Basic Biographical Details Name: | Arthur Fyfe | Designation: | | Born: | 10 October 1863 | Died: | | Bio Notes: | Arthur Fyfe was born in Anderston, Glasgow on 10 October 1863, the son of John Fyfe and Eliza Adam. He was articled to Baird & Thomson in 1879, remaining as junior assistant until 1885. In that year he emigrated to South Africa for health reasons, spending some time in the north of the country before joining Street Wilson & Barr of Durban as an assistant. He is credited with the design of the Town Hall at Pietermaritzburg, a large towered edifice in brick and terracotta begun on the site of old Raadshall in 1891, although at that time he was only a senior assistant with the firm. In 1893, following the death of Percy Marsden Barr, he was made a partner, although the name of Street Wilson & Barr was retained.
Fyfe was the first Vice-President and second President of the Natal Society of Architects.
In 1898 the Street Wilson & Barr office was burnt and for some reason the partnership was dissolved, Street Wilson rebuilding it in an enlarged form in 1899-1901. Fyfe then set up in practice on his own account, but business was interrupted by the South African War and closed in 1905. Fyfe then returned to Britain and officially went into retirement, although he built a house for himself and continued to execute occasional commissions from his home, 'One Oak', Foxley Lane, Purley, Surrey. He was admitted LRIBA on 20 March 1911, his proposers being William Dunn, Neil Campbell Duff, and Frederick George Brudenell-Bruce Hawkins, who had been Fyfe's apprentice in Durban from 1900 to 1905 and had also returned to England. In a letter accompanying his nomination papers, Fyfe mentions that Charles Henry Bourne Quennell and Sydney Joseph Tatchell were also friends of his. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1863 | 1885 | Place of birth | | Field Street Buildings, Durban, South Africa | Business | 1898 | 1905 | | | One Oak, Foxley Lane, Purley, Surrey, England | Private | 1911 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersEmployees or Pupils
RIBARIBA Proposers
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Seymour, D Picton | | Victorian buildings in South Africa | | | p259 | | www.familysearch.org | | www.familysearch.org | | Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints: Website | |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | L v12 no780 (microfilm reel 33) |
|