Old Urney Cemetery
James Wallace’s Legacy: The Man Who Left a Fortune for the PoorIn Old Urney Cemetery lies James Wallace of Carricklee (1815–1893), remembered not just for the life he lived but for the extraordinary legacy he left behind.
When Wallace died, he bequeathed over £6,000 – a staggering fortune in 1893 – to support the “deserving Protestant poor” of Urney Parish. Adjusted for inflation, that would be worth almost £1 million today (£985,279).
He directed that the dividends from this sum be paid annually to the Rector of Urney Church, to be distributed as the clergyman thought fit among those in need. Imagine the impact: at a time when labourers might earn only a pound a week, Wallace’s gift provided decades of relief, food, and shelter for struggling families across the parish.
James Wallace’s act of philanthropy shows how one person’s foresight can change the lives of an entire –and why his name still deserves to be remembered