Dunecht estate office armorial plaque Location: Facing the road on the North side of the A944 in the centre of the village opposite to the junction with the road to Echt the B977 OS Map Reference: NJ 753 091 Date: Description: A large, curious and very imposing armorial plaque on the wall of the estate office in 1920s style. The supporters are particularly unusual they are on the dexter side a man in a diving suit, and on the sinister side a figure in sandals and a fringed poncho intended as a Mexican paeon. These are the arms of Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray and MP ( born July 15, 1856, Shelley Woodhouse, Yorkshire, Eng. died May 1, 1927, Dunecht House, Aberdeen, Scot.) who became the sixth richest man in Britain out of the huge wealth he made from exploiting Mexico's first oil production under the dictator Porfirio Diaz. His extensive interests in Mexico, from construction of railways, dams, harbours and tunnels to mining and manufacturing, from rural estates (on the eve of the Mexican Revolution in 1910 Pearson's Mexican Estates Company controlled well over a million acres of land) to his ownership of the 'El Aguila' oil company, meant that he was so often absent from the House of Commons that he earned the nickname 'The Member for Mexico'. Related Information: Dunecht Estates are owned by the Hon Charles Pearson, the youngest son of the late Viscount Cowdray. The estates are spread over 53,000 acres in Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire and are managed from Dunecht village. Business interests are diverse, with land ranging from Dunnottar Castle Estate (including the castle) on the coast at Stonehaven to Edinglassie Estate in the Cairngorms National Park. Enterprises include in-hand farming, let farms, let houses, commercial property lets, forestry, minerals, field sports and tourism. Era: 1900s Settlement: Dunecht Town: County: Aberdeenshire Information Source: http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/index.php?one=azt&two=pla&id=139 "Cowdray, Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. 8 May 2006 . Related Artefacts: Categories: Town Crosses, Fountains, Armorial, etc. Iconography: heraldic motifs mythical or heraldic beast sun human figure crown Creator: External Links: