James Bonar (philanthropist)

[4] In 1830 he became an elder in Lady Glenorchy's Church in central Edinburgh, which was his whole family's place of worship.

[6] Bonar also started adopting several other religious and philanthropic roles including the Edinburgh City Mission (trying to bring the poor back to the church), the Edinburgh Orphan Hospital (located next to Lady Glenorchy's Church), and the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge in the Highlands and Islands.

He was a director of the Edinburgh and Leith Seaman's Friend Society almost from its commencement in 1820 and held the office of secretary until he died.

[4] In 1860 he was living alone at 15 York Place, Edinburgh, a ground floor and basement duplex within a Georgian tenement.

He lived here for the rest of his life but also had a country residence in Juniper Green in the south-west outskirts of Edinburgh where he died on 11 July 1867.

The frontage of Lady Glenorchy's Free Church is now incorporated into the hotel element of the Omni Centre in Edinburgh.

Paterson's Court was demolished in 1938 to allow redevelopment as Council housing by the city architect, Ebenezer James MacRae.

His older sister Margaret Bonar (1796–1869) married his business colleague Andrew Tawse WS (1788–1851).