Basic Biographical Details Name: | John Bryce | Designation: | | Born: | c. 1805 | Died: | 13 August 1851 | Bio Notes: | John Bryce, born c.1805 (he was christened on 25 April 1806) was the youngest of the three architect sons of William Bryce, a builder in Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh who subsequently described himself as an architect. Of the two elder sons William worked in the office of William Burn but died on 5 September 1823, his brother David inheriting his place in that office and becoming responsible for his family. Nothing specific is known of John's training - initially he probably worked with his father, but thereafter he was probably either in Burn's office or assisting David with his private practice at 53 Castle Street. By at least 1833 he was in Glasgow designing the Jews Cemetery in Glasgow (Fir Park) Necropolis, followed by the McGavin Monument (1834) and the façade of the catacombs (1836) in the same cemetery. Of those the McGavin monument and the Catacombs can be related to his brother David's collection of baroque engravings and the copies he made from books to which he had access. This suggests that John may have helped Burn's office with the detailing of Harlaxton.
John Bryce's later work was more classical. The large Duke Street Reformatory (1838) is recorded only in an engraving but seems to have been austere Roman Doric. Around 1840 he replaced George Smith as architect to the solicitors and developers McHardy and Fullerton, designing their North Woodside development in a Renaissance manner close to that of Burn and Bryce with a particular liking for square columns; and by the later 1840s he was associated with Alexander Kirkland, then professing only to be a civil engineer, in James Scott of Kelly's Bothwell Street development. The similarity of the architecture at the same developer's Stobcross estate suggests that Bryce also had a hand in Minerva Street, Stobcross (now St Vincent) Crescent and Corunna Street laid out in 1849 and nominally at least the work of Kirkland.
John was married to Ann (or Annie) and they had five children (or possibly six - Census Records are unclear). John Bryce died of 'debility' on 13 August 1851 at the age of 46 and was buried in Glasgow Necropolis (Gamma 27). The family returned to live in Edinburgh after the John's death and were living at 2 Maryfield Duddingston in 1861. His son John who was born about 1843 and therefore a child when his father died, subsequently joined his uncle David's practice. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | c. 1805 | Before 1833 | Place of birth | | Glasgow, Scotland | Business | Before 1833 | | | | 189, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private/business(?) | c. 1834 | 1845 | | | 243, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private/business | 1851 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersThe following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | David Bryce | Before 1833 | | Assistant | |
Employees or PupilsThe following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | William Spence | Before 1832(?) | Before 1837 | Assistant(?) | |
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | British Architectural Library, RIBA | 2001 | Directory of British Architects 1834-1914 | | | | | Colvin, H M | 1995 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | 3rd edition | New Haven and London: Yale University Press | | | Gomme, Andor and Walker, David | 1987 | Architecture of Glasgow | Second revised edn | London: Lund Humphries | | | Pagan, J | 1847 | Sketch of the History of Glasgow | | | | | Post Office Directories | | | | | |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Census records online | Censuses | | |
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