Basic Biographical Details Name: | James Lindsay Grant | Designation: | | Born: | 1866 | Died: | 29 March 1938 | Bio Notes: | James Lindsay Grant was born in 1866 the son of the late Mr J Lindsay Grant of Edinburgh and grandson of the late Mr Grant of Balmullo, Fife. He was educated in Edinburgh and in 1885 was articled to George Morham who was an engineer and surveyor and brother of Robert Morham, City Architect. He did not, however, find the work there congenial and preferred to spend his time drawing. Morham generously encouraged this and allowed him to do what drawings were required in the office and to attend morning classes at the Trustees' Academy.
At the end of his articles he found a place as junior assistant in Hippolyte Blanc's office and remained there for eighteen months. He then transferred to the office of Robert Rowand Anderson as junior assistant, and attended classes at the Edinburgh School of Applied Art. Whilst there he was involved in the restoration of Dunblane Cathedral and the building of the McEwan Hall. He then moved to gain wider experience successively to the office of William Henry Thorp of Leeds and was involved in the design of Leeds Medical School; and to Manchester as assistant to Joseph Gibbons Sankey and later Charles Henry Heathcote, and was involved there with the commissions for several business and banking premises.
Grant commenced practice on his own account in 1900 and was premiated in various competitions, including Oldham Baths for which he submitted two designs in collaboration with Arthur Reginald Groome, where he was awarded second prize but won the commission; for Chadderton Carnegie Library where he was awarded first prize; for the public library at Taunton where he was awarded second prize; for the Congregational Schools at Staleybridge in collaboration with Edward Garlick where he was awarded second prize; and Montrose Library, where he was awarded first prize. Subsequently he secured the commissions for designing the transepts at St Luke's, Poulton, and the reconstruction and an extension to North Manchester Grammar School, as well as that for a Parish Hall in Northenden, Cheshire, where he resided.
Grant was appointed assistant lecturer at the School of Architecture, Manchester University in 1906. In 1907 he travelled in Italy, and in 1908 and 1912 he ventured to France.
He passed the qualifying exam in London in 1918 and was admitted ARIBA late that year, his proposers being Paul Ogden, Percy Worthington and James John Sydney Naylor. He continued to lecture at the School of Architecture for many years, and became head of the Municipal School of Art shortly after the First World War. Under his direction the school developed into a full-time school wth a five-year course. Grant was noted for his fine draughtsmanship and for his scholarly work on the history of architecture. He had a detailed knowledge of Etruscan architecture and decoration, his drawings and associated papers on these subjects being presented to the RIBA in 1937.
Grant was an active member of the Manchester Society of Architects and had been in retirement for some years before his death on 29 March 1938. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Edinburgh, Scotland | Business | 1866 | After 1905(?) | | | 2, St Peter's Square, Manchester, England | Business | 1903 | | | | School of Architecture, Victoria University, Manchester, England | Business | 1906 | After 1918 | | | Church Villa, Northenden, Cheshire, England | Private | 1918 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployers
RIBARIBA Proposers
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 | | 1890 | Dunblane Cathedral | Dunblane | | Perthshire | Scotland | Restoration - as junior assistant to Robert Rowand Anderson | | 1890 | University of Edinburgh, Medical School and McEwan Hall | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | McEwan Hall - as junior assistant to Robert Rowand Anderson | | 1903 | Montrose Public Library | Montrose | | Angus | Scotland | Won competition and secured job |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Mace, Angela | 1938 | 'British Architectural Library: architecture in manuscript' | | RIBA Journal 12 September 1938 | p180 |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | RIBA Journal | 12 September 1938 | v45 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | p993 - obituary |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | A no2657 (microfilm reel 22) |
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