Reid and Forbes was a firm of Scottish architects specialising in school buildings in central and southern Scotland from 1920 to 1964. They had a very distinctive style and many of their buildings are now

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

The firm was a partnership between

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales fr ...

(1893-1984) and James Smith Forbes. It had early collaborations with Reginald Fairlie. Reid was articled to the architect’s firm Scott Morton & Co in 1910 to 1914 and attended

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 ...

during the same period. During this period he was also at various points seconded to

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

George Washington Browne Sir George Washington Browne (21 September 1853 – 15 June 1939) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout Scotland a ...

and James Bow Dunn. After World War I Reid joined with James Smith Forbes and Reginald Fairlie in a competition for local authority housing between Edinburgh and Portobello, now known as

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

. Little is known of Forbes other than his name is sometimes reversed to James Forbes Smith and that even after the dissolution of their architectural partnership Forbes lodged in Fairlie’s house. Reid probably met Forbes through Fairlie rather than the other way around. They had strong Roman Catholic connections and over and above their many school commissions they also were involved in several church projects. Their heydays were clearly in the 1930s and following World War II they had far less commissions. The company died with the death of Reid in 1984.

Principal Works

see *Housing in

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

(with Reginald Fairlie (1921) *

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

Secondary School (1922) *Housing in

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. The town lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies beside the A1 road, the A1 runs through the paris ...

(1922-3) *Housing in Northfield, Edinburgh (1922-3) (with Reginald Fairlie) *

Innerleithen Innerleithen ( gd, Inbhir Leitheann) is a civil parish and a small town in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders. It was formerly in the historic county of Peeblesshire or Tweeddale. Etymology The name "Innerleithen" comes f ...

Primary and Secondary Schools (1922-3) *Richmond Congregational Church in

Niddrie, Edinburgh Niddrie is a residential suburb in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is situated in the south-east of the city, south-west of the seaside area of Portobello, and west of Musselburgh in East Lothian near Fort Kinnaird retail park. History The place ...

(1923) *St John’s RC Primary School, Portobello, Edinburgh (1924) *

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in s ...

Grammar School north-west wing (1926) *Gatehouse to Edinburgh Castle (incorporating

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

and

Wallace Wallace may refer to: People * Clan Wallace in Scotland * Wallace (given name) * Wallace (surname) * Wallace (footballer, born 1986), full name Wallace Fernando Pereira, Brazilian football left-back * Wallace (footballer, born 1987), full name ...

Memorial) (1928) *

Leith Academy Leith Academy is a state school in Leith, Edinburgh. It currently educates around 1000 pupils and around 2,800 part-time adult learners. Mike Irving has been head teacher since August 2017. History It is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, w ...

(with rich Egyptian detailing) (1928)Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford McWilliam and Walker *

Morebattle Morebattle is a village in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the B6401, seven miles south of Kelso, Scottish Borders, beside the Kale Water, a tributary of the River Teviot. The St. Cuthbert's Way long distance footpath passes through the ...

Primary School (1931) * Inverness High School (1932) *Prep School and Science Block for George Heriot’s School (1933) * Kelso Academy (1933) * Niddrie Church and Halls (1934) *Trinity Primary School in

Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one ...

(1934) *Niddrie Marischal Junior Secondary School (1935) * Hobkirk Primary School (1936) * Chirnside Central School (1937) *Wilkie’s Department Store, Shandwick Place, Edinburgh (1937) *Moredun Church and Halls, Edinburgh (1951) *Royal High School, Edinburgh (1964)

References

*Dictionary of Scottish Architects: Reid and Forbes Scottish architects Architecture firms of Scotland {{architect-stub