Although the Kinloch family had owned the Kinloch Estate in Meigle since 1616, their fortunes suffered following the Battle of Culloden due to Sir James Kinloch's support for the Jacobite cause. 

His son was forced to sell the estate, but it remained in the wider Kinloch family as it was sold to his cousin, George Oliphant Kinloch, George Kinloch's father. George Oliphant Kinloch was able to purchase the Kinloch estate in Meigle due to an unexpected inheritance in 1770 of the Grange sugar plantation in Jamaica. 

At the time of George Kinloch's birth in 1775, Kinloch House was being rebuilt following a fire, so he was born at Belle View House in Dundee. In that same year, George's father died, so George's older brother, John, inherited the Kinloch estates. John died in his teens in 1789, so the properties passed to the 13 year old George. These properties included the Grange Plantation in Jamaica, including its enslaved workers. George sold the Grange Plantation in 1804, when he was aged 29, and then in 1808, he extended his landowning in Scotland when he bought extensive landholdings at Carnoustie.

George Kinloch became involved in politics in Dundee and took a prominent part in the development of the Dundee harbour, which opened in 1815.

Although he was a member of the landowning classes, George Kinloch was a prominent figure among those who were arguing in the early 19th century for the reform of the UK Parliament and the extension of the franchise to include working people. This earned George the nickname 'The Radical Laird' and led to him presiding over a meeting on the Magdalen Yard Green on 10 November 1819 that advocated for annual elections by secret ballot, with universal suffrage. Although the mass meeting went peacefully, George was subsequently charged with sedition and was declared an outlaw on 24 December 1819. He spent three years in exile in France but returned to the UK, living as a fugitive in London until he received an official pardon in May 1823.

13 years to the day after he had been declared an outlaw, George Kinloch was elected to become the very first MP for Dundee. The abolition of slavery was part of his election platform even though he had himself become a slave owner following his father's and brother's deaths. His parliamentary career was cut short by his own death just the following year. 

George Kinloch was also chairman of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway Company, which opened the first regular passenger railway in Scotland in 1831. The development of the planned village of Washington, now Ardler, which was very much designed around the railway and saw many streets named after prominent social reformers, was very much his brainchild. However, his early death meant that he was not to see any of these plans become reality, and the development never reached the scale that his plans envisaged.

Although George Kinloch had forfeited his estates when he was declared an outlaw, they were regained by his son, who was made Baronet when the Baronetcy of Kinloch of Kinloch was restored in 1873.

Patrick Murray of Simprim was the illegitimate son of Lord Elibank of Simprim, Simprim being about five miles north of Coldstream in the Borders. 

Patrick had a difficult childhood and was only about seven years old when his father died. As an illegitimate child, he could not inherit the title of Lord Elibank, which passed to his uncle George Murray (though on occasion he did use the title anyway). However, he was able to inherit his father’s fortune, though this was contested in the courts for decades. 

In 1785 he bought the Cardean Estate from the Earls of Strathmore, though he would only have been about 14 years old at the time. He then stamped his mark on his estate by renaming 'Potento' to 'Cardean' and 'Easter Cardean' to 'Simprim', after his birthplace which is why Wester Cardean is actually to the east of Cardean. 

Patrick Murray was a close friend of Sir Walter Scott and shared his interest in collecting antiquities. Sometime in the early 1800s, Patrick Murray built 'The Steading', which incorporates a quantity of medieval masonry, much of which would almost certainly have come from the Abbey at Coupar Angus. The Steading used to have Patrick Murray’s coat of arms on the section nearest the road but, sadly, this feature has now gone. 

In 1838 Patrick Murray bought the Arthurstone Estate. He immediately added extensively to the original house. When his elder daughter, Susan, married Captain (later Admiral) Popham in 1841, they set up home at Cardean and Patrick Murray had some of the new build at Arthurstone dismantled stone by stone, to be then reconstructed on the Cardean site. At this time, he also renamed Easter Cardean to become Simprim, after his birthplace in Berwickshire.

