Bellevue Terrace designed by Thomas Bonnar

Thomas Bonnar ( d.1847) was a Scottish interior designer and architect of note, working in the

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 ...

area. He is particularly remembered for his outstanding ceilings. Thomas was father to

William Bonnar /William_https://www.artuk.org/artdetective/discussions/discussions/did-william-bonnar-18001855-paint-hugh-miller-in-edinburgh WilliamBonnar RSA (1800 - 1853) was a Scottish portrait painter. Life Bonnar was born in Edinburgh in 1800. His fa ...

RSA (1800-1853), artist, and Thomas Bonnar (1810-1873) engraver, who collaborated with William on several works. The group are also known by the family company name of Bonnar & Co.

Life

He was born in

around 1770, the son of John Bonnar who had created the ceilings in

Penicuik House Penicuik House (alternative spellings in use until mid 19th century: ''Penycuik'', ''Pennycuik'') survives as the shell of a formerly grand estate house in Penicuik, Midlothian, Scotland. The 18th-century palladian mansion (at ) was built on the ...

. His family lived in a then new house at 6 South St David Street during his teenage years. He was appointed as a burgess of the city in 1795 and a "sworn measurer" in 1807 and Superintendent of Works for the city in 1809, operating from the Magdalene Chapel in the

Cowgate The Cowgate ( Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, which lies below the ele ...

. From 1810 he acted as architect and surveyor to George Heriot’s School. He lost all public posts in January 1819 due to a bungled execution on 30 December (part of his wide scope of duties) which ended in a public riot. A house at 7 Ann Street is known as "Thomas Bonnar’s House" but there is no record of his living there, but he IS responsible for its fine interior decoration. Thomas Bonar, Superintendent of Works is listed as living at ''Greenside'' on

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to th ...

in the early 19th century. He did many fine and many unique interiors, including St Bernard’s Well at Stockbridge.

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. ...

replaced him with

Alexander Black Alexander Black may refer to: * Alexander Black (athlete) (born 2000), Semi-professional Australian rules footballer * Alexander Black (actor) (born 1983), American film actor * Alexander Black (theologian) (1789–1864), theologian and Free Church ...

in 1833. He retired in 1832 and died in 1847.

Family

His daughter Elizabeth married

George Meikle Kemp George Meikle Kemp (25 May 1795—6 March 1844) was a self-taught Scottish architect who designed and built the Scott Monument in Edinburgh, Scotland. The poorly educated son of a shepherd, but showing talents in woodworking as a child, he was a ...

Works

*Completion of Robert Burn's Nelson’s Monument on

Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...

(1814-1816) *Original layout of

New Calton Burial Ground New Calton Burial Ground is a burial ground in Edinburgh. It was built as an overspill and functional replacement to Old Calton Burial Ground and lies half a mile to its east on Regent Road in Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south-east slopes of C ...

(1816-1817), completed by Thomas Brown) *Completion of Drummond Place (1816-1817) *1 to 13 Hermitage Place,

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 ...

(1817-1825) *Gardener’s House, Queen Street Gardens (1819) demolished *Bellevue Crescent (1819-1832) southern half only - northern half unbuilt until 1880s. *4-15 Gloucester Place (1822-1824) *42-54 London Street (1823) *1-85 East Claremont Street (1824) *Atholl Crescent, Atholl Place and the north side of Torphichen Street (1824-1826) *Bellevue Terrace (1825) building works overseen by

, northern section never built *Barony Street (1829-1847) building works continued from 1847 by Alexander Black.

Thomas Bonnar (the younger)

Thomas Bonnar the younger was born in Edinburgh in 1810. He followed in his father’s footsteps as an interior designer and artist but did not venture into architecture. He died in 1873 and is buried with his wife Mary Thom (1813-1858) in a crowded section of Dean Cemetery east of the new Dean Gallery entrance and north-east of the distinctive pyramid therein with a strange back-to-back monument with his son Thomas (1838-1896), designed by David Watson Stevenson. His sons, William Dundas Bonnar, engraver (1831-1855) and Thomas Bonnar (d. 1899) are buried with them. His interiors include: *Drawing-room,

Newbattle Abbey Newbattle Abbey ( gd, Abaid a' Bhatail Nuaidh) was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Newbattle in Midlothian, Scotland, which subsequently become a stately home and then an educational institution. Monastery It was founded in 1140 by ...

*Drawing-room,

Mortonhall Mortonhall is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the south edge of the city. The area is along the western end of the Frogston Road between Fairmilehead and Gilmerton; it is just to the south of Liberton and the Braid Hills. The area was ...

House *Office interior for Thomas Nelson in

Paternoster Row Paternoster Row was a street in the City of London that was a centre of the London publishing trade, with booksellers operating from the street. Paternoster Row was described as "almost synonymous" with the book trade. It was part of an area cal ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

*Ceilings for Thomas Nelson in his

home, St. Leonard’s Thomas in turn also had a son named Thomas (1838-1896) operational largely in the 1890s and responsible for some ceilings at

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 Liberton House and Riddles Court on the Lawnmarket.

References

External links

*http://nevinofedinburgh.co.uk/mortonhall-house,-edinburgh.html *http://www.scottish-places.info/scotgaz/features/featurefirst3888.html *http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-583-953-C&scache=3zuzbtd6cl&searchdb=scran {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnar, Thomas 1847 deaths 19th-century Scottish architects British interior designers Architects from Edinburgh 1770s births