Sir Lawrence Dundas , primer baronet (22 de octubre de 1712 - 21 de septiembre de 1781) fue un comerciante y político escocés.
Era hijo de Thomas Dundas y Bethia Baillie. [1] Hizo su primera fortuna como comisario general: suministrando bienes al ejército británico durante el levantamiento jacobita de 1745 y la Guerra de los Siete Años . Posteriormente, Dundas se expandió hacia la banca y la propiedad (desarrolló Grangemouth en 1777) y fue un importante patrocinador del Canal Forth and Clyde que pasaba por su propiedad, centrado en Kerse House, [2] cerca de Falkirk . Dejó a su hijo una herencia valorada en 900.000 libras esterlinas. Sir Lawrence también era un hombre de buen gusto, elegido miembro de la Sociedad de Dilettanti en 1750.
Compró Aske Estate , cerca de Richmond en North Yorkshire en 1763 a Lord Holderness por £45.000 y procedió a ampliarla y remodelarla al gusto palladiano por el principal arquitecto de Yorkshire, John Carr , quien también diseñó nuevos establos. Dundas también adquirió la propiedad de dos plantaciones de esclavos en las Indias Occidentales Británicas , una en Dominica y otra en Granada . [3]
In 1768, he acquired a tavern "Peace and Plenty" on the land destined to become Edinburgh's New Town. This was shown on James Craig's plan as a potential site for a church, but Dundas's wealth and ownership of the site allowed him to design his own mansion here, somewhat off the grid of the New Town.[4] This house, now Dundas House in St. Andrew Square, was designed by Sir William Chambers, became the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland in 1825.[5] The facade and later 1857 ceiling feature on the current designs of the banknotes issued by the Royal Bank.[6][7]
He purchased Giacomo Leoni's grand house near London, Moor Park, for which he ordered a set of Gobelins tapestry hangings with medallions by François Boucher and a long suite of seat furniture to match, for which Robert Adam provided designs: they are among the earliest English neoclassical furniture.[8] Other new furnishings, for Aske and for Sir Lawrence's magnificently appointed London house at 19 Arlington Street, were supplied by Thomas Chippendale (1763–66), and Chippendale's rivals, the royal cabinet-makers William Vile and John Cobb, and Samuel Norman (Gilbert). A pair of marquetry commodes in the French taste by a French cabinet-maker working in London, Pierre Langlois, is at Aske.[9] Capability Brown worked on the park at Aske and provided a design for a bridge.[10] In the 1770s, Sir Lawrence turned to Robert Adam for further remodelling and designs for furnishings.
The Aske estate included the pocket borough of Richmond, so Sir Lawrence was, therefore, able to appoint the Member of Parliament. Sir Lawrence married Margaret Bruce, and they had one son, Thomas Dundas.
James Boswell described Dundas as "a comely jovial Scotch gentleman of good address but not bright parts ... I liked him much".[11]
Dundas was a great collector of art. Long after his death, Messrs Greenwood sold 116 of his paintings on 29–31 May 1794 from their room in Leicester Square. They included works by Cuyp, Murillo, Raphael, Rubens and Teniers.[12] Some of the Murillo's and perhaps other works would have been bought on commission by Dundas's friend John Blackwood.
Sir Lawrence murió en 1781 y está enterrado en el mausoleo de Dundas en la antigua iglesia parroquial de Falkirk, donde finalmente se unieron a él su esposa Margaret y su hijo Thomas.