William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish

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 ...

. 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 to as the golden age of Scottish architecture.

Life

Burn was born in Rose Street 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 ...

, the son of architect

Robert Burn Robert Burn may refer to: * Robert Burn (classicist) (1829–1904), English classical scholar and archaeologist * Robert Burn (naturalist) (born 1937), Australian naturalist and citizen scientist * Robert Scott Burn (1825–1901), Scottish engine ...

and his wife Janet Patterson. He was the fourth of their sixteen children. He was educated at the

High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in Edinburgh's Old Town. He started training with Sir Robert Smirke in London in 1808. This is where he worked on Lowther Castle with

C.R. Cockerell Charles Robert Cockerell (27 April 1788 – 17 September 1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke. He went on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years, mainly spent in Greece. H ...

, Henry Roberts and

Lewis Vulliamy Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers. Life Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 179 ...

. After training with Smirke, Burn returned to Edinburgh in 1812. There, he established a practice from the family builders' yard. His first independent commission was in Renfrewshire. In 1812, he designed the exchange assembly rooms in

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

. His father gave him the commission for a church in

North 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 ...

; this commission is what made his career and gave him a reputation. In 1816, Burn entered a competition to complete Robert Adam's university. He lost the competition to William Henry Playfair. Thenceforth, Burn started designing

country houses An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

. In 1827, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, unusual for an architect, his proposer being

James Skene James Skene of Rubislaw (1775–1864) was a Scottish lawyer and amateur artist, best known as a friend of Sir Walter Scott. Life The second son of George Skene (1736–1776) of Rubislaw, Aberdeen and his wife Jane (Jean) Moir of Stoneywood, h ...

. In 1825, he took on a pupil, David Bryce. In 1841, they went into partnership together. Bryce ran the Scottish office, and Burn ran the English office, in

Stratton Street Stratton Street is a street in the Mayfair district of the City of Westminster, London. It runs from Berkeley Street in the north to Piccadilly in the south. History Stratton Street started to be built in 1693 on land occupied at some time ...

. From 1844, he worked in London, where he took on his nephew John Macvicar Anderson as a partner. In the 1830s, he was living and working at 131 George Street in the

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. By 1850, the Scottish office was much more profitable, and the partnership ended. Burn was a master of many styles. He was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, with

Helen's Tower Helen's Tower is a 19th-century folly and lookout tower near Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. It was built by the 5th Lord Dufferin and Claneboye and named for his mother, Helen. He intended it as a shrine for poems, first of all a poem b ...

(1848),

Castlewellan Castle Castlewellan Forest Park is located in the town of Castlewellan in County Down, Northern Ireland. The park covers some 460 hectares, including woodland and a 40 hectare lake. It was opened to the public in 1967 after the Forest Service of the De ...

(1856) and

Balintore Castle Balintore Castle is a Victorian Category A listed building in Scotland. The castle occupies an elevated site in moorland above Balintore village, a few miles north of the Loch of Lintrathen, near Kirriemuir, Angus. A tower house named Balin ...

(1859).

Freemasonry

It has not been ascertained where Burn became a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

but he was the Grand Architect of the

Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histor ...

from 1827 to 1844 when his pupil, David Bryce, was named as 'joint' Grand Architect. Both served the Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland, in that joint capacity, until 1849. Thereafter, David Bryce was Grand Architect in his own right until 1876.

Death

Burn died in 1870, aged 80, at 6 Stratton Street in

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

, London, and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery just on the edge of the path to the north-west of the Anglican Chapel.

Trained under Burn

William Burn had many pupils: * John Honeyman * David Bryce * John Lessels * George Meikle Kemp * Thomas Brown * James Campbell Walker * William Eden Nesfield * David MacGibbon

Works

Burn was a prolific architect and happy to turn his hand to a variety of styles. He designed churches, castles, public buildings,

country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

s (as many as 600), monuments and other structures, mainly in Scotland, but also in England and Ireland. His works include among others:

Scotland

* Ardanaiseig House, near Kilchrenan, Argyll *

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "Th ...

House (1831) *

, Angus (1859) Scottish Baronial *

The Binns The House of the Binns, or simply the Binns, is a historic house in West Lothian, Scotland, the seat of the Dalyell family (pronounced ''dee el''). It dates from the early 17th century, and was the home of Tam Dalyell until his death in January 2 ...

, remodelled for the Dalyell family (1811) Gothic *

Blairquhan Castle Blairquhan ( , sco, Blairwhan) is a Regency era castle near Maybole in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It was the historic home of the Hunter-Blair Baronets and remained in the family's possession until 2012, when it was sold to a Chinese company. ...

