EASTFIELD HOUSE is situated in the parish of Rutherglen and county of Lanark. It is a little to the east of the ancient burgh and about three miles from Glasgow.
The lands of Eastfield, which include a number of small properties, were part of the estate of the Hamilton family in this parish, and were purchased by Gabriel Gray about the middle of last century.
Gabriel Gray was the son of John Gray of Dalmarnock, by Elizabeth, daughter of James Hamilton of Newton, in the parish of Cambuslang. He resided in one of the old mansions of Rutherglen, and from 1767 to his death was frequently Provost. The Grays of Eastfield were related to another old Rutherglen family, the Spenses of Stonelaw, which property now forms part of the estate of the present proprietor of Eastfield, James Ross Gray Buchanan, late Captain 14th Regiment, who is the relative of both, and may be said to be the representative of those two families.
The name of Spens is constantly to be found in all transactions affecting the Burgh. David Spens was elected in 1587 the Commissioner from the Burgh of Rutherglen to the Parliament of Scotland, and at the Union we find another of the same name holding a similar position, and a Spens was always to be found among the rulers of the town. The last of a long line was General John Spens of Stonelaw, who was a great agriculturist, and who effected many improvements on his property by draining, levelling, and enclosing it; he also worked the coal mines on it which have since become so famous.
Gabriel Gray was succeeded by his son, John Gray of Scotstoun, who inherited General Spens' estate, and upon whose death Eastfield Scotstoun and Stonelaw became the property of his cousin, James Gray Buchanan, whose mother was a sister of Gabriel Gray. Thomas Gray Buchanan succeeded to the property on the death of his father in 1855, (1) and his son is the present proprietor.
Where Eastfield House now stands there was originally a farm house suited to the size and value of the lands of Eastfield proper. It was probably very small, as the estate then was of little value. Ure, in his History of Rutherglen, mentions that "about the year 1780 it was let for about £10 per annum, and was purchased for £500." When he wrote, however, about thirteen years later, the property had been so much improved that it paid £100 a year. It seems probable from this rapid rise in value that Mr. Gray's cousin, General, or as he was then, Major Spens, had been applying his talents as an agriculturist to this estate as well as his own.
As the property increased in value, the house was improved, and from less to more after numerous additions it has arrived at its present state. It is now a fine ivy-clad old house, and within late years has been the residence of two well known citizens of Glasgow - William Stirling, jun., and Charles Gairdner of the Union Bank.
(1) This gentleman, who died a few years ago, was a well known and most deservedly popular citizen of Glasgow. Mild, genial, and kindly in his manners, upright and straightforward in his dealings, all who knew him will long remember him as an equally fine specimen of a gentleman and a merchant.
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