John Kinross by William Birnie Rhind, SNPG

Kinross House, Abercromby Place, Edinburgh

John Kinross (3 July 1855 – 7 January 1931) was a Scottish architect. He was particularly skilled in traditional styles and was highly involved in the restoration of historic buildings, researching his subjects well before any project.

Biography

The grave of John Kinross, Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born in Shore Road in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

, the second son of William Kinross (1810-1874), a builder and owner of William Kinross and Sons, and his second wife, Ann Marshall. He was educated at Stirling High School. Kinross was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to Glasgow architect John Hutchison around 1870, and moved to the Edinburgh firm of Wardrop and Reid in 1875. He travelled to Italy in 1880 to study Renaissance buildings. In 1882 Kinross he established a partnership with Henry Seymour, which lasted until 1889. At this time he lived at 15 Leven Street in the Tollcross district. Kinross was president of the Edinburgh Architectural Association (EAA) between 1890 and 1892, and was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1905. Ebenezer James MacRae trained under him in 1908. He completed many commissions for the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

in his early years. During the 1890s he developed a style strongly influenced by Scottish architecture of the 17th century. He carried out extensive research to complete a number of important restorations, including

Falkland Palace Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish Kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, providing an escape from political and religious turmoil. Today it is under the stewardship of ...

and the 15th-century Priory Church in

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the no ...

. Several commissions came from the 3rd Marquis of Bute, an enthusiastic restorer. He also carried out numerous domestic commissions, among the most important was his rebuilding of

Manderston Manderston House, Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, is the home of The Rt Hon. The 4th Baron Palmer. It was completely rebuilt between 1901 and 1903 and has sumptuous interiors with a silver-plated staircase. The proprietor, Sir James Miller, ...

in Berwickshire (1901–1905). After 1905 he experienced a decline in commissions for new houses, and began submitting competition proposals. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he completed several war memorials, and also contributed time to

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

. He suffered a breakdown in 1920, but continued in practice, and continued his involvement with the RSA. Kinross had his office at 2 Abercromby Place (now called Kinross House) and lived at 67 Braid Road. His son established the John Kinross Scholarshipin 1982 to aid architectural students. He is buried in

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

near the western edge of its Southwest Extension. His wife Mary Hall, and son John Blythe Kinross CBE HRSA (1904-1989), a financier and philanthropist, lie with him.

Principal Projects

*Major enlargement of St. Baldred's Episcopal Church,

North Berwick North Berwick (; gd, Bearaig a Tuath) is a seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable ...

(1884) *New Carriage Works for his family's firm, Stirling, Scotland (1884) *Restoration of

(1887-1892) *St. Michael's Church, Edinburgh (1888) *Restoration of St. Mary's Episcopal Church,

(1889) *Restoration and multiple buildings on the estate at Manderston House,

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 ...

(1890-1910) *Restoration of Thurston House, East Lothian (1891) *St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Torry near Aberdeen (1897) *Carlekemp,

(1898) *Archaeological investigation and restoration of

Pluscarden Abbey Pluscarden Abbey is a Catholic Benedictine monastery in the glen of the Black Burn, southwest of Elgin, Moray, Scotland. It was founded in 1230 by Alexander II for the Valliscaulian Order. In 1454, following a merger with the priory of Urqu ...

(1898-1900) *31,33 and 35 Mortonhall Road, Edinburgh (1898) (33 as his own house) *Restoration of

Straiton Straiton is a village on the River Girvan in South Ayrshire in Scotland, mainly built in the 18th century, but with some recent housing. It was the main location for the film '' The Match,'' where two rival pubs played against each other in a ...

Parish Church and addition of bell-tower (1899) *Restoration of Michael Kirk at

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is locate ...

(1900) *Various buildings at Altyre House,

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...

(1901-2) *Co-operative Emporium,

Penicuik Penicuik ( ; sco, Penicuik; gd, Peighinn na Cuthaig) is a town and former Police burgh, burgh in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the west bank of the River Esk, Lothian, River North Esk. It lies on the A701 road, A701 midway between Edinburgh a ...

(1904) *Remodelling of Ardtornish House (1908) *Gravestone for Henry Kinross (an uncle?) Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling (1916) *22 Hermitage Drive, Edinburgh (1920) *

Cockburnspath Cockburnspath ( ; sco, Co’path) is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It lies near the North Sea coast between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. It is at the eastern extremity of the Southern Upland Way a long-distance footpa ...

War Memorial (1920) *Stone base,

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fi ...

War Memorial (1920)(statuary by

Henry Snell Gamley Henry Snell Gamley (commonly called Harry Gamley) (1865–1928) was a Scottish sculptor specialising in war memorials and sculpture on tombs. He was however also responsible for other figurative sculpture on prominent Edinburgh buildings ...

) * Montrose War Memorial (1920)(statuary by

) *

Buckie Buckie ( gd, Bucaidh) is a burgh town (defined as such in 1888) on the Moray Firth coast of Scotland. Historically in Banffshire, Buckie was the largest town in the county until the administrative area was abolished in 1975. The town is the t ...

War Memorial (1920)(statuary by

William Birnie Rhind William Birnie Rhind RSA (1853–1933) was a Scottish sculptor. Life Rhind was born in Edinburgh on 27 February 1853 as the first son of sculptor John Rhind (1828–1892), and his wife, Catherine Birnie. He was the elder brother of J. M ...

) *

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

War Memorial (1921) (statuary by

) *

Kirriemuir Kirriemuir, sometimes called Kirrie or the ''Wee Red Toon'' ( gd, An Ceathramh Mòr; IPA: nˈkʰʲɛɾəvmoːɾ, is a burgh in Angus, Scotland. It reaches back to earliest recorded times, when it is thought to have been a major ecclesiastical ...

Parish War Memorial (1921) (statuary by Henry Hutcheon) *

Markinch Markinch (, (Scottish Gaelic: Marc Innis) is both a village and a parish in the heart of Fife, Scotland. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the village has a population of 2,420. The civil parish had a population of 16,530 (in 2011).Cens ...

War Memorial (1921) * Morningside Free church War Memorial (1921) (statuary by

) *Monument to Alistair Hunter MacFarlane in

St. Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

, Edinburgh (1922)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinross, John Scottish architects Royal Scottish Academicians People from Stirling 1855 births 1931 deaths