![Jeffrey Street Edinburgh as seen from Market Street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Jeffrey_Street_Edinburgh_as_seen_from_Market_Street.jpg)
John Lessels (9 January 1809 – 12 November 1883) was a Scottish architect and artist, notably active 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 ...
and also the
Scottish Borders (he was responsible for numerous buildings and alteration projects in
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 ...
).
Life
He was born and educated in
Kirkcaldy, Fife, and initially worked for his father as a carpenter on the Raith estate. He joined the office of
William Burn
William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival,often referred ...
(1789–1870), acting as his
inspector of works until he established his own practice in Edinburgh in 1846. Important commissions included the Walker Estate, the area of the western
New Town developed from the 1850s, and his appointment as architect to the City Improvement Trust, with
David Cousin
David Cousin (19 May 1809 – 14 August 1878) was a Scottish architect, landscape architect and planner, closely associated with early cemetery design and many prominent buildings in Edinburgh. From 1841 to 1872 he operated as Edinburgh’s ...
, in 1866, which oversaw the redevelopment of parts of the
Old Town and completion of multiple incomplete schemes in the
New Town.
Among his pupils were
David MacGibbon (1831–1902) and
Robert Rowand Anderson
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his ...
(1834–1921). Lessels was a keen photographer, and was president of the Edinburgh Photographic Society for several years. He also regularly exhibited oil and watercolour paintings at the
Royal Scottish Academy.
He spent his later life living at 21
Heriot Row
Heriot Row is a highly prestigious street in central Edinburgh, virtually unchanged since its original construction in 1802. From its inception to the present day in remained a top address in the city and has housed the rich and famous of the cit ...
, a magnificent Georgian townhouse facing onto Queen Street Gardens.
He was a prominent
freemason and member of the Old Kilwinning Lodge on St John St off the
Canongate.
He is buried in
Dean Cemetery. The grave lies in the first northern extension in a north-west section, set back but visible from the main east-west path. The grave is the first known grave (1884) to bear a photograph of the deceased. The glazed ceramic tile with this photo has been stolen.
Family life
![The grave of John Lessels, Dean Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/The_grave_of_John_Lessels%2C_Dean_Cemetery.jpg)
John's first wife, Mary Henderson (26 June 1808 – 2 January 1858) bore him three children: William, Isabella (1846-1884), and John (1856-1857).
His second wife was Gertrude A. H. Neffkins (d. 13 May 1884)
All are buried together in
Dean Cemetery Edinburgh.
He had one son, James Lessels, who survived into adulthood and also became an architect. James finished some schemes (such as Royal Crescent) following his father's death.
List of Works
Lessels was a prolific tenement designer over and above his individual "landmark" buildings. His works include:
*
Stobo Castle, Peebleshire (1849)
*Melville Crescent, in the centre of Melville Street, Edinburgh (1855)
*Victoria Primary School, Newhaven, Edinburgh (1861)
*Chester Street, Edinburgh (1862)
*1–7 Coates Place, Edinburgh (1864)
*1-14 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh (1874-1882)
*4–24, 48–58 Manor Place, Edinburgh (1866–1892)
*15–32 West Maitland Street, Edinburgh (1864)
*3–21 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh (1870)
*Overseeing the rebuilding of
Trinity Church on Chalmers Close, Edinburgh, following its stone-by-stone dismantling to build
Waverley Station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...
(1871)
*Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh (1877)
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lessels, John
19th-century Scottish architects
1809 births
1883 deaths
People from Kirkcaldy
Burials at the Dean Cemetery
Scottish Freemasons