page_title: Mitchell's Hospital Old Aberdeen
section_title: David Mitchell
hierarchical_section_title: Mitchell's Hospital Old Aberdeen / History / David Mitchell
caption_attribution_description: English: The Cathedral Church of St Machar, Old Aberdeen - - burial site for the Mitchell family ( David, Alexander and Mary are buried in Crayford Kernt)
context_page_description: Mitchell's Hospital, Old Aberdeen, in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, was founded by the philanthropist David Mitchell in 1801 as follows: " .. from a regard for the inhabitants of the city of Old Aberdeen and its ancient college and a desire in these severe times to provide lodging, maintenance and clothing for a few aged relicks and maiden daughters of decayed gentlemen merchants or trade burgesses of the said city.. ". See the text of the 1801 Mortification or the conditions of the endowment. The Hospital is owned and managed by the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen City Council and the Cathedral Church of St Machar in Old Aberdeen. The origins of the Hospital are due to various attempts by the Incorporated Trades and Merchants in Old Aberdeen to provide a "care home" for their elderly and infirm members and their "relicks".
  From 1801 until the beginning of the twentieth century, the hospital served as a refuge for "relicks" of Old Aberdeen Trade Burgesses. Mitchell's mortification laid down very specific conditions for eligibility. One of which gave preference in selecting residents to those who had the name "Mitchell".
context_section_description: David Mitchell came from a large family in Old Aberdeen. He had nine brothers and sisters.  There is a record of his baptism on 24 September 1731. His father was Robert Mitchell, possibly a vintner and his mother was Christian Forbes.  He studied at Marischal College in Aberdeen from 1748, graduating in 1752. It appears that he was the only member of the family who studied at either Kings or Marischal Colleges. For almost fifty years very little more is known about him. It is not until he intimates his wishes to found as hospital in Old Aberdeen that any secure record for him occurs.  It is likely he spent his life in Holloway Down in Essex and he owned what was then called Holloway Down Farm. The village of Holloway Down is now in the Leytonstone/Waltham Forrest district of London. It is probable that he was a Stock Broker. His other interests were in insurance and shipping. He was the owner of at least three ships that traded for the East India Company. Mitchell is recorded as investing £1,500, in 1797, to a Government "Loyalty Bond".  
  His brother Alexander came to London and worked for the East India Company as a ship's purser on Mitchell's ships. Alexander died in 1788. It is probable that Alexander had a son called Alexander and one daughter. David Mitchell's sister Mary came to live in London. The only record of her time there appears in an obituary from 1807.
  Curiously David didn’t leave a will. A sense of his standing comes from a public notice by an administrator selling his farm lists the farm as follows:
  
   
  
  'Lot 1 A very compact and desirable detached leasehold residence pleasantly situated on Holloway Down five miles from London on the road leading to Epping Forrest. The premises stand removed a short distance from the road with fore court; excellent pasture and kitchen gardens fully planted with fruit tress; and well cropped orchard and paddock; with comfortable cottage nearby adjoining; with coach house, stabling and lofts and various outbuildings, tack years etc.; well supplied with fine water comprising in the whole five acres with right of common. 
  Lot 2 A piece of copyhold land in front of the above on the opposite side of the road held of the Manor of Wanstead and Stonehall.
  While he did not own a large estate, he appears to have had a very comfortable life as a gentleman bachelor. Before he endowed the hospital, he acquired a family coat of arms. It is not clear how this happened as he adopted the arms of Mitchell of Craigend in Stirlingshire. He was not given any rights to have his own.  There is no known link between the Mitchell's of Old Aberdeen and the Stirlingshire family. It appears that David Mitchell adopted the Mitchell of Craigend coat of arms late in life – perhaps when he was thinking about his estate and legacy. 
  A further act of Mitchell's generosity was the endowment of six studentships to Marischal College in 1801. As a result of his endowments of the Hospital and Marischal, he was elected a Burgess of Old Aberdeen and "new" Aberdeen and granted an honorary LL D degree from Marischal College in 1801.
caption: The Cathedral Church of St Machar, Old Aberdeen - - burial site for the Mitchell family (David, Alexander and Mary are buried in Crayford Kent)
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