Basic Biographical Details

Name:	Methven & Smiith
Designation:
Born:	1908
Died:	1909
Bio Notes:	Cathcart William Methven was born in 1849 and served his articles with John Sang of Kirkcaldy from 1866 to 1871. He then worked for Paley & Austin of Lancaster as clerk of works on their complete reconstruction of St John's Episcopal Church in Greenock, before joining Walter Robert Kinipple, a civil engineer and architect with offices in Westminster Chambers, London, as assistant. He was elected an associate of the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1875, becoming a full member in 1882 and succeeding Kinipple as engineer in chief of the Greenock Harbour Works in 1886. After only two years in the latter post he emigrated to South Africa to take up a similar post in Durban, carrying out some £600,000-worth of work on the harbour there. These posts resulted in two similar publications, 'Greenock and its harbour' and 'Durban and its harbour'. In 1895 Methven resigned the Durban Harbour post to commence independent practice. The following year he took on James Buchanan Pentland Smith as an assistant. Smith had been born on 25 February 1872 and articled to John Lumsdaine of Edinburgh c.1888 and had thereafter worked as assistant to Hippolyte Jean Blanc from c.1893 before emigrating to join Methven's practice. Sometime before he was admitted FRIBA on 9 June 1902 on the proposal of the RIBA Council, Methven was appointed Government Surveyor of Natal. He took Smith into partnership in 1908 but the partnership was short-lived as Smith withdrew in 1909 to become a salaried assistant in the Pretoria Public Works Department. He died in 1925.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
	Address	Type	Date from	Date to	Notes
	Durban, South Africa	Business

Employment and Training

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
	Cathcart William Methven	1908	1909	Partner
	James Buchanan Pentland Smith	1908	1909	Partner

References

Currently, there are no references for this . The information has been derived from: the British Architectural Library / RIBA Directory of British Architects 1834-1914; Post Office Directories; and/or any sources listed under this individual's works.