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Dictionary of Scottish Architects (1660 - 1980)
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Basic Biographic Details
Name:
Robert Arthur Lawson
Designation :
Architect
Date of Birth:
Exact Date
Exact DOB:
01/01/1833
Year of Birth :
Circa Year of Birth :
Date of Birth Before (Year):
Date of Birth After (Year):
DOB (1st 'Or' Year):
DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):
Date of Death:
Year Only
Exact DOD:
23/06/1926
Year of Death:
1902
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 :
Robert Arthur Lawson was born at Grange of Lindores on 1 January 1833, the son of James Lawson, a carpenter and sawmiller at 49 Hogg's Place, Abbeyhill. He was educated at Abdie Parish School and was articled to Andrew Heiton, Senior, of Perth c.1848, but completed his apprenticeship in the office of James Gillespie Graham in Edinburgh. During that period he was recommended to the Trustees' Academy by Gillespie Graham; he entered the Academy on 29 November 1850 and left on 11 March 1851. Thereafter he was an assistant in the office of John Lessels until July 1854 when he emigrated to Melbourne on the ship Tongataboo. His diary during the voyage shows that during the voyage he made designs for 'a church in the Gothic style', 'a mansion in the Tudor Gothic style' and 'an Italian design for a public building,' building up a presentation folio with which to impress clients. He found, however, little employment as an architect and spent seven years in the goldfields. Having amassed a modest amount of capital he then set up as an architect in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne from which office he won the competition for the design of First Church, Dunedin in New Zealand in 1862, the tower and spire of his entry being based on that of Gillespie Graham and AWN Pugin's Victoria Hall in Edinburgh.
First Church was not actually built until 1873 but his success encouraged him to transfer his practice from Melbourne to Dunedin. He does not seem to have secured much other work in the first few years but in 1874 he designed the ANZ Bank on Princes Street as a reduced version of David Rhind's Commercial Bank in Edinburgh and in 1876 Knox Church in George Street, the spire of which suggests that he had seen an engraving of Peddie and Kinnear's Pilrig Street Church.
In 1879 Lawson was commissioned to design Seacliff Hospital, an asylum for nine hundred patients which was then the largest building in New Zealand. Its plan was modelled on that of Norfolk County Asylum but its baronial elevations were drawn from Scottish sources and from Alfred Waterhouse and George Gilbert Scott. In 1880 he designed the Italianate Town Hall with a tower modelled on Cuthbert Brodrick's at Hull, and in 1884 he designed the very large neo-Tudor Otago Boys' School, but his career was ended by structural problems at Seacliff Hospital which had been built on unstable and shifting site and was the subject of a Government Commission of Inquiry in 1888. In all his obituarist notes that he designed nearly 50 churches as well as numerous Government and public buildings.
In his spare time he was 'untiring in furthering church work, serving for many years as Superintendent of the Sunday Schools and as elder in the St Kilda Presbyterian Church and \"First Church\" Dunedin'. He also took an active interest in social and municipal affairs, and served for many years as chairman of the Dunedin Tramways Company.
Lawson died in 1902.
'Biography authored by the Dictionary of Scottish Architects Compilation Team.'
Bio Notes continued...
Additional Notes
Addresses
The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:
Private Addresses
Private Addresses2 classic
Address
Class
Date From Char
Date From Type
Date To Char
Date To Type
Notes
6 James Place Edinburgh Scotland
Private
row(s) 1 - 1 of 1
Business Addresses
Business Addresses2 classic
Address
Class
Date From
Date From Type
Date To
Date To Type
Notes
Elizabeth Street Melbourne Australia
Business
c. 1861
Dunedin New Zealand
Business
row(s) 1 - 2 of 2
Employment and Training
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
James Gillespie Graham
200250
After 1848
Before 1854
Apprentice
John Lessels
200066
Before 1854
1854/07
Assistant
A & A Heiton
201087
In year 1848
Before 1854
Apprentice
Andrew Heiton (senior)
200585
c. 1848
In year 1848
Apprentice
row(s) 1 - 4 of 4
Employees or Pupils
The following individuals were employed or trained by this person (click on an item to view details):
Employees or Pupils2 classic
Name
Name Link
Date From
Date To
Position
Notes
John Coulson Nicol
202780
In year 1876
Before 1879
Assistant
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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 Name
Date Started
Town, District or Village
Island
City or County
Country
Notes
Design for a mansion house
In year 1853
Design for a college
In year 1853
Design for a mansion
In year 1854
First Church of Otago
In year 1862
Dunedin
New Zealand
ANZ Bank
In year 1874
Dunedin
New Zealand
Knox Church
In year 1876
Dunedin
New Zealand
Dunedin Town Hall
In year 1878
Dunedin
New Zealand
Seacliff Hospital
In year 1879
Dunedin
New Zealand
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References
Bibliographic References
The following books contain references to this person:
Bib ref classic
Author
Title
Date
Publisher
Part
Notes
Prior, W J
Robert Arthur Lawson
1991
University of Otago, unpublished thesis
McCoy, E J and Blackman, J G
Victorian City of New Zealand
1968
Entwhistle, Peter
Edinburgh in the Antipodes: Victorian Architecture in Dunedin, New Zealand
1983
Country Life, 13 January 1983, pp90-94
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Periodical References
The following periodicals contain references to this person:
Period ref classic
Periodical Name
Publisher
Date Circ
Edition
Notes
Evening Telegraph
1903/02/20
Obituary
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