James Davidson, JP

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(1848 – April 1923) 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 ...

. He also served as a Provost of

Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as ...

and a President of Airdrie Savings Bank.

Early life and education

Davidson was born in 1848 in

Airdrie, North Lanarkshire Airdrie (; sco, Airdrie; gd, An t-Àrd Ruigh) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It lies on a plateau roughly 400 ft (130 m) above sea level, and is approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of Glasgow city centre. , the town had a ...

, the son of a weaver. He was educated at Airdrie Academy and initially trained as a joiner. As a teenager he moved to

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 ...

and attended classes at the Athenaeum in

Ingram Street Ingram Street is a major thoroughfare in the city of Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The street runs east from Queen Street through the Merchant City until it meets High Street. History The street was formerly known as Back Cow Lone. L ...

Career

In 1905 and 1906, Davidson designed the

King's Theatre, Edinburgh The King's Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. History of the theatre The King's became famous for being a venue belonging to the theatre empire Howard & Wyndham. The theatre was originally commissioned by the Edinburgh Building Compa ...

, in collaboration with J. D. Swanston. Davidson was responsible for designing the exterior and Swanston designed the interior. Davidson designed many schools for the Old Monklands School Board between 1892 and 1914. These included Calderbank Public School (1892), Bargeddie Primary School (1894), Greenhill Primary School (1902), Gartsherrie Primary School (1906) and Langloan Primary School (1914). On 10 November 1909, Davidson was elected Provost of

. He continued in this role until 1912. In 1920 he designed the building of Airdrie Savings Bank. From 1921 until his death in April 1923, Davidson served as the tenth President of Airdrie Savings Bank.

Personal life

In 1877 and 1878, Davidson served as the Master of the Operative Lodge of Airdrie No 203, part of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, James Scottish architects 1848 births 1923 deaths Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects