Basic Biographical Details Name: | Robert Weir Schultz | Designation: | | Born: | 26 July 1860 | Died: | 29 April 1951 | Bio Notes: | Robert Weir Schultz was born in Port Glasgow on 26 July 1860, the son of Henry Schultz, sugar refiner, and Isabella Smail Weir, youngest daughter of Robert Weir, a physician in Galashiels, where Charles William Schultz was a woollen cloth merchant: the Schultz family had settled in Scotland from Braunschweig in Germany some ten years earlier. Henry Schultz died in 1863 and his son Robert was sent to Galashiels to be brought up by Isabella's elder sister Jane, the wife of Alexander Cunningham Tweedie, also a physician at 43 High Street, Galashiels.
In his youth Schultz was very tall and red-haired. Around 1876 he was articled to Robert Rowand Anderson, attending morning classes at the Watt Institute. Schultz completed his articles with Anderson, subsequently joined by George Washington Browne and by Hew M Wardrop, in 1883, a period during which he may have come to the notice of the 3rd Marquess of Bute when engaged on Mount Stuart. After about a year with Anderson as an assistant, Schultz obtained a letter of introduction to Richard Norman Shaw, probably from Anderson's friend David MacGibbon, and he entered Shaw's office on 15 January 1884. His arrival there coincided with the foundation of the Art Workers' Guild, amongst whose founders were Shaw's assistants or former assistants Edward Schroeder Prior, Mervyn Macartney, Ernest Newton and William Richard Lethaby, all of whose work was to have an influence on Schultz's.
In the following year he became acquainted with Sidney Barnsley, who had joined Shaw's office in that year, and his brother Ernest who was an assistant in John Dando Sedding's office, in turn leading to acquaintance with Ernest Gimson, also in Sedding's office. In 1886 Schultz moved to the office of Sir Ernest George and Harold Ainsworth Peto, where he became acquainted with Herbert Baker, E Guy Dawber and Edwin Landseer Lutyens. During his period with Shaw and with Ernest George & Peto, from 1885 onwards, Schultz studied at the RA Schools, and there he renewed acquaintance with his life-long friend Francis William Troup, whom he had known in Anderson's office.
In December 1887 Schultz won the RA Gold Medal and Travelling Studentship, the subject being a railway terminus, and on Lethaby's advice Schultz left for Greece and the Near East early in 1888, stopping en route for the summer in Italy to sketch first in Venice and its environs (including Murano, Torcello and Padua), and then in Florence, Perugia and Rome. In the following year Schultz revisited Greece with Sidney Barnsley and became a member of the British School at Athens, which made a grant for further study from funds subscribed by, among others, the Marquess of Bute and Dr Edwin Freshfield. Their studies subsequently led to 'The Monastery of St Luke of Stiris in Phocis', the publication of which in 1901 was financed by Freshfield.
Schultz and Barnsley returned to London in November 1890 and set up offices in 1891 at 14 Gray's Inn Square, adjacent to Troup's premises, Schultz having previously been based at 9 Hart Street. In that same year Schultz joined the Art Workers' Guild and secured his first important client, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, who had reviewed the results of his studies on 4 January 1889.
Schultz retained the confidence of the 4th Marquess of Bute after the death of the 3rd Marquess in 1900, and his practice was to remain prosperous for the next decade and a half. Among his assistants in those years were Frank Charles Mears, John Greaves later of Lutyens' office, and another two called Guthrie and Pechell.
In 1912 Schultz married Thyra Macdonald, their house being an extended barn on land he owned at Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, but shortly before the First World War Schultz offended the Marquess by preferring to show what were probably rather large drawings in his office rather than bringing them to his house, St John's Lodge, and after war broke out in August 1914 Schultz found it necessary to add another Weir (his mother's maiden name) to his name to avoid his wife, a local JP and Councillor, suffering from expressions of anti-German feeling; he was known thereafter as Robert S Weir. From the early 1920s Weir was assisted by Alwyn B Waters and R H W Richardson, but after Waters left in 1930 he employed no assistants of any kind and at or about the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 he closed his practice completely, Troup's office completing any work in hand, and sent his papers and drawings for salvage.
