DALHOUSIE, Christian, Countess of see RAMSAY, Christian, Countess of Dalhousie (1786—1839)

DALRYMPLE, Christian, born Newhailes, Lothian, 30 Dec. 1765, died Newhailes 9 Jan. 1838. Landowner, diarist. Daughter of Anne Broun of Coalstoun, and Sir David Dalrymple Bt, later Lord Hailes, judge and historian.

Christian Dalrymple's mother died when she was two years old; her father later remarried and her half-sister, Jean, was born in 1777. She grew up in Newhailes House near Musselburgh, where Lord Hailes entertained such figures as David Hume and Samuel Johnson in his magnificent library. He encouraged Christian Dalrymple to explore her literary potential from an early age. From 1798 until her death, she kept a journal which survives, recording the social contacts, household management and travels of a well-off upper-class woman. She inherited the Newhailes estate in 1792, the baronetcy passing to a male cousin. Anecdotal evidence suggests that her father's will was found as she was preparing to leave the house. Since he had successfully pleaded the descent of Scottish titles to and through women in the case of *Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland, he presumably thought his daughter capable of running Newhailes. She managed the estate well, including negotiating the sale, lease and purchase of land, using the ice house and building a stable block. Despite initially petitioning against the railway, in 1834 she sold some land to the railway company. On tours round Britain, she visited churches, stately homes, the model community at New Lanark and Walter Scott's home at Abbotsford. She visited and corresponded with Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby in Llangollen, North Wales, attended art exhibitions and the theatre, and associated with many notable figures. At home, she entertained frequently, using the library for social gatherings. Christian Dalrymple's journals reveal a way of life and demonstrate her diligence in preserving the essence of the estate. The longneglected Newhailes House was opened to the public in 2002 under the auspices of the National Trust for Scotland. El

• NLS: MSS 25454—25499, Corr., journals and miscellaneous papers.

Dalrymple, C. [1812] (1914) Private Annals of My Own Time, 1765—1812, H. Dalrymple (ed.).

Horrocks, H. for NTS (2004) Newhailes; The Scotsman, 27 May 2002.