Revered in Japan but not so much in his native land, Thomas Blake Glover’s house in Aberdeen has been shut for more than a decade.
Located in Bridge of Don, the entrepreneur – best known for his role in the founding of a shipbuilding company that would later become Mitsubishi – was born in Fraserburgh.
Last year, the Aberdeenshire town unveiled a memorial garden and statue of the “Scottish Samurai” at his birthplace of 15 Commerce Street.
And in 2022, murals of Glover were painted on a pair of derelict buildings at the Toll of Birness.
However, despite the “love” for the Scottish merchant in Buchan, his legacy is not celebrated in Bridge of Don.
Located in the suburb’s Balgownie Road, the house is an asset of the Grampian-Japan Trust, with Aberdeen City Council being the sole shareholder of the company Glover House Trustees Ltd.
It has lain empty since closing to the public in 2012 and there are fears that it could become “another Westburn House”.
But it was not always like this, and used to be a museum.
The local authority told The P&J that the house is in “satisfactory condition” and added: “Essential maintenance, such as wind and watertight repairs are carried out, along with any health and safety works. It is secure with routine checks in place by council officers.”
Muriel Jaffrey, who served as a councillor in Bridge of Don from 1999 to 2017, explained more about the history of Glover’s family home.
“It was let to a couple with a teenage son and they lived happily there for years and years and years,” she said.
However no one lives there now and despite plans to transform it, the house is redundant.
This is unlike his home in the Japanese city of Nagasaki – where he moved to after the opening of its port to foreign trade in 1859 – which is located at Glover Garden.
The open air museum exhibits mansions of several of the city’s former foreign residents and related buildings where Western merchants settled down after the end of Japan’s era of seclusion in the second half of the 19th century.
Its main attraction is the Former Glover House – the oldest wooden Western-style building in Japan – with it being “ornately decorated” with furniture and appliances from that time.
Visitors can visit the buildings and explore the well-preserved rooms, witnessing the lifestyle of the figures – including Glover – who inhabited them, as well as go to the cafe and shop.
On the other hand, the house in Bridge of Don is currently bare, with the traditional (mainly) Japanese and Scottish furniture being removed “bit by bit” by Aberdeen City Council.
Mrs Jaffrey tells a story of when a delegation visited from Japan in 2018 to look round the house, it put the council in a bit of a “panic”.
“They had removed all the artefacts so they had to hurry and put it all back for the visitors to see round it,” she said.
Unclear future
Regarding plans for the historic home, the former councillor said: “They (council) intended letting the house out for functions. They thought that catering firms would come in and people could have a nice cozy dinner, for say 20 folk, but it fell through.
“I don’t really know what’s going to happen now.”
In 2014, a strategy was announced for the house to strengthen links between Japan and the north-east, as well as plans to renovate the property.
Nearly 10 years later though, the house lies empty.
Mrs Jaffrey added: “He was never recognised in Scotland like he was in Japan, they revere him over there.”
‘No decision’ on house’s future
A spokeswoman for Aberdeen City Council said: “No decision has yet been taken on the future of Glover House.”
VisitAberdeenshire chief executive Chris Foy added: “Thomas Blake Glover’s compelling story is a shining example of how sons and daughters of the north-east have made contribution to the wider world.
“His legacy is celebrated in Japan and any initiatives that further strengthen the region’s connections with an international audience is always welcomed.”
Conversation