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Architects

Basic Biographic Details

Thomas Lennox Watson
Architect
Exact Date
Exact Date
12/10/1920
Thomas Lennox Watson was born in Glasgow on 21 August 1850, the son of Charles Watson and his wife Elizabeth (or Eliza, whose maiden name was also Watson) of 11 Loudon Terrace, Glasgow. His father was a member of the great shipping-owning firm of G & J Burns and the naval architect George Lennox Watson was his cousin. His elder sister Isabella was to become the principal of a primary school. Thomas was educated at Glasgow High School, articled to Boucher & Cousland in 1866, and studied at Glasgow School of Art under Charles Heath Wilson. At the end of his apprenticeship in 1871 he found a place as an assistant in the London office of Alfred Waterhouse, and returned to Glasgow to commence practice in 1874, initially at 137 West Regent Street, moving to number 108 of the same street soon thereafter. He came into prominence very early, securing the commissions for the free classical Adelaide Place Baptist Church, Glasgow (1875-6) and for the Gothic Kilmacolm Hydropathic (1878) and winning the competitions for the neo-Romanesque Victoria Baths Club, Glasgow and North UP Church in Perth (1876-8 and 1878) and the gigantic neo-Roman Wellington UP Church in Glasgow (1882). He was admitted FRIBA on 9 June 1884, his proposers being John Honeyman, Alfred Waterhouse and Arthur Cates.

Watson's experience with Waterhouse showed most obviously in his Romanesque competition design for Glasgow Municipal Buildings, one of the very few non-classical designs to be submitted. In his larger domestic commissions Watson drew more from Norman Shaw's Old English than from Waterhouse, a development that may in some degree have been associated with William James Anderson, who was his chief assistant from c.1883 until 1888. Anderson certainly drew out the high quality Renaissance detail of his Citizen Building in St Vincent Place.

In or about 1907 Watson took Henry Mitchell into partnership. Born at Renton in 1864 Mitchell was the son of Francis Mitchell, a gem and seal engraver, and his wife Mary Liddel. He had been articled to Campbell Douglas & Sellars from 1884 until 1889 and had worked for Honeyman & Keppie prior to forming a partnership with William Tait Conner in 1894. This had not prospered and neither had his second partnership with Charles Edward Whitelaw formed in 1902. Together Watson and Mitchell completed the very large block at 396-450 Sauchiehall Street, but the partnership was brief. It ran out of work and by 1914 Mitchell was practising alone from his house at 20 Sutherland Street, Helensburgh while Watson was maintaining a small studio separate from his house at 534 Sauchiehall Street.

Watson's date of retirement is variously given as 1911 (British Architectural Library/RIBA 'Directory of British Architects 1834-1914') and 1917 (RIBAJ Obituary), but he never retired completely, exhibiting at the Royal Glasgow Institute until 1918. His work was widely published, some of it in continental journals and he was prominent in professional life as a council member of the RIBA, President of the Glasgow Institute of Architects and of the Glasgow Architectural Association and as Governor of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. For a time prior to 1893 he was an examiner for those sitting the RIBA's qualifying exam in Glasgow. In his later years he became a pioneer in prefabrication. Professor Alexander McGibbon related how he took out patents for hollow walls and monolithic construction in concrete. These were put to the test in a cottage at Kilbirnie with walls hardened on the flat which were raised vertical in one and a half hours. He also campaigned vigorously for a high-level bridge over the Clyde, exhibiting a design for it at the RGI in 1918.

In person Watson was described by 'Quiz' and others as 'somewhat reserved' but 'Quiz' (probably Macaulay Stevenson) found that 'from a more intimate acquaintance one is impressed by his great seriousness thoroughness and integrity'. Malcolm Stark described him as 'resourceful, precise, and business-like'. Like Honeyman he was a notable antiquary particularly in respect of Glasgow Cathedral. His theory that the central vault of the lower church was a departure from the original plan was at first accepted by MacGibbon and Ross but later repudiated after it was disputed by Peter Macgregor Chalmers. This resulted in Watson's major book, 'The Double Choir of Glasgow Cathedral,' in which he adhered to his original analysis with a detailed dissection of the building history of the lower church.

Watson died of cancer at 11 Loudoun Terrace on 12 October 1920. He left a legacy of £100 free of duty to the Glasgow Institute of Architects (a prize bearing his name is still awarded today). He had been married to Margaret Barr-Watson Pennell.

Publications:
The architectural history of Glasgow Cathedral, or the autobiography of a cathedral. Glasgow, 1901
The double choir of Glasgow Cathedral: a study of rib vaulting. Glasgow: 1901
With H Ries: Elements of engineering geology, 1947 (posthumous?)
Communications, or, an urgent measure of economy, 1918 (Plan) showing advantages of a fixed bridge across the Clyde in the line of Elderslie Street, Govan, Glasgow

'Biography authored by the Dictionary of Scottish Architects Compilation Team.'

