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John Robb was born in
Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...
on 25 April 1862, the first son of Andrew Robb (1825–1900), the foreman and later Manager of
Gaberston Mill Gaberston Mill was a weaving and spinning mill located in Whins Road Alloa, Scotland founded by David Fraser Lambert (1805–56) in 1837. David Lambert Lambert was born in Kirkcaldy and came to Alloa in 1831, after working in the USA. The Lamb ...
, and his wife Mary Bennie Swanson, daughter of John Swanson, a Distillery Manager. He had three brothers and a sister, Janet, the mother of classical composer
Edward Norman Hay Edward Norman Hay (19 April 1889 – 10 September 1943) was a Northern Irish composer and music critic. Early life Hay was born at 26 Newton Road, Faversham, Kent, the second son of Joseph Hay, an Inland Revenue official, who was the son of Ed ...
(1889–1943).


Training

John trained as an architect in Alloa, likely with John Melvin & Son, before moving to
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...
in 1882 where he was assistant to Joseph J. Lish, an architect who specialized in ecclesiastical work and concrete construction. He was involved in the design and construction of the Clayton Road Wesleyan Church in Jesmond. He later returned to Scotland and worked as an architect for a spell, including designing industrial buildings in Glasgow.


Work

He worked for a spell with the Assessor of Railways and Canals in Edinburgh. before joining Midlothian County Council as assistant county surveyor in around 1891. On the tragic accidental death of the county surveyor, Thomas Forbes, in 1896 Robb took over his role as Suburban
road surveyor Construction surveying or building surveying (otherwise known as "staking", "stake-out", "lay-out", or "setting-out") is to provide dimensional control for all stages of construction work, including the stake out of reference points and markers t ...
and the following year was appointed county surveyor from a field of 50 applicants, on a salary of £450 a year. The Roads Office grew in importance with the rapid rise of the motor car and Robb led an office with four road surveyors for the county areas (Suburban, Calder, Gala Water and Lasswade). His younger brother David Haig Robb worked as a surveyor in his department and from 1905 another brother Andrew (1869-1926) joined his department as chief clerk or assistant county surveyor. Yet another brother, James, served as a road surveyor for Edinburgh Council. Robb brought many new innovations in road management to Midlothian Council, which was seen as the foremost roads authority in Scotland, not least because it was the first to employ a county surveyor with all roads in the county controlled from a single office, ensuring equitable allocation of resources. In 1902 he was responsible for a road map of the county published by W&AK Johnston. Robb widened, reconstructed and maintained roads in the county and also repaired and rebuilt bridges. He also designed new bridges at Polton, Roslin, Whelpside, Braidwood and two at Heriot. Much of his work involved obtaining road metal from council-owned or leased quarries such as Kaimes, Blackford, Cortleferry and Barnton. In 1907 he treated the members of the County Road Surveyors Association of Scotland to a 'monster blast' that dislodged 8,000 tonnes of rock at Kaimes. He was particularly influential in providing housing for roadmen in the county. In 1900 he had argued that providing decent homes for roadmen would cut down on travel-to-work times and would keep good men in the council's employ. The council agreed and from 1901 began building housing throughout the county area. These simple single and semi-detached dwellings were designed by Robb whose architectural background came in useful. They were normally built at road intersections or near council quarries. Several remain including a semi-detached dwelling in Silverburn that retains its "County Roadman" sign, with single examples at Old Craighall, Gourlaw and Kirknewton and a special two-storey design in the Arts & Crafts style at Spylaw Road in
Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north-east. To the north-w ...
. All utilised harled brick walls with red engineering brick quoin detailing. This provision was followed thereafter by other Councils. His last years were dominated by a council proposal to erect a ferro-concrete bridge over the Water of Leith and Caledonian Railway at Colinton. Robb's design, had it been built, would have been the largest concrete road bridge in Scotland, and one of the largest in the UK. However, in this endeavour he was strenuously opposed by a group of influential Colinton residents led by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, Scotland's premier architect, and eventually the bridge was only widened. In his professional life he was a leading member of the East of Scotland Engineering Association, serving as an early Honorary Secretary and Vice President. He was also President of the County Road Surveyors Association of Scotland and served as a delegate in their 1904 trip to France. He returned five years later as a delegate to the first International Road Congress held in Paris in 1909. In 1900 he was elected a Member of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural Society. In January 1912 he was appointed an Affiliate of the Institution of Civil Engineers and served on their Scottish Roads Committee. That year he had been personally complimented by the Road Board on his expenditure of their grants of £11,000. In his spare time he served in the Volunteers becoming Sergeant-Instructor of Musketry for the Lothian and Berwickshire Imperial Yeomanry, after passing an exam at the School of Musketry in Hythe. He received the Imperial Yeomanry long service medal in February 1905, and was a fine rifle shot, making numerous appearances at shooting competitions and at the NRA competitions at Bisley.National Rifle Association Archives


Death

He died on 15 January 1913 at Craiglockhart Hydropathic and is buried in
Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...
. He left around £1000, his gold watch, seal and drawing equipment to his brother Andrew. Andrew's second son, Graeme Lambert Robb (1906–58) would also serve, early in his career, as a Road Surveyor for Midlothian whilst his brother George Clark Robb (1903–80) became an architect.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robb, John 1862 births 1913 deaths People from Alloa Scottish architects Scottish civil engineers