Tigh-na-mara [????- ]

When I was a little girl, Tigh-Na-Mara belonged to my godparents Jack and Dot MacGregor.  I spent many, many weekends there.

((Admin: Adrienne replied to this question from user 'Compradore' on another thread. I've moved it over here.

Adrienne, did your godfather Jack MacGregor retire and leave Hong Kong after the sale of Caldbeck MacGregor to Anglo-Thai in 1967? 

From another post on this site, it seems Mr. MacGregor once owned the house at 28 Barker Road and sold it to Wheelock Marden, who built Knightsbridge Court around 1965.  Did you also visit that house on Barker Road?

I presume Tigh-na-mara was their weekend retreat.  The only detailed info I found about Mr. MacGregor was that he drove a Jaguar and had an incident with a cyclist outside of St. John's Cathedral. ))

I was born in Hong Kong in 1952.  In my memory, Jack and Dot Macgregor always lived at Tigh-Na-Mara and throughout my whole childhood, we visited them very often.  Dot had about eight dachshounds and Jack, a very ill-tempered dalmation called Triona.  There was even a doggy graveyard in the garden.  The Christmas parties were legendary, the serving boys all dressed in long white gowns and blue belts.  I received fabulous presents from them.  Jack did in fact own a Jaguar and Dot had an enormous Cadillac with a silver eagle on the bonnet and a chauffeur.  Dot became very ill and died and Jack also died in Hong Kong I am sure before 1967 but I do not know exactly when. I only remember he was still in the house alone being taken care of by a Chinese nurse.  Poor soul, I really liked him.

When I visited my godparents, there was no gate installed at the beginning of the drive.  If my memory is correct, there was an extension at that side which I believe to have been the servants quarters and it was not two storey.

The Macgregors must have been very old friends of my parents.  It is possible, they had the house built - on the day of my christening at St. John's Cathedral, I have an old photo of my dad carrying me in his arms to a car in the front yard of Tigh-na-mara.  This was in 1953.  I do not know Keith Macgregor personally.  A few years ago, I went to a Hong Kong reunion in London and I believe he was also present.  I have very fond memories of my godparents and of Tigh-na-mara.  It was a beautiful house with an extraordinary atmosphere, kind of wild and lonely.  I further remember croquet games on the lawn.  Auntie Dot had blue hair and a fabulous collection of Venetian glas animals on a table - fascinating for the little girl I was at that time.  Uncle Jack collected wind-up toys!  Very often I was the only child present and I spent hours wandering around the garden and had good friends among the servants!  Happy, happy memories.

Bought over by the Hui's family since 1977

Their graves in HK Cemetery

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

DOROTHY ANNETTE SHELTON MACGREGOR

DEPARTED HIS(type of her?) LIFE

6TH JUNE 1965

AGED 76

AND HER BELOVED HUSBAND

JOHN FARRAR MACGREGOR

DIED 30TH SEPT 1968

AGED 82 YEARS

"TOGETHER AGAIN"

https://www.hkmemory.hk/MHK/collections/hong_kong_cemetery/all_items/933...