Basic Biographical Details Name: | Messrs Gale | Designation: | | Born: | c. 1830 | Died: | After 1858 | Bio Notes: | The Gales of Glasgow were civil engineers rather than architects. William Gale was in partnership with Robert Scott and John Stephen in the 1830s, but that partnership came to an end some time after the death of Robert Scott in April 1839. William Gale then entered into a partnership with the Edinburgh architect David Cousin which lasted until 1845, Cousin being in charge of the Edinburgh office and Gale the Glasgow one. The practice came to wider notice almost immediately by winning two competitions, one for the classical West Church in Greenock and another for the neo-Norman Parish Church at Cambuslang. From 1843 their main business was Free Church work for which Cousin had made standard designs.
The Gales continued to provide architectural as well as engineering services after the dissolution of the Cousin & Gale partnership. Their Ayr church was very competent neo-Norman, similar to that of David Cousin's Edinburgh churches, and may have been designed by Cousin before the dissolution of the partnership: whether it owed anything to their referral of the drawings to Thomas Hamilton for an opinion is unclear. William Gale was subsequently engineer of the Gorbals Gravitation Water Company, the operation of which commenced in 1848. He died in 1858. The next generation was represented by Henry Gale, born 1836, who specialised in railway work. He died in 1898. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | | | |
Employment and TrainingEmployees 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 Gale | Before 1845 | 1858 | Partner | |
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 | | 1844 | Ayr Free Church | Ayr | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Plans accepted after consultation with Thomas Hamilton: may have been made by Cousin prior to dissolution of partnership | | 1847 | Free Church | Gartmore | | Stirlingshire | Scotland | | | c. 1856 | Troon Free Church | Troon | | Ayrshire | Scotland | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Binnie, G M | 1981 | Early Victorian Water Engineers | | | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers | * | | | pp348-9 |
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