Basic Biographical Details Name: | John Armstrong | Designation: | | Born: | 20 January 1857 | Died: | 27 April 1941 | Bio Notes: | John Armstrong was born on 20 January 1957 at 5 Newport Street, Edinburgh, the son of James Armstrong, engine driver, and his wife, Agnes Irvine. When he less than 4 years old his father moved to Carlisle. He remained in Carlisle from about 1860 until after 1871.
He first appears as an architect in Edinburgh in about 1880-81 when he was at 51 Cockburn Street. His home address at the time of the 1881 Census was 2 South Clerk Street and is listed as an architect. About 1882 he took an office at 2 Queen Street, but he did not have a house address (no home address between 1881 and 1885) until 1885 when he was living at 17 Hillside Crescent. During the time he was in Edinburgh he was involved with the Carrubbers Close Mission. In his later application to the Quaker Meeting House at Westminster and Longford, he states that he was involved with the Carrubber's Close Mission and that his efforts were directed to mission work and 'more especially among voluntary labourers'. This explains how he obtained the commission for the Carrubbers Close Mission Building. He may have also been a relative of the John Armstrong whose occupation was given as missionary, living at 10 Society.
In about 1886 he moved to the Birmingham area where he lived with his brother. Armstrong moved to London in mid-1880s and applied for membership of the Friend's Meeting House in Middlesex on 23 April 1888. He met there and married Marie Marthe Bobenrieth, who was born in France in 1863, in 1889. He was active in the Peace Committee in the early 1900s. The couple lived in Middlesex in Queen Victoria Street. He renovated and designed and built and addition to the house. He later applied for, as noted above, admission to the Westminster & Longford Meeting House. He then moved to Acton for a couple of years before building a house - Eden Hall - in Ealing on Montpelier Road. He practiced as a civil engineer at Ealing but bought the Villa L'ensoleillado in Hyeres, France in 1926 and moved there in 1933. He died on 27 April 1941 in Hyeres, his wife surviving him until her death in 1955. They had two sons one of whom became a Patent Agent.
| Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 51, Cockburn Street, Edinburgh, Scotland | Business(?) | | | | | Hyeres, France | Private | | 1041 | | | 6, South Clerk Street, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1881 * | | | | 2, Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland | Business | 1881 | 1885 | No entry after 1886 | | 17, Hillside Crescent, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1885 * | | | | Villa L'ensoleillado/18, Montee Costebelle, Hyeres, France | Private | 1926 | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Buildings and DesignsThis was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | 1880 | Town Hall design | | | | | Design exhibited | | c. 1880(?) | Glasgow Municipal Buildings | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Competition design entered under the pseudonym Roman | | 1883 | Carrubber's Close Mission | Old Town | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1883 | Old Waverley Hotel | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | Extension | | After 1926 | Villa L'ensoleillado | Hyeres | | | France | Addition of oal panelled library with stained glass windows, some of which bore the monogram AB for Armstrong/Bobenrieth |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Post Office Directories | | | | | |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of Bernadette Coupe, Armstrong's granddaughter | Information sent via 'Contact Us' page on website | | Sent April 2010 and June 2011 | | National Archives (via Scotlands People) | Statutory births | | | | Not yet established | Minutes of the Westminster & Longford Quaker Meeting House | Volume 19 | Pages 173-174 |
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