John Howie (businessman)

He would have been about 350th on a national Rich List of Britain at the time, with a fortune equal to over £200 million today.

Born the son of William Howie, and his second cousin Margaret Howie, Howie joined the family firm and quickly established it as one of the foremost fireclay works in Britain (later bought by Armitage Shanks), producing a huge range of items from bricks, sanitary ware such as toilets and baths, drainage materials, feeding dishes and troughs, chimneys and garden ornaments.

J & R Howie continued to operate under the National Coal Board, and still exists legally as a company today, though it is currently dormant and non-trading.

Howie's son, Frederick, bought Templetonburn House, one of Aryshire's finest mansions built at a cost of £20,000, before burning down later in the 20th century, and its estate.

Upon his death in 1895, he had amassed a fortune of £50,000, equivalent to over £100 million today (relative GDP).