Grisell Baillie was born at her family home, Mellerstain House in the Scottish Borders, on 4 April 1822, and baptised on 6 June 1822.

On Sundays, they left the house at 9.30am and went to the church to teach, pray and sing with the children (Lady Grisell was a fine singer) and stayed for services, returning home at 3pm.

She carried out philanthropic work, providing a water supply for Newtown St Boswells and restoring a bridge over the River Tweed after flood damage.

[3] Shortly before her mother's death in 1865, Grisell's brother Admiral Thomas Baillie had retired and lived with them at Dryburgh.

Major Robert died in 1888 and such was her love and respect for him that she had the Baillie Hall in Newtown St. Boswells erected in his memory.

[1] In November 1891 she attended the first conference of the Women's Guild in Edinburgh where she was the main speaker and presided over the morning session.

Not content with daily visits to the sick, teaching in Sunday School, the holding of meetings for young women, the organizing of bazaars to support foreign missions and so forth; she also provided a water supply for the village of St Boswells at her own expense and paid for the building of a new bridge across the Tweed.’[1] Lady Grisell also had two half siblings: