Sir William Leslie of Nethermuir (1802–1879) was a Scottish architect and building contractor who served as

Lord Provost of Aberdeen The Lord Provost of Aberdeen is the convener of the Aberdeen City local authority in Scotland. They are elected by the city council and serve not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city. They are equivalent in m ...

1869 to 1873.

Life

He was born at New Deer in Aberdeenshire into a Congregationalist family. By 1828 he was an established architect in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

living at Park Cottage on Broadford. He also started operating as a building contractor, and in this capacity was one of the city's largest employers, employing over 150 men. In 1836 he was appointed agent for the repair and maintenance of the

Duke of Sutherland Duke of Sutherland is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom which was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford. A series of marriages to heiresses by members of the Leveson-Gower family made th ...

's estates undertaking, design, engineering and construction tasks.Dictionary of Scottish Architects: William Leslie In 1838 he formed a new company: McDonald & Leslie, based in

Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...

, having merged with granite sculptors Alexander NcDonald & Co. His work began to gravitate mainly to Aberdeen and in 1850 he opened an office at 8 Golden Square. In 1853 he dissolved the partnership with McDonald and began to concentrate on Aberdeen affairs, becoming a town councillor around this time. In 1866 he privately financed the building of Woodside Congregational Church (now

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

). From 1868 his business address was 123 Union Street, Aberdeen. He was elected

in 1869 being succeeded in 1874 by George Jamieson. Around 1872 he remodelled Nethermuir House in New Deer as his home. The house bears a lintel of 1595 but was largely built around 1803. It is now ruinous but is a

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 ...

. He died at his Aberdeen townhouse, 28 Albyn Place, on 18 February 1879.

Works as architect

*New castellated entrance lodge and gates at Hatton Castle, Aberdeenshire (1828) *Remodelling of Kingussie Parish Church (1833) *Restoration of

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 ...

(1835) *Remodelling of

Dunrobin Castle Dunrobin Castle (mostly 1835–1845 — present) is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland, as well as the family seat of the Earl of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. It is located north of Golspie and approximatel ...

(1844) *

Academy (1845) * Lairg Parish Church (1845) *

Dunnet Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet. Village The village centres on the A836 road, A836–B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats ...

manse (1846) *Major extension to Uppat House in Golspie (1846) *Reconstruction of ferry pier and boathouse at Golspie (c.1850} *Flagstaff Lodge, Dunrobin Castle (c.1850) *Remodelling of Dunbeath Castle (1851) *Lochmore Lodge,

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...

(1851) *Albion Street Congregational Church, Aberdeen (1854) *Manse, Old Aberdeen (1855) *Belmont Congregational Church, Aberdeen (1864) for

James Souttar James Souttar FRIBA (11 February 1840, in London – 22 April 1922, in Aberdeen) was a Scottish architect. Life The son of William Souttar (1805–1838) of Edenville in Aberdeen, and his wife Mary Mearns, Souttar worked in Sweden from 1863 to ...

*Woodside Congregational Church (1866) *Nethermuir House at New Deer (1872) either a replacement or remodelling of his family home

Works as builder

*Craibstone House in Dyce near Aberdeen (1829, now demolished) *North Church, Aberdeen (1829) to design of John Smith *

Castle Newe Castle Newe was a castellated mansion house, situated in Aberdeenshire, and designed in 1831 by Archibald Simpson. It was based on an existing Z-plan castle from 1604, which had square towers and was similar to Glenbuchat Castle. It was built by ...

(1831) for

Archibald Simpson Archibald Simpson (4 May 1790 – 23 March 1847) was a Scottish architect, who along with his rival John Smith, is regarded as having fashioned the character of Aberdeen as "The Granite City".Simpson, William Douglas, (1947) ''The Archibald S ...

as architect, now demolished *Bridge of Dee, Aberdeen (1840) to design of engineer James Walker of London *Dunrobin Castle (1845) partly his own design and partly that of

Sir Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...

Artistic recognition

He was portrayed by Sir George Reid around 1873. The portrait is held by Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum.

Gallery

File:Dunrobin Castle, Flagstaff Lodge.jpg, Dunrobin Castle, Flagstaff Lodge File:Northwest gatehouse to Hatton Castle - geograph.org.uk - 306967.jpg, Gatehouse to Hatton Castle File:The Old Dornoch Academy - geograph.org.uk - 3612333.jpg, Old Dornoch Academy File:Woodside Parish Church (Church of Scotland) - geograph.org.uk - 2382551.jpg, Woodside Church in Aberdeen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, William 1802 births 1879 deaths Scottish architects Builders Lord Provosts of Aberdeen People from New Deer