Basic Biographical Details | Name: | Henry Blackadder | | Designation: | | | Born: | c. 1884(?) | | Died: | 11 April 1969 | | Bio Notes: | Henry Blackadder was born in Dundee on 11 September 1882, the son of Robert Blackadder, architect and civil engineer, Dundee. To gain wider experience as an architect in 1899 he was articled to Thomas Martin Cappon from August 1899, rather than his father, attending Patrick Hill Thom's evening classes in architecture at Dundee Technical Institute. He the moved to London where he obtained a place in June 1903 in the office of Ernest George & Yeates, from which he passed the qualifying exam in June 1906. He was admitted ARIBA on 3 December of that year, his proposers being George, Yeates and Cappon. By that time he had made several sketching tours each of three weeks' duration - in the West of England in 1904, in Normandy in 1905, and in and around Cambridge in 1906.
Blackadder did not return to his father's office as David Lindsay Allan, an ex-assistant of Niven & Wigglesworth had been taken into partnership on 1903 and the architectural side of the practice did not have that much business. he remained with George & Yeates until 1911 when he emigrated to British Columbia as assistant to Dalton & Eveleith, almost immediately receiving independent commissions for two large houses, one in Vancouver and one in North Lonsdale. After briefly working in association with Reyburn Jameson on a school, Blackadder went into partnership with another Scot, Alexander Sinclair Wemyss MacKay, who had studied at the Architectural Association. Their partnership lasted from 1912 until 1927 when MacKay left for New Zealand: its work was largely domestic but it did include one large commercial building, the Dunderave Block in Lonsdale, built in 1912. Their practice was briefly interrupted when both architects served as lieutenants in 1917-18, Blackadder serving with the Royal Engineers.
Blackadder's businesss uffered a decline after the financial crash of 1929, but it had recovered by 1937 when he took Joseph F Watson into partnership. From 1941 he was in the drawing office of Burrard Dry Docks and Wallace Shipyards in North Vancouver, returning to private practice after the war.
Blackadder was vice-president of the RAIC in 1940 and president of the AIBC in 1941-43. He died on 11 April 1968. | Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | London, England | Private/business | 1903 | After 1906 | | | Edsom, Broughty Ferry, Dundee, Scotland | Private | 1906 * | | although working in London | | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | Business | 1911 | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployers
RIBARIBA Proposers| The following individuals proposed this for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details): | | | Name | Date proposed | Notes | | Thomas Martin Cappon | 3 December 1906 | for Associateship | | Ernest George | 3 December 1906 | for Associateship | | Alfred Bowman Yeates | 3 December 1906 | for Associateship |
RIBA Proposals| This proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details): | | | Name | Date proposed | Notes | | Herbert Mayer Barker | 24 June 1912 | for Licentiateship |
ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this : | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | British Architectural Library, RIBA | 2001 | Directory of British Architects 1834-1914 | | | | | Luxton, Donald (ed.) | 2003 | Building the West: the early architects of British Columbia | | Vancouver: Talon Books | |
Archive References| The following archives hold material relating to this : | | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Professor David M Walker personal archive | Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material | | Information from Margaret Lye | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | A v16 p151 (microfilm reel 19) |
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