Coming from virtue

This was another busy, wet, day short on opportunities. I made a short detour to take this shot of the coat of arms at the entrance to Overtoun House, near Dumbarton.

The motto says virtute parta, coming from virtue. However, the money to build the huge nineteenth century Scots-Baronial house and beautiful landscaped grounds didn't come from virtue, but from the chemical company J & J White. James White began the building, and his son John White, 1st Lord Overtoun, finished it. J&J White operated in Shawfield, near Glasgow for over 140 years, until 1967, and was the cause of extensive and dangerous land contamination in Shawfield, Rutherglen and Oatlands.

Millions of pounds of public money have been spent on decontamination, which is not yet complete.