Architects

Name:

George Donaldson Macniven

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Year Only

Exact DOB:

15/05/1926

Year of Birth :

1878

Circa Year of Birth :

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DOB (2nd 'Or' Year):

Date of Death:

Exact Date

Exact DOD:

18/01/1949

Year of Death:

Circa Year of Death:

Date of Death Before (Year):

Date of Death After (Year):

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DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

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Bio Notes :

George Donaldson Macniven was born in 1878, the son of John Macniven, publisher. He was educated at George Watson's College and articled to George Washington Browne in 1893, following him to the merged practice of John More Dick Peddie and Washington Browne in 1894. He studied at the School of Applied Art where he won a National Art Survey bursary and at Heriot-Watt, and he made a study tour in France, as well as spending a year making record drawings of historic buildings in Scotland under the direction of Robert Rowand Anderson. In 1903, he and Walter Fairbairn were taken into partnership by Alfred Greig, then the principal teacher of architecture in the School of Applied Art, where Macniven himself had had charge of an outdoor sketching class for a number of years. The practice was based at 31 York Place. When the School of Applied Art merged as part of Edinburgh College of Art in 1906, Greig's appointment came to an end, but Fairbairn secured a part-time appointment at Edinburgh College of Art and Lauder Technical School in Dunfermline.

The practice seems to have specialised in small-scale competitions, particularly for public libraries, but they also won that for a model church for the United Free Church in the Highlands, which brought a considerable number of commissions for small churches in that area. All three architects were admitted LRIBA in the mass intake of 20 July 1911 with the same proposers: John Wilson, James Bow Dunn and Thomas Duncan Rhind.

He was admitted FRIBA late 1915, proposed by Robert Lorimer, John Wilson and Alexander Lorne Campbel.

The partnership continued until 1915 when Macniven withdrew to enter government service, becoming architect (a temporary post) to the Local Government Board for Scotland. He was admitted FRIBA late that year, proposed by Robert Lorimer, John Wilson and Alexander Lorne Campbell. He was responsible for the supervision of the erection of houses for the Admiralty and the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War. He remained in the same post until 1918 when he took up the permanent post of principal architect and housing commissioner for the Scottish Board of Health, rising to Depute Chief Architect in 1929 after the reorganisation of the Board which was re-named the Department of Health for Scotland. He was promoted to Chief Architect in 1944 (RIBA obituary says 1942) until 1949. He also held the posts of consulting architect, Scottish Veterans Garden City Association and Appeals from 1945 and part-time Inspector of Historic Buildings for the Department of Health from 1944 to 1949 (some sources say 1948-49).

Macniven was a well-known tennis-player in his youth and later became an expert curler, representing his country at the game. In the latter capacity he visited Sweden in 1938 and took the opportunity to familiarise himself with recent architectural developments there. He was also a keen golfer. He died on 18 January 1949, leaving a widow, Maud Grace Hendry (daughter of Walter Hendry), whom he had married in 1922.

(See also separate entry for George Niven, who may be the same person but mistyped in sources.)

Publications:

'Town Planning : the Essentials for Progress and Suggested Provisions of a Model Scheme'
Transactions of the Edinburgh Architectural Association, v10, p53

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
Talgarth/6 Spylaw Park Colinton Edinburgh Scotland	Private
13 Cluny Drive Edinburgh Scotland	Private

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date To	Notes
31 York Place Edinburgh Scotland	Business	1903	1915
Local Government Board for Scotland/125 George Street Edinburgh Scotland	Business	1915	1918
27 West Maitland Street Edinburgh Scotland	Business	c. 1925	After 1939\|1940	Gives this address in RIBA Kalendars up to 1940

