Architects

Name:

(Sir) John Ninian Comper

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Exact Date

Exact DOB:

06/10/1864

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Date of Death:

Exact Date

Exact DOD:

22/12/1960

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Bio Notes :

John Ninian Comper was born on 10 June 1864 in Aberdeen, the son of a High Churchman, the Rev John Comper and his wife Ellen Taylor. He did not use the name 'John', generally being referred to as either J Ninian Comper or simply Ninian Comper. Educated at Kingston College, Aberdeen, Glenalmond College, Perthshire and the Ruskin School, Oxford, at the age of eighteen he joined the studio of Charles Eamer Kempe, whose stained glass was to have a profound influence on him, although most of his time there was spent on church furnishing under William Tate. After some months he was articled to Bodley & Garner in London from 1883 and remained there until 1887: during that period he attended the South Kensington Schools and the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford.

In 1888 Comper commenced independent practice in partnership with William Bucknall (born 1851) who was thirteen years his senior. He became Comper's brother-in-law in 1894 when Comper married his sister Grace Bucknall. Comper's father's connections in Aberdeen brought him his earliest major commission, St Margaret's Convent Chapel, Aberdeen, 1891 followed some years later by major churches at St Margaret's Braemar and St Mary's Kirriemuir where his father had been Rector. These, together with his convent chapel at Malvern Link (1893) and the major church of St Cyprian, Clarence Gate, St Marylebone (1901-1903), were what he was later to describe as 'beauty by exclusion' i.e. the 14th century English Gothic of Bodley & Garner with some northern European and late Scots Gothic elements in the smaller details. From the beginning restoration, church furnishing, stained glass and ecclesiastical needlework were important aspects of his practice.

In 1896 Comper made an extended tour of the Rhineland and in 1900, against his own inclination, he accompanied his father on a first visit to Rome. This was followed by another in 1905, when he also toured southern Italy and Sicily mainly to see Early Christian churches. Further study tours to Greece and Spain followed in 1906 and 1910 respectively. These progressively resulted in a refined synthesis of classical and gothic motifs more evident in his English than Scottish churches, which he described as unity by inclusion. His tours also brought a changing perception of church planning, the altar being placed under a ciborium and brought closer to the congregation, an arrangement which can be seen in Scotland at St Andrews Cathedral, Aberdeen, a remodelling and extension of Archibald Simpson's church following the abandonment of his magnificent Scots Gothic scheme for a completely new American-financed Seabury Cathedral in the wake of the financial crash of 1929.

Comper's partnership with Bucknall was dissolved in 1904 as the latter had become addicted to alcohol. The separation was particularly difficult as Bucknall's nephew, Arthur Bucknall, was a particularly important member of the practice: it resulted in Comper suffering both from pneumonia and a nervous breakdown, his second visit to Rome and the tour of Southern Italy being planned to help him recuperate. Thereafter he practised with Arthur Bucknall as assistant until his son John B Sebastian Comper, a qualified architect, was old enough to take a senior role in the practice, but Sebastian Comper had to leave to set up his own practice in 1920.

Comper built no completely new churches after the Second World War. He was knighted in 1950 and continued working with the assistance of John Samuel Bucknall, mainly on stained glass, almost up to the time of his death in London on 22 December 1960. He was survived by his six children, his wife Grace having died in 1933. A major exhibition of Comper's work was held at the RIBA in 1988.

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

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

Private Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Notes
35 Old Queen's Street Westminster London England	Private/business
The Study/228 Knight's Hill Norwood London England	Private/business	(bombed during the Second World War)
The Priory/67 Beulah Hill Norwood London England	Private

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date To	Notes
6 Lloyd Street London England	Business	1887
35 Old Queen's Street Westminster London England	Private/business	c. 1908
The Study/228 Knight's Hill Norwood London England	Private/business	c. 1908	1944	(bombed during the Second World War)

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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
Bodley & Garner	200777	In year 1883	In year 1887	Apprentice
Bucknall & Comper	100258	In year 1888	In year 1905	Partner