Schultz died at The Barn on 29 April 1951 and was buried in the churchyard of St Mary Hartley Wintney, close to the graves of Lethaby and Sir Ambrose Heal. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 9, Hart Street, London, England | Private/business | | 1891 | | | 43, High Street, Galashiels, Selkirkshire, Scotland | Private | 1863 | | | | 14, Gray's Inn Square, London, England | Private | 1891 | | | | The Barn, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, England | Private | 1912 | | |
Employment and TrainingEmployersEmployees or Pupils
Buildings and DesignsThis 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 | | 1884 | St Sophia's RC Church and presbytery house | Galston | | Ayrshire | Scotland | As assistant to Anderson may have had a hand in the design. | | 1890 | House of Falkland | Falkland | | Fife | Scotland | Major alterations (see 'Event' for full list - Weir Schultz responsible for all work within this timeframe) | | 1892 | Dumfries House, New Chiswick | | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Proposals | | 1892 | St John's Lodge, Regent's Park | Regent's Park | | London | England | Chapel and associated library; gardens; stairhall ceiling; and subterranean chapel in grounds | | 1894 | Brunton House | Falkland | | Fife | | | | 1895 | Dumfries House | Cumnock (near) | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Major additions and alterations (see 'Event' for full list) | | 1895 | Falkland Palace | Falkland | | Fife | Scotland | Unspecified work | | 1895 | Kirkbride Chapel | | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Survey and proposed repairs (unexecuted) | | 1895 | Loudoun Old Parish Church | Galston | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Restoration schemes: only partially carried out (choir altered, new ceiling made, stone table placed against east wall, and burial vault reconstructed) | | 1895 | Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Tables for Lady Bute's bedroom | | 1895 | Proposed cottages | Kerrycroy | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Unexecuted designs | | 1895 | Rothesay RC School | Rothesay | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Addition - prefabricated iron to match original school | | 1895 | Sanquhar Castle | Sanquhar | | Dumfriesshire | Scotland | Rebuilding from ruins (with bonding course of red tiles between old and new work) | | 1895 | St Elizabeth's House | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Designs for additions (unexecuted) | | 1895 | Wester Kames Tower | | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Rebuilding from ruins, and subsequent furnishing | | 1896 | House of Falkland, bridge over Maspie Burn | Falkland | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1896 | House of Falkland, Curling Clubhouse | Falkland | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1896 | Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Furniture for Lord Dumfries's bedroom | | 1896 | Old Cumnock Parish Church | Cumnock | | Ayrshire | Scotland | New chairs for Bute loft | | 1896 | Sanquhar Old Church | Sanquhar | | Dumfriesshire | Scotland | Excavations and raising of walls | | 1896 | St Blane's Church | Kingarth | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Repairs and stabilising of ruins (supervised by Mortimer Pechell) and boundary wall | | 1896 | The Garrison | Millport | Great Cumbrae | Bute | Scotland | Alterations to chapel in stable block; internal alterations to house, extension of upper floor, and refitting of library, terraces and sunken garden; proposed new chapel | | 1897 | Cottage at Welwyn Rectory | Welwyn | | Hertfordshire | England | | | 1897 | Crossraguel Abbey | Maybole | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Proposed repairs (unexecuted) | | 1897 | Hillside | Welwyn | | Hertfordshire | England | Alterations | | 1897 | Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Marble steps to bowling green | | 1897 | Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Stamped leather for library | | 1898 | Church of St Michael and All Angels | Woolmer Green | | Hertfordshire | England | | | 1898 | Mauchline Castle | Mauchline | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Proposed repairs (unexecuted) | | 1898 | Mount Stuart, Scoulag Lodge | Scoulag | Bute | Bute | Scotland | | | 1898 | St John's RC Church | Cumnock | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Addition of shrines (made in Cardiff workshops) and installation of electric light and fittings | | 1898 | West Green House | Hartley Wintney | | Hampshire | England | Alterations | | c. 1898 | St Margaret's | | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Alterations | | c. 1898 | The Croft | Hartley Wintney | | Hampshire | England | | | 1899 | Cottage | Bruchag | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Two-storey design, superceded by one-storey design - both apparently unexecuted | | 1899 | Inholmes | Hartley Wintney | | Hampshire | England | | | 1899 | Scalers Hill | Cobham | | Kent | England | | | 1900 | Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Frieze of herons for library | | 1900 | Old Church, Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | New mortuary chamber for 3rd Marquess of Bute. Also Crucifix at Racer's Burn, subsequently broken and not reinstated. | | 1900 | Stobhill Hospital | Springburn | | Glasgow | Scotland | First premiated competition design in collaboration with Edward Page Howard (£200 premium), but lost commission to Thomson & Sandilands (possibly due to cost) | | 1901 | Tylney Hall | Rotherwick | | Hampshire | England | Gardens laid out and water tower and farm cottages