Church of Christ Scientist, Inverleith Terrace, Edinburgh

MacKenzie House, Kinnear Road, Edinburgh

Ramsay Traquair (29 March 1874 – 26 August 1952) was a Scottish architect and academic with strong links to Canada. He is remembered more for his numerous publications than for his buildings, which are limited in number. He was a particular expert on Early Canadian and French-Canadian architecture.

Life

He was born of distinguished parents. His mother was Phoebe Anna Moss, an important artist, best remembered under her married name of

Phoebe Anna Traquair Phoebe Anna Traquair (; 24 May 1852 – 4 August 1936) was an Irish-born artist, who achieved international recognition for her role in the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland, as an illustrator, painter and embroiderer. Her works included lar ...

. His father was Dr Ramsay Heatley Traquair. Traquair was born in Edinburgh and educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Ro ...

1884–1891 with his younger brother Harry Moss Traquair. He attended both the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and Bonn University 1891–1892 but did not stay to take a degree.

Architecture

He trained under Stewart Henbest Capper and also studied in the newly formed

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

in 1892 under both Capper and his partner Frank Worthington Simon. He then joined the office of

John More Dick Peddie John More Dick Peddie (21 August 1853 – 10 March 1921) was a British architect. Biography Peddie was the son of the architect and politician John Dick Peddie (1824–1891) and his wife Euphemia Lockhart More. Born in Edinburgh, he attend ...

and

George Washington Browne Sir George Washington Browne (21 September 1853 – 15 June 1939) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout Scotland a ...

, also giving occasional assistance to

Robert Lorimer Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Got ...

, all providing him an excellent architectural pedigree. He worked here from 1892 to 1899. He then briefly worked in London for Samuel Bridgman Russell before qualifying as a full architect in early 1900.

Academic life

Immediately following qualification as an architect he began pursuing an academic career rather than practice architecture. He was employed by the Turkish government to study and record the lesser Byzantine churches of the

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

area, working with Professor

Alexander van Millingen Prof Alexander van Millingen DD (1840–1915) was a scholar in the field of Byzantine architecture, and a professor of history at Robert College, Istanbul between 1879 and 1915. His works are now public domain in many jurisdictions. Life He was b ...

. He returned to Edinburgh in 1904 taking up the post of a lecturer in architecture and architectural history at the College of Art. Although he set up a private practice in 1905 his work was both limited and highly interrupted by numerous returns to the east where he was also highly involved in work for the British School of Archaeology in Athens. In 1909

Gerard Baldwin Brown Gerard Baldwin Brown, FBA (31 October 1849 – 12 July 1932) was a British art historian. Life Brown was born in London, the son of church minister James Baldwin Brown and his wife, Elizabeth, a sister of the sculptor Henry Leifchild. He atten ...

proposed Traquair as successor to

Percy Erskine Nobbs Percy Erskine Nobbs (August 11, 1875 – November 5, 1964) was a Canadian architect who was born in Haddington, East Lothian, and trained in the United Kingdom. Educated at the Edinburgh Collegiate School and Edinburgh University, he spent ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

in Montreal, Canada. This decision was delayed and he eventually took up this role in 1913. His final years in Edinburgh were spent at 4 Forres Street, a huge Georgian House on the

Moray Estate The Moray Estate in Edinburgh was an exclusive early 19th century building venture attaching the west side of Edinburgh's New Town. Built on an awkward and steeply sloping site, it has been described as a masterpiece of urban planning. Back ...

.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1910 He worked at McGill until retirement in 1939 concentrating on studies in early Canadian and French-Canadian architecture. He was a regular contributor of papers for journals, in particular that of the

Royal Architectural Institute of Canada The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is a not-for-profit, national organization that has represented architects and architecture for over 100 years, in existence since 1907. The RAIC is the leading voice for excellence in the built ...

. He died in Guysborough in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

on 26 August 1952.

Designs

*Reconstruction of Skirling House (1908) *MacKenzie Boarding House for

, Kinnear Road, Edinburgh (1910) *Church of the First Christ Scientist, Inverleith Terrace, Edinburgh (1910–11) In 1912 he worked on an unexecuted scheme to complete the National Monument on

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 cit ...

with Sir Frank Mears.

References

*Dictionary of Scottish Architects

External links

*
The Caste System of North America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Traquair, Ramsay 1874 births 1952 deaths 20th-century Scottish architects Architects from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art McGill University faculty