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Re: Jules Verne Forum

From: Ian Thompson <ithompson~at~geog.gla.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 10:14:03 -0000
To: "Zvi Har'El" <rl~at~math.technion.ac.il>

In his Introduction to the Oxford University Press translation of Twenty
Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, William Butcher identifies the "Oakley
Castle" referred to in Voyage a Reculons/Backwards to Britain, as being
Inzievar House. Among other things he cites as evidence the interior design,
which is mirrored in the interior of the Nautilus. Butcher is undoubtedly
correct in his identification, and this correspondent arrived at the same
conclusion independently and by a different route.Based on the time Verne
and his companions spent walking from Crombie Point on the Forth it was
possible to draw an arc on a large scale mid nineteenth century map and
within this to identify all the stately homes, and in particular to make a
short list of all those which were located near mining activity as described
in the text. From this it was possible to visit all the possible candidates
for Oakley "Castle" and by referring to Verne's description of the external
architecture to eliminate them one by one until Inzievar House seemed the
most likely identification. In fact, the external architecture, with its
asymmetric features, its stables and conservatories corresponded exactly
with Verne's description.Newly built at the time of Verne's visit in
1859,the parklands, lawns and gardens all correspond eactly to his
description. As Butcher has stated, a visit of the interior confirms in
detail Verne's description, even to the detail of the semi-circular room
where the travellers changed there clothing.
In the English translation of Voyage a Reculons, reference is made in a
footnote to a catholic priest, the " Reverend Mr S" whose identity has been
erased by Verne from the original manuscript but who acted as guide and host
to Verne and his friend.
Having identified Inzievar House, it was a simple if laborious task to
consult documents relating to the ownership of the estate at the time of
Verne's visit. In fact, the owner was a Mr Archiebald Smith-Sligo, who had
adopted this surname on marrying Margaret Harris Sligo in 1859. The family
conversion to catholicism can be traced back to Archibald's father, James
Smith, born in the Shetlands and a succesful lawyer who had risen to the
rank of Solicitor of Supreme Court in Scotland. He married a catholic and
converted to her faith....not a good career move in early 19th C Scotland!
He dropped his legal career and launched a catholic magazine in Edinburgh
and subsequently in London and became well known as a religious
scholar.James Smith had seven children of whom the oldest was Archibald, the
builder and owner of Inzievar House, who also owned the important Forth Iron
Works at Oakley and a variety of coal and iron pits referred to in the
text.Amongst the seven children of James Smith, also figures William Smith,
who in the 1861 Census Records is described as "41 years old, roman catholic
clergyman having no church" (at this time there were very few catholics in
the Oakley area) although church records show that for one year, 1859-60, he
was priest in charge at nearby Dunfermline.The 1871 Census records him as
still resident at Inzievar. Despite his modest status at the time of Verne's
visit, William Smith went on to rise to being Archbishop of Edinburgh and St
Andrews.In 1859, he was thus very well educated, well travelled in Europe,
fluent in French (as described by Verne) and had trained in Rome (hence the
Italian paintings in the castle brought back from Rome and mentioned by
Verne).Moreover, at the age of 39, he would
  have had no difficulty walking the distance from Crombie Point. The
absence of the owner, the brother of the "Reverend Mr S" may be explained by
several possibilities...Archibald Smith remarried in 1859 (both he and his
new wife were widowed) and may have been away on honeymoon travels in
Europe, or he may simply have been at his handsome town residence in
Drummond Place in Edinburgh's New Town.
The Smith-Sligos were thus a solidly catholic family and supported church
causes generously until recently, including a fine chapel in Oakley. Sadly,
after the closure of the Forth Iron Works in 1869, the family fortune began
to dwindle, the estate was sold off and in 1985 Inzievar House was auctioned
and converted into flats.The garden and conservatory are rather overgrown,
but the traces of underground irrigation and heating are still visible. One
flat owner, a Verne enthusiast, has done sterling work to reclaim part of
the garden and conservatory.
In summary, Butcher's identification of Inzievar House is proven beyond
doubt, as, I believe, is that of William Smith as being the "Reverend Mr S".
The voluminous Smith-Sligo family papers have been deposited in the
Manuscripts collection of the National Library of Scotland and the geneology
of the family can be constructed from the Public Records Office in Edinburgh
and residency and occupation can be extracted from the Census Records.
Prof. Ian Thompson, Department of Geography, University of Glasgow, Glasgow
G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK.
Received on Thu 27 Feb 2003 - 14:47:13 IST

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