An Architectural Scandal

Madeleine Hamilton Smith was the eldest child of Architect James Smith and his wife Janet, daughter of the well-known Architect David Hamilton. She was born in Glasgow on 29th March 1835 and was alleged to have killed her lover Pierre Emile L’Angelier by arsenic poisoning, but her guilt was famously found to be “not proven” during a sensational trial which began in Edinburgh on 30th June 1857. James Smith and his family moved into the lower half of a property at 6 Blythswood Square in Glasgow around 1855, while some of his wife’s family occupied the upstairs. But the Smith family’s principal residence was a large villa called Rowaleyn in Rhu which David had designed around 1854.

In April 1855, Madeleine met Pierre and began a friendship which developed into a clandestine love affair, unknown to her family. She believed they would never have approved of the match due to their age gap and different social class, as he was a warehouse clerk originally from Jersey who earned a modest salary of £50 per year, which went against her family’s expectations of a suitable match. The pair engaged in what would have been regarded at the time as a scandalous liaison, where they each sent a large volume of romantic and sometimes lascivious letters, some detailing her enjoyment of their physical intimacy with one another.

After the initial headiness of this exciting romance started to wear off, the young Madeleine realised there could be no future with L’Angelier and tried to break off the relationship after her father arranged a more suitable match in the guise of William Harper Minnoch, a reputable Glaswegian merchant. She demanded her letters be returned, realising that L’Angelier could reveal their affair which would ruin her reputation and upcoming marriage to Minnoch. L’Angelier refused and threatened to expose their secret in a bid to marry her – or so the prosecution alleged – which they believed to be a strong motive for murder. During the trial, it was alleged that when Smith and l’Angelier met at the bedroom window of her family home where she gave him hot cocoa to drink, she had already laced it with arsenic, which proved to be fatal after a third attempt. L’Angelier was found dead on the morning of 23rd March 1857 and in his lodgings, her letters to him were found. The post mortem report found that he had died of arsenic poisoning, and Madeleine was subsequently arrested and charged on 31st March 1857. Although the evidence proved that Madeleine purchased arsenic from a nearby druggist under the name of M.H. Smith, it was not proved beyond all reasonable doubt that she was responsible for the victim’s death – instead, there was a suggestion of suicide, and thanks to her defence lawyer, the Lord Advocate John Inglis, she was spared the hangman’s noose.

Madeleine’s close family consisted of highly regarded Glaswegian Architects. Her grandfather David Hamilton was referred to as the “father of the profession” in his native town and he was very well respected, both within his profession and in civic circles, not least due to his “singular amicability and modesty”. He formed a partnership with his son James and practiced as “David and James Hamilton, Architects” – a business which continued briefly after David’s death in 1843, meaning he was not around to witness the scandal that affected his family. James Hamilton was a younger brother of Janet, and after the cessation of the joint architectural practice around 1844, he formed a new partnership with Janet’s husband, James Smith. However this partnership did not prove to be financially successful and the firm was sequestrated within a year. Hamilton withdrew, leaving Smith the sole responsibility of the company, although continued to work with him as an assistant.

David and James Hamilton were responsible for the design of the Bridge of Sighs, gatepost and lodge building at the Glasgow Necropolis, designs which were submitted as competition entries in 1831. They were also responsible for some churches and schools, including the “Normal School” in Cowcaddens (not far from Garnethill) and for additions to several historic homes and castles. most notably Toward Castle. James Smith was responsible for the design of the Collegiate School on Hill Street in Garnethill (now known as St Aloysius College) and more notably, the McLellan Art Gallery and warehouse in Sauchiehall Street which dates from 1855.

Some years ago when I began as a volunteer for the National Trust of Scotland at “Holmwood” in Cathcart, I became fascinated by the building which was designed by Alexander [Greek] Thomson, but more so, by the fabulous interior. I was aware of another villa called “Sunnyside”, a fairly typical two storey Victorian villa designed by James Smith which previously sat adjacent to Holmwood, but had sadly been demolished in the 1960s. These villas were commissioned by two brothers; Robert and James Couper; the sons of James Couper and Janet Hamilton. James Couper Snr was a modest tenant farmer who sadly passed away at the age of 34 years, leaving his wife Janet to provide for the two boys, their two sisters, Agnes and Janet and an infant who sadly passed away around the time of James Snr’s death. Janet must have been a strong and resourceful woman, as she carried on despite her grief and circumstances, and ran a grocer’s shop nearby to support the family. Presumably influenced by their hard working mother’s drive and determination, the brothers went into partnership after obtaining a loan to take over the Millholm Paper Mill in Cathcart in 1841. They became very successful Industrialists within a fairly short spell of time owing to a lucrative contract to supply paper for Westminster during the Crimean War. This success allowed the brothers to build holiday homes near Rhu known as “Ashlea” and “Elderslie” on the waterfront at Cove. James Smith who also owned property in Rhu, may have become acquainted with the Couper brothers due to their similar socio-economic upper middle class status and relative proximity to one another in this tranquil haven.

Initially, the Couper brothers lived in adjoining semi detached villas in Cathcart not far from their business alongside the White Cart water. However they decided to improve on their Glasgow residences by each having a villa built adjacent to one another, and set in a commanding position above the river where they could see their business. The five acre plot acquired for their homes was originally the land where their father James farmed some years before. Robert, who was the elder brother, chose James Smith to design his new home “Sunnyside” and was completed around 1855/56. At the same time, James Couper was also planning to have a house built, but instead chose Alexander Thomson to design his new home, which became known as “Holmwood”. It always struck me as interesting why the brothers who lived and worked in such close proximity and were incredibly close and companionable, chose such completely different Architects and design styles for their respective homes.

When I realised that the daughter of James Smith was the infamous Madeleine, and I noted the dates, I started to wonder about the timeline of these two villas and the events that were going on during the building programme and how those events may have affected how things progressed. Could it have been that James Couper planned to have James Smith design his house too once Sunnyside was completed for his brother? And did the resulting scandal and moral outrage following the trial of 1857 influence James to step away from Smith rather than become associated with him and potentially affect his business which relied on agreeable connections and a certain degree of nepotism? These are questions which can only be speculated upon, and it is unlikely that we will find conclusive answers. However, as the records seem to indicate, although Madeleine Smith moved away to London to escape the notoriety, her father continued to practice as an Architect and the matter did not seem to affect his professional life a great deal, although it did impinge upon his personal life, as the family moved house a few times after the case was over. Perhaps James Couper decided to distance himself from any potential scandal, or perhaps he just decided to go for a more avant garde style of home for himself and his young wife, rather than follow his older brother’s taste and more traditional sensibilities. Either way, I think it makes for an interesting story.