Architects

Name:

James Scott

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Year Only

Exact DOB:

24/09/1925

Year of Birth :

1861

Circa Year of Birth :

Date of Birth Before (Year):

Date of Birth After (Year):

DOB (1st 'Or' Year):

DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):

Orig Date of Death

1944/01

Date of Death:

Date Not Known

Exact DOD:

24/09/1925

Year of Death:

Circa Year of Death:

Date of Death Before (Year):

Date of Death After (Year):

DOD (1st 'Or' Year):

DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

Town of Birth :

Bio Notes :

James Scott was born at Kinnesswood in 1861, the son of Thomas Scott, a clerk of works, and his wife Janet Hoey. He was first articled as a joiner but quickly found a place in Govan Burgh Surveyor's Department from which he continued his apprenticeship as a civil engineer with the Glasgow firm of Martin & Dunlop. On completing his articles he became an assistant of James Thomson of Baird & Thomson from January 1882 until June 1883. He then moved to the practice of Robert Baldie and William Tennant with whom he remained until 11 November 1885 when he obtained a post in St Andrews with James Gillespie, then about to carry out major commissions on the Nether Rankeillor and Montrave estates. In
June 1890 Tennant wrote offering him a partnership, Baldie having died, but Scott preferred to remain in St Andrews, probably as a result of the promise of a partnership from Gillespie. This enabled him to marry Jeannie Scott Miller on 7 October 1890, but it seems not to have been until 1895 that the practice title of James Gillespie & Scott was formally adopted.

The practice grew rapidly in the later 1890s and early 1900s with major commissions from the University of St Andrews and St Leonard's School, and by 1905 it had a staff of fifteen. Throughout that period Gillespie attended to the business side of the practice while Scott had charge of the drawing office.

James Scott became sole partner following the deaths of James Gillespie on 10 July 1914 and of his son, also James, in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. But although a very able Glasgow-school designer with a sharp eye for detail his social connections were not as wide as Gillespie's and his impatient temperament did not suit all clients. The second phase of University Hall was lost in 1911 to Donald Mills who also took over the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse in the 1920s. Reginald Fairlie took a significant share of the work at St Leonard's School
from about 1926 and although the Nairns commissioned a monumental factory block in the 1930s, they turned to the Glasgow architect James Miller for their new office block. Although still prosperous the practice had gone into a relative decline.

James Scott was described by contemporaries as a short thick-set man with red hair who was a heavy smoker. He died at Balgedie, Kinnesswood, in January 1944. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s he was assisted by his two sons, James Hoey Scott who trained as an architect and Alfred George Scott who trained as a civil engineer.

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:

Private Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From Char	Date From Type	Date To Char	Date To Type	Notes
Kinnesswood Fife Scotland	Private					Place of birth

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
4 Queen's Gardens St Andrews Fife Scotland	Business

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The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this person (click on an item to view details):

Employers2 classic

Name	Name Link	Date From	Date To	Position	Notes
Baldie & Tennant	100157	After 1880	Before 1885	Assistant
James Ross Gillespie	100030	In year 1885	In year 1895	Assistant
Gillespie & Scott	201278	In year 1895	In year 1944	Partner	Scotsman obituary gives 1889 as start date of partnership

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This person was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs2 classic

Building Name	Date Started	Town, District or Village	City or County	Country	Notes
Branxton Farmhouse and steading	In year 1872	Boreland	Fife	Scotland	New mill, reed and implement shed and hen house
Brake Farm	In year 1875		Fife?	Scotland	New engine house
St Andrews Bowling Club bowling green	187 or 188 or 189	St Andrews	Fife	Scotland
Gilmour (Montrave) Lundin Estate, Blacketyside steading	187 or 188 or 189	St Andrews?	Fife	Scotland
Crail water supply	1880s	Crail	Fife	Scotland	Survey plans - as assistant
Stravithie House	1880s	Dunino	Fife	Scotland	Gents' lavatory - as assistant
Clayton House	1880s	Leuchars	Fife	Scotland	Alterations - as assistant to James Ross Gillespie
Annfield Steading	In year 1882		Fife	Scotland	Alterations and additions
Cottage for Mrs Brown	In year 1882	Largoward	Fife	Scotland
Kingsdale House	In year 1885	Kennoway	Fife	Scotland	Alterations - as assistant to James Ross Gillespie (and effectively in charge of design for the practice)
Scottish Linoleum Works, North and South Factories	In year 1885	Kirkcaldy	Fife	Scotland	Numerous additions - see events for details - intially as assistant and from 1895 as partner
Bowcliff	In year 1885	St Andrews	Fife	Scotland	Porch added - as assistant
Strathkinness South School	In year 1885	Strathkinness	Fife	Scotland	As assistant
Auchmuty Paper Works	In year 1885	Markinch	Fife	Scotland	As assistant - finishing house
Chestney House	In year 1885	St Andrews	Fife	Scotland	As assistant

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Part	Notes
Frew, J (ed.)	Building for a New Age	1984	St Andrews: Crawford Centre for the Arts, University of St Andrews (undated but pub. 1984)		pp45-52
Pride, Glen L	The Kingdom of Fife	1999	The Rutland Press	2nd Edition	p129

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Publisher	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
St Andrews Citizen		1944/01/15	*
Scotsman		1944/01/11		Obituary p3

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The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive Name	Source	Source Cat No	Building Id	Item Name	Notes
NMRS Library	National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS	100044			Copy of Gillespie and Scott office index

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Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employment and Training

Employers2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

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Periodical References

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Archive References

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