Basic Biographical Details Name: | William Flockhart | Designation: | | Born: | 20 September 1852 | Died: | 10 April 1913 | Bio Notes: | William Flockhart was born in Kilmarnock on 20 September 1852, the son of William Flockhart, tailor and clothier, and Margaret Gibson. Their family's usual address was then 82 London Street, Lanark: William Flockhart senior was born in England and Margaret Gibson came from Kilmarnock. The 1851 census shows that Flockhart had an elder sister, Margaret, then aged five months. There was a family link of some kind to Sir William Flockhart of Duncan Flockhart & Co, Edinburgh, the chemists who developed chloroform. In 1870 he was articled to Adamson & McLeod and took classes at Glasgow School of Art where he was a prize-winner in 1871-72. He presumably remained with McLeod after the dissolution of his partnership with Adamson c.1871-72, moving to Campbell Douglas & Sellars as assistant in 1876-77.
In 1878 Flockhart entered a design in the Brompton Oratory competition in association with the unidentified Gordon as 'Gordon & Flockhart'. Gordon may have been George William Hamilton Gordon, born 1854, an assistant in the office of Alfred Waterhouse, who was the assessor and placed their design in the final four, describing it as 'the work of a Master... The interior seems to me to be very nearly perfect' In the event the final choice lay with the Fathers who chose Herbert Gribble who had made designs for them in 1874-76.
After a year of study in London and Paris in 1878-79, Flockhart entered the office of William Wallace at 27a Old Bond Street, London, first as an assistant and then in partnership as Wallace & Flockhart, his earliest commission being the addition of a tower and spire to Newhaven Free Church where Sir William Flockhart was a member of the congregation.
On 9 September 1880 he married Christine Lochhead at her home, 33 Granville Street Glasgow, the minister being A A Bonnar of Finnieston Free Church, on which he had worked when with Sellars, his own address being given as 15 Marlborough Place, St James Wood.
Stanley Adshead described Flockhart as having 'a highly strung and very artistic temperament ... he was very simple and understanding about ordinary things, and had a great sense of human nature as seen by those [with] whom he most frequently associated...he did everything himself, even his carvers had to work to his full-sized working drawings which he drew out on large sheets of paper pinned to the wall.' In consequence he required relatively few draughtsmen: Adshead reported only four in his Bond Street office when he was there in 1894-95.
Although he 'had few friends but among them was John Collier RA'. Flockhart had very distinguished clients. They tended to be either artists like Ricketts, Charles Shannon and John McWhirter and the photographers Elliot & Fry or extremely rich like his principal clients James Douglas Fletcher of Rosehaugh, Stuart Samuel, Samuel Montagu, Sir Edmund Davis, diamond merchant, the art dealer Joseph Duveen and Sir Frederick J Mirrielees of the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company. For the Union Castle Company he designed the interiors of S S Balmoral Castle in 1910. Adshead recalled that 'cost never seemed to enter into the problem',. Flockhart was also consultant to the Derwent Valley Water Board and designed the architectural elements of the Derwent and Howden dams. In 1910 Flockhart exhibited a number of designs at the Japan England Exhibition which was held at Shepherd's Bush that year. This doubtless relates to the fact that he and Ernest George, who served on both the executive committe of the exhibition as well as on the Architecture sub-committee, frequesntly lunched together at the Arts Club.
Flockhart was an extremely inventive and scholarly designer, something of a trial to the staff as designs were endlessly changed and perfected, sometimes after work was well under way. Goodhart Rendel described him as 'an extremely sensitive draughtsman', and 'potentially the best of the lot'. Of his country house commissions, the monumental Rosehaugh House in Ross & Cromarty was the largest but he also designed Pasturewood in Surrey, Parkwood in Berkshire, Chelwood Vachery in Sussex and Galewood in Cambridgeshire. He undertook much work in central London including town houses and Bond Street shops, all the designs having exclusivity and opulence which sets them apart from work by his contemporaries.
The partnership of Wallace & Flockhart was dissolved c.1883, Flockhart continuing to practise alone. He was admitted FRIBA on 18 February 1901, his proposers being John Belcher, John McKean Brydon and Ernest George.
