The Dean's House, Dunblane

This is the Dean’s House in the High Street in Dunblane, which was built in 1624 by my enterprising eight times great-grandfather, The Reverend James Pearson, M.A., who made quite a lot of money whilst enjoying his appointment as Dean of Dunblane Cathedral in the Church of Scotland.

James Pearson’s coat of arms was carved on an oak plaque that is still affixed to one of the stalls in the Cathedral, among the only remnants of ancient ecclesiastical furniture that survived the Reformation in Scotland. The Dean’s arms are also carved on the outside of the Dean’s House.

Dean Pearson brought a successful civil suit against James Kinross of Kippenross for arrears of the vicarage dues, and, with the proceeds, in 1646, built a comfortable house over the ancient tower of Kippenross, which was gradually extended until our ancestor William Pearson lost the freehold in a game of dice or cards.

The Dean came by the land, and the barony, because Helen, “Ladie Kippenross,” the sole surviving daughter and heir of the previous laird, Sir James Cheisholme of Cromlix, was the childless wife of Mrs. Pearson’s brother David.

This cosy arrangement was formalized by a charter signed by King Charles I at Edinburgh on November 9, 1633.