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

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

Person	Date Proposed	Notes
Anthony Charles Tripe	1934/12/03	for Associateship

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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
St Margaret of Scotland's Episcopal Church	In year 1887	Gallowgate	Aberdeen	Scotland	Unexecuted proposal for entirely new church
St Margaret of Scotland's Episcopal Church	In year 1889	Gallowgate	Aberdeen	Scotland	Addition of west chapel of St Nicholas
15, 17 Spital	1890s	Spital	Aberdeen	Scotland	Adapted for use as part of convent
St Margaret of Scotland's Chapel and Convent	In year 1891	Old Aberdeen	Aberdeen	Scotland	Plans approved; only chapel and one bay of convent completed. Also provided designs for glass.
All Saints Episcopal Church	In year 1892		Edinburgh	Scotland	Two windows
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church	In year 1893	Pitlochry	Perthshire	Scotland	Reredos
St Drostan's Episcopal Church	In year 1895	Old Deer	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Reredos. Transeptal organ loft and large chancel
St Drostan's Episcopal Church	In year 1896	Old Deer	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Chancel enlarged in memory of Dean Rankin. Also transeptal organ loft.
All Saints Episcopal Church, Whiterashes	In year 1898	Whiterashes	Aberdeen	Scotland	Chancel remodelled, reredos, stalls. lectern
All Saints Episcopal Church, Whiterashes	In year 1898	Whiterashes	Aberdeen	Scotland	Stained glass
Church of St John the Evangelist, New Hinksey	Before 1898	Oxford	Oxfordshire	England
St Margaret's Episcopal Church	In year 1899	Braemar	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Also provided designs for glass.
St Margaret's Episcopal Chapel	In year 1899	Braemar	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Lady chapel added
Baxter Incorporation Granary	Before 1900		Edinburgh	Scotland	Conversion to Cathedral Mission - 'very early effort'
St Margaret's Episcopal Church	In year 1901	Forgue	Aberdeenshire	Scotland	Two windows

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Part	Notes
British Architectural Library, RIBA	Directory of British Architects 1834-1914	2001			For full bibliography.
Who's Who		1950
Grove Dictionary of Art	Grove Dictionary of Art
Symondson, A (ed)	The Life and Work of Sir Ninian Comper (1864-1960): The Last Gothic Revivalist	1988	RIBA catalogue, London: RIBA
Symondson, Anthony	John Betjeman and the cult of J N Comper		Thirties Society Journal, pp2-13	no 7
Gray, A Stuart	Edwardian Architecture: A Biographical Dictionary	1985
DNB	Dictionary of National Biography				New edition
Anson, Peter	Sir Ninian Comper: a pioneer architect of the modern liturgical revival	1950	Trans Scot Eccles Society, pp7-16	XIV
Tocher, Francis E	The Scottish Episcopal Churches in the Aberdeen Diocese by Sir John Ninian Comper		Robert Gordon University post-graduate dissertation
Anson, Peter F	The work of Sir Ninian Comper: a pioneer of the modern liturgical revival	1937	Pax, pp177-184	no 27
Irvine, G	Portrait: Sir Ninian Comper	1957	Church Observer	April
Cornforth, John	Last Master of the Gothic	1988	Country Life, 14 January 1988, pp 65-6	CLXXXII
Symondson, Anthony, SJ	Unity by inclusion: Sir Ninian Comper and the planning of a Modern Church	1998	Twentieth Century Architecture: The Journal of the Twentieth Century Society, pp 17-42	no 3
Hammond, Peter	Liturgy and architecture	1960
Symondson, Anthony and Bucknall, Stephen	Sir Ninian Comper: An introduction to his life and work with complete gazetteer	2006	Reading: Spire Books and the Ecclesiological Society

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
RIBA Journal	1961/02	*	p145 - obituary
Architectural Review	1939	no85 (Jan-June)	pp79-82 Article by John Betjeman
The Times	1960/12/23	*	Obituary
Builder	1961	200	p22, Obituary

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Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employment and Training

Employers2 classic

RIBA Proposals

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

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Periodical References

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