Basic Biographical Details

Name:	Archibald ('Archie') Leitch
Designation:
Born:	27 April 1865
Died:	4 March 1939
Bio Notes:	Archibald Leitch (generally known as Archie) was born on 27 April 1865 in Comleypark Street, Camlachie, Glasgow, the fourth of six children of Archibald Leitch, blacksmith, who may have worked at William Beardmore's nearby Parkhead Forge. Archie was educated at Hutcheson's Grammar School from 1876 to 1880, and subsequently at Anderson's College. In 1882 he joined the engineering company of Duncan Stewart & Co at their London Road Iron Works at Bridgeton Cross, becoming a draughtsman in 1887, but towards the end of the latter year he left to train as a marine engineer. Over the next three years he travelled widely, and it was probably at this period that he spent some time working in India; he also had links with family and friends in South Africa, and continued to undertake frequent travels throughout his life. He returned to Glasgow in early 1890, and in June that year married Jessie Black, the daughter of a dairyman who lived near his family home. He re-entered Duncan Stewart's drawing office, but left before the end of the year, after only eight months, to take a senior position as the head of the Ordering Department in the Scotland Street drawing office of Mirlees, Watson & Co, which, like Stewart's firm, specialised in the manufacture of machinery for the sugar industry. He and Jessie set up home in McLellan Street, Kinning Park but left a few years later for the cleaner air of Mount Florida, and Archie began teaching at the evening classes of the Glasgow Athenaeum, the Glasgow School Board and the Christian Institute. It was probably in the early 1890s that Leitch became a freemason. In 1896 Leitch left Mirlees, Watson & Co to commence practice on his own account as a 'Consulting and Inspecting Engineer', taking an office at 40 St Enoch Square. He was made a member of the Institute of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland in December that year, and in February the following year applied to become an associate of the London-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers. His nomination papers state that he had recently been appointed Consulting Engineer to the Lanarkshire County Council, Middle Ward, and his proposers were all important Scottish engineers: his former employers Sir William Renny Watson (of Mirlees, Watson & Co) and Duncan Stewart; locomotive engineer Charles Davies; mining engineer John Robertson; and, perhaps most significantly, Sir William Arrol, perhaps the most prominent engineer of the time. Soon after commencing independent practice, Leitch took into partnership Harry Davies, an experienced civil engineer who was probably the son of Charles Davies, and who had recently returned from a twenty-year period working on railway construction projects in India. Over the following years, Leitch & Davies worked mainly on industrial commissions. In March 1899 Leitch received a commission from Rangers Football Club, for the design of their new Ibrox Park stadium. The largest purpose-built football venue the world had ever seen, it opened in April 1900. Leitch proved his devotion to the team by claiming no fees for the design of the stadium. Leitch became a full member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in March 1902, by which time his firm employed some 30 hands and he was acting for three local councils as well as for the Kroonstaad Corporation in South Africa. It was around this time that Davies returned to India, leaving Leitch to continue his practice alone. On 5 April the same year, during an England v Scotland game at Ibrox Park, disaster struck when a section of the south-west terrace collapsed, resulting in 25 deaths and some 516 injuries. Leitch, greatly scarred by the tragedy, believed it to be the fault of timber merchant Alexander MacDougall, who had used inferior timber and joints contrary to Leitch's instructions; but MacDougall was found not guilty in the ensuing trial. Despite the controversy, and after having initially approaching architect John Gordon, Rangers nevertheless decided to retain Leitch as their consulting engineer, and he went on to become the foremost designer of football grounds of his generation, working for numerous other football clubs and undertaking work at most of the major grounds around Britain. He was closely involved in the world of football administration and frequently advised a number of clubs on improvements to their grounds, using his contacts to help clubs find funding. Leitch also continued to undertake factory and consultancy work. In 1903 he commenced work on the Sentinel Works in Jessie Street, Polmadie, Glasgow's first building in reinforced concrete. He went on to become an innovator in steel construction, his first double-decker grandstand appearing in 1907. He patented a number of designs, amongst them steel crush barriers, including one version incorporating a tubular hand-rail which doubled as a pipe to supply water for pitch irrigation. Leitch moved his office to 34 Argyle Arcade at 30 Buchanan Street in 1906. Around 1909, with Glasgow's economy in decline, he and his family left for Liverpool, which was experiencing an engineering and shipping boom. They stayed there until the early months of the First World War, when they settled at a prestigious address in London - Lonsdale House, Barnes, formerly the home of a member of the Wedgwood family. Leitch remained in practice in London thereafter. Leitch's stadium designs developed little after the First World War, especially when compared to the concrete cantilevered stands being built in France, Italy, Germany, Argentina and elsewhere. Nevertheless, his business continued to be successful, and many of his stands remain in use today. In 1935 Archie and Jessie Leitch made their final move, to a new semi-detached house in Cockfosters, North London. Archie retired the following year, leaving his business in the hands of his first son, Archibald Kent Leitch (Archie Junior), who was born in April 1891 and who had joined the firm before 1920 and become a partner in 1927. At that time Archie Junior was still living with his parents; he did not marry until 1938. Archie died in his bed on 25 April 1939, leaving moveable estate of £2,111 12s 9d. He was buried in the family plot in East Sheen, alongside his daughters Jeannie (c.1896-c.1918) and Nancy (c.1904-1933). His son Archie Junior continued the business under the name of Archibald Leitch & Partners. Archie was also survived by his wife and by another daughter, also called Jessie, who had given him two grandchildren. The grandchildren recalled that Archie always had a twinkle in his eye and could fill a house with laughter.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
	Address	Type	Date from	Date to	Notes
	60, Granger Road, Langside, Glasgow, Scotland	Private(?)
	Comleypark Street, Camlachie, Glasgow, Scotland	Private	1866	Before 1890	Place of birth
	McLellan Street, Kinning Park, Glasgow, Scotland	Private	1890 or 1891	Early 1890s
	40, St Enoch Square, Glasgow, Scotland	Business	1896	1906
	Clincart Road, Mount Florida, Glasgow, Scotland	Private	Early 1890s	c. 1909
	34 Argyle Arcade/30, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Scotland	Business	1906	1909
	Inverclyde, Blundellsands, Liverpool (near), England	Private	c. 1909	1914
	36, Dale Street, Liverpool, England	Business	1913 *
	Lonsdale House, Barnes, London, England	Private	1914
	18, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, England	Business	1925 *
	Cockfosters, London, England	Private	1935	1939

