Basic Biographical Details

Name: Waddell & Young
Designation:  
Born: c. 1925
Died: 1941
Bio Notes: John Jeffrey Waddell was born in Glasgow in 1876, the son of Robert Gillan Waddell, railway branch manager and his wife Jane Jeffrey. He was at first educated privately and then at Glasgow High School. He was a nephew of Peter Macgregor Chalmers's formidable wife, Barbara Greig Steel, and so far as is known, was articled to him c.1891, studying at Glasgow School of Art under William James Anderson and at the Royal Technical College under Charles Gourlay. Whether he had any experience elsewhere is not yet known, but he first came into prominence in 1919-21 as a designer of picture houses, mainly in Glasgow. When Chalmers died on 15 March 1922 Mrs Chalmers and John Jeffrey Waddell took over the practice. They did not succeed in retaining the Paisley Abbey commission, whereafter Mrs Chalmers seems to have had no more than a financial interest in the practice, but Waddell did succeed in retaining Chalmers's Church of Scotland connections, mainly for the re-ordering of Georgian and Victorian churches on ecclesiological lines by the addition of chancels. He built relatively few churches completely anew and his only significant restoration was St Bean's (or St Beanus's) at Fowlis Wester which was his best work.

Waddell married Jean Leadbetter Swan in 1903, their first house being at Uddingston. They had two daughters, both active in the Travelling Children's Theatre and the publication of children's books, the better known being Bertha, born 1907. Waddell himself had a literary and antiquarian bent, being the author of 'By Bothwell Banks, Rambles through Lanarkshire' and a pioneer study of Alexander Thomson, published in the Transactions of the Scottish Ecclesiological Society, 1925, v.III part 31-35. In later years the Waddells lived in considerable style at Caldergrove, a sizable late Georgian country house near Cambuslang.

From c.1925 Waddell was in partnership with Thomas Peach Weir Young as Waddell & Young. Young had been born at 172 Pitt Street, Glasgow on 6 February 1892, the son of Thomas Shaw Young, iron merchant, and his wife Mary Scott whom he had married at Holmfield, Manitoba, Canada on 7 September 1888. He had studied at Glasgow School of Architecture from 1909 to 1914 and had been appointed assistant to Peter Macgregor Chalmers in or shortly before the latter year.

The practice ended in tragedy. Around 1940 Waddell instructed an ill-advised lawsuit which he won but subsequently regretted. Although at the time there were rumours that his sudden death was suicide, the death certificate shows that he died of a cerebral thrombosis at 4.10am on 4 December 1941, at Caldergrove. His death was reported by his daughter Jenny.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 195, Bath Street, Glasgow, ScotlandBusinessBefore 1925After 1937 

Employment and Training

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 3William Charles Thyrd Wright1924Before 1928Apprentice 
Item 2 of 3John Jeffrey Waddellc. 19251941Partner 
Item 3 of 3Thomas Peach Weir Youngc. 19251941Partner 

