John Rhind (10 March 1836 – 10 August 1889) was an

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 ...

from

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Biography

John Rhind was born in

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

in 1836, son of the Inverness architect builder George Rhind and his wife Isabella Milne. He was probably initially articled to his father, but around 1854 he went 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 ...

, where he became an assistant to

Campbell Douglas Archibald Campbell Douglas (usually simply referred to as Campbell Douglas) (14 June 1828 – 14 April 1910) was a Scottish architect based primarily in Glasgow. He designed many churches in Glasgow and Edinburgh, especially those for the Fre ...

, remaining with him during the early years of his partnership with

J. J. Stevenson John James Stevenson FRSE FSA FRIBA (24 August 1831 – 5 May 1908), usually referred to as J. J. Stevenson, was a British architect of the late-Victorian era. Born in Glasgow, he worked in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London. He is particularly asso ...

. At Douglas' he became acquainted with Bruce James Talbert and took an interest in the work of Alexander 'Greek' Thomson whose influence was later to be reflected in Rhind's Imperial Hotel and Union Street buildings, both in Inverness. While in Glasgow he is said to have been a Vice-President of the Young Architectural Association of Glasgow, perhaps a junior branch of the Glasgow Architectural Society. Around 1863 Rhind returned to Inverness and took over the architectural side of his father's business. His Glasgow experience, and bold if unacademic handling of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

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 ...

forms quickly made him a serious rival to Alexander Ross. He was elected to Inverness Town Council in 1880 and was Dean of Guild in 1883, 1884, 1885 and 1886. John Rhind RSA sculpted a marble bust of him, exhibited at the RSA in 1884. He held offices at 3 & 9 Union Street, Inverness, from 1869 to 1889, then Portland Place, Inverness, from 1889 onwards. In the late 1880s John Rhind's health and finances were undermined by a long-running legal dispute with Sir John Ramsden, his client at Ardverikie. He died in Perth of congestion of the lungs following a short illness on 10 August 1889. He left moveable estate of £1,251 14s 3d + £739 6s 7d.

James Rhind

John Rhind trained his younger brother,

James Robert Rhind James Robert Rhind, architect, was born in Inverness, Scotland in 1854 and trained as an architect in his father's local practice. He was successful in the architectural competition for new libraries to be constructed in Glasgow following Andrew C ...

(1853–1918), in architecture, who went on to become even more acclaimed than his older brother, designing the Victorian Gothic Town House in Inverness, prior to establishing a practice in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, where he designed the detail and supervised the construction of the Royal Victoria Hospital. James Rhind returned to Scotland in 1895, settling in Inverness to resume the practice of his brother and competed successfully for most of the Carnegie libraries in the Glasgow area, and for a library in London.

Architectural works

Rhind built a number of homes in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

, including: * The Royal Hotel in Inverness (1864) * Broadford Manse (1866) * Laggan Free Church (1867) *

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History The Gaeli ...

Free Church Manse (1868) * Tarradale Inn,

Muir of Ord Muir of Ord ( gd, Am Blàr Dubh) is a village in Easter Ross, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is situated near the western end of the Black Isle, about west of the city of Inverness and south of Dingwall. The village has a populatio ...

(1870) * Moy Hall (1870) * Castlehill Church, Forres (1870–71)Scottish Church Heritage Research * Ardverikie (1871) — used for filming the BBC TV series '' Monarch of the Glen'' * Celtic Cross Monument to

Ian Lom Macdonald John MacDonald, known as Iain Lom (c. 1624–c. 1710) was a Scottish Gaelic poet. Biography Iain Lom's family were of the MacDonalds of Keppoch. In Gaelic society, since there might often be a number of men with the same first names in any give ...

, Bard of Keppoch (1873) * Moy School and Schoolmaster’s House (1874) * Lochardil House and Lodge, Inverness (1876) * Inverness High School (1878) — now the Crown Primary School *

Glenmoriston Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston ( gd, Gleann Moireasdan) is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass th ...

Manse (1880) * Glen Spean Lodge (1881) * Invergarry (1885)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhind, John 1836 births 1889 deaths People from Inverness Councillors in Highland (council area) 19th-century Scottish people 19th-century Scottish architects