William Notman (1809-1893) was a 19th-century Scottish architect. Early work assisting Playfair focussed on country houses, but his later independent work was more commercial in nature.

Life

The grave of William Notman, Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh

He was born in the small village of

Kirkurd Kirkurd is a parish in Peeblesshire in the Scottish Borders situated 3 miles south-east of Dolphinton and 6 miles north-east of Broughton. Tarth Water, a tributary of Lyne Water (itself a tributary of the River Tweed) forms the northern boundar ...

Peebleshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lana ...

in February 1809, the son of John Notman a clerk of works, and his wife Margaret Kemp. The family moved to Northfield Cottage on Newhaven Road west of

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 ...

in the 1820s where he was articled to

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century, who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks. Life Playfair was born on 15 ...

to train as an architect in 1823. His cousin,

John Notman John Notman (22 July 18103 March 1865) was a Scottish-born American architect, who settled in Philadelphia. He is remembered for his churches, and for popularizing the Italianate style and the use of brownstone. Career Notman was born on 22 Jul ...

joined him a few years later (and emigrated to America). All Notman’s works until 1842 are under the umbrella of Playfair’s office. Around 1850 he set up his own practice in

Davidsons Mains Davidson's Mains is a former village and now a district in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is adjacent to the districts of Barnton, Edinburgh, Barnton, Cramond, Silverknowes, Blackhall, Edinburgh, Blackhall and Corbiehill/House O'Hill ...

on the western edge of Edinburgh. He died in Northfield CottageEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1892-3 on 15 June 1893 and is buried in

Rosebank Cemetery Rosebank Cemetery is a 19th-century cemetery in Edinburgh. It is located at the junction of Pilrig Street and Broughton Road in the Pilrig area, close to the historical boundary of Leith. The cemetery is protected as a category C listed buildi ...

in north

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 fallen stone lies near the centre of the graveyard on an infilled north-south path.

Family

He was married to Barbara Graham (1814-1904). Their children included John Notman FFA FRA (1852-1922).

Works

*Monument to Prof

John Playfair John Playfair FRSE, FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819) was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known for his book ''Illu ...

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 ci ...

(1825) * Minto Church and Manse (1827-1830) *

Drumbanagher House Drumbanagher House (also known as ''Drumbanagher Castle'' and ''Closes Castle''), near Poyntzpass, County Armagh, was a large country house in Northern Ireland designed for Maxwell Close by William Notman, working under William Playfair in 1829, ...

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

(1829), jointly with

, demolished 1951 due to

death duties An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

*Dalcrue Farmhouse,

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

(1832) *Remodelling of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three ...

(1832) *Sections of

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

House,

, Northern Ireland (1833) *Remodelling the house of

Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd The Right Hon. Andrew Rutherfurd, Lord Rutherfurd, (born Andrew Greenfield; 21 June 1791 – 13 December 1854) was a Scottish advocate, judge and politician. Early life Rutherfurd was born at Bristo Port (near Greyfriars Kirkyard) in Edinburg ...

at 9 St Colme Street, Edinburgh (1835) *Details at Spottiswoode House,

Westruther Westruther is a village on the B6465, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, on the lower slopes of the Lammermuir Hills, in the former Berwickshire. The largest town nearby is Gordon. Places nearby include Duns, Greenlaw, the Lammermuir ...

(1834) *Shop at 15

, Edinburgh (1835) demolished *Remodelling of Minto House and stables (1837) *Details for Donaldson's Hospital (1842) *

Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...

Mills in

(1852) *Caledonian Distillery, Edinburgh (1855) *Wool Warehouse for W & F Wilson,

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 of ...

(1856) *Shopfront, 132

, Edinburgh (1857) *Villa (The Elms) in Greenhill, Edinburgh (1857) *Tenement on India Place in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, ...

(1858) demolished *

Comiston Comiston ( gd, Baile Chaluim, IPA: �paleˈxaɫ̪ɯim is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is south of Morningside and west of the Braid Hills, linking the suburbs of Oxgangs and Fairmilehead. The main road through the area, ...

Farmhouse (1859) *Tenements on Barony Street (1859) taking over from the recently deceased

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 ...

*Chemical Works for MacLean & Hope,

(1860) *The “Star Inn” 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. ...

(1860) *Tenement on Montgomery Street off

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 the ...

(1862) *Tenement on Fort Street in

(1862) *Alterations to Bernards Brewery in Edinburgh (1863) *Corner block on Windsor Street/Montgomery Street (1863) *Tenement on Maitland Street (1864) *Villa (“Helen Grove”) on Park Road, Edinburgh for William Gifford (1872) *Tenement on Grove Street (1877)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notman, William 1809 births 1893 deaths 19th-century Scottish architects People from the Scottish Borders