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Basic Biographic Details

John McKissack & Son
Architectural practice
Year Only
1900
Date Not Known
17/06/1926
John McKissack was born c.1844, the son of James McKissack, mechanical engineer and Janet McGhie from Girvan. He was educated at St Enoch's School but no further details are known of his training.

In 1872 McKissack formed a partnership with William Gardner Rowan who was two years his junior and had trained as both architect and civil engineer with George Penrose Kennedy and James Fairie Blair. Two years later, on 9 July 1874 at 158 Hospital Street, Gorbals, McKissack married Helen Ronald, daughter of Alexander Ronald, master baker and Marion Black. Rowan was a witness at the wedding. They had five children: two sons James (born 1875) and Alex (born c.1877) were born in Glasgow, and a further son John (born c.1880) and two daughters Helen (born c.1883) and Mary (born c.1886) were born in Govan.

After the formation of the partnership, Rowan did most of the design work. In 1889 McKissack took his son James, who had been educated at Allan Glen's School, into the McKissack & Rowan practice as an apprentice.

Rowan had little taste for the 'shoddy' tenement side of McKissack's practice and early in 1890 the partnership was amicably dissolved. McKissack continued practice, with James completed his apprenticeship with his father and attending Glasgow School of Art (from 1890 to 1894) and the Glasgow & West of Scotland Technical College under Professor Charles Gourlay. He remained with his father as assistant and was taken into partnership in 1900, the practice title becoming John McKissack & Son. About this time he made a study tour in Italy and France.

The elder McKissack never sought admission to the RIBA. About 1912 he had a major operation and withdrew from the practice. He died on 27 August 1915 at 9 St Andrews Drive, Pollokshields leaving moveable estate of £813 15s. He was survived by his second wife Jessie Ferguson Tyre, daughter of the landscape painter John Tyre, whom he had married on 22 June 1894 at 4 Florence Place, and all five of his children. James continued the practice under the same name thereafter, and from about that date specialised almost exclusively in cinema work, mainly for George Singleton. In August 1986 Professor McKean recorded his recollections of the younger McKissack:
'McKissack was a distinguished camera man who exhibited in New York. Because of his knowledge of photography, McKissack was used as a film booker for Cranston's Picture House. He was gentlemanly, and rather remote. He travelled a lot to Germany and Northern Europe, from which the inspiration of the Cosmo clearly derived. He did some other work notably an electricity substation at the bottom of Hope Street. He was a man of taste and refinement. The faience of the frontages of cinemas before the Cosmo was largely due to the influence of George Singleton, since it was good for wear and tear. Frontages always had to be clean and attractive. McKissack's office was in West Regent Street, an absolute dump, but with a large empty room at the front with a gigantic chest in the middle of the floor, into which he threw all the drawings without any order, and from which he had to retrieve them when necessary.'
Bruce Peter has established that he visited Hilversum to see the work of Dudok, from which the design of the Cosmo was derived.

In his last years McKissack worked in partnership with William James Anderson II, 'a quiet unassuming man who was not in the least commercial' and was an extremely accomplished designer. The practice title remained unchanged as John McKissack & Son.

McKissack married Isabella Somerville, daughter of the lithographic artist Thomas Somerville, at Burlington House, Glasgow on 30 October 1928; she died before 1938. McKissack died of heart failure on 24 June 1940 at 9 St Andrew's Drive; William James Anderson II on 18 January 1950.

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

Addresses

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

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From Date From TypeDate ToDate To TypeNotes
68|69 West Regent Street Glasgow ScotlandBusiness1900After 1940

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
William Barclay2003981903 or 19041904 or 1905Assistant
John Hinshelwood2044081923/04/141928/04/14Apprentice
John Hinshelwood2044081928/04/141939/10/08Chief Assistant
Alexander Thomson Heathcote201582In year 1899In year 1902Assistant
James McKissack200414In year 1900In year 1940Partner
John McKissack202379In year 1900c. 1912Partner
Alexander Thomson Heathcote201582In year 1903In year 1904Assistant
William Wallace Friskin200023In year 1905In year 1910Apprentice
David Arthur Carmichael100412In year 1912Before 1914Assistant
James Boyne Watson207013In year 1934In year 1940Assistant
James Boyne Watson207013In year 1946Assistant
William James Anderson II200091c. 1924Partner

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
City Improvement Trust warehouseIn year 1900GlasgowScotlandWon competition (£100 premium) and secured job
Wireworks for W Riddell & CoIn year 1900GlasgowScotlandBegun by John McKissack alone prior to partnership
Dunoon Sheriff Court and County BuildingsIn year 1900DunoonArgyllScotlandCompetition won and job secured prior to partnership
Restaurant and tea roomsIn year 1900LargsAyrshireScotland
Muslin FactoryIn year 1900GlasgowScotland
Warehouse and officesAfter 1900BridgetonGlasgowScotland
Clydebank West UF ChurchAfter 1900ClydebankDunbartonshireScotland
Shop, Kilmarnock RoadAfter 1900GlasgowScotland
London Road UF Church hallc. 1900GlasgowScotland
City Improvement Trust warehouseIn year 1902GlasgowScotland
LangavatIn year 1903Kilmacolm/KilmalcolmRenfrewshireScotland
Strathclyde Public SchoolIn year 1903GlasgowScotland
4th VBSR HeadquartersIn year 1904GlasgowScotland
Eastern Co-operative Drapery BuildingIn year 1905ParkheadGlasgowScotland
Boden Street FactoryIn year 1906GlasgowScotlandAddition

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 Renfrew1986p17
Scottish Biographies1938E J Thurston (pub.)

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical NamePublisherDate CircEditionNotes
Builder1915/09/03*Obituary of John p174
Glasgow Herald1915/08/30*Obituary of John

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 Museum100005L v19 no 1435 (James McKissack)