William Macdonald Mackenzie (20 July, 1797 – 25 February, 1856) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the first half of the 19th century.William Macdonald Mackenzie
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Dictionary of Scottish Architects The Dictionary of Scottish Architects is a publicly available online database that provides biographical information about all architects known to have worked in Scotland between 1660 and 1980, and lists their works. Launched in 2006, it was comp ...

He designed several notable buildings in Scotland, mostly

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

s and

church building A church, church building or church house is a building used for Christian worship services and other Christian religious activities. The earliest identified Christian church is a house church founded between 233 and 256. From the 11th thro ...

Early life

Mackenzie was born in 1797 in St Martins, a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

about north-northeast of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, the second son of Alexander Mackenzie, an architect-builder, and his wife Janet Davidson. (In 1806, his father was listed as the owner of the land on which the Witches' Stone stands. The stone marks the location where

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

meets with two witches in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's tragedy.)''Historic Scenes in Perthshire'', William Marshall, 1880 (p. 250) His four younger brothers were John (born 1799), Alexander (born 1803), David (born 1805) and Thomas (born 1814). He also had a sister, Matilda. His father died in 1827.

Career

Mackenzie practiced out of 14 Charlotte Street in 1837 and 5 George Street in 1841. From 1848, however, he appears to have been based at his house on Byerswell (now Bowerswell) Road in

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

. He was Perth's City Architect until his death, after which he was succeeded by

Andrew Heiton Andrew Heiton (3 April 1823 – 3 March 1894) was a Scottish architect.Andrew Heiton
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and his father.''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland''

Francis Hindes Groome Francis Hindes Groome (30 August 1851 – 24 January 1902), son of Robert Hindes Groome, Archdeacon of Suffolk, was a writer and foremost commentator of his time on the Romani people, their language, life, history, customs, beliefs, and lore. Li ...

(1901)

Selected notable works

*St Leonard's Bank, Perth (plots laid out for feuing, 1828) *20 Charlotte Street, Perth (1830) * St Leonard's Parish Church, Perth (1836) *

A. K. Bell Library The A. K. Bell Library is an historic building on York Place in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The building was originally a hospital before becoming a municipal building and later a library. The central section of the building is Category ...

(original central section and lodge), Perth (1836–1838)York Place, A K Bell Library including Boundary Wall to York Place
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Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

Binnhill Tower Binnhill Tower is a stone-built tower in the Gothic style, located in Kinfauns, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. A Category B listed structure,

Kinfauns Kinfauns was a large 1950s deluxe bungalow in Esher in the English county of Surrey, on the Claremont Estate. From 1964 to 1970, it was the home of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles. It was where many of the demo recordings for the ...

(1839)''A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland'', Samuel Lewis (1846), p. 73 *

Manse of Kinfauns The Manse of Kinfauns (also known as Kinfauns House) is an historic building located in Kinfauns, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was built in 1791 and is now a Category C listed building, It was formerly the manse for the nearby Kinfauns Parish ...

(1840) *

Clunie Clunie is a small settlement in Perthshire, Scotland, west of Blairgowrie. It lies on the western shore of the Loch of Clunie. History Near the village on a small hill are the foundations of an early defensive settlement. The fortificatio ...

Church (1840) File:2-4 Charlotte Place, Perth.jpg, 20 Charlotte Street File:AK Bell Library, Perth - Front view.jpg, A.K. Bell Library File:Binnhill Tower (2) (geograph 5611335).jpg, Binnhill Tower

Personal life

Mackenzie married Jean Davidson, his cousin, around 1824. They had at five children: three sons and two daughters. Second son William (1826–1864), trained as a civil engineer. His other children were David, James and Alexander, and his daughters Jane Ann and Jessie. He died on 25 February, 1856, aged 58, and was buried in Perth's

Greyfriars Burial Ground Greyfriars Burial Ground is an historic cemetery in Perth, Scotland, dating to 1580. It is now Category A listed. It occupies the former location of the Greyfriars Monastery, founded by Laurence Oliphant, 1st Lord Oliphant, in 1496 and destroy ...

. His family moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

after his death, then returned to Scotland and lived in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

with Mackenzie's brother David.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, William Macdonald 1797 births 1856 deaths 19th-century Scottish architects Architects from Perth, Scotland