Basic Biographical Details

Name:	John Arthur
Designation:	Architect
Born:	1866
Died:	10 July 1936
Bio Notes:	John Arthur was born the son of John Arthur, farmer at Barr, Ayrshire in 1866 and his wife Margaret Donald. He studied at Glasgow School of Art 1896-97 and was articled to John Mercer of Ayr, 1882-89, and moving thereafter to Burnet Son & Campbell and opting to join Campbell on the breakup of that partnership in 1897. He established his own practice in 1900, first with an office in Glasgow (131 West Regent Street, later 164 Bath Street) and then a branch in Kilmarnock (31 Rennie Street), his practice being very much Ayrshire and Renfrewshire-based and concerned with domestic, ecclesiastical, school and estate work. Like the apparently unrelated Airdrie architect, John Maurice Arthur, John Arthur became a Licentiate of the RIBA in the mass intake of 20 July 1911, his proposers being John Bennie Wilson and the Glasgow Institute of Architects as a body. Arthur married Elizabeth Smith McMillan. He was remembered in the Burnet office as being very able. His known works are very few but relatively large. He won the competition for Newton Park School, Ayr, but the commission was given to the Ayr architect, H V Eaglesham. He did, however, secure the competition for Marr College at Troon in 1919. Work on the main building did not begin until the late 1920s and the Kilmarnock office does not seem to have been re-opened after the First World War. By the late 1920s he had merged his practice with that of Alan George MacNaughtan as Arthur & MacNaughtan. They won the competition for Glasgow University Students Union with a Burnetian Scots Renaissance design in 1929. Arthur died at 5 Springvale Park, Ayr on 10 July 1936 of a cerebral haemorrhage. At that date Marr College was still incomplete and it fell to MacNaughtan to finish it.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this architect:
	Address	Type	Date from	Date to	Notes
	131, West Regent Street, Glasgow, Scotland	Business	1900	1913
	31, Rennie Street, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland	Private	1909 *	1911
	137, West Regent Street, Glasgow, Scotland	Business	1914	1919
	Northfield, Barassie, Ayrshire, Scotland	Private	1920	1931
	164, Bath Street, Glasgow, Scotland	Business	1921	1936(?)

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this architect (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	John Mercer	1882	1889	Apprentice
	Burnet Son & Campbell	1889	1897	Assistant	finally head assistant; joined Campbell when partnership broke up.
	John Archibald Campbell	1897	1900	Chief Assistant
	Arthur & MacNaughtan	1920s	1935	Partner

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this architect (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	John Stirling Jarvie	1902 or 1903	1903	Assistant
	John Wilson Wood	1906		Assistant

RIBA

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this architect for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date proposed	Notes
	John Bennie Wilson	20 July 1911	for Licentiateship - as President of the Glasgow Institute of Architects

Buildings and Designs

This architect was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
	Date started	Building name	Town, district or village	Island	City or county	Country	Notes
		Country Life cottages competition					Won second prize.
		Feuing scheme survey, Gallanach	Oban		Argyll	Scotland	As assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell (if pre-1897) or to Campbell alone (if post-1897) - date not known
		Glebe School			Renfrewshire	Scotland	Date not known
		Hospital, Glengall	Ayr		Ayrshire	Scotland	Date uncertain
	1889	Charing Cross Mansions and shops			Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell
	After 1889	Western Infirmary			Glasgow	Scotland	Nurses' pavilion, steam laundry, pathological institute and operating theatre - as assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell
	After 1890(?)	Renfrew Municipal Buildings (Town Hall)	Renfrew		Renfrewshire	Scotland	Alterations
	1891	Athenaeum			Glasgow	Scotland	Extension facing Buchanan Street - as assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell
	1892	Cathedral Court, workmen's housing			Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell
	1894	Princes Dock and hydraulic power station	Queen's Dock/Cessnock Dock		Glasgow	Scotland	Hydraulic power station - as assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell
	1896	Albany Chambers and shops	Charing Cross		Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant - not known whether he continued to work on this project after Burnet Son & Campbell had split
	1896	Black's warehouse			Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant to Burnet Son & Campbell. Reconstruction as R W Forsyth's Store
	1897	Darlington Place UP Church	Ayr		Ayrshire	Scotland	Additions
	1897	Dawyck House	Broughton (near)		Peeblesshire	Scotland	Large addition - as assistant to John Archibald Campbell
	1898	Britannia Assurance Building			Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant to John Archibald Campbell
	After 1900	Montgreenan Mansion and estate			Ayrshire	Scotland	Additions and alterations to mansion, and estate work
	1902	Newton Park School	Ayr		Ayrshire	Scotland	Placed first in competition but John Eaglesham got the job as highest placed Ayr architect
	1903	Renfrew Parish Church Halls	Renfrew		Renfrewshire	Scotland	Won competition and secured job
	c. 1905	City Improvement Trust tenements, Cumbernauld Road			Glasgow	Scotland	Placed 2nd in competition - in collaboration with Stewart & Paterson
	1908	Renfrew High School	Renfrew		Renfrewshire	Scotland
	1913	Village Hall	Barr		Ayrshire	Scotland
	1913	Village Institute and Library	Barr		Ayrshire	Scotland
	1919	Local Government Board competition, design for a tenement				Scotland	Design for tenement exhibited
	1919	Local Government Board competition, rural cottage				Scotland	Design placed first
	1919	Marr College	Troon		Ayrshire	Scotland	Won competition to secure job. Completed in partnership with Alan George McNaughtan
	c. 1928	Marr College	Troon		Ayrshire	Scotland	Completed in partnership with Alan George MacNaughtan
	1929	University of Glasgow Students Union			Glasgow	Scotland	Won competition and secured job - With Alan G McNaughton
	1932	House for D F Nicol	Bearsden		Glasgow	Scotland
	1932	Inverness High School	Inverness		Inverness-shire	Scotland	Placed second in competition

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this architect:
	Author(s)	Date	Title	Part	Publisher	Notes
	Close, Robert	1992	Ayrshire and Arran, an Illustrated Architectural Guide		Edinburgh: RIAS	Biography

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this architect:
	Periodical Name	Date	Edition	Publisher	Notes
	RIBA Journal	8 November 1937	v45	London: Royal Institute of British Architects	p48 - obituary

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this architect:
	Source	Archive Name	Source Catalogue No.	Notes
	RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum	RIBA Nomination Papers		L v16 no1100; also papers of Harry Hubbard (A v24 no2731 (microfilm reel 23) - declaration witnessed by Arthur

Images

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