, South Ayrshire (1821) Gothic * Blantyre Monument, Erskine (1825) *Buchanan Castle *

Camperdown House Camperdown may refer to: Places ;Australia * Camperdown, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Camperdown, Victoria, a town in Western Victoria ;Canada * Camperdown Signal Station, operated 1797–1925, located on Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia ;E ...

, Dundee (1820) Greek Revival * Castle Menzies (1840) new wing *

Carstairs House Carstairs House, also known as Monteith House, is a country house south-west of Carstairs South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The house is protected as a category A listed building. History Carstairs House was designed by the Edinburgh architect Will ...

, South Lanarkshire (1820–1823) Gothic * Corstorphine Old Parish Church (1828) – considered too radical and returned to its medieval orientation in 1905 *

Dornoch Cathedral Dornoch Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic cathedral and is currently a Church of Scotland parish church serving the small Sutherland town of Dornoch, in the Scottish Highlands. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian ...

major reconstruction (1835–1837) * The Duke of Gordon's Monument, Elgin, Moray (1839) *

Dundas Castle Dundas Castle is a 15th-century castle, with substantial 19th-century additions by William Burn, in the Dalmeny parish of West Lothian, Scotland. The home of the Dundas family since the Middle Ages, it was sold in the late 19th century and is cur ...

, near Edinburgh (1818) Gothic *

Dunira, Perthshire Dunira (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Iar) is an estate of about in Perthshire, Scotland, northwest of Comrie, Perth and Kinross, Comrie and northwest of Stirling. The estate is set against a backdrop of mountains, hills and rich lush lowland. Dunira ...

(1852) demolished *

Dupplin Castle Dupplin Castle is a country house and former castle in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated to the west of Aberdalgie and northeast of Forteviot and Dunning. It overlooks Strath Earn. The earliest known owner of the castle was Sir William Oli ...

(1828) demolished *

The Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Roa ...

(1824) * Gallanach House, near

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

, Argyll (1814) *

Garscube House The School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow is one of nine veterinary schools in the United Kingdom, and offers undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in Veterinary Medicine. It was established in 1862 as the independ ...

, Dunbartonshire (1827) *

House of Falkland The House of Falkland, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a 19th-century country house and has been one of the homes of John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute and the Crichton-Stuart family. The house has been designed in the 19th-century rev ...

, Falkland, Fife (1839–1844) *

Inverness Castle Inverness Castle ( gd, Caisteal Inbhir Nis) sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. A succession of castles have stood on this site since 1057, although the present structure dates from 1836. The present structure is ...

, Inverness (1836) Gothic *

John Watson's Institution The John Watson's Institution was a school established in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1762. The building was designed in the Greek Revival style in 1825 by architect William Burn. Following the closure of the school, the building was left vacated f ...

now the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh (1825) Neoclassic * Keir Parish Church, Keirmill Village, Dumfriesshire (1813) * Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland, (west range only) (1827) Jacobean *

Lude House Lude House (also known as House of Lude or Lude Estate) is a Category B listed country house and estate in Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was completed in 1839, and it received its historic designation in 1971. The building was ...

, Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross (1837) * Murray Royal Lunatic Asylum, Perth (1827) * North Leith Parish Church, Madeira Street, Leith (1814) Neoclassical * Church of St John the Evangelist, Edinburgh (1818) Gothic * The

Melville Monument The Melville Monument is a large column in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, constructed between 1821 and 1827 as a memorial to Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Dundas was a dominant figure in Scottish and British politics during much ...

in the centre of St Andrew Square,

(1820–3) (topped by a statue by Robert Forrest) * New Abbey Church,

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, Fife (1821) *

Madras College Madras College, often referred to as Madras, is a Scottish comprehensive secondary school located in St Andrews, Fife. It educates over 1,400 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and was founded in 1833 by the Rev. Dr Andrew Bell. History Madras ...

, St Andrews (1832) Jacobean

England

Adderstone Hall Adderstone Hall () is a privately owned Georgian Grecian mansion situated on the bank of the River Warn near Lucker, Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building from which the present owners operate a holiday park. Adderstone was held by ...

, near Lucker, Northumberland (1819) Georgian Grecian * Cliveden, BuckinghamshireVictorian Cliveden: history of house and gardens
National Trust. Retrieved 2019-12-19. *

Harlaxton Manor Harlaxton is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the edge of the Vale of Belvoir and just off the A607, south-west from Grantham and north-east from Melton Mowbray. History Ae ...

