Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | Philistas Rognvald Howard Stoughton Holbourn |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 25 May 1913 |
| Died: | 1998 |
| Bio Notes: | Philistas Rognvald Howard Stoughton Holbourn (his surname sometimes erroneously spelt 'Holbourne') - the third and last son of Professor John (Ian) Holbourn (who had become Laird of Foula, Shetland on buying the island in 1900) and his wife Marion Constance Archer-Shepherd - was born on 25 May 1913 at the family home at Mayfield Terrace, Edinburgh. Two years later, returning from a lecturing tour in the USA, his father was to survive the sinking of the Lusitania by a German torpedo, an event that would mark him for the rest of his life. Nevertheless he continued to take lecturing posts in the USA, and his family must presumably have joined him there, while keeping strong connections with their Scottish homes. In 1922 Professor Holbourn bought the mansion of Fountainhall in Pencaitland, East Lothian in 1922 and renamed it Pencait Castle, also spelt Penkaet or Penkeith (the name has since been reverted to Fountainhall). Like his father, the younger Holbourn studied at Oxford: he took a two-year part-time course at the Ruskin School of Drawing, from 1934 to 1936, earning him an MA Oxon. It was halfway through this, in September 1935, that his father died; he was vacationing in Foula at the time and did not receive word of the death until the day of the funeral. From 1936 to 1941 he studied at Edinburgh College of Art, initially on the intermediate certificate course and then on the diploma course. He spent a month working for Rowand Anderson, Paul & Partners in 1937, nine months in the office of H V Ashley & Winton Newman at 1 Gray's Inn Square, London in 1938-9, and two months undertaking practical and consultant work for the Church of Scotland for a new manse at Foula. The summers of 1937, 1938, 1940 and 1941 were spent sketching and measuring for the National Buildings Record. Holbourn was a member of the Edinburgh Architectural Association in 1939-40, and was admitted ARIBA on 21 October 1941, his proposers being G P H Watson, F C Mears and Leslie Grahame-Thomson. His nomination papers indicate that he was living at Penkeith Castle at that time. He later became a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute, and he was in the County Planning Office in Brecon, Wales at the time of his retirement in late 1976. He resigned his RIBA membership the following year. He died in Cardiff in November 1998. |
Private and Business Addresses
| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | |||||
| Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | |
 | Penkeith Castle, Pencaitland, East Lothian, Scotland | Private | 1941 * | ||
* 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 | |
| Rowand Anderson, Paul & Partners | 1937 | 1937 | Apprentice(?) | One month's office experience during studies |
| Ashley & Newman | 1938 | 1939 | Apprentice(?) | Nine months' office experience during studies |
| County Planning Office, Brecon | After 1941 | Late 1976 | ||
RIBA
RIBA Proposers
| The following individuals proposed this for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details): | |||
| Name | Date proposed | Notes | |
| (Sir) Frank Charles Mears | 21 October 1941 | for Associateship |
| Leslie Grahame Thomson (or Leslie Grahame-Thomson; later Leslie Grahame MacDougall) | 21 October 1941 | for Associateship |
| George Patrick Houston Watson | 21 October 1941 | for Associateship |
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| RIBA | 1939 | The RIBA Kalendar 1939-1940 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | ||
| Wang, Ren Horng-James et al | The Lusitania Resource, http://www.rmslusitania.info/pages/second_cabin/holbourn_ibs.html | Wang, Ren Horng-James et al | accessed 30 June 2011 | ||
Archive References
| The following archives hold material relating to this : | ||||
| Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | |
| RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | A c.7920 (combined box 200) | |