George Fletcher Boyle, 6th Earl of Glasgow (1825-1890) was the founder of the Cathedral of the Isles on Cumbrae.
Boyle lived for much of his life in Millport, on the Isle of Cumbrae, where his family owned large estates. He had become a follower of the Oxford Movement as a student in the 1840s and his contribution to the drive to rejuvenate the Episicopal Church was to found a theological college on the island. It was completed in 1851. In 1876 the collegiate church became the seat of the Bishop of the Isles, the smallest cathedral in the United Kingdom.
In 1869 Boyle succeeded his half-brother as Earl of Glasgow, a title created in 1703. Unfortunately, his church-building and other expensive habits resulted in the accumulation of huge debts and in 1888 some of the family estates had to be sold. He was buried at the Cathedral of the Isles.
Reference: Mitchell Library, 920.04BAI
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning
Keywords:
Cathedral of the Isles, Scottish Episcopal Church, theological colleges