Thomas Guthrie

A carte-de-visite portrait of Dr Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873), the Scottish divine and philanthropist whose zeal and eloquence greatly furthered the development and spread of the Ragged School system throughout the United Kingdom.

Born at Brechin in Angus, he studied for the Church and became a Church of Scotland minister in Edinburgh. Possessed of a commanding presence, a fine voice and a remarkably effective and picturesque style of oratory, he became perhaps the most popular preacher of his day in Scotland, and was associated with many forms of philanthropy, especially temperance and ragged schools. Among his writings is A Plea for Ragged Schools (1847).

At the time of the Disruption in 1843, Guthie and his congregation left the Church of Scotland. He became one of the one of the leaders of the Free Church of Scotland, and raised over £100,000 for manses for its ministers. In 1862 he was elected Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland. A statue of him stands on Princes Street in Edinburgh.

Photographed by Ross and Thomson of Edinburgh.