, Grantham, Lincolnshire *

Stoke Rochford Hall Stoke Rochford Hall is a large house built in scenic grounds, with a nearby golf course, next to the A1 in south Lincolnshire, England. The parkland and gardens of Stoke Rochford Hall are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and ...

, Lincolnshire (1841–43). *

Lynford Hall Lynford Hall is a neo-Jacobean country house at Mundford, near Thetford in the English county of Norfolk. It is now a hotel. Location The Lynford Hall Hotel is a short distance east of the A1065County A to Z Atlas, Street & Road maps Norfolk ...

, Norfolk Jacobean * Montagu House, Whitehall, London, French Renaissance, demolished *

Prestwold Hall Prestwold Hall is a country house in Leicestershire, England, standing in of land in the parish of Prestwold. It is both a private home and a venue for weddings and events. History Prestwold Hall was, for many years, the seat of the Packe family ...

, Loughborough, Leicestershire (1842) Classical *

Revesby Abbey Revesby Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Revesby in Lincolnshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1143 by William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln, and the first monks came from Rievaulx Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Mon ...

, Lincolnshire (1845), Elizabethan-Jacobean *

South Rauceby Hall South Rauceby Hall, South Rauceby, Lincolnshire, England is a country house dating from the mid-19th century. It was designed by William Burn in 1842 for Anthony Peacock Willson. Inherited by the Cracroft-Amcotts family, it remains a private home. ...

South Rauceby South Rauceby is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated west from Sleaford. The village of North Rauceby is less than to the north. The 2001 Census recorded a village population of 3 ...

Lincolnshire (1842) *

The Old Deanery, Lincoln The Old Deanery, Lincoln was the official residence of the Dean of Lincoln. It was a spacious building set around a courtyard. The Deanery is thought to have been started in 1254 by Richard de Gravesend, who became Dean in that year and Bishop of ...

, (1847) *

Sandon Hall Sandon Hall is a 19th-century country mansion, the seat of the Earl of Harrowby, at Sandon, Staffordshire, northeast of Stafford. It is a Grade II* listed building set in of parkland. Early manorial history Before the Norman Conquest, Sandon w ...

, Staffordshire, (1852), Jacobean

Ireland

Bangor Castle Bangor Castle is a country house situated in Castle Park in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. The building, which is also referred to as Bangor Town Hall and is now used as the offices of Ards and North Down Borough Council, is a Grade A li ...

, County Down, Northern Ireland (1852) Elizabethan-Jacobean *

Castlewellan Castlewellan () is a small town in County Down, in the south-east of Northern Ireland close to the Irish Sea. It is beside Castlewellan Lake and Slievenaslat mountain, southwest of Downpatrick. It lies between the Mourne Mountains and Slieve C ...

Castle, County Down, Northern Ireland (1856) Scottish Baronial * Dartrey Castle, near Rockcorry in County Monaghan (1840s) Elizabethan-Jacobean, demolished *

, Clandeboye Estate near Bangor (1848) Scottish Baronial *

Muckross House Muckross House ( ga, Teach Mhucrois) is located on the small Muckross Peninsula between Muckross Lake and Lough Leane, two of the lakes of Killarney, from the town of Killarney in County Kerry, Ireland. In 1932 it was presented by William B ...

, Killarney, County Kerry (1843) Tudor *Conservatory at

Killruddery House Killruddery House (also spelled "Kilruddery") is a large country house on the southern outskirts of Bray in County Wicklow, Ireland, approximately south of Dublin.

(1852)
Irish Gardens
' by Olda FitzGerald, (1999) p. 170 ()

Gallery

File:Edinburgh Academy, Henderson Row - geograph.org.uk - 1405019.jpg, Edinburgh Academy File:St Johns Princes Street Edinburgh.JPG, St Johns Princes Street Edinburgh File:Ceiling of St Johns, Princes Street, Edinburgh.JPG, Ceiling of St Johns, Princes Street, Edinburgh File:Melville Monument, Edinburgh.jpg, Melville Monument in St Andrew Square, Edinburgh File:WilliamBurnKensalGreen01.jpg, Burn's funerary monument, Kensal Green Cemetery, London File:Revesby Abbey, Lincolnshire (geograph 4661516).jpg, Revesby Abbey, Lincolnshire

References

External links

Gazetteer for Scotland- William Burn
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burn, William 1789 births 1870 deaths Architects from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Scottish baronial architecture