Patrick’s younger daughter, Maria, married James Talbot, 4th Baron Talbot of Malahide and it was at Malahide Castle, near Dublin, that Patrick Murray died in 1855. Both Patrick Murray and his wife, Susan, are commemorated on a plaque in the small mausoleum which stands beside the last remaining masonry from the Abbey still in situ within the grounds of Coupar Angus Abbey churchyard. 

Three families with the name Dargie were among the first to settle in the newly founded village of Ardler in the 1830s, as recorded in the census of 1841. While many of the residents of Ardler in the mid-nineteeth century were employed as agricultural workers, labourers and weavers, Andrew Dargie stood out as a teacher of dancing and deportment. A small publicity booklet published by him in the 1890s shows that he was able to teach ‘Scotch, Irish, English and Modern’ dances, by private tuition or in public classes offered across the country from London to Inverness and Elgin. A separate leaflet explained that "having secured the services of some thoroughly efficient musicians" he was also "in a position to accept engagements for Balls, At Homes, Evening Parties, Gymkhanas, Garden Parties &c".

James Stuart Mackenzie was Lord Privy Seal for Scotland and an amateur scientist who was one of the earliest members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 

Born in 1719, he was the younger son of James Stuart, second Earl of Bute, and brother of John, the third Earl, who served as tutor to George III and briefly as the first Scottish-born prime minister in the 1760s. He purchased the Kirkhill estate in 1751 and later renamed it Belmont. 

In 1763, almost certainly through his brother’s influence, Mackenzie was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed Lord Privy Seal for Scotland. However, the Earl of Bute was widely disliked, and his close relationship with George III was resented in the House of Commons. Thus, when Bute lost his position in 1765, Mackenzie also fell from office. He was however reinstated in 1766 as Lord Privy Seal for Scotland for life, with the same salary of £3,000, but without the political authority he had previously enjoyed. 

Mackenzie therefore began his ownership of Belmont as an absentee proprietor, still occupied with his duties in public life. In 1780 he withdrew from politics and settled at Belmont permanently, devoting himself to amateur science and to improving the estate. He carried out triangulations on distant hills, kept weather records, and built Kinpurnie Tower as an astronomical observatory. From the 1760s onwards he had been in regular contact with other “improving” landowners, such as James Grant of Strathspey and Lord Deskford, and he put many of the then new agricultural methods into practice on his own land. 

In the 1790s the Reverend James Playfair wrote of “a gentleman” who “formed plans of improvement, enclosed farms with proper fences, banished sheep from infield grounds, combated the prejudices of his tenants, furnished them with marl, distributed premiums, and otherwise rewarded their exertions”. Although Playfair did not name him, the two men were friends, and it seems very likely that Mackenzie was the subject of this admiring description. 

Mackenzie died in London in April 1800 and his estate passed to his second brother’s son, James Archibald Stuart-Wortley, whose own son became the first Baron Wharncliffe. A memorial to Mackenzie celebrating his scientific endeavours was placed in Westminster Abbey and can be view here.

Henry Campbell-Bannerman was born as Henry Campbell in Glasgow in 1836, the son of James Campbell, a Glasgow merchant who was to become the Lord Provost of Glasgow. Henry married Sarah Charlotte Bruce in 1860 and entered politics with the Liberal Party, being elected to parliament in November 1868 as the MP for Stirling Burghs.

His name change in 1870 resulted from a condition included in the will of his maternal uncle, Henry Bannerman, that Bannerman must be included in his name for him to inherit the Hunton Estate in Kent on his uncle’s death. However, he was unhappy with his new surname and preferred to be addressed as 'C.B.'.

Henry bought Belmont Castle in Meigle shortly after a devastating fire in 1884. The building had largely to be rebuilt so it was not until three years later that the Campbell-Bannermans were able to move into their new residence. 

Henry had a very successful political career, serving twice as the Secretary of State for War under Gladstone, and became the Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1884. He was knighted on 1 July 1895 when he was awarded a CGB (Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath).

