The tower of the Duncan Institute, Cupar

John Milne (1823 - 1904) was a Scottish architect operating throughout the second half of the 19th century, working largely in the

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

area. He was described as an ‘’inventive

neo-Jacobean The Jacobethan or Jacobean Revival architectural style is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the English Renaissance (15 ...

and

Scots Baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th century Gothic Revival which revived the forms and ornaments of historical architecture of Scotland in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Reminiscent of Scot ...

designer’’. He exhibited works at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

in the 1860s. He was also an inventor of a pyro-pneumatic grate: a heating system for churches. He self-financed several improvement schemes to the town of

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Life

He was born in

Fettercairn Fettercairn (, gd, Fothair Chàrdain) is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell. Fettercairn is also reached via the Cairn O' Mount road (B974) from Deeside. The name com ...

in the north of Scotland, the son of a joiner and builder. He was apprenticed to John Henderson, an architect in

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

, probably around 1838. He then transferred to the offices of

David Bryce David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...

, probably around 1845, acting as Clerk of Works on Clatto House, near

. Milne settled in

and stayed there for the remainder of his life, operating from an office at 81 Market Street. At the time of the Disruption of the Church of Scotland, Milne ‘’came out’’ and left the established church to join the Free Church of Scotland. Thereafter many of his commissions came from the Free Church. The majority of his works are within

other than a small handful in his native town of

. In the mid 19th century he did several extension schemes for

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Docks in combination with

R & R Dickson Richard and Robert Dickson (usually simply referred to as R & R Dickson) were brothers, acting as architects in Scotland in the early and mid-19th century. Whilst most of their work is typified by remote country houses they are best known for th ...

. He was an elected member of the Town Council in St Andrews and promoted several improvement schemes including extension of the Links Embankment and culverting of the old mill lade. When the council voted not to pay for the schemes he decided to pay for them himself. His project at the West Sands reclaimed twelve and a half acres of land for use as a public park. This was timed such as to be labelled as St Andrews Jubilee Scheme, marking

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

’s Golden Jubilee. Over and above designing buildings, Milne also designed the graves of two of his fellow Town Councillors in St Andrews: Provost John Paterson and Baillie Ireland. Both are in the New Cemetery in St Andrews (south-east of the cathedral). He also designed the Pagan monument in

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; gd, Luachar "rushes") is a small town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Populat ...

churchyard. John Milne died in St Andrews in May 1904.

Family

He is thought to be the uncle or cousin of Robert Milne, architect, who died in Fettercairn in 1891.

Main Works

*Clatto Estate: Clatto House and Steading (between Pitscottie and

Strathkinness Strathkinness is a small village located 3 miles to the west of St Andrews in North East Fife. A key characteristic of the village is the newly developed housing in the centre of the village. Children in Strathkinness and the neighbouring vi ...

) (1845) *Remodelling of St Andrews Free Church, St Andrews (1851) *Refronting of

St Leonard's College (University of St Andrews) St Leonard's College is a postgraduate institute at the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Founded in 1512 as an autonomous theological college of the University of St Andrews, it merged with St Salvator's College in 1747 to form ...

(1853) *Free Church,

Arbirlot Arbirlot (Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Obar Eilid'') is a village in a rural parish of the same name in Angus, Scotland. The current name is usually presumed to be a contraction of Aberelliot''Statistical Account of Scotland'', edited by Sir John Si ...

(1854) *Upgrading of interior, Carnbee Church (1854) *Free Church Manse, Rathelpie, near St Andrews (1856) *St Bernards Free Church, Henderson Row,

(1856, demolished c.1990) *Kinburn House,

(1856) *Restoration of

Parish Church (1856) *

Dunino :''See also Dunino, Poland.'' Dunino is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife. It is 10 km from the nearest town, St Andrews, and 8 km from the fishing village of Anstruther. It is a small village with no local shops or service ...

School (1856) *Free Church and manse, Carnbee (1857) *Feuing of Rathelpie estate,

(1857) * Logie Parish School (1858) *2-4 Queens Terrace, St Andrews (1859) *Rockview,

(1860) *Dura House,

Kemback Kemback is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland, located east of Cupar. The present village was developed in the 19th century to house those working the flax mills on the nearby Ceres Burn. From 1681 the minister for the parish was Alexander Ed ...

(1861) *Lathockar House, south of St Andrews (1861) *Rathelpie Villa,

(1861) *Commemorative Arch (for

’s visit),

(1863) *Madras School complex, Newburgh (1863) *Revised roof form on

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

Parish Church (1865) *Remodelling of Pittormie House,

Dairsie Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements (calle ...

(1866) *

Parish School (1868) *Duncan Institute,

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 Fif ...

(1869) *Mayfield House, St Andrews (1870) *Westlands House, St Andrews (1870) *Baxter Institute for Female Education,

(1871) *Conservative Club, St Andrews (1873) *East School,

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

(1874) *

Tayport Tayport, also known as Ferry-Port on Craig, is a town and burgh, and parish, in the county of Fife, Scotland, acting as a commuter town for Dundee. The motto of the Burgh is ''Te oportet alte ferri'' ("It is incumbent on you to carry yourself ...

School (1875) *

Freuchie Freuchie is a village in Fife, Scotland, at the foot of the Lomond Hills, and near Falkland. The nearest major town is Glenrothes located 4 miles to the south. The name derives from the Scottish Gaelic, ''fraoch'', meaning heather. This Fife ...

Parish Manse (1882) *25-29 Marketgate,

Crail Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The name ''C ...

(1886) *Melville Terrace, Montrose (1887) *

Public Hall (1891) *Cottages at Longrow, Fife (1892) *Extension to the Royal Hotel, St Andrews (1894) From 1894 until death Milne involved himself with numerous small commissions for individual houses in St Andrews.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, John 1823 births 1904 deaths Scottish architects People associated with Fife