CULTURE


Marion would now uphold his family name and reclaim the social status that his ancestors once held. Back in the 18th century the Burrells had been landed gentry in Northumberland until one of William’s forbears wantonly sacri- fi ced their family estate through gambling. At the height of the Industrial Revolution, that gambler’s impoverished grandson came north to forge his way in Scotland. This hard-strapped Burrell was Sir William’s grandfather who, together with his son, founded the company from which the collector’s success would ulti- mately grow. Her father’s overweening ambitions for her


meant that Marion was condemned to a miser- able childhood. So that she would become a fl uent linguist the child was reared fi rst by a French governess, and then by a hated German one while being banned from speaking any other language. Toys were permitted only one at a time and pocket money was forbidden because her father, having learned the merit of thrift, was determined that his wealth should never corrupt his daughter. This policy was destined to plague Marion’s life. Another of Burrell’s ambitions was his


desire for a castle to house his collection. The restoration of Hutton Castle in the Borders caused endless trouble so Marion was thank- ful to be sent off to a smart boarding school and then ‘fi nished’ in Paris where she acquired all the attributes necessary for an aristocratic marriage. No expense was spared and Marion played her part to the full: capti- vating, charming and vivacious, her entry to society was sensational. Burrell was an honest businessman who


‘Her father’s overweening ambitions for her meant that Marion was condemned to a miserable childhood’


Burrell fi rst found fame as a shipowner and having made his fortune in the world of commerce he became a leading collector in the world of fi ne arts. An autocrat who went his own way, he thought and acted differently from other men. Burrell’s daughter Marion, who would bear the stamp imprinted by her father, was also destined to be different. Marion encountered trouble as soon as she


was born because she was to be an only child. Not only did she fail to be the son her father desired to crown his success with a dynasty of celebrated Burrells but, to make matters worse, Marion’s birth was a traumatic event from which her mother’s health never fully recov- ered. Constance Burrell continued to ail and fret while her devoted husband spent the rest of his life cosseting and protecting her as her troubled mind became deranged against her daughter. Yet Marion was an undeniably talented girl,


and when the disappointed William fi nally perceived the potential in his only child, his ambitions knew no bounds. He ordained that


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never disguised his Glaswegian roots, but his daughter was groomed for life at the top. He lavished a fortune on two London Seasons while Marion enjoyed the social whirl and collected a host of friends. But, like her father, Burrell’s daughter had a mind of her own. After three broken engagements there was an almighty row when Marion fi nally rebelled against parental manipulation and vowed never to marry. Love did not elude her because there were


several clandestine affairs. Fearing a public scandal her suspicious parents tried to keep her at home without funds or transport. Believing himself badly let down by his only child, Burrell resolved to endow his huge collection to the City of Glasgow. Guests at Hutton Castle found Sir William a delightful and entertaining host as the neurotic Lady Burrell presided while devising schemes to punish their ungrateful daughter. When war broke out in 1939 Marion became


a volunteer nurse at Peel Hospital near Selkirk and lived there while tending wounded soldiers. No stranger to suffering, Marion brimmed with


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