Seasonal opening of Glover House

07/05/08

Glover House, the family home of Thomas Blake Glover, the North east’s greatest entrepreneur is set to open to the public for the summer on Friday, 9 May, 2008.

Aberdeen City Council will again manage the house on behalf of the Grampian Japan Trust this year, which has benefited from a grant from the Energising Aberdeen fund.

Jane Kidd, Development Officer, Glover House, said: “Now that the house is open, we are planning a wonderful summer full of family events and fun days at the house. Visitors will be able to explore the fantastic heritage and culture of Japan, which we hope will build on the great links that we in the Northeast already have with Japan. At the same time people will be able to experience at first hand, life in a Victorian Family House.”

Thomas Blake Glover (1838 -1911) was born the son of a coastguard in Fraserburgh, and was brought up in Aberdeen. He sailed to the far East at the age of 19, arriving in Nagasaki just as Japan was opening up for trade with the West. Glover took advantage of this and used his crucial position as an importer of modern Western technology and ideas to help the forward-looking Samurai clans overthrow the reactionary Shogun and restored the hereditary emperor, thus ushering in the modern Meiji era. He is also sometimes said to be the originator of the story of the opera Madame Butterfly by Puccini, and is greatly revered in Japan while he remains relatively unknown in his native country.

Opening hours:

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday:
10.30am to 12.30pm and 1.00pm to 4.30pm (last entry 4.00pm)
Sunday: the house will only be open once a month in the afternoon
Glover House will close for winter at the end of October.

The entry fee is £3.00 for adults and £2.00 for children/concessions.

For further information contact Jane Kidd on 01224 709301 or JaKidd@aberdeencity.gov.uk

ENDS

If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.