Architects

Name:

Alexander EsmÃ© Gordon (or EsmÃ© Gordon)

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

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Exact DOB:

12/09/1910

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Date of Death:

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Exact DOD:

31/05/1993

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Bio Notes :

Alexander Esmé Gordon was born at Ramsay Gardens, Edinburgh on 12 September 1910, the son of Alexander Shand Gordon, WS, and Elizabeth Catherine Logan. He was educated at Edinburgh Academy and studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1928. He spent his year out with Burnet Tait & Lorne in London, and returned to the same firm as a qualified assistant in 1934, working on St Andrews House, Edinburgh, Kirsop's, Glasgow, the 1938 Empire Exhibition, Glasgow and several English projects including the limited competition for a house for King George V and the Curzon Cinema. He worked mainly but not exclusively under Tait and his senior assistant Andrew D Bryce. He had won several minor scholarships which enabled him to make sketching tours of England and two month-long trips to Italy (in 1931 and 1933), and in 1934 was awarded the Owen Jones Scholarship, which he used to travel again to Italy the following year. He was admitted ARIBA on 2 December 1935, his proposers being John Begg, Alexander Lorne Campbell and Frank Charles Mears.

In 1937 Gordon commenced practice on his own account at 34 Castle Street, Edinburgh, having spent part of his time in the Edinburgh office under James Wallace and gained a part-time appointment at Edinburgh College of Art. In the same year he married Betsy McCurry from Belfast, a piano graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London and around this time he was joined in partnership by James Robertson, working with him as Robertson & Gordon until c.1940 when he commenced war service with the Royal Engineers, initially working on canteens. He later saw active service and was involved with reconstruction work at the end of the war in Normandy and the Netherlands.

Gordon took his former assistant William Gordon Dey into partnership in 1946, after they had returned from war service. He was admitted ARIAS in 1948 and FRIBA in 1956, proposed by John Ross McKay, Leslie Grahame MacDougall and Thomas Waller Marwick by which time he had moved his office to his former home at 36 Heriot Row, and was living at 11 Greenhill Gardens. In 1966 Gordon designed and built a house for himself in Greenhill Park. This is one of the few post-war private houses which has been listed (Category B).

In his early post-war years Gordon specialised in church work, writing a book on the subject ‘The Principles of Church Building. Furnishing Equipment and Decoration’ but he later undertook major educational projects for Heriot-Watt and Moray House.

Gordon served as president of the Edinburgh Architectural Association from 1955-57 and designed the Centenary Bronze Medal to be awarded annually from 1957 onwards. He was elected ARSA in 1956, RSA in 1967 and 17th Secretary and historian of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1973, holding this last post until 1978. He retired early in order to devote himself almost full-time to the RSA, making some notable discoveries in the archive and researching and producing its history in time for the 150th Anniversary in 1976.

In person Esme Gordon was of middle height, stocky in build with a crop of upright hair which he retained to the end. He was a superb draughtsman and watercolourist, an important collector of Oriental art of which he had a profound knowledge, and had a delightful personality.

He died in the City Hospital, Edinburgh on 31 May 1993. His wife had predeceased him in 1990. He was survived by his sons Giles (who died in Edinburgh in 2003) , Christopher who lives in Hampshire, and his daughter Celia who lives in Oxford. A memorial exhibition was held at the RSA in 1994.

Publications:

‘'A Short History of St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh' (1954)

'A handbook on the Principles of Church Building. Furnishing, Equipment and Decoration' (1963)

'The Royal Scottish Academy of Painting Sculpture and Architecture 1826-1976' (1976)

‘The Making of the Royal Scottish Academy’ (1988)

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

Bio Notes continued...

Additional Notes

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

Private Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Notes
36 Heriot Row Edinburgh Scotland	Private/business	Private at first; later used as office
2 Darnaway Street Edinburgh Scotland	Private
8 Albert Terrace Edinburgh Scotland	Private
11 Greenhill Gardens Edinburgh Scotland	Private
10A Greenhill Park Edinburgh Scotland	Private
2/23 Barnton Avenue West Edinburgh Scotland	Private

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
36 Heriot Row Edinburgh Scotland	Private/business	Before 1935		After 1956		Private at first; later used as office
34 Castle Street Edinburgh Scotland	Business	c. 1937		1940		In partnership with James Robertson

