3 The thousand-hour walk

Captain Barclay's most famous exploit took place between June 1 and July 12, 1809 at Newmarket, during which he walked 1 mile (1.6 km) in each of 1000 successive hours, to win an initial wager of 1000 guineas.

The enterprise quite caught the public imagination. The Times, which carried little in the way of general interest news, printed this report alongside an account of the campaigns of Marshal Soult in the Peninsular War ( July 14):

The gentleman on Wednesday completed his arduous pedestrian undertaking, to walk a thousand miles in a thousand successive hours, at the rate of a mile in each and every hour. He had until four o'clock P.M. to finish his task; but he performed his last mile in the quarter of an hour after three, with perfect ease and great spirit, amidst an immense concourse of spectators. The influx of company had so much increased on Sunday, that it was recommended that the ground should be roped in. To this, Captain Barclay at first objected; but the crowd became so great on Monday, and he had experienced so much interruption, that he was at last prevailed upon to allow this precaution to be taken. For the last two days he appeared in higher spirits, and performed his walk with apparently more ease, and in shorter time than he had done for some days before. With the change of the weather, he had thrown off his loose great coat, which he wore during the rainy period, and on Wednesday performed in a flannel jacket. He also put on shoes thicker than any which he had used in the earlier part of his performance. He said that during the first night after his walk he would have himself awaked twice or thrice, to avoid the danger of a too sudden transition from almost constant exertion to a state of long repose.

One hundred to one, and indeed any odds whatever, were offered on Wednesday; but so strong was the confidence in his success, that no bets could be obtained. The multitude of people who resorted to the scene of action, in the course of the concluding days, was unprecedented.—Not a bed could be procured on Tuesday night at Newmarket, Cambridge, or any of the towns and villages in the vicinity, and every horse and every species of vehicle was engaged. Among the Nobility and Gentry who witnessed the conclusion of this extraordinary feat, were:—

The Dukes of Argyle and St. Alban's ; Earls Grosvenor , Besborough and Jersey ; Lords Foley and Somerville; Sir John Lode, Sir F. Standish, &c. &c.

Capt Barclay had a large sum depending upon his undertaking. The aggregate of the bets is supposed to amount to £100,000.—He commenced his feat on the first of June.

During the 42 days of this exercise, his average time per mile increased from 14m 54s to 21m 4s, while his weight dropped from 13st 4lb (84.5 kg) to 11st (70 kg). If the report of the total wagers was accurate, they were equivalent to some £5 million ($US 8 million) in modern terms.

4 Army Career

Captain Barclay's rank was in the 23rd Regiment of Foot, which he joined in 1805. In 1809 he seved as aide-de-camp to the Marquess of Huntly on the ill-fated Walcheren campaign, starting out just 5 days after the completion of the 1000 mile feat.

5 Claims to titles

Captain Barclay claimed the Earldom of Airth, his lawyers claiming that this title could be inherited through the female line. The claim was rejected by the House of Lords in 1839. A similar claim to the Earldoms of Menteith and Strathearn was not pursued. A curious aside to the latter claim is that it would have implied that Captain Barclay was the rightful King of Scotland - a worthless claim at the time, of course.[1]

6 Descent of the title

Captain Barclay died in 1854, as a consequence of injuries from the kick of a horse. His only surviving child was a daughter who settled in America. The Lairdship of Ury, heritable only in the male line, passed to a third cousin, Charles Barclay, who lived in Surrey.

Allardice, Robert Barclay Allardice, Robert Barclay

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