Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | Thomas Smith |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 1887 |
| Died: | 1969 |
| Bio Notes: | Thomas Smith was born at 130 Marchmont Road, Edinburgh on October 9th 1887, the third son of Robert Smith, a Master Fishmonger and his wife Jane Dalrymple (d.1922) daughter of Alexander Dalrymple of Cramond. His parents had married in Edinburgh in 1875. He joined the Council, likely directly from school, and by 1911 he was an architectural draughtsman under City Superintendent of Works (City Architect) James Alexander Williamson. He lived at 2 Thirlestane Road, Edinburgh from 1914 until 1919 when he moved to 3 Hartington Gardens in Bruntsfield. Coincidentally, this was the house Ebenezer MacRae’s father Revd. Alexander MacRae MA had lived in until his death in February 1919. Here, in 1922, his mother Jane died and shortly afterwards he moved a few doors down to No.7 Hartington Gardens. He would live here until his death almost 50 years later. He never married but for some time shared the house with his elder brother Robert A Smith and sister Sophia Probert Smith (d.1936). By 1930 he was an Associate of the Edinburgh Architectural Association but he doesn’t seem to have joined the RIBA. In 1925 James Williamson retired and Ebenezer James MacRae became City Architect, and the following year Director of Housing. Although by no means a high-profile member of MacRae’s team, Smith was a significant one, responsible for many high-profile housing schemes. Known as Tom Smith, his initials TS appear on many drawings of the era. He designed one of MacRae’s first infill developments at Portobello High Street in 1927, and also the attractive four-storey individual stone temenents at Simon Square and East Crosscauseway. He was also the designer of the layout (and much of the housing) of the Pleasance and Craigmillar developments. He died in the Eastern General Hospital in Leith on 31st October 1969 aged 82. His brother Robert was the informant on his death certificate. |
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 | |
 | Ebenezer James MacRae | 1925 | 1946 | Architect | in Edinburgh City Architect's Office |
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 | |
| 1927 | Portobello High Street and Rosefield Ave Council housing | Portobello | Edinburgh | As Architect in Edinburgh City Architects Dept. | ||
| 1930 | 25-29 Simon Square, 1-8 Howden Street and 55-59 East Crosscauseway | Edinburgh | Scotland | |||
| 1934 | Pleasance and Richmond Place council housing | Edinburgh | Scotland | |||
| 1935 | St Leonards Street council housing | Edinburgh | Edinburgh | Scotland | ||
| 1936 | Craigmillar Council Housing | Craigmillar, Edinburgh | Edinburgh | Scotland | Planned layout of Craigmillar and also design and arrangement of houses. | |
| 1936 | St Marks Council Housing, Warriston | Warriston, Edinburgh | Edinburgh | Scotland | ||
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
| Steven Robb | 2017 | Ebenezer MacRae and Interwar Housing in Edinburgh | Vol.13 | The Book of the Old Edinburgh Club | |