Robert Barclay Allardice of Ury, generally known as Captain Barclay, was a notable Scottish walker of the early 19th century, known as the celebrated pedestrian. His most famous feat was the walking of 1000 miles in 1000 hours for 1000 guineas in 1809. He is considered the father of the 19th century sport of pedestrianism, a precursor to racewalking. He should not be confused with his father, who had assumed the name Robert Barclay Allardice, who undertook the first redevelopment of the town of Stonehaven.
Family
Robert Barclay Allardice was a member of an ancient Scottish family, and the great-grandson of Robert Barclay, 2nd of Ury, who published in 1678 a noted Apology for the Quaker faith. The family which founded Barclays Bank were descended from this 2nd Laird. Captain Barclay's father was Robert Barclay, 5th of Ury, MP for Kincardineshire from 1788. The MP was descended via his mother, Une, daughter of Ewen Cameron of Lochiel from Clan Cameron. The 5th laird's first wife was Lucy, daughter of David Barclay of Cheapside, a wealthy London merchant. She died in childbirth, leaving a daughter, also Lucy, who married Samuel Galton Jr. of the Lunar Society. Robert Senior remarried many years later, in 1776, Sarah Ann Allardice, a descendant of Robert II of Scotland and of the Earls of Airth, Menteith and Strathearn. In recognition of the nobility of his wife's family, Robert Barclay thenceforth took the surname of Allardice. Robert Barclay Allardice, the subject of this article, was born the year after the marriage. Several siblings followed. Several of the Barclay family were noted for unusual strength. The first Laird of Ury was reputed one of the strongest men in the country at the time of the English Civil War, and Robert Barclay Allardice senior was himself a noted pedestrian, who once walked 510 miles from Ury to London in 10 days. Captain Barclay made his home at Fritwell Manor in Oxfordshire.
Feats of Pedestrianism
In 1801 Captain Barclay walked 110 miles in in a muddy park
In 1802 walked 64 miles in 10 hours
In 1805 walked 72 miles between breakfast and dinner
In 1806 walked 100 miles over bad roads in 19 hours
In 1807 78 miles on hilly roads in 14 hours
The thousand-hour walk
Captain Barclay's most famous exploit took place between 1 June and 12 July 1809 at Newmarket, during which he walked 1 mile in each of 1000 successive hours, to win an initial wager of 1000 guineas. The enterprise quite caught the public imagination. The Times, which carried little in the way of general interest news, printed this report alongside an account of the campaigns of Marshal Soult in the Peninsular War : During the 42 days of this exercise, his time per mile increased , while his weight dropped . If the report of the total wagers was accurate, they were equivalent to some £5 million in modern terms. The first woman to successfully emulate his feat was Emma Sharp.
Financial backer and trainer of boxers
In addition to walking, Captain Barclay was active in the financial backing and training of bare-knuckle fighters. The most celebrated fighters that he trained were Tom Molineaux and Tom Cribb,.
Army career
Captain Barclay's rank was in the 23rd Regiment of Foot, which he joined in 1805. In 1809 he served as aide-de-camp to the Marquess of Huntly on the ill-fated Walcheren Campaign, starting out just 5 days after the completion of the 1000-mile feat.
Claims to titles
Captain Barclay claimed the Earldom of Airth, his lawyers claiming that this title could be inherited through the female line. The claim was rejected by the House of Lords in 1839. A similar claim to the Earldoms of Menteith and Strathearn was not pursued. A curious aside to the latter claim is that it would have implied that Captain Barclay was the rightful King of Scotland.
Descent of the title
Captain Barclay died in 1854, as a consequence of 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 re-settled in Great Britain and retired to Cornwall with her eldest son, also a Robert Barclay-Allardice. This Robert Barclay-Allardice married and had one daughter, Mary Graham Barclay-Allardice, whose descendants live in Gloucestershire and Hampshire. The Lairdship of Ury, heritable only in the male line, passed to a third cousin, Charles Barclay, who lived in Surrey.
