James Adam (21 July 1732 – 20 October 1794) was a Scottish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and

furniture designer This is a list of notable people whose primary occupation is furniture design. A * Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) * Eero Aarnio (born 1932) * Robert Adam (1728-1792) * Thomas Affleck (1745-1795) * Franco Albini (1905-1977) * Davis Allen (1916-199 ...

, but was often overshadowed by his older brother and business partner,

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

. They were sons of architect William Adam.

Life and career

Adam was born in Kirkcaldy, Fife in 1732 as the third son of the architect William Adam. In 1755 Adam worked on Gunsgreen House in the Berwickshire town of

Eyemouth Eyemouth ( sco, Heymooth) is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north–south A1 road and north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. The town's name comes from its location at the ...

. In 1758, Adam, along with his brother Robert, started his business in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(living in Lower Grosvenor Street), focusing on designing complete schemes for the decoration and furnishing of houses. Palladian design was popular, but Robert had evolved a new, more flexible signature style incorporating elements of classic

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

design alongside influences from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and Baroque styles, often termed as

Adam Style The Adam style (or Adamesque and "Style of the Brothers Adam") is an 18th-century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practised by Scottish architect William Adam and his sons, of whom Robert (1728–1792) and James (17 ...

in conventional architecture texts. The Adam brothers' success can also be attributed to a desire to design everything down to the smallest detail, ensuring a sense of unity in their designs. He then followed in Robert's footsteps by undertaking the ''

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

'', leaving in May 1760 and arriving back in London in October 1763. Adam succeeded Robert as Architect of the King's Works in 1768 just before work on the brothers' Adelphi project (1768–1772) almost bankrupted the firm (the business employed other notable architects including Joseph Bonomi (1739–1808) who, from 1768, remained with the Adams until 1781). From 1771 to 1775, he was engaged with his brother in the design and building of

Wedderburn Castle Wedderburn Castle, near Duns, Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders, is an 18th-century country house that is now used as a wedding and events venue. The house is a Category A listed building and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gar ...

near

Duns Duns may refer to: * Duns, Scottish Borders, a town in Berwickshire, Scotland ** Duns railway station ** Duns F.C., a football club ** Duns RFC, a rugby football club ** Battle of Duns, an engagement fought in 1372 * Duns Scotus ( 1265/66–1308 ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of t ...

. Adam emerged from his brother's shadow after Robert's death in 1792, designing several notable buildings in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, including the old Infirmary (1792; demolished 1907), Assembly Rooms (1794; demolished in 1890) and the Tron Kirk (1794). He also designed Portland Place in central London. In 1793, he was part of a group of architects that

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

was asked to supply plans to for the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. However, he died at his home in London's Albemarle Street in 1794. Adam had a book collection of some significance which he marked with his personal engraved bookplate. During their lifetime Robert and James Adam published two volumes of their designs, ''Works in Architecture of Robert and James Adam'' (in 1773–1778 and 1779; a third volume was published posthumously, in 1822).

List of architectural works

Public buildings

*Courts of Justice and Corn Market, Hertfordshire, now

Shire Hall, Hertford The Shire Hall is a municipal building in Fore Street, Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire, England. The building, which currently serves as a Magistrates' Court, is a Grade I listed building. History The building was commissioned to ...

(1768). Altered, but partially restored to original design. A joint project with Robert Adam. File:The Shire Hall, Hertford - geograph.org.uk - 142920.jpg, The Shire Hall, Hertford - geograph.org.uk - 142920 File:York Place 5B, Edinburgh.JPG, St George's Episcopal Chapel, York Place, Edinburgh (1794)

Urban domestic work

* Drumsheugh House in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

for the Erskine family (c.1756) * The Adelphi development, London (1768–1775) mostly demolished 1930s, a ceiling & fireplace are in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

* 7 Adam Street File:Adelphi 20130414 161.jpg, The Adelphi, London, largely demolished File:WLA vanda Robert Adam Ceiling roundel with octagon and Apollo and Horae.jpg, Robert Adam ceiling from the Adelphi, now in the V&A File:James Adam (architect) 20130414 156.jpg, 7 Adam Street

Country houses with major work

* Gunsgreen House, Berwickshire (1755) File:Gunsgreen House, Eyemouth.jpg, Gunsgreen House

References