Basic Biographical Details

Name: Robert Grieve Melvin
Designation:  
Born: c. 1839
Died: 13 December 1879
Bio Notes: Robert Grieve Melvin was born c.1839, the son of Andrew Melvin, master brewer and distiller and his wife Jane Grieve. No details are known of his training but he inherited James Smith's practice in Glasgow on his death in December 1863 and completed Smith's Stirling's Library on Miller Street. He entered into a short-lived partnership with William Leiper early in 1864. The partnership ended in a dispute about 1867, Melvin's only significant work apart from Stirling's Library being the Glasgow Gas Company's palazzo at 42 Virginia Street, built in 1867.

Melvin married Elizabeth Gordon (or Ritchie - she was a widow) at Rocknayfaulds Cottage, Cathcart Road, Hutchesontown, Glasgow on 28 January 1869. Elizabeth was the daughter of George Gordon, railway contractor and Elizabeth Young, They had a son, Robert, born in Glasgow on 14 March 1871. Robert Grieve Melvin continued to work as an architect at 74 Argyle Street but in the later 1870s perhaps as a result of the City of Glasgow Bank crash gave up to work as a hotel keeper. In 1878 the family moved to Fleming Grove, Dunoon.

Robert Grieve Melvin died of phthisis at 38 Berkeley Terrace, Glasgow on 13 December 1879.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 374, Argyle Street, Glasgow, ScotlandPrivate/business1868c. 1878 
Item 2 of 3124, St Vincent Street, Glasgow, ScotlandBusinessBefore 1868After 1870 
Item 3 of 3Fleming Grove, Dunoon, Argyll, ScotlandPrivatec. 1878  

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 1Melvin & Leiper1864c. 1867Partner 

Buildings and Designs

This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
 Date startedBuilding nameTown, district or villageIslandCity or countyCountryNotes
Item 1 of 41864Stirling's Library  GlasgowScotlandCompleted after Smith's death in December 1863
Item 2 of 41865Dowanhill UP ChurchDowanhill GlasgowScotlandWon competition to secure job
Item 3 of 41865Dumbarton Burgh Halls and Committee Rooms and Dumbarton AcademyDumbarton DunbartonshireScotlandAwarded commission and executed Gothic scheme
Item 4 of 41867Office for Glasgow Gas Company  GlasgowScotlandDesigned mainly by Melvin

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 4Architects Engineers and Building Trades Directory1868Architect's, Engineer's and Building Trades' Directory London, Wyman 
Item 2 of 4British Architectural Library, RIBA2001Directory of British Architects 1834-1914   
Item 3 of 4Johnston, W T2003Artists of Scotland Officina Publications CDROM 
Item 4 of 4Post Office Directories     

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 1Professor David M Walker personal archiveProfessor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material Additional research by Iain Paterson