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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
George Washington Browne	200049	In year 1893	In year 1894	Apprentice
Peddie & Washington Browne	200363	In year 1894	c. 1898	Apprentice
Greig, Fairbairn & Macniven	200985	In year 1903	1915/04	Partner
Local Government Board for Scotland	202044	In year 1915	In year 1918	Depute Chief Architect
Department of Health for Scotland (Scottish Board of Health; later Scottish Development Department)	202045	In year 1919	In year 1929		Principal Architect and Housing Commissioner
Department of Health for Scotland (Scottish Board of Health; later Scottish Development Department)	202045	In year 1929	In year 1944		Depute Chief Architect
Department of Health for Scotland (Scottish Board of Health; later Scottish Development Department)	202045	In year 1944	In year 1949	Chief Architect
Peddie & Washington Browne	200363	c. 1900	In year 1903	Draughtsman

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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
(Sir) Thomas Duncan Rhind	100334	1911/07/20	for Licentiateship
John Watson	202272	1911/07/20	for Licentiateship
James Bow Dunn	200174	1911/07/20	for Licentiateship
(Sir) Robert Stodart Lorimer	200052	Late 1915s	for Fellowship
Alexander Lorne Campbell	200379	Late 1915s	for Fellowship
John Wilson	202401	Late 1915s	for Fellowship

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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
Joseph Weekes	1926/06/14	for Fellowship
George Swan Taylor	Early 1930s	for Associateship
Percy Pithie Henderson	Late 1930s	for Associateship
Thomas Rutherford	Late 1931s	for Licentiateship
Alexander Allan Foote	1937/06/21	for Fellowship
George Edward Foote	1940/10/15	For Associateship
Charles Ross Mackenzie	1940/10/15	for Associateship
Andrew Renton	1940/10/15	for Associateship
Alexander John Macaskill Currell	1941/10/21	for Associateship
Alexander Anderson Watson	1943/01/19	for Licentiateship
Arthur Forbes Cargill	1944/10/17	for Licentiateship
James Hastie MacLeod	1946/06/25	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	Island	City or County	Country	Notes
House for Charles Robertson	In year 1902	Colinton		Edinburgh	Scotland
Carnegie Public Library	In year 1903	Motherwell		Lanarkshire	Scotland	Won competition and was commissioned
Kinloch UF Church	After 1903	Kinloch	Lewis	Ross and Cromarty	Scotland
Bonnyrigg Infant School	After 1903	Bonnyrigg		Midlothian	Scotland
Alvie UF Church	After 1903	Alvie		Inverness-shire	Scotland
Aultbea UF Church	After 1903	Aultbea		Ross and Cromarty	Scotland	With executant architects Mackenzie & MacDonald
Rosehall UF Church	After 1903	Rosehall		Sutherland	Scotland
Glenurquhart UF Church	After 1903	Glenurquhart		Inverness-shire	Scotland
UF Church	After 1903	Muir of Ord		Ross and Cromarty	Scotland
House for James Macdonald	After 1903	Callander		Perthshire	Scotland	In private practice
Parson's Green UF Church Halls	After 1903	Restalrig		Edinburgh	Scotland	In independent practice
Whitehaven Public Library	In year 1905	Whitehaven		Cumberland	England	Won open competition to secure job
Prestonpans Public Library	In year 1905	Prestonpans		East Lothian	Scotland	Competition design, not selected
Kippenross House	In year 1906	Dunblane		Stirlingshire	Scotland	Staircase
Strathy Lochs UF Church and manse	In year 1907	Strathy Lochs		Sutherland	Scotland	With Sinclair MacDonald as executant architect

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Notes
Glendinning, Miles	Modern architect: the life and times of Robert Matthew	2008	RIBA Publishing	p54, 59, 66
Scottish Biographies		1938	E J Thurston (pub.)
Who's Who in Architecture		1914
Post Office Directories

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
RIBA Journal	1949/03	*	Obituary p244
Builder	1949/02/04	*	Obituary
Edinburgh Evening News	1944/12/29	*	Note on his retirement
Dundee Courier	1915/03/27		p2

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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 v19 no1441; F no1588 (microfilm reel 13)
NMRS Library	National Monuments Record of Scotland/NMRS, RCAHMS	100044			Information from form filled in by Macniven lent by Ian Macniven, 27 West Maitland Street, Edinburgh

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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

RIBA Proposals

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

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