Robert Barclay Allardice of Ury (25 August 1779,Stonehaven,Kincardineshire – 1 May 1854), generally known asCaptain Barclay, was a notable Scottish walker of the early 19th century, known asthe celebrated pedestrian. His most famous feat waswalking 1000 miles in 1000 hours for 1000guineas in 1809. He is considered the father of the 19th-century sport ofpedestrianism, a precursor toracewalking.
He should not be confused with his father, who had assumed the name Robert Barclay Allardice and undertook the first redevelopment of the town ofStonehaven.
Robert Barclay Allardice was a member of an ancient Scottish family (seeClan Barclay) and the great-great-grandson ofRobert Barclay, 2nd ofUry (1648–1690), who in 1678 published a notedApology (i.e. defence) of theQuaker faith. The family that foundedBarclays Bank was descended from this 2nd Laird.
Captain Barclay's father was Robert Barclay, 5th of Ury (1732–1797), MP for Kincardineshire from 1788. The MP was descended via his mother, Une, daughter ofEwen Cameron of Lochiel fromClan Cameron.[1] The 5th laird's first wife (and cousin) was Lucy, daughter ofDavid Barclay of Cheapside, a wealthy London merchant. She died in childbirth, leaving a daughter, also Lucy, who marriedSamuel Galton Jr. of theLunar Society.[2]
Robert Senior remarried many years later, in 1776, Sarah Ann Allardice, a descendant ofRobert II of Scotland and of theEarls ofAirth,Menteith andStrathearn. In recognition of the nobility of his wife's family Robert Barclay thenceforthtook the surname of Allardice. Robert Barclay Allardice, the subject of this article, was born the year after the marriage. Several brothers and sisters followed.
Several of the Barclay family were noted for unusual strength. The firstLaird of Ury was reputed one of the strongest men in the country at the time of theEnglish Civil War, and Robert Barclay Allardice senior was himself a noted pedestrian, who once walked 510 miles (820 km) from Ury to London in 10 days.
Captain Barclay made his home atFritwell Manor in Oxfordshire.[3]
Captain Barclay's most famous exploit took place between 1 June and 12 July 1809 atNewmarket, during which he walked 1 mile (1.6 km) in each of 1000 successive hours to win an initial wager of 1000guineas.
The enterprise quite caught the public imagination.The Times, which carried little general interest news, printed this report alongside an account of the campaigns ofMarshal Soult in thePeninsular War (14 July):
During the 42 days of this exercise his time per mile increasedfrom 14 m 54 sto 21 m 4 s and his weight droppedfrom 13 st 4 lb (84.5 kg)(186 lbs)to 11 st (70 kg)(154 lbs). If the report of the total wagers was accurate they were equivalent to some £5 million ($US 8 million) in modern terms.
The first woman to emulate his feat successfully wasEmma Sharp.
In addition to walking Captain Barclay was active in the financial backing and training of bare-knuckle fighters.[4] The most celebrated fighters that he trained were Tom Molineaux andTom Cribb, (Champion of England).
Captain Barclay's rank was in the23rd Regiment of Foot, which he joined in 1805. In 1809 he served as aide-de-camp to theMarquess of Huntly on the ill-fatedWalcheren Campaign, starting out just 5 days after the completion of the 1000-mile feat.
Captain Barclay claimed theEarldom of Airth, his lawyers claiming that this title could be inherited through the female line. The claim was rejected by theHouse of Lords in 1839. A similar claim to theEarldoms of Menteith andStrathearn was not pursued. A curious aside to the latter claim is that it would have implied that Captain Barclay was the rightfulKing of Scotland.
Captain Barclay died in 1854 from injuries from the kick of a horse. The only surviving child from his marriage was a daughter, Margaret, who had moved to America but eventually resettled in Great Britain and retired to Cornwall with her eldest son, also a Robert Barclay-Allardice (who later became Mayor of Lostwithiel between 1899-1901 and 1904-6). This Robert Barclay-Allardice married and had one daughter, Mary Graham Barclay-Allardice, whose descendants (through an only daughter, Margaret – the great-great granddaughter of Captain Barclay) live in Gloucestershire and Hampshire.
The Lairdship of Ury, heritable only through the male line, passed to a third cousin, Charles Barclay, who lived in Surrey.
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