built | | 1902 | House for David W Shaw | Ayr | | Ayrshire | Scotland | | | 1902 | Old Place of Mochrum | | | Wigtownshire | Scotland | Courtyard and addition of wellhead and sundial; walled garden; alterations and remodelling of interior (with furniture made at Cardiff workshops and by Gimson and the Barnsleys at Pinbury). Also dam, power house, garden works etc carried out. Proposals for new lodge not carried out. | | 1902 | Pickenham Hall | Swaffham (near) | | Norfolk | England | Extensive rebuilding and enlargement, incorporating previous house | | 1902 | The Lodge | Felixstowe | | Suffolk | England | Terraced gardens laid out | | 1903 | Beaumonts, Four Elms | Edenbridge (near) | | Kent | England | | | 1903 | Holloway Sanatorium | Virginia Water | | Surrey | England | Various additions, as official architect to the Sanatorium following design competition for Male Infirmary in 1903 (see Event for details of work) | | 1904 | Archbishop's Chapel | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | New building, incorporating William Frame's interior work from the House of Falkland chapel. Designed prie-deu. | | 1904 | Cardiff University Settlement | East Moors | | Cardiff | Wales | | | 1904 | Falkland Palace | Falkland | | Fife | Scotland | Chapel: altar, retable, footpace, credence table, and hanging of tapestries | | 1904 | How Green House | Hever (near) | | Kent | England | | | 1904 | RC Church of St Andrew, Barone Road | Rothesay | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Designs (unexecuted) | | 1905 | Mount Stuart | Rothesay (near) | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Furniture for Great Bedroom | | c. 1905 | Village Hall | Shorne | | Kent | England | | | 1906 | Bute Estate, designs for single and double houses for prospective feuars | | Bute | Bute | Scotland | | | 1906 | Cottages | Sproughton | | Suffolk | England | | | 1906 | Cottages | Hadleigh | | Suffolk | England | | | 1906 | Hill Cottage | Eversley | | Hampshire | England | | | 1906 | Khartoum Cathedral | | | Khartoum | Sudan | With John Latimer of Dumfries as Clerk of Works | | 1907 | Boys' and Girls' Homes and School | Chalfont St Peter | | Buckinghamshire | England | | | 1907 | Knockenhair House and gatelodge | Dunbar | | East Lothian | Scotland | | | 1907 | Pipers Field | Winchester | | Hampshire | England | | | 1907 | Rothesay Museum | Rothesay | Bute | Bute | Scotland | Bookcases (made in Cardiff workshops) | | c. 1907 | Mayfield, Phoenix Green | Hartley Wintney | | Hampshire | England | | | 1908 | Altar for relics, for unspecified chapel in St Andrews | St Andrews | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1909 | Kirtling House | Winchester | | Hampshire | England | | | 1909 | Puttenham Rectory | Puttenham | | Surrey | England | | | 1909 | St Ann's Hospital, Canford Cliffs | Bournemouth | | Hampshire | England | | | 1910 | Lowood | Cramond Bridge | | Edinburgh (near) | Scotland | | | 1910 | Westminster Cathedral | Westminster | | London | England | Fitting out of Chapel of St Andrew and the Saints of Scotland (with marble by Farmer & Brindley, metalwork by W Bainbridge Reynolds, sculpture by J Stirling Lee, mosaic by Gaetano Meo and Sir Ernest Debenham's mosaic workers, and furnishings by E Gimson) | | 1911 | Cottesbrooke Hall | | | Northamptonshire | England | Internal reconstruction and renovation | | 1911 | Holly Brake | Petersfield | | Hampshire | England | | | 1912 | Old Place of Mochrum | | | Wigtownshire | Scotland | Further alterations and remodelling of interior (with furniture made at Cardiff workshops and by Gimson and the Barnsleys at Pinbury) | | 1912 | Shepherd's Corner | Ascot | | Berkshire | England | | | 1912 | The Barn, Phoenix Green | Hartley Wintney | | Hampshire | England | Reconstruction and extension of two old barns to form house for himself | | 1913 | Mausoleum, South Mimms Churchyard | South Mimms | | Hertfordshire | England | | | c. 1917 | Garden Village, Gretna | Gretna Green | | Dumfriesshire | Scotland | Some housing | | 1919 | Proposed Pantheon of the Five Dominions, Regent's Park | Regent's Park | | London | England | | | 1919 | Sandon Park | | | Yorkshire | England | Internal reconstruction and renovation | | 1920 | Netherton Hall | | | | | Internal reconstruction and renovation | | 1923 | Westminster Cathedral | Westminster | | London | England | Chapel of St Andrew: repair and cleaning of marble and mosaics, and installation of panelled confessional in outer wall, new grille in screen, and new kneelers | | 1926 | Brackley Estate, six houses for Harry Pool | Hartley Wintney | | Hampshire | England | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Beauty's Awakening | | Beauty's Awakening: The Centenary Exhibition of the Art Workers' Guild | | Brighton Museum September -November 1984, Royal Pavilion Brighton | | | Carruthers, Annette | 2013 | The Arts and Crafts Movement in Scotland: a history | | | pp298-308 | | Ottewill, David | 1979 | Robert Weir Schultz (1860-1951): An Arts and Crafts Architect | | Architectural History v22, 1979, pp87-115 | | | Pride, Glen L | 1999 | The Kingdom of Fife | 2nd Edition | The Rutland Press | p87-88 | | Stamp, Gavin | 1981 | Robert Weir Schultz, Architect, and his work for the Marquesses of Bute | | London: The Curwen Press / Mount Stuart | |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS | List of works by Robert Weir Schultz, and 1977 dissertation, supplied by David Ottewill | | | | National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS | Robert Weir Schultz, extracts from Office Contract & Fee Books etc. (R3/P109), re: works in Scotland | | |
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