baxendale bough his way into the landed gentry when he purchased the Greenham Lodge estate for £63,000 in 1873 (see more here). To put this into perspective, only 10% of the population at the time would have earned £100 or more a year. His family made their fortune from the Pickfords removals firm. Another ancestor seems to have trumped this nearly 100 years earlier. William Ramsay of Barnton was an Edinburgh banker, and a director of the Royal Bank of Scotland bought, he bought Gogar House (as it was known then) for £37,000 in 1789.
According to the Ratho Village History site, Mrs Ramsay and her son George went out to look over Gogar House in April 1792, and were “pleased with the grandeur and substantial appearance of the Place”. Later in that year William observed that “the beauty and value” of Gogar far exceeded his expectations. George was later known for his hunting and coaching exploits 1791 George married Miss Jean Hamilton of Wishaw and between 1793 and 1804, their children were born at Gogar. His daughter Susan married Alexander Gibson-Maitland (see more about ancestry here)
a tale of downward social mobility 
This is where I met my Wife!!
Lady Brenda was her Aunt..
Tim … what a great story and I’d love to visit myself some day.
Best and cheers
Justin
1. Yes!! I commanded RAF Turnhouse.
2. Cooper owned Gogar?? COWPER owned Gogar Mains
3.I have corresponded with the new owners. They say they have now put it on the market again.
4. Wrights(?) dental company?? Uncle Jimmy started a company in the house.
5. I have many photos of the interior in the late ’40s.
Now to bed!!
= Tim.
Lady Brenda was my great great Aunt from my maternal side of the Doughty family. I remember visiting in my teenage years with my mother. I have a photograph of the visit. Brenda’s sister Dorothy lived also at the castle. Margaret Crawford.