Flockhart appears to have taken his former senior assistant Leonard Rome Guthrie into partnership as Flockhart & Guthrie by 1912. He died on 10 April 1913, leaving moveable estate of £29,631 6s 2d. He had one son who did not become an architect and two daughters, one of whom married Guthrie, who inherited the practice. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 27a, Old Bond Street, London, England | Business | 1880 | After 1885 | | | 180, New Bond Street, London, England | Business | Before 1891 | After 1905 | | | 122, Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park, London, England | Private/business(?) | 1905 * | | | | 10, Conduit Street, London, England | Business | Before 1908 | After 1913 | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersEmployees or Pupils
RIBARIBA ProposersThe following individuals proposed this for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date proposed | Notes | | John Belcher | 18 February 1901 | for Fellowship | | John McKean Brydon | 18 February 1901 | for Fellowship | | Ernest George | 18 February 1901 | for Fellowship |
RIBA Proposals
Buildings and DesignsThis was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | 1872 | Design for a villa | | | | Scotland | Competition design | | 1874 | St Andrew's Parish Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | As assistant to James Salmon & Son did the drawings for this | | 1880 | Crathes Castle | Crathes | | Aberdeenshire/Kincardineshire | Scotland | As assistant to William Wallace - alterations including dining room and refitting hall (largely eradicated since) and the hall window which is still extant | | 1881 | 15 Fitzjohn's Avenue | Hampstead | | London | England | Internal alteration to existing house. | | 1881 | “The Lothians,” Hampstead | Hampstead | | London | England | | | 1882 | Old Newhaven Free Church | Newhaven | | Edinburgh | Scotland | Recasting of church and addition of tower and spire. New vestry added. | | 1883 | 129 Park Lane | | | London | England | Interior refitting | | 1883 | Presbyterian Church | Richmond upon Thames | | Surrey | England | | | 1883 | St Andrew's Vestry | Newhaven | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1883 | The White Cottage | Brompton | | London | England | Extension to existing house | | 1884 | North House, Eton Avenue | Hampstead | | London | England | | | 1885 | Elliott & Fry studios | South Kensington | | London | England | Conversion of pair of late Georgian semi-detached houses into photographic galleries and studios. | | 1885 | House and studio for John McWhirter ARA | St Johns Wood | | London | England | | | 1886 | 3 Stanhope Place | Bayswater | | London | England | Internal alterations | | 1887 | Town house, 31 Hertford Street | Mayfair | | London | England | Existing town house refurbished. | | 1887 | Town house, Hertford Street | Mayfair | | London | England | | | 1888 | Glasgow International Exhibition 1888, Royal Reception Room | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Decor of Royal Reception Room - with glass by John Guthrie | | 1888 | Rosehaugh House | Inverness (near) | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | Refurbishment and enlargement: virtually a new building | | 1888 | The Wylies | | | | Scotland | Drawing of dining room exhibited | | 1890 | 20 Hanover Square | | | London | England | Alterations including shell porch to front entrance | | 1891 | 19 Hyde Park Terrace | | | London | England | Alterations including new front door. | | 1891 | Pair of new houses, 2-4 Palace Court | Bayswater | | London | England | | | 1891 | The Elms | Hampstead | | London | England | Alterations and extensions | | 1893 | Pasturewood and estate buildings | Holmbury St Mary | | Surrey | England | | | 1893 | Rosehaugh House | Inverness (near) | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | With Stanley Davenport Adshead as resident architect and William Harvey Ross as resident clerk of works | | 1894 | Royal Institution of Great Britain | Mayfair | | London | England | Internal alterations and conversion of adjacent property, 20 Albermarle Street, into ancillary accommodation. | | 1894 | Town house, 12 Hill Street | Mayfair | | London | England | Enlargement | | 1895(?) | Rosehaugh House, Power House | | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | | | c. 1895 | Business premises, Long Acre | Covent Garden | | London | England | | | Late 1800s | Rosehaugh, wine store | Avoch | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | | | 1900 | Holborn and Strand Improvement Scheme | | | London | England | Unsuccessful competition entry | | c. 1900 | Kindeace Lodge | Fortrose | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | | | c. 1900 | Rosehaugh Estate, Gray's Cottage | Avoch | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | | | c. 1900 | Rosehaugh House, Stables | Avoch | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | Additions and part remodelling | | c. 1900 | Rosehaugh, the Laundry | Avoch | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | | | 1901 | 16 Grosvenor Square | Mayfair | | London | England | Alterations | | 1901 | Alterations to houses in Mayfair | Mayfair | | London | England | | | 1901 | Brackley Lodge | | | | | New front gates? | | 1901 | Houses, 11-13 Lansdowne Road | Notting Hill | | London | England | Conversion of two houses into family home | | 1901 | Lansdowne House | Notting Hill | | London | England | | | 1902 | Offices, Old Bond Street | | | London | England | Conversion of offices into showroom | | 1902 | Parkwood | Henley-on-Thames, Wargrave | | Berkshire | England | | | 1902 | SS Kinfauns Castle | | | | Scotland | Interior fittings? Stuart Gray gives this date but since the ship was launched in 1899 it is possible the work by Flockhart is actually before 1902. | | 1905 | Islington Central Library | | | London | England | Competition design - not successful | | 1905 | Marylebone Presbyterian Church Hall | Marylebone | | London | England | Extension comprising church hall and classrooms. | | 1905 | Mechanics' Institute | Sydenham | | London | England | Enlargement of existing school building | | 1905 | SS Empress of Britain, ship interior | | | | | Furnishing and decoration | | 1905 | Wesleyan Hall | Westminster | | London | England | Competition entry - unsuccessful | | c. 1905 | 38 Hill Street | Mayfair | | London | England | Refurbishment of town house in Louis XVI style | | 1906 | Chelwood Vachery | Wych Cross | | East Sussex | England | | | 1906 | Commercial and retail building | | | London | England | | | 1906 | Nightingale Home and Synagogue for Aged Jews | | | London | England | | | After 1906 | SS Empress of Ireland | | | | | Furnishing and decoration | | 1907 | Rosehaugh House, dairy | | | Ross and Cromarty | Scotland | | | 1908 | Galewood | Great Shelford | | Cambridgeshire | England | | | 1908 | London County Hall | | | London | England | Competition design - not successful | | 1908 | Retail premises, 180 New Bond Street | | | London | England | | | c. 1908 | Business premises for Burroughes and Watts | Westminster | | London | England | Alterations? | | 1909 | 43 Grosvenor Street | | | London | England | Alterations and new attic storey | | 1909 | House, 5 Carlton Gardens | | | London | England | Refurbishment | | 1910 | 26-29 Kensington Court | Kensington | | London | England | Alterations to no 27 | | 1910 | SS Balmoral Castle | | | | | Furnishing and decoration of interior of the state rooms for the voyage of the Duke of Connaught to the Cape. | | c. 1910 | Partridge's new premises | | | London | England | Design exhibited | | 1911 | Union Castle offices | Southampton | | Hampshire | England | Conversion of custom house building into offices | | 1912 | Derwent Dam | | | Derbyshire | England | Architectural elements | | 1912 | House, 21 Kensington Palace Gardens | | | London | England | Alterations | | 1912 | Houses, 15-21 Euston Road | St Pancras | | London | England | rebuilding of existing houses | | 1912 | Howden Dam | | | Derbyshire | England | Architectural elements | | c. 1912 | 57 Harley Street | Mayfair | | London | England | Alterations | | c. 1912 | House, 16 Kensington Gore | | | London | England | Refurbishment |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Calder, Alan | 2008 | William Flockhart: the early years | 5 | James M MacLaren Society Journal, pp4-17 | | | Calder, Alan | 2009 | William Flockhart: Rosehaugh House | 7, Autumn | James M MacLaren Society Journal, pp2-16 | pp2-16 | | Calder, Alan | 2010 | William Flockhart 1852-1913: Architect to the Nouveau Riches | | | | | Calder, Alan | 2011 | William Flockhart: the Country Houses | 9 | James M MacLaren Society Journal, William Flockhart: the Country Houses pp. 7-28 | | | Calder, Alan | 2014 | William Flockhart: A Maverick Architect for the Nouveaux Riches | | | | | Crook, J M | | The rise of the Nouveaux Riches | | | | | Mills, John et al | 1996 | Rosehaugh: a house of its time | | | | | Powers, Alan (ed.) | 1981 | Architects I have known: the architectural career of S D Adshead | | Architectural History 24, 1981, pp103-123, plates 38-40 | | | Service, Alastair | 1975 | Edwardian Architecture and its Origins | | | p478 |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Architect and Builder's Journal | 21 May 1913 | | | pp535-537. Obituary by S D Adshead | | Builder | 18 April 1913 | | | | | Builder | 13 June 1913 | | | | | RIBA Journal | 26 April 1913 | | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | pp449-450 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | In possession of Andrew Corbett | Portrait of William Flockhart by Guy Lipscombe | | | | Professor David M Walker personal archive | Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material | | Research on Flockhart family by Alan Calder and Kathleen MacLeman.
A copy of Alan Calder's research is lodged in the RIBA. |
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