Architects

Name:

William Bryce Binnie (Major)

Designation :

Architect

Date of Birth:

Exact Date

Exact DOB:

07/01/1886

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:

15/05/1926

Year of Death:

1963

Circa Year of Death:

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Date of Death After (Year):

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DOD (2nd 'Or' Year):

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Bio Notes :

William Bryce Binnie was born on 1 July 1886 at Kingscavil Rows, Linlithgow the son of William Binnie, bricklayer, and his wife Helen Bryce who had married on 5 September 1879 in Bathgate. He was articled to Robert Alexander Bryden in 1904. On Bryden's death in 1906 he transferred to the office of John Burnet & Son to complete his apprenticeship. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1908 to 1910 and obtained a Gold Medal and travelling scholarship in the latter year, which enabled him to spend approximately a year in Italy. Instead of returning to Scotland, he then went to New York to work as a designer in the office of Warren & Wetmore, where he was responsible for the detailing of Grand Central Station and was supervising architect for the Baltimore Hotel. He returned to Britain in 1913 to take up a position as chief draughtsman to Leonard Martin in London.

He served in the Royal Highlanders during the First World War, and was promoted to the rank of temporary captain. He was awarded the military cross for gallantry in action. At the end of the war, in 1919, he was appointed Assistant Architect to the Imperial War Graves Commission and in 1920 Deputy Director, supervising the erection of war cemeteries and memorials in France, Belgium and Germany. In that capacity he designed the Memorial to the Ministry at Nieuport, Belgium with three lions by the sculptor C S Jagger.

He was admitted ARIBA late 1920 or early 1921, his proposers being Emanuel Vincent Harris, John James Burnet, and Leonard Martin, who described him as 'an architect of great ability' who would 'do great things in the future'; and was still in the same position, based in St Omer, Pas de Calais, France, when he was admitted FRIBA on 20 November 1925, his proposers this time being Reginald Blomfield, Edwin Landseer Lutyens and Herbert Baker.

He had returned to London by 1927 when he formed an 'association' with the London architect Claude Waterlow Ferrier, six years his senior, who had established a successful business incorporating public, institutional, religious and domestic work in Britain and abroad. He continued the practice after Ferrier's death on 6 July 1935 as a result of a road accident, the office at that time being at 26 Old Queen Street, Westminster. Among Binnie's major works were the East (or West?) Stand at Highbury for Arsenal Football Club (1936) and the Hotel Phoenicia at Valetta, Malta built in 1939 but not opened as a hotel until 1947.

In a letter to Gavin Stamp (12 September 1977) W C Von Berg, one of Binnie's assistant architects, described Binnie as 'an aggressive little Scotsman'.

Binnie died between April and June 1963. His death was reported to the RIBA Council on 26 June 1963. No obituary was published.

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
Springwells Avenue Airdrie Lanarkshire Scotland	Private
Tonbridge Kent England	Private

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Business Addresses2 classic

Address	Class	Date From	Date From Type	Date To	Date To Type	Notes
Imperial War Graves Commission St Omer Pas de Calais France	Business	1925
26 Old Queen Street Westminster London England	Business	1935

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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
Robert Alexander Bryden	100275	In year 1904	In year 1906	Apprentice
John Burnet & Son	200192	In year 1906	In year 1908	Apprentice
Warren & Wetmore	204890	In year 1911	In year 1913	Designer
Leonard Martin	204891	In year 1913	In year 1914	Chief Draughtsman
Ferrier & Binnie	205934	In year 1927	In year 1935	Partner

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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
Robert McDowall Symonds	205682	In year 1935	In year 1939	Chief Assistant
Robert McDowall Symonds	205682	In year 1946	In year 1953	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
(Sir) John James Burnet	200088	Early 1919s	for Associateship
Leonard Martin	204891	Early 1919s	for Associateship
Emanuel Vincent Harris	201746	Early 1919s	for Associateship
(Sir) Reginald Theodore Blomfield	100198	1925/11/30	for Fellowship
(Sir) Herbert Baker	200106	1925/11/30	for Fellowship
Edwin Landseer Lutyens	200727	1925/11/30	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
James Allan Lauchlan	1940/02/13	for Licentiateship

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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
Biltmore Hotel	c. 1912	New York	New York	United States of America	As designer and supervising architect to Warren & Wetmore
Grand Central Station	c. 1912	New York	New York	United States of America	As designer to Warren & Wetmore - responsible for detailing
Hotel	c. 1912	Grand Rapids	Michigan	United States of America	As designer to Warren & Wetmore
Station	c. 1912	Detroit	Michigan	United States of America	As designer to Warren & Wetmore
Arsenal football stadium	After 1927	Highbury	London	England	West stand
81 New Bond Street	After 1927		London	England
National Temperance Hospital	After 1927		London?	England	Extensions
Hotel Phoenicia	c. 1935		Valetta	Malta

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The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

Author	Title	Date	Publisher	Notes
Cherry, Bridget and Pevsner, Nikolaus	London 4: North (The Buildings of England)	1998	London: Penguin Books	p667
Stamp, Gavin	Silent Cities: an exhibition of the Memorial and Cemetery Architecture of the Great War	1977	RIBA (London)	p21
Gray, A Stuart	Edwardian Architecture: A Biographical Dictionary	1985		(under Ferrier)

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The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical Name	Date Circ	Edition	Notes
RIBA Journal	1935/11/09	v43	Obituary of Claude Waterlow Ferrier, p37
Architect and Building News	1948/01/23
Dundee Courier	1916/10/21
Building	1948/10
Building	1950/03

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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 no2933 (microfilm reel 24); F no2235 (microfilm reel 17)
Information sent by Gavin Stamp to David Walker 2008	Letter from Gavin Stamp.	200907	Contains further information about Hotel Phoenicia.
Information sent to DSA	Courtesy of Morag Cross	201110	Sent January 2014
Statutory births	National Archives (via Scotlands People)	201045
Births, marriages and deaths	England and Wales	201010

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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

References

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