Buildings and Designs

This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
 Date startedBuilding nameTown, district or villageIslandCity or countyCountryNotes
Item 1 of 40 Church of ScotlandArisaig Inverness-shireScotlandInterior refurnished with new oak memorial pulpit and communion table
Item 2 of 401925Gourock Old Parish ChurchGourock RenfrewshireScotlandLectern and choir
Item 3 of 401925Scottish ChurchIxelles BrusselsBelgium 
Item 4 of 40c. 1925St David's UF ChurchKirkintilloch DunbartonshireScotlandRevised scheme (executed)
Item 5 of 40c. 1925St Margaret's Hall ChurchKnightswood GlasgowScotlandHalls carried out, but commission for church lost to Lorimer 1928 (see separate entry)
Item 6 of 401926College and Kelvingrove UF Church halls  GlasgowScotland 
Item 7 of 401926Langside Synagogue  GlasgowScotland 
Item 8 of 401926St Margaret's ChurchKnightswood GlasgowScotlandDesigns for church and halls - halls only executed, whilst commission for church went to Lorimer & Matthew
Item 9 of 401926St Mary's Parish ChurchBanff BanffshireScotlandApsed chancel and furnishings added.
Item 10 of 401927Denny Old Parish ChurchDenny StirlingshireScotlandAddition of chancel and addition of stair turret to tower
Item 11 of 401927St Bean's ChurchFowlis Wester PerthshireScotlandRe-mediaevalisation of Georgianised 18th century church
Item 12 of 401927St Mungo's Church  EdinburghScotland 
Item 13 of 401927St Paul's Church HallsGalashiels SelkirkshireScotland 
Item 14 of 401928Dunino Parish ChurchDunino FifeScotlandReduced scheme for remodelling of interior - new chancel but omitting transepts, also furnishings
Item 15 of 401928Parish ChurchLogierait PerthshireScotlandInterior recast
Item 16 of 401929Hillhead Established ChurchHillhead GlasgowScotlandMemorial baptistery and font
Item 17 of 401929Kelvinside Free ChurchKelvinside GlasgowScotlandAddition of halls
Item 18 of 401930House for N C MarplesWhitecraigs GlasgowScotland 
Item 19 of 401930Kilmonivaig Parish ChurchSpean Bridge Inverness-shireScotlandAddition of chancel and vestry
Item 20 of 401930Kinlochleven ChurchKinlochleven ArgyllScotland 
Item 21 of 401930St Bride's Parish ChurchSanquhar DumfriesshireScotlandAddition of chancel and furnishings
Item 22 of 401930St Paul's Church of ScotlandGreenock RenfrewshireScotlandNew reredos
Item 23 of 40c. 1930Dumfries Municipal ChambersDumfries DumfriesshireScotlandCompetition drawings (not successful)
Item 24 of 40c. 1930Petrol and service station   Scotland 
Item 25 of 40c. 1930Town Hall   Scotland 
Item 26 of 401931Castle Douglas Parish ChurchCastle Douglas KirkcudbrightshireScotlandAddition of chancel
Item 27 of 401931St Modan's Parish ChurchRosneath / Roseneath DunbartonshireScotlandNew vestry and conversion of session house to memorial chapel
Item 28 of 401932Dennyloanhead ChurchDennyloanhead StirlingshireScotlandAddition of chancel
Item 29 of 401932Memorial to Samuel Rutherford CrockettLaurieston StirlingshireScotland 
Item 30 of 401932Parish ChurchKilsyth StirlingshireScotlandAddition of chancel
Item 31 of 401933Bothwell Parish Church and Hamilton MonumentBothwell LanarkshireScotlandAlterations: amalgamation of original 14th-century choir with Hamilton building, and remodelling of interior
Item 32 of 401933St Barnabas Episcopal ChurchDennistoun GlasgowScotlandDesign exhibited - presumably unsuccessful competition design
Item 33 of 401934Montrose Old ChurchMontrose AngusScotlandDesign for a 'long church' on an east-west axis to replace existing church - not executed
Item 34 of 401935Garelochhead Parish Church  ArgyllScotlandRestoration
Item 35 of 401935St Columba's ChurchBlackhall EdinburghScotlandAddition of aisle and extensive furnishing
Item 36 of 401935Toward ChurchToward ArgyllScotlandChancel added
Item 37 of 40c. 1936Rothesay PavilionRothesayBute ScotlandCompetition drawings (not successful)
Item 38 of 401937Renfrew Parish ChurchRenfrew RenfrewshireScotlandReredos
Item 39 of 401938Johnstone Parish ChurchJohnstone RenfrewshireScotlandAdditions
Item 40 of 40c. 1941(?)23 Lauder Road  EdinburghScotlandAlterations? New garage? (Apparently executed in 1946, after Waddell's death)

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1Pride, Glen L1999The Kingdom of Fife2nd EditionThe Rutland Pressp138