He became the leader of the Liberal Party in 1899 and unexpectedly became Prime Minister, leading a minority Liberal government following the surprise resignation of Arthur Balfour in December 1905. He then led a very successful election campaign which returned an overall majority for his party in February the following year. 

He remained as the Prime Minister until 3 April 1908, when he resigned due to his failing health. Sadly he was to die in 10 Downing Street just 19 days later. His funeral was held in Meigle Church and he was buried in Meigle Churchyard alongside his wife, who had predeceased him in 1905. There is a carved stone plaque marking their final resting place. 

Peter Carmichael was born on 21 March 1809, the son of James Carmichael, the manager of a small flax mill in Fife. 

Following his education at the Grammar School in Dundee, he was apprenticed to a foundry in Monifieth which was involved in the manufacture of textile machinery. 

After a short spell working as an engineer in England, Carmichael returned to Dundee in 1833, where he was appointed as a mill manager by Baxters of Dundee, Scotland’s foremost linen manufacturers.  His skills as an engineer and his inventiveness saw him rise from fairly humble beginnings to become a senior manager and eventually a partner with Baxter Brothers. A shrewd businessman, he ensured that the  Baxters took advantage of the mid-19th century demand for sail cloth, tarpaulins and other linen products.  He continued in this role until his death on 6 May 1891.   

In 1869 Carmichael purchased the estate of Arthurstone, to the west of Meigle, where he set about remodelling the mansion house and improving the gardens. He was much involved in local affairs and, together with his partner Sir David Baxter and his sisters, became known for his philanthropy, having wide interests in education, nature and church affairs. As feudal superior of the village of Ardler, he funded the building of Ardler Kirk and manse in 1885, and the enlargement of Ardler School in 1889. 

In 1878, James Cox purchased the Cardean estate, and later Drumkilbo. James was senior partner of Dundee's Cox Brothers and Co., one of the largest jute companies in Europe. In addition to his business interests, he was active in municipal activities and was elected Provost of the Burgh of Dundee from 1872 to 1875. He was also an elected a member of the Board of Directors of the North British Railway Company and Chairman of the Tay Bridge Company during its construction. Following the collapse of the bridge two years later he was considered a major figure in supporting the construction of the second railway bridge.  Born in July 1808, he married Clementina Carmichael and left one son, Edward Cox, and four daughters when he died in 1885. 

His son Edward Cox became chairman of the Camperdown Jute works in 1893 and by 1900 the firm employed more than 5,000 people. Edward was also a Director of the Scottish American Trust Companies and the Northern American Trust Co. Ltd, and several railway companies. From 1890 to 1891 he was president of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce, and a Governor of University College. He was a Deputy-Lieutenant for the County of the City of Dundee and a Justice of the Peace for Dundee. He was known for philanthropic work and religious work. He died at Cardean in 1913 aged 63. The Meigle cottage hospital was built and endowed by Mrs Ada Mary Cox, in memory of her husband.

The family work in the jute industry was continued by their son James Ernest Cox (1877–1950) who became chairman of Jute Industries Ltd and its subsidiary companies and was a prominent figure in the business and commercial world. 

In 1404 Meigle passed from William de Megill into the hands of Sir David Lindsay, the 1st Earl of Crawford and son-in-law of King Robert II, and the lands around Meigle remained with the colourful dynasty of the Lindsays for many years. 

The 1st Earl of Crawford died at Finavon Castle only three years after acquiring Meigle and so it passed to his son, Alexander. He was knighted at the coronation of James I in 1424 for agreeing to be held hostage by the English in exchange for James himself. 

On Alexander’s death in 1438, his son, David Lindsay of Meigle and 3rd Earl of Crawford, inherited the estates. His son, Alexander, had been appointed Baillie of the Regality by the abbot of Arbroath Abbey who later regretted the appointment and instead appointed Alexander Ogilvy, 2nd Baron in Inverquarity. Alexander decided to reclaim his position in what became the Battle of Arbroath and David rode between the two armies in an attempt to prevent any bloodshed, but was mortally wounded by a spear. 

