Architects

Name:

Alexander Tod

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Date Not Known

Exact DOB:

21/04/1926

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:

Circa (Year)

Exact DOD:

21/04/1926

Year of Death:

Circa Year of Death:

1917

Date of Death Before (Year):

Date of Death After (Year):

DOD (1st 'Or' Year):

DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

Town of Birth :

Bio Notes :

Alexander Tod was a Fife-born carpenter who settled in Edinburgh and is known to have worked on Pilkington's Barclay Church. He rose to the position of an inspector of works and in 1865-67 was responsible for the building of the Normand Road UP Church in Dysart designed by James Brown of Glasgow. His expeditious handling of that contract came to the notice of Mrs Millicent Wemyss of Wemyss Castle who appointed him master of works to the Wemyss and Torrie estates which had extensive colliery and harbour interests as well as agricultural land. In 1894-95 Tod became acquainted with Robert Stodart Lorimer through the formation of a chapel in Wemyss Castle and more particularly through the building of the East Lodge and West Wemyss Manse which in some degree set the style of the harled Scots vernacular idiom adopted on the Wemyss estate thereafter.

Tod's practice was continued by his son Alexander Stewart Tod who was born on 25 December 1889 and joined his father in the master-of-works office on leaving school, his practical training with his father being supplemented by books and evening classes. In 1915 he was called up for military service, and while serving in the army his father died c.1917. The post of master of works was kept vacant for him and he returned to the Wemyss estate office on demobilisation in 1919.

About 1950 John Carroll, owner of the textile factory at East Wemyss invited Tod to carry out work on his premises. This was encouraged by the Wemyss family, but as a salaried estate employee he was at first reluctant to undertake it and passed the commission to the much older Archibald Welsh of Kirkcaldy who was architect to the Kirkcaldy and District (previously Pathhead and Sinclairtown) Co-operative Societies. Welsh then invited him to become a partner, the practice then becoming Welsh & Tod.

Alexander Stewart Tod died on 9 January 1964 and was succeeded as master of works of the Wemyss estate by his son Charles Robert, a surveyor, who had been articled to Archibald Welsh in 1946. Welsh only briefly survived Alexander Stewart Tod, the Welsh & Tod practice then becoming Stewart Tod & Sons, although Stewart Tod Junior remained an associate in David Carr's practice which he had joined in 1955. The architectural side of the Tod practice in Kirkcaldy was also looked after by his wife Vivienne until 1970 when Carr took Stewart Tod into full partnership and the practices merged.

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
Fife Scotland	Business
Edinburgh Scotland	Business

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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
George Charles Campbell	100276	1898/07	c. 1903	Apprentice
George Charles Campbell	100276	After 1903	In year 1905	Senior Draughtsman
George Charles Campbell	100276	c. 1903	Before 1905	Junior Draughtsman

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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
Housing	c. 1880	Aberhill	Fife	Scotland
Housing	c. 1880	Coaltown of Wemyss	Fife	Scotland
Housing	c. 1880	Methilhill	Fife	Scotland
St Adrian's Parish Church	In year 1889	West Wemyss	Fife	Scotland
The Manse	c. 1895	West Wemyss	Fife	Scotland	Partially responsible for design - perhaps modifying Lorimer's design in course of execution
Coaltown of Wemyss School	In year 1896	Coaltown of Wemyss	Fife	Scotland
West Wemyss School	In year 1896	West Wemyss	Fife	Scotland	'Buildings of Scotland' attribution
Wemyss and Torrie Estates	Before 1898		Fife	Scotland	General estate works - villas, farmhouses, steadings, cottages, hall, tenements
West Wemyss Miners' Welfare Institute	Late 1800s	West Wemyss	Fife	Scotland	Nos 5, 6 Coxstool
Numbers 1, 2 & 3 Cottages, Wemyss Castle Policies	Late 1800s		Fife	Scotland
Bowhouse	Late 1800s	Wemyss	Fife	Scotland
Branxton Farmhouse and steading	Late 1800s	Boreland	Fife	Scotland	Alterations to farmhouse
Wemyss Public Hall	In year 1900	East Wemyss	Fife	Scotland	Also bellcote of 1911?
Church of Scotland (possibly St Michael's)	In year 1901	Buckhaven	Fife	Scotland
Housing for workers from the Wemyss Coal Company	In year 1902	Denbeath	Fife	Scotland

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Part	Notes
Bailey, Rebecca M	Scottish architects' papers: a source book	1996	Edinburgh: The Rutland Press		p139

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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
Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material	Professor David M Walker personal archive	100041			Personal information from Stewart Tod

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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

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Archive References

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