Basic Biographical Details Name: | William McNicol Whyte | Designation: | | Born: | 27 June 1854 | Died: | 30 November 1930 | Bio Notes: | William McNicol Whyte was born at Glenside Farm, Perthshire on 27 June 1854, the son of James Whyte, 'shepherd or farmer' and Marjory Slater, whose married surname is variously given as Whyte, Stewart and McNicol, the last of these being that at her date of death when she was known as Marion rather than as Marjorie.
About 1870 Whyte was articled to Miller of Stirling for four years and was thereafter assistant to Thomas Begg McFadyen in Edinburgh. He married Elizabeth Walkinshaw or Young, a widow, by declaration at 65 Jamaica Street, Glasgow on 5 August 1880. At that date he was described as a master mason, and his wife already had at least one child, Elizabeth, born in Alloa c.1879, who took the name Whyte after the marriage. In c.1881 he seems to have been in Stirling when their first child James was born. The others - Catherine (born c.1884) and William McNicol (born 20 May 1886) - were born in Glasgow.
Prior to commencing independent practice in Glasgow in 1882, Whyte travelled in the USA and Canada, retaining an enthusiasm for all things American thereafter. His practice was almost exclusively tenements, and at some he probably acted as his own builder. Most are plain, but occasionally some were sufficiently upmarket to be more architectural. His 1886 block at Balmoral Crescent, one of Glasgow's most exuberant tenements, is endowed with a figure strongly reminiscent of New York's Statue of Liberty, and in the same block he is reputed to have ordered caricatures of bailies who had initially opposed his designs to be carved, along with portraits of himself and the builder responsible. Walkinshaw Terrace, Langside, where William McNicol Whyte Junior was born, appears to have been named after his wife.
In the first decade of the twentieth century he was briefly in partnership with an unidentified Kennedy. Whyte was admitted LRIBA on 24 June 1912, his proposers being John Bennie Wilson (whom he had known since 1892), Alexander Skirving and Robert Douglas Sandilands. At that date he was practising at 87 Union Street and living at 14 Woodlands Road, Charing Cross.
Whyte was still working in Glasgow in 1923 when a Glasgow Herald journalist, writing about the Balmoral Crescent sculptures, reported that he 'had Dundreary whiskers, but latterly shaved them off'. He died of a cerebral thrombosis at 63 Possil Road, Glasgow on 30 November 1930. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 65, Jamaica Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1880 * | | | | Walkinshaw Terrace, Langside, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1886 * | 1888 | | | 103, West Regent Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | Before 1888 | After 1904 | | | 1, Annette Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1891 * | | | | 87, Union Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | Before 1909 | After 1914 | | | 14, Woodlands Road, Charing Cross, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1912 * | | | | 10, Elmbank Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1917 * | | | | 23, Elmbank Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1924 * | | | | 74, Cedar Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1930 * | | Home and place of death |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersThe following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | ___ Miller | c. 1870 | c. 1874 | Apprentice | | | Thomas Begg McFadzen | c. 1874 | Before 1882 | Assistant | | | Whyte & Kennedy | Before 1907 | After 1909 | Partner | |
Employees or PupilsThe following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | Andrew Hamilton | 1886 | 1888 | Apprentice | | | John Girtrig Young | 1908 | c. 1909 | Assistant | |
RIBARIBA Proposers
Buildings and DesignsThis 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 | | 1884 | Balmoral Crescent | Crosshill | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | Before 1886 | Walkinshaw Terrace | Langside | | Glasgow | Scotland | Attribution on grounds of name (Whyte's wife's name was Walkinshaw prior to their marriage) | | 1889 | Tenements, Leckethill Street and Springburn Road | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1889 | Three tenements, Wilton Drive and Wilton Gardens | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1889 | Three tenements, Wilton Drive and Wilton Street | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1890 | Eight tenements, Kennedy Street and Cooper Street | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1890 | Six tenements, Garthland Drive | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1891 | Tenements, Armadale Street and Garthland Drive | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1892 | Stables and Coach House, 151 Gallowgate | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1902 | Tenements, Inverclyde Gardens, Broomhill Drive | Partick | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1902 | Tenements, Marlborough Avenue | Whiteinch | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | Before 1912 | Double villas | Stirling | | Stirlingshire | Scotland | | | Before 1912 | St Andrew's Free Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Restoration | | 1926 | Terraced houses | Giffnock | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | British Architectural Library, RIBA | 2001 | Directory of British Architects 1834-1914 | | | | | McKenzie, Ray | 2002 | Public sculpture of Glasgow (Public sculpture of Great Britain series) | | Liverpool University Press | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Glasgow Herald | 18 July 1923 | | | p8: 'Buildings Having Sculptured Representations of Glasgow Men at the Time of Building' |
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 v26 no2149 |
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