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Practices

Basic Biographic Details

Peddie & Washington Browne
Architectural practice
Date Not Known
Year Only
1907
John More Dick Peddie (born 1853), who had been practising alone since the death of his former partner Charles George Hood Kinnear in 1894, took George Washington Browne (also born 1853) into partnership late in 1895 or early in 1896. This formalised the loose relationship that had existed between Browne and Kinnear & Peddie for some years; some of the details of their Caledonian Station, 1890, suggest his hand. The immediate catalyst seems to have been a surge in branch bank building, particularly for the British Linen Bank. As Kinnear & Peddie's South Charlotte Street office had belonged to Kinnear, the new partnership moved to much larger premises at 8 Albyn Place late in 1896 or early in 1897.

The Peddie & Washington Browne partnership was hugely successful, enabling Browne to build a very sophisticated neo-Jacobean house, The Limes, in Blackford Road, and even accommodate Peddie's brother Walter Lockhart Dick Peddie as third partner in 1898. But soon thereafter Walter became ill and emigrated to British Columbia in the hope of recovery. He died there in 1902 and was not replaced. From about 1905 the partnership began to drift apart, although Peddie and Browne were to remain in formal partnership until 1907 and share the same office at 8 Albyn Place until 1908. Peddie had in fact been taking his side of the practice in a more Beaux-Arts and neo-Georgian direction, perhaps influenced by Frank Worthington Simon at the School of Applied Art, and began hiring some very accomplished assistants to help him do it. Of these the most important were John Wilson and James Forbes Smith. Born in 1877, Wilson had been articled to the school architect Robert Wilson and had worked under Wilson's brilliant assistant and successor, John Alexander Carfrae. Whilst in Peddie & Washington Browne's employ he published a major folio on the Petit Trianon in 1907. Smith was a year older than Wilson, born 1876 and articled to George Beattie & Son in 1891. He had obtained a place in Rowand Anderson's office at the end of his articles and had spent three years with him, concurrently taking classes at Anderson's Edinburgh School of Applied Art under Professor Frank Worthington Simon, Stewart Henbest Capper and John Watson. The date at which he joined Peddie's office is not precisely known, but was probably 1897, just slightly ahead of Wilson, and while in the office he distinguished himself by winning the Pugin Silver Medal in 1900, enabling him to travel.

Peddie continued as sole partner for some two years after the dissolution of the partnership with Browne, taking Forbes Smith into partnership in 1909.

(See separate entries on Peddie & Forbes Smith and on the individual partners for later practice history.)

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

Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this architectural practice:

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2

AddressTypeDate FromDate ToNotes
3 South Charlotte Street Edinburgh ScotlandBusinessEarly 1895sEarly 1896s
8 Albyn Place Edinburgh ScotlandBusinessEarly 1896sIn year 1907

Partners, Employees and Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this architectural practice (click on an item to view details):

Employees or Pupils2

NamePositionDate FromDate ToNotes
Cecil Scott BurgessDraughtsmanIn year 1891In year 1895
James Edwin ForbesApprenticeIn year 1892In year 1896Under Browne
George Donaldson MacnivenApprenticeIn year 1894c. 1898
John More Dick PeddiePartnerEarly 1895sIn year 1907
Walter Lockhart Dick PeddieAssistantEarly 1895sIn year 1898
George Washington BrownePartnerEarly 1895sIn year 1907
James Alexander ArnottAssistantc. 18951898/05
Ramsay TraquairAssistantIn year 1897In year 1899
James Forbes SmithAssistantc. 1897In year 1907
John WilsonAssistantIn year 1898In year 1903
Walter Lockhart Dick PeddiePartnerIn year 1898In year 1901
George WittetAssistantIn year 1898In year 1902
James Herbert BelfrageAssistantIn year 1899Before 1902
James FerriganApprenticec. 1899c. 1904
Arthur James MarshallAssistantIn year 1900In year 1904

Buildings and Designs

This architectural practice was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs2

BuildingPartnership GPRoleDate FromDate ToTown DistrictIslandCity CountyCountryNotes
North Berwick Golf ClubhouseBIn year 1895North BerwickEast LothianScotlandAdditions
BakeryAIn year 1895EdinburghScotland
Forfar British Linen BankAIn year 1895In year 1896ForfarAngusScotland
British Linen BankAIn year 1895NewcastletonRoxburghshireScotland
House in WestgateAIn year 1895North BerwickEast LothianScotland
Kilmory CastleAIn year 1895LochgilpheadArgyllScotlandAlterations
The LodgeBIn year 1895North BerwickEast LothianScotlandMinor alterations
Pinkieburn HouseBc. 1895In year 1899MusselburghMidlothianScotlandLibrary and additions
Abington ChurchIn year 1896AbingtonLanarkshireScotlandAttributed to Peddie
Longmore Hospital for IncurablesHArchitectural practiceIn year 1896NewingtonEdinburghScotlandMinor internal alterations
137-138 Princes StreetCIn year 1896EdinburghScotlandPlans for alterations drawn up
Scottish Equitable Life Assurance Company officeAIn year 1896In year 1899EdinburghScotlandRebuilding
House, CambuscairnAIn year 1896In year 1897CambuscairnDumfriesshireScotland
Longmore Hospital for IncurablesBIn year 1896In year 1899NewingtonEdinburghScotlandLarge W addition (approximately matching earlier E addition), boiler house and laundry block to rear, chapel and mortuary block to W
House, Abbey FeusAIn year 1896In year 1897North BerwickEast LothianScotlandAlterations

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this architectural practice:

Bib ref

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
Walker, David WPeddie and Kinnear2002Unpublished PhD thesis, University of St Andrews, 2002
Mays, DeborahA Profile of Sir George Washington BrowneArchitectural History 111, The Age of Mackintosh
Bailey, Rebecca MScottish architects' papers: a source book1996Edinburgh: The Rutland Presspp133-4