Alexander then became the 4th Earl and was also known as 'The Tiger Earl' or 'Earl Beardie'. He was a major player in the Douglas Rebellions which came to an end in 1452 with his defeat at the Battle of Brechin. However, remarkably, King James II showed clemency and restored his estates to him, including Meigle. 

His estates then passed to his son, David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford, who was made the 1st Duke of Montrose by James III in 1488 for his loyalty, becoming the first Scotsman not of royal blood ever to be granted a Dukedom. However, later that same year, James III was killed during the Battle of Sauchieburn when his troops were defeated by rebels supporting his son, James, Duke of Rothesay who was to become James IV. David Lindsay was stripped of his titles and offices but, like his father, he was fortunate to have his titles restored to him just the following year, albeit only for his own lifetime. 

As a result, following his death in 1495, the Meigle estates passed to the Lyons of Glamis. This stoked animosity between the two families which was to endure over several generations. A significant event in this feud was when his grandson, yet another David Lindsay, the 11th Earl, was involved in a street brawl in Stirling, which resulted in the Lord High Chancellor of Scotland, John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis, being shot dead. 

Almost 10 years later, in 1589, Crawford’s men, together with those of the Earl of Huntly, ambushed Thomas Lyon, Master of Glamis. The Master of Glamis took refuge in Kirkhill Tower House (now part of Belmont Castle) but, when he refused to give himself up, the men set fire to the Tower. As a result, Lyon was captured and kept prisoner for some weeks 'somewhere in the North'. 

In the same year that Thomas Lyon was taken prisoner, David Lindsay, the 11th Earl, was convicted of treason, due to his associations with Catholic nobles and conspiring with Spain. However, he was released from St Andrews Castle the following year. 

Lt. Cmdr. M D Wanklyn VC DSO (2 bars) appears as the first name for the deaths resulting from World War Two commemorated on the Meigle War Memorial at Victory Park on Ardler Road. To this day David Wanklyn holds the record for the tonnage of shipping sunk by a submarine commander. 

Malcolm David Wanklyn was born on 28 June 1911 at Alipore near Calcutta in India. He returned to the UK to live, initially in Monmouthshire and then later in Ayrshire. Though he moved regularly he very much considered himself a Scot. 

He joined the Royal Navy in 1925 and served on the battleship HMS Marlborough and HMS Renown before volunteering for the Submarine Service in May 1933.  

David met Elspeth (“Betty” ) Kinloch, the second child of James Kinloch and descendent of the radical reformer, George Kinloch, in Malta in May 1937. The couple married at Holy Trinity Church in Silema, Malta on 5 May the following year.  

The couple made their home in Meigle at Ellengowan on the Dundee Road, and had a son, Ian David Kinloch Wanklyn, who was born in Gosport, Hampshire, on 31 August 1939. Ian was later to also join the Royal Navy and served upon HMS Ark Royal.  

David Wanklyn's submarine career made a slow start. He sank a German submarine hunter off Norway in June 1940 while commanding the submarine H31, before being given command of new submarine, HMS Upholder, which was under construction in Barrow shipyards. Following sea trials, HMS Upholder was stationed in Malta but it was over three months before she achieved her first kill, the Antonietta Laurno, a vessel of 5428 tonnes, on 25 Apr 1941.  

Wanklyn went on to sink 97,000 tonnes of merchant shipping and also three U-boats and a destroyer. One was the Conte Rosso, a large troop ship of 17,879 tonnes with 2729 soldiers and crew on board. The Upholder only had torpedos remaining and the Conte Rosso was protected by five destroyers. However, Wanklyn sank the vessel and managed to get away.  

In September 1941 Wanklyn received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and was later to receive the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military award. 

Upholder was lost in April 1942 with all its crew. It is not entirely clear whether this was from hitting a mine, from depth charges from an Italian motor torpedo boat or from an attack from a German aircraft on. 

Wanklyn was posthumously awarded two further DSOs. 

David Wanklyn’s widow, Betty, lived much of the rest her life in France and passed away on 30 May 2000 in Bexhill in Sussex, aged 88. She is buried in the Kinloch Mausoleum on the edge of Meigle village.