William Robertson (1786 – 12 June 1841) was a Scottish architect. Born in

Lonmay Lonmay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Lòn Magh'') is a village and parish in the Buchan area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies along the A90 road, between Peterhead and Fraserburgh, near to the junction with the A952 road at Cortes. The parish, formerly k ...

in Aberdeenshire, he started his career in

Cullen, Moray Cullen ( gd, Inbhir Cuilinn) is a village and former royal burgh in Moray, Scotland, on the North Sea coast east of Elgin. The village had a population of 1,327 in 2001.United Kingdom Census 2001

, then moved to Elgin around 1821, where he practised for the rest of his life. He established himself as the foremost architect of his period north of Aberdeen, described by

Charles McKean Charles McKean FRSE FRSA FRHistS FRIBA (16 July 1946 – 29 September 2013) was a Scottish historian, author and scholar. Biography McKean was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 16 July 1946. He was educated at Fettes College, the University of Po ...

as "possibly the north of Scotland's first native classical architect of substance." His practice was continued by his nephews Alexander and William Reid, and their partners and successors J and W Wittet. Robertson built numerous churches, for the

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 ...

, the

Episcopal Church of Scotland The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

, and the newly

emancipated Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure economic and social rights, political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchis ...

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, including the Category A-listed listed St Thomas's in

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

, which he designed with Walter Lovi. He also improved numerous country houses around

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

shire and

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Moray ...

, such as Milton Brodie House, and he built Aberlour House from scratch for the rich slave-owner and planter Alexander Grant. In 1826, he published a book, entitled ''A Series of Views of the Ruins of Elgin Cathedral … with ground plan and table of measurements''. Aberlour House front

He died at Elgin on 12 June 1841 and is commemorated by a memorial in the graveyard at

Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. The cathedral—dedicated to the Holy Trinity—was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and close to the River Lossie. I ...

References

1786 births 1841 deaths 19th-century Scottish architects People from Lonmay {{Scotland-architect-stub