Architects

Name:

George Charles Campbell

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Exact Date

Exact DOB:

21/04/1882

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Date of Death:

Exact Date

Exact DOD:

29/04/1932

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Bio Notes :

George Charles Campbell, who practised under the name of G Charles Campbell, was born on 21 April 1882. He was educated at the Higher Grade School in Buckhaven, Fife, where he excelled academically and was a model student, his headmaster James A Ross stating that 'his whole conduct and bearing were characterised by a natural refinement of tone and disposition', and adding, 'he has very high ideals and in addition to unflagging perseverance his artistic taste and strong feeling for work of genuine merit are such as to warrant the very highest expectations in regard to his future career.'

He served his articles under Alexander Tod on the Wemyss and Torrie Estates, commencing in July 1898 and remaining as Junior and Senior Draughtsman after completing his apprenticeship. During this period he continued his studies, first at the evening science and art classes at Sinclairtown Public School (1898-1900) and then at Kirkcaldy School of Science and Art (1901-4), where one of his masters described him as 'one of the most enthusiastic and successful students … very willing, active, energetic and trustworthy'. Having obtained a bursary from Fife County Council, he completed his training in 1904-5 at Heriot-Watt College, Edinburgh, where he was Gold Medallist in the Building Construction class and received various other awards.

Campbell left the Wemyss office in late 1905, much to the dismay of Tod, who had been delighted with his work and saw no reason for his leaving except for his 'craving … for further progress and advancement'. This he achieved in 1906 when he secured the commission for Wemyss Public School in an open competition which attracted a total of twnety-five entries. He was appointed Architect to the Wemyss School Board and gained a reputation as a school architect, Buckhaven and Aberhill Schools being considered the most successful examples of his work in this field; drawings for the latter were submitted by the Scottish Education Department to the London County Council as a new model for school planning. He became an Ordained Surveyor in 1908.

During the First World War Campbell worked as architect and chief clerk of works to the Royal Engineers and was mainly concerned with the planning and erection of aerodromes at Turnhouse, Penston and Whiteburn in the Edinburgh area. After the war he turned his attention to town planning and the provision of working-class housing schemes. His proposals were placed on a shortlist of 34 schemes selected from 259 entries to the 1919 Local Government Board competition for the design of houses for the working classes. His plans for the Buckhaven and Methil and Burntisland housing schemes were requested by the Scottish Board of Health for exhibition purposes before the Edinburgh Housing Committee.

Campbell was admitted FIAS on 6 May 1922 and was admitted LRIBA in 1931, his proposers being Donald Alexander Stewart, Charles Geddes Soutar and William Salmond. He was still working on the development of part of the Methil Housing Scheme at the time of his death on 29 April 1932.

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
Beechwood Methil Fife Scotland	Private
Buckhaven Fife Scotland	Private

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
Methil Brae Methil Fife Scotland	Business	1931

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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
Alexander Tod	203948	1898/07	c. 1903	Apprentice
Alexander Tod	203948	After 1903	In year 1905	Senior Draughtsman
Alexander Tod	203948	c. 1903	Before 1905	Junior Draughtsman
Royal Engineers Office	201024	c. 1914	In year 1918	Architect

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

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

Proposer	Proposer Link	Date Proposed	Notes
Donald Alexander Stewart	202131	In year 1931	for Licentiateship
Charles Geddes Soutar	202372	In year 1931	for Licentiateship
William Salmond	202377	In year 1931	for Licentiateship

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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
Wemyss and Torrie Estates	After 1898		Fife	Scotland	General estate works - villas, farmhouses, steadings, cottages, hall, tenements - as apprentice/draughtsman to Alexander Tod
Wemyss Public Hall	In year 1900	East Wemyss	Fife	Scotland	As apprentice to Alexander Tod
Wemyss Public School	In year 1906	East Wemyss	Fife	Scotland	Won competition for alterations and additions to school (perhaps major rebuilding)
Masonic Temple	After 1906	East Wemyss	Fife	Scotland
Farm buildings and/or cottages, Kiers Farm	After 1906	Largo	Fife	Scotland
Farm buildings and/or cottages, East Hall	After 1906	Cupar	Fife	Scotland
Farm buildings and/or cottages, Lordscairnie	After 1906	Cupar	Fife	Scotland
Farm buildings and/or cottages, Langside	After 1906	Kennoway	Fife	Scotland
Farm buildings and/or cottages, Mawcarse	After 1906	Milnathort	Kinross-shire	Scotland
Farm buildings and/or cottages, Falkland Wood	After 1906	Falkland	Fife	Scotland
Housing scheme for Distillery Company	After 1906	Windygates	Fife	Scotland
East Wemyss Co-operative Society premises	After 1906	Wemyss	Fife	Scotland
Buckhaven Co-operative Society premises	After 1906	Buckhaven	Fife	Scotland
Recabite Hall	After 1906	Buckhaven	Fife	Scotland
Miners' Institute	After 1906	Wemyss	Fife	Scotland

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Part	Notes
Who's Who in Architecture		1914

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Publisher	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
RIBA Journal		1932/07/09	*	Obituary p722

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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
RIBA Nomination Papers	RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum	100005			L no3928 (box 18)
Haxton & Watson Collection	National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS	200394

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Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employment and Training

Employers2 classic

RIBA Proposers

RIBA PROPOSERS2 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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