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	Leitch & Davies	After 1896	Early 1902	Partner
	Archibald Leitch & Partners	1927(?)	1936	Partner

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	David Mills Duncan	1902 *		Clerk
	Archibald Kent Leitch (or Archie Leitch (junior))	Before 1920	1927	Assistant(?)

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Buildings and Designs

This 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
		Design of the Tube System			Glasgow	Scotland
	1899	Ibrox Park football stadium			Glasgow	Scotland
	1899	Rugby Park grandstand	Kilmarnock		Ayrshire	Scotland	In collaboration with the Clyde Structural Iron Company
	Late 1890s	Caledonian Tube Works	Coatbridge		Lanarkshire	Scotland	Probably in conjunction with the Clyde Structural Iron Company
	Late 1890s	Chemical works for Alexander Hope Junior	Provanmill		Glasgow	Scotland	Probably in conjunction with the Clyde Structural Iron Company
	Late 1890s	New works for Stirling Boiler Company	Govan		Glasgow	Scotland	Probably in conjunction with the Clyde Structural Iron Company
	Late 1890s	Union Tube Works	Coatbridge		Lanarkshire	Scotland	Probably in conjunction with the Clyde Structural Iron Company
	1900	Bramall Lane football ground	Sheffield		Yorkshire	England	In conjunction with the Clyde Structural Iron Company
	1902	Ibrox Park football stadium			Glasgow	Scotland	Gradual rebuilding, retaining front section of original North Stand
	1902	Old Trafford Football Ground	Stretford		Manchester	England
	1902	Shop, New Street			Glasgow	Scotland	Alterations
	1902	Villas, Nithsdale Road			Glasgow	Scotland
	1903	Ayresome Park football ground	Middlesbrough		Yorkshire	England
	1903	Sentinel Works			Glasgow	Scotland	With Brand & Lithgow (NB pattern shop and offices by Leitch)
	1904	Craven Cottage football ground	Fulham		London	England	Original ground; also continued to advise Fulham Football Club for many years afterwards
	1904	Free St John's Mission Church	Gallowgate		Glasgow	Scotland	WCs added
	1905	Stamford Bridge football ground	Fulham		London	England
	1906	Anfield football ground			Liverpool	England	Rebuilding, retaining original main stand and Anfield Road cover
	1906	Ewood Park football ground	Blackburn		Lancashire	England	Rebuilding, including new Riverside Stand and Nuttall Street Stand
	1907	Park Avenue football ground	Bradford		Yorkshire	England	Rebuilding
	1908	Goodison Park stadium			Liverpool	England	New Main Stand
	1908	Valley Parade football ground, Midland Road stand	Bradford		Yorkshire	England	Major additions and alterations, including Midland Road Stand
	1908	White Hart Lane football stadium	Tottenham		London	England	West Stand
	1909	Goodison Park stadium			Liverpool	England	Alterations to terracing
	1909	White Hart Lane football stadium	Tottenham		London	England	Extensions to terracing
	1910	Leeds Road football ground	Huddersfield		Yorkshire	England	Rebuilding
	1910	The Den football ground	New Cross		London	England
	1912	Cardiff Arms Park, grandstand			Cardiff	Wales
	1912	Gourock Waterworks	Gourock		Renfrewshire	Scotland
	1913	Arsenal football stadium	Highbury		London	England
	1913	Douglas Park football ground	Hamilton		Lanarkshire	Scotland	New stand
