Architects

Name:

A & A Heiton

Designation :

Architectural practice

Date of Birth:

Year Only

Exact DOB:

05/08/1926

Year of Birth :

1848

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:

05/08/1926

Year of Death:

1858

Circa Year of Death:

Date of Death Before (Year):

Date of Death After (Year):

DOD (1st 'Or' Year):

DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

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Bio Notes :

Andrew Heiton Senior was born c.1793 and was one of three members of the Heiton of Darnick family who became architects, apparently through the influence of Sir Walter Scott with William Atkinson and Edward Blore, his architects at Abbotsford. Of these William and Francis worked for Blore, the former on Goodrich Court, Herefordshire from 1829 and the latter on Alupka, Crimea from 1832. Both died in 1833. Andrew may have worked for Atkinson as he was presumably clerk-of-works on Lord Kinnaird's Rossie estate when his son Andrew Heiton II was born at Inchture on 3 April 1823. Subsequently he settled in Perth and made his first recorded appearance as an architect when in association with William Stirling he undertook repairs to Forteviot Parish Church in 1830. Shortly thereafter he was commissioned to build Craighall Rattray, the earlier parts of which have similarities to Abbotsford. By the 1840s his principal clients were the railway companies.

Heiton married Janet Lorimer and had two sons who became architects. The elder, his father's namesake, served his apprenticeship with his father. He was subsequently sent to the office of Burn & Bryce for wider experience. He returned to his father's office in the mid-1840s and was taken into partnership in 1848 under the name of A & A Heiton. The younger brother, Thomas Arthur Heiton, also worked in the practice. They jointly succeeded William MacDonald Mackenzie as City Architect of Perth on his death in 1856, but on 8 August 1858 the elder Heiton died and Andrew Heiton Junior became sole partner.

In the following year John Murray Robertson, born of a strict Plymouth Brethren family in Strathord in 1844, became an apprentice; he swiftly rose to an exceptional position in the office, undertaking much of the actual designing from the later 1860s. Around 1862 William Leiper, who had been in the offices of J L Pearson and William White in London, was engaged as an assistant, the strong early French vein in the firm's work dating from that time. Leiper appears to have been in the office only briefly, however, being sent to Dublin to build Findlater Church. Later someone in the office, perhaps Heiton's younger brother Thomas Arthur Heiton, would appear to have been in Alfred Waterhouse's office as Waterhouse's style is markedly in evidence at Perth Municipal Buildings.

From the 1850s Heiton developed a very large country house and large suburban house practice. By 1865 there was so much work in hand in Dundee that a branch office was established there, and c.1868 or earlier Robertson was dispatched to Dundee to build Castleroy. The Gilroys, Heiton's clients there, having taken a liking to him, promised Robertson their support and he set up an independent practice in Dundee in 1873. Robertson's archive shows that he was responsible for building or completing Heiton's commissions in the Dundee area. Robertson also took in other farmed-out work from Perth, an arrangement that lasted at least until 1888, the Station Hotel in Perth being the last job in which Robertson had a substantial involvement.

Heiton remained 'a man of splendid physique' until he was seventy 'when the effects of old age were visibly apparent'. He never married. Probably because of his father's connection with Sir Walter Scott he was a notable collector of antiquities, particularly armour, weapons and furniture, and on inheriting the estate of Darnick turned the ancient tower house into a showplace for his collection. Although he took no other part in public life Heiton was a prominent mason, being for several years RWM of Lodge St Andrew no 74. He was admitted FRIBA on 23 June 1879, his proposers being John Honeyman, John Baird and James Salmon. In the EAA members roll of 1880 Thomas Arthur Heiton is referred to as deceased and from at least 1884 Heiton was assisted by his nephew Andrew Heiton Granger, born c.1862 who was educated at Fettes College. It is not yet known if he had experience outwith his uncle's office, but his early predilection for houses with half-timbered gables makes this seem likely. He appears to have taken over the design work of the practice in the mid-1880s, exhibiting the firm's work in his own name at the RSA between 1884 and 1886.

Andrew Heiton Junior died on 3 March 1894 from 'congestion of the brain' and was buried in Old Greyfriars Churchyard, Perth on 5 March. His sister Margaret installed a window to the memory of her parents and her two brothers in St John's Church in that year.

Heiton's practice was continued by Granger who also succeeded to the Darnick estate and reversed his name to Andrew Granger Heiton.

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

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

Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
72 George Street Perth Perthshire Scotland	Business	1868
29 Albert Square Dundee Scotland	Business	1878

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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
William Nairne Tait (or William Nairn Tait)	202976	In year 1847	Mid 1850s	Apprentice
Andrew Heiton (senior)	200585	In year 1848	In year 1858	Partner
Robert Arthur Lawson	200587	In year 1848	Before 1854	Apprentice
Andrew Heiton (junior)	201086	In year 1848	In year 1894	Partner	Did not trade under this name after , but simply under his own name

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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
Auchterarder Free Church Manse	In year 1847	Auchterarder	Perthshire	Scotland	Plans dated 3 April 1847
Pitcairngreen Free Manse	In year 1847	Perth	Perthshire	Scotland
Stirling Station	In year 1848	Stirling	Stirlingshire	Scotland	Original station
Stations for Scottish Central Railway	In year 1848	Greenhill to Perth	Perthshire etc	Scotland
Stations for Scottish Midland Junction Railway	In year 1848	Perth to Forfar	Perthshire/Angus	Scotland
Bowerswell	In year 1848	Perth	Perthshire	Scotland	Attributed (HS); probably designed by Andrew Heiton Junior
Stations for Aberdeen/Scottish North Eastern Railway	c. 1848	Forfar & Montrose to Aberdeen	Angus/Aberdeenshire	Scotland
Loyal House	In year 1850	Alyth	Perthshire	Scotland
Perth Joint Station	c. 1850	Perth	Perthshire	Scotland	Completed Tite's station
Perth Bank	In year 1851	Blairgowrie	Perthshire	Scotland	Designed original building - Perth Bank
Fowlis Wester Churchyard, Monument to Rev James Maxtone	In year 1851	Fowlis Wester	Perthshire	Scotland
Dunalistair	In year 1852	Fortingall	Perthshire	Scotland
Findo Gask School	In year 1853	Findo Gask	Perthshire	Scotland	Reconstruction
Gas works	In year 1854	Aberfeldy	Perthshire	Scotland
St John the Baptist RC Church	In year 1854	Perth	Perthshire	Scotland

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Part	Notes
Colvin, H M	A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840	1995	New Haven and London: Yale University Press	3rd edition

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Date Circ	Edition
Perthshire Advertiser	1858/08/12	*
Perthshire Constitutional	1894/03/05	*
Perthshire Constitutional	1894/03/07	*

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Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employees or Pupils

Employees or Pupils2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

References

Bibliographic References

Bib ref classic

Periodical References

Period ref classic