John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore

Governor of Virginia

1732 - 1809

"Gave orders to burn waterfront buildings in Norfolk from which patriot troops were firing on his ships"

The Countess of Dunmore acquired Colne Villa, in the Staines Road, in 1775, living there with her 7 children pending her husband’s return from Virginia where he had been Governor. After his death in 1809 she retained ownership of the house which was later inherited by her daughter Lady Virginia Murray until her death in 1841.

Dunmore Park

Dunmore’s more celebrated building is the Dunmore Pineapple, erected in Dunmore Park, Scotland, in 1761 and sometimes claimed to have been a wedding or birthday present to the Countess.