Basic Biographical Details Name: | James Glen Sivewright Gibson | Designation: | | Born: | 23 November 1861 | Died: | 27 March 1951 | Bio Notes: | James Glen Sivewright Gibson was born in Arbroath on 23 November 1861, the son of William Gibson and Elizabeth Sivewright. He may have been a relative of Robert Gibson, civil engineer and architect, Dundee but was not a brother as has sometimes been assumed. He was articled to Ireland & Maclaren, Dundee, from 1877 to 1881, and was thereafter a draughtsman with Pearce Brothers, engineers, and then with Alexander Hutcheson. He then moved to London and worked for William Wallace, Harry Wilkinson Moore, and finally Thomas Edward Collcutt. At some point he travelled in France and Italy before commencing practice and passing the qualifying exam, both in 1889. He was admitted ARIBA, his proposers being the Dundee architect John Murray Robertson, Collcutt and James Brooks. In that year he commenced independent practice.
In 1890 he entered into partnership with Samuel Bridgman Russell, also from William Wallace's office. Born in 1864, Russell had been articled to Henry Hewitt Bridgman 1881-84 and had studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1882, thereafter becoming a draughtsman in the office of Thomas Chatfeild Clarke. The partnership of Gibson and Russell was dissolved in 1899, Russell entering into partnership with Edwin Cooper a few years later and eventually becoming Chief Architect to the Ministry of Health.
Thereafter Gibson practised in partnership with William Wallace until 1909 when he took into partnership his two senior assistants, Frank Peyton Skipwith and Walter Symington Athol Gordon. Born in 1881, Skipwith was educated at Cheam School and Neuenheim College, Heidelberg, and articled to Gibson in 1903, remaining as an assistant and studying at the Architectural Association. He did not however take the qualifying exam and was admitted LRIBA on 20 March 1911. Gordon, born in 1879, had been articled to Robert Rowand Anderson 1895-1901 and had studied under Frank Worthington Simon at the Edinburgh School of Applied Art prior to joining Gibson. Like Skipwith, Gibson did not take the qualifying exam, being elected LRIBA on 27 February 1911.
Skipwith enlisted in the armed forces in the First World War and was killed in action in France in September 1915. The practice continued thereafter as Gibson & Gordon.
Gibson died on 27 March 1951 at the age of ninety. He had a remarkable record of success in competitions, beginning with the LCC hostel in Drury Lane, London in 1891, the West Riding Offices in Wakefield, 1894, and the West Ham Technical College in 1895. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Dundee, Scotland | Private | | | | | 40, Albany Street, London, England | Private(?) | 1890 * | | | | 27a, Old Bond Street, London W, England | Business | 1890 or 1891 | After 1902 | | | 11, Little Queen Street, Westminster, London, England | Business(?) | 1894 * | | | | 4, Gray's Inn Square, London, England | Private/business(?) | 1900 * | | | | 27, Beckwith Road, Herne Hill, London, England | Private | 1902 * | | | | 5, Old Bond Street, London, England | Business | Before 1911 | After 1926 | | | 2, Devonshire Terrace, Marylebone, London, England | Private/business(?) | 1931 | 1951 | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersEmployees or Pupils
RIBARIBA ProposersRIBA Proposals
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesPeriodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | RIBA Journal | June 1951 | | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | p332 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | A v11 p41 (microfiche 47/A4); F v14 p38 no873 (microfilm reel 11) |
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