Addresses

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

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From CharDate From TypeDate To CharDate To TypeNotes
25 Lynedoch Crescent Glasgow ScotlandPrivate
8 Woodside Crescent Glasgow ScotlandPrivate
11 Loudon Terrace Glasgow ScotlandPrivate

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From Date From TypeDate ToDate To TypeNotes
137 West Regent Street Glasgow ScotlandBusiness1874
108 West Regent Street Glasgow ScotlandBusinessBefore 18791895 or 1896
166 Bath Street Glasgow ScotlandBusiness1895 or 1896After 1911
534 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow ScotlandBusiness1916

Employment and Training

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

Employers2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
Watson & Mitchell2023071907 or 1909Before 1917Partner
Boucher & Cousland100128In year 1866In year 1871Apprentice
Alfred Waterhouse200376In year 1871In year 1874Assistant

Employees or Pupils

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

Employees or Pupils2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
Larmont Douglas Penman2011631884/06In year 1889Apprentice
Thomas McLaren2024951898 or 1899In year 1902Assistant
George Gerard Howard2072131912/091915/01Apprentice
Andrew Sharp203403After 1896In year 1900Assistant
Donald John Cameron200810After 1914Before 1922Assistant
Allan Graham201351In year 1885In year 1890Apprentice
Larmont Douglas Penman201163In year 1889In year 1890Assistant
Allan Graham201351In year 1891In year 1894Assistant
George Dykes200881In year 1892In year 1898Apprentice
Leslie Dowie200855In year 1893In year 1896Assistant
Leslie Dowie200855In year 1894In year 1896Senior Assistant
David McLeod Craik205215In year 1894In year 1894Assistant
William Hector Mackenzie203492In year 1898In year 1900Assistant
George Dykes200881In year 1900In year 1903Draughtsman
Gavin Lennox201916In year 1900In year 1901Assistant

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this person for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

ProposerProposer LinkDate ProposedNotes
John Honeyman2002451884/06/09for Fellowship
Alfred Waterhouse2003761884/06/09for Fellowship
Arthur Cates2036321884/06/09for Fellowship

RIBA Proposals

This person proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

PersonDate ProposedNotes
George Penrose Kennedy Young1885/06/08for Associateship
Charles Gourlay1889/06/13for Associateship
John Rogerson1890/01/13for Associateship
John Andrew MacAra1890/01/13for Associateship
William Tait Conner1891/03/02for Associateship
William James Anderson1893/06/05for Associateship
William Cowie1893/06/05for Associateship
Andrew Robertson1893/06/05for Associateship
John White1893/12/04for Associateship
James Lochhead1894/06/11for Associateship
John Fairweather1894/06/11for Associateship
George Gunn1895/03/11for Associateship
George Sinclair1896/11/30for Associateship
Andrew Sharp1902/02/03for Associateship
Walter Stephen Tucker1902/02/03for Associateship

Buildings and Designs

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 NameDate StartedTown, District or VillageIslandCity or CountyCountryNotes
Design for a country residenceIn year 1871
Baptist ChurchIn year 1875GlasgowScotland
John Knox Street ChurchIn year 1875GlasgowScotland
Victoria Baths ClubIn year 1876GlasgowScotlandWon competition and secured job
Kilmacolm HydropathicIn year 1876Kilmacolm/KilmalcolmRenfrewshireScotland
Evening Citizen offices and printing worksIn year 1877CentralGlasgowScotlandDate of original office building as given in Watson's FRIBA nomination papers
North UP ChurchIn year 1878PerthPerthshireScotlandWon competition
BelmontIn year 1878GreenockRenfrewshireScotlandProposed new building (not built)
Philosophical Society RoomsIn year 1879GlasgowScotlandWith W J Millar, integrated in design with Adelaide Place Church
Glasgow Municipal BuildingsIn year 1880GlasgowScotlandCompetition design entered under the pseudonym Lapidas Loquinuntur
Greenfield UP ChurchIn year 1881GovanGlasgowScotland
St George's Road SchoolIn year 1881GlasgowScotland
Board SchoolIn year 1881Maryhill?Glasgow?Scotland
RedcoteIn year 1881HelensburghDunbartonshireScotland
Rockbank House and LodgeIn year 1881HelensburghDunbartonshireScotlandStables, coachman's house, and addition of attic storey to lodge

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
Walker, Frank ArneilSouth Clyde Estuary: An Illustrated Architectural Guide to Inverclyde and Renfrew1986p33, p135
British Architectural Library, RIBADirectory of British Architects 1834-19142001
Who's Who in Glasgow1909
Drummond, MaldwinSalt-water Palaces1979London: Debrett's Peerage Limited

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical NamePublisherDate CircEditionNotes
RIBA Journal1920/11/06*Obituary, p20
Builder1920/10/29*
Builder1920/10/22*
Quiz1893/08/10*

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive NameSourceSource Cat NoBuilding IdItem NameNotes
RIBA Nomination PapersRIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum100005F v7 p83, microfiche 98/E7