Overview of Rev. John Thomson

"Jock Tamson's Bairns", Old Church Lane, Duddingston
©2013 Gazetteer for Scotland

Minister at Duddingston and artist. Born at Dailly (South Ayrshire), where he was minister (1800), before moving to become the most famous minister of Duddingston Kirk (1808 - 1840). Perhaps best remembered in the expression "We're all Jock Tamson's Bairns".

Thomson was a noted landscape artist, one of the first in Scotland, and although always acclaiming his amateur status, his painting gave him significant wealth.

The Thomson Tower on the side of Duddingston Loch was his studio, and where the rules of the game of Curling were committed to paper. He was a friend of Sir Walter Scott (1771 - 1832), who was an elder at Duddingston Kirk.