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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
(Sir) John Burnet, Tait & Lorne	200089	In year 1934	In year 1937	Assistant
Robertson & Gordon	204825	In year 1937	c. 1940	Partner
Gordon & Dey	202411	In year 1946		Partner
(Sir) John Burnet, Tait & Lorne	200089	c. 1931	c. 1932	Apprentice

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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
Stanley Patrick Ross-Smith	100447	After 1948	Before 1958	Senior Assistant
Stanley Patrick Ross-Smith	100447	After 1948	Before 1958	Junior Partner

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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
John Begg	200375	1935/12/02	for Associateship
Alexander Lorne Campbell	200379	1935/12/02	for Associateship
(Sir) Frank Charles Mears	202402	1935/12/02	for Associateship
John Ross McKay	202350	1956/03/06	For Fellowship
Leslie Grahame Thomson (or Leslie Grahame-Thomson; later Leslie Grahame MacDougall)	200832	1956/03/06	For Fellowship
Thomas Waller Marwick	201834	1956/03/06	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
John Stone Craig	1956/11/04	For Fellowship
Ian Henry Dodd	1961/10/03	For Associateship
Douglas Haig Bamber	1962/10	For Fellowship
Robert James Naismith	Mid 1965s	For Fellowship
Stanley Patrick Ross-Smith	1968/07/17	For Fellowship

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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
Scottish Office buildings	In year 1933	Calton Hill	Edinburgh	Scotland	Executed scheme, known as St Andrew's House - as assistant to Tait at Burnet, Tait & Lorne
Curzon Cinema	In year 1934	Mayfair	London	England	As assistant to Tait at Burnet, Tait & Lorne
Masonic Hall	Before 1934	Silver End	Essex	England	Worked on the drawings while assistant in the Burnet Tait & Lorne office
Kirsop's shop	In year 1935		Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant to Tait in Burnet, Tait & Lorne
House for the Jubilee of George V	In year 1935				Competition designs (unexecuted) - as assistant to Tait at Burnet, Tait & Lorne
Glasgow Empire Exhibition, masterplan	In year 1936	Bellahouston	Glasgow	Scotland	As assistant to Tait in Burnet, Tait & Lorne
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art	In year 1936		Dundee	Scotland	Competition design (unsuccessful) - information provided to DMW by Alexander EsmÃ© Gordon in response to questionnaire in the 1980s.
House for Miss Logan	In year 1937		Edinburgh	Scotland
Proposed houses at Corstorphine	In year 1937	Corstorphine	Edinburgh	Scotland
Tanfield Primary School	In year 1938		Edinburgh	Scotland	Competition design (unsuccessful) (information provided to DMW by Alexander EsmÃ© Gordon in response to questionnaire in the 1980s)
Glasgow Empire Exhibition, Travel and Transport Pavilion	In year 1938	Bellahouston	Glasgow	Scotland
Hermitage	c. 1938	Murrayfield	Edinburgh	Scotland	Alterations and new lodge house for chauffeur
St Giles Cathedral	In year 1939		Edinburgh	Scotland	New organ case
Church	In year 1939	West Pilton	Edinburgh	Scotland
Innerleven East Church	In year 1939	Methil	Fife	Scotland	Mainly by Gordon

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Notes
RIBA	The RIBA Kalendar 1939-1940	1939	London: Royal Institute of British Architects
Glendinning, Miles	Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75	1997	Tuckwell Press Ltd	p2 Illustration of St Andrew's House
Glendinning, Miles	Rebuilding Scotland: The Postwar Vision, 1945-75	1997	Tuckwell Press Ltd	p4 Image of Electricity Board Office and Showroom
RIBA	The RIBA Kalendar 1950-1951	1950	London: Royal Institute of British Architects

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
Scotsman	1993/06/12	*	Obituary
Builder	1957/05/03		p802
The Independent	1993/06/04
Daily Telegraph	1993/06/10		Obituary p23

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The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive Name	Source	Source Cat No	Notes
RIBA Nomination Papers	RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum	100005	A no5839 (stored under F5129, combined box 58); F no5129 (combined box 58)
Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material	Professor David M Walker personal archive	100041	Information provided to DMW by Alexander Esmé Gordon in response to a questionnaire in the 1980s
Information sent to Dictionary	Courtesy of Christopher Gordon	201200	Sent March 2011 and September 2011

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Basic Biographic Details

Addresses

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

Employment and Training

Employers2 classic

Employees or Pupils

Employees or Pupils2 classic

RIBA Proposers

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

RIBA Proposals

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

Buildings and Designs

Buildings and Designs2 classic

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