John Crerar (gamekeeper)

This article is about the gamekeeper to the Duke of Atholl. For other uses, see John Crerar.

John Crerar
John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl and his game keeper John Crerar (Edwin Henry Landseer)
Born29 May 1749
Perthshire
Died1 March 1840
Dunkeld
NationalityScottish
OccupationGamekeeper
Known forGamekeeper to the Duke of Atholl
Composer

John Crerar was the gamekeeper to the Duke of Atholl. He entered the service of the Duke in 1776, succeeding his father, Alexander Crerar,[1] and remained an employee for more than sixty years.[2] He is pictured in several paintings by Edwin Landseer, including The Death of a Stag at Glen Tilt and The Keeper John Crerar with his Pony.

He was an accomplished fiddler and composer and was a contemporary and pupil of Niel Gow, and his composition The Marquis of Tullibardine is still popular today.[3][4]

He is alleged to have landed a 72 lb Salmon at Ferryhaugh, north of Dunkeld, 8 lbs heavier than the official record.[5]

  1. ^ Wilson, James (1841), The Rod and the Gun, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black
  2. ^ Scrope, William (1839), The Art of Deer Stalking, London: John Murray, retrieved 12 October 2010
  3. ^ "Fiddling with the bill at Niel Gow", The Scotsman, 18 March 2009, retrieved 12 October 2010
  4. ^ "Inver and Other Wielders of the Bow", Visit Dunkeld, retrieved 12 October 2010
  5. ^ "What a Whopper", Scotland on Sunday, 5 January 2008, retrieved 12 October 2010