	1913	Hillsborough football stadium	Sheffield		Yorkshire	England	New Main Stand (South Stand)
	1913	Roker Park football ground	Sunderland		County Durham	England	Probably responsible for new Roker End terrace
	1913	Tynecastle football stadium, McLeod Street Stand	Gorgie		Edinburgh	Scotland
	1914	Villa Park football ground			Birmingham	England	Rebuilding incorporating earlier Witton Lane Stand; included Trinity Road Stand; terraces remained unexecuted
	1921	Dens Park football stadium			Dundee	Scotland	Rebuilding
	1921	St James' Park football stadium			Newcastle upon Tyne	England	Improvements to existing stand, upgrading of terracing and terrace cover
	After 1921	Stamford Bridge football ground	Fulham		London	England	Additions and alterations
	1923	Selhurst Park football ground			London	England
	1924	Molineux football ground	Wolverhampton		Staffordshire	England	Main Stand
	1924	Twickenham rugby ground	Twickenham		Middlesex	England	North Stand
	1925	Fratton Park football ground	Portsmouth		Hampshire	England	New South Stand
	1926	Derby County Baseball Ground	Derby		Derbyshire	England	Main Stand ('B Pavilion') on west side
	1926	Goodison Park stadium			Liverpool	England	New Bullens Road Stand
	1926	The Dell	Southampton		Hampshire	England	West Stand
	1927	Hampden Park Football Ground	Mount Florida		Glasgow	Scotland	Extension of east terrace and replacement of wire-rope barriers
	1927	Twickenham rugby ground	Twickenham		Middlesex	England	East Stand
	c. 1927	Ibrox Park football stadium			Glasgow	Scotland	New South Stand
	1928	West Ham Stadium	West Ham		London	England
	1929	Celtic Football Ground	Parkhead		Glasgow	Scotland	New 5000-seat south stand
	1929	Roker Park football ground	Sunderland		County Durham	England	New Main Stand
	1929	The Dell	Southampton		Hampshire	England	New East Stand
	1930	Windsor Park football ground, South Stand			Belfast	Northern Ireland
	c. 1931	Dalymount Park football ground, Main Stand extension and terrace works			Dublin	Eire
	c. 1931	Molineux football ground	Wolverhampton		Staffordshire	England	Redevelopment of the North Bank ('The Cowshed'); new Molineux Street Stand; extension of South Bank Terrace
	1932	Balmoral Show Ground, grandstand			Belfast	Northern Ireland
	1932	Twickenham rugby ground	Twickenham		Middlesex	England	West Stand
	1933	Derby County Baseball Ground	Derby		Derbyshire	England	Osmaston End Stand
	1934	White Hart Lane football stadium	Tottenham		London	England	East Stand
	1935	Derby County Baseball Ground	Derby		Derbyshire	England	Normanton End Stand
	1935	Molineux football ground	Wolverhampton		Staffordshire	England	Covering of South Bank
	1935	Molineux football ground	Wolverhampton		Staffordshire	England	Further work, including improvements to Molineux Street Stand
	1936	Ayresome Park football ground	Middlesbrough		Yorkshire	England	Major additions, including new South Stand
	1936	Roker Park football ground	Sunderland		County Durham	England	Clock Stand

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
	Author(s)	Date	Title	Part	Publisher	Notes
	Inglis, Simon	2005	Engineering Archie: Archibald Leitch - football ground designer		London: English Heritage