© All rights reserved. Edinburgh Architectural Association 1907 Exhibition Catalogue  © All rights reserved. Building News 7 February 1890 

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Basic Biographical Details

Name: John McKean Brydon
Designation: Architect
Born: 1840
Died: May 1901
Bio Notes: John McKean Brydon was born in Dunfermline in 1840, the son of James Brydon, tailor and draper and his wife Jane McKean. He was educated at the Commercial Academy there. On 1 September 1856 he was articled to William Hardie Hay and James Murdoch Hay in Liverpool for three years, thereafter making a study tour of Italy. On his return in 1860 he secured a place in the office of David Bryce in Edinburgh as assistant with a home address that year in Picardy Place. During his time there he exhibited at the RSA a sketch (design?) of The Presbyterian Church at Rock Ferry (RSA 1862 (778)).

In 1863 he moved to the office of Campbell Douglas & Stevenson in Glasgow where he was described as 'managing assistant'; there may have been a previous connection as Brydon's time with Bryce may briefly have crossed with that of Stevenson in 1860. During his period at Campbell Douglas & Stevenson's he became acquainted with B J Talbert, William Leiper and William Wallace who were also in the office. From Campbell Douglas & Stevenson's he joined William Eden Nesfield and Richard Norman Shaw as their joint clerk in May 1866, remaining their chief assistant until 1869 when he appears to have become part-time in order to assist the setting up of Cottier & Co (not Morris & Co as in the BAL Directory) in Langham Place, London. This was an interior decorating, glass staining and furnishing firm set up by Daniel Cottier in partnership with William Wallace, Bruce Talbert and Brydon. Within the next few years Cottier’s personal practice had become international and the Langham Place venture proved to be ephemeral.

In 1871 Brydon finally left Shaw & Nesfield to commence independent practice at 39 Great Marlborough Street, an office he shared with Basil Champneys. In the first few years his business seems to have been a continuation of Cottier & Co specialising in interior design and furnishing, and in the early 1870s he had two female apprentices, John James Stevenson’s cousins Rhoda and Agnes Garrett who were shortly to make a name for themselves in the same field with their ‘Suggestions for House Decoration in Painting, Woodwork and Furniture’ (1876). At that date Brydon appears to have been living at 10 Nottingham Place, but in 1876 he set up house and office at 98 Gower Street. By then he had three known commissions, a large addition to the painter James Tissot’s house at 17 Grove End Road, the large Norman Shaw-like Lewins at Crookham Hill for Joseph Robinson and a dining room at The Poplars, Avenue Road, London, exhibited at the RSA in 1876 (584): whether the last of these was simply interior decoration or actual building is unclear.

In 1880 Brydon entered into partnership with William Wallace who had dissolved his partnership with William Flockhart in the previous year but that too proved short-lived. In 1881 he was admitted FRIBA, his proposers being John James Stevenson, Robert William Edis and Alfred Waterhouse, an event which followed a major shift in Brydon’s financial circumstances. House and office now moved to 5 Cambridge Place in Regent’s Park and within the next few years he had acquired 130 acres at Pickhurst, Chiddingford, Surrey. There between 1885 and 1889 he built a large Norman Shaw-like country house in brick and half-timber which must have cost well over £10,000. Whether it was built for lease as an investment, or whether he intended to retire to it is as yet unclear. Home remained at Cambridge Place, but as the business grew, house and office were separated, the office being at 77 Newman Street Marylebone from 1894 and his home at 31 Steel’s road Haverstock hill.
With his additions to St Peter’s Hospital, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden (1880-84) Brydon began to establish a reputation as an architect of public buildings, and hospitals in particular, St Peter’s being followed by the Hospital for Women in Euston Road, and the School of Medicine for Women in Handel Street (1896) both for Dr Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, sister and cousin of Rhoda and Agnes Garrett. In 1885 he won the competition for the Chelsea Vestry Hall with a Wren-like design, followed by the still finer library and polytechnic nearby. He had mixed success in other competitions, but in 1891 he won that for the enlargement of Bath Guildhall. The work there occupied him for eight years, embracing an art gallery, a library, technical schools and the buildings at the Roman baths of which it was correctly observed that he ‘imparted an air of antique dignity to the new work’. In France he extensively restored and enlarged the Chateau de Buillon near Besancon after his old friend and client Tissot inherited it in 1886.

In 1898 the Office of Works selected Brydon as architect for the new public offices in Whitehall from a list of architects nominated by the RIBA: the reasons for his selection are not recorded, but the quality of his Bath buildings was probably the deciding factor. Modelled in certain respects on Inigo Jones’ and John Webb’s unexecuted designs for the palace, his scheme was well-received when first shown in March 1899.

Early in 1901 Brydon began to suffer from ‘a troublesome affection of the throat which was not regarded as serious and affected his work but little. More recently very grave symptoms and the end came…after a short and painful illness’ on 25 May 1901 at home, 31 Steele’s Road, Haverstock Hill. At the time of his death he was a Vice President of the RIBA and a member of the RIBA’s Art Standing Committee. He was survived by his widow Edith Mary Westall whom he had married in 1892 in Witney Oxfordshire (his first wife Lydia Janet Henderson had died in 1881) and left moveable estate of £11,931 16s 9d. Although that was a large sum at the time, his actual wealth in property must have been considerably greater.

Brydon’s Times obituarist described him as a man of ‘wide interests and strong opinions, expressed always with geniality and humour’. His advocacy of English Renaissance had a profound influence on contemporary British architecture, both through his work in Chelsea, Bath and Whitehall and through two papers delivered at the Architectural Association in 1889 which were fully reported in all four of the leading architectural journals, and were followed by a further article in the Builder in 1891.

Brydon ‘kept but a small staff preferring to do his own work’ and ‘would never have done anything which he might live to regret in the way of triviality or experimentalism’. His small office and the lack of any son* or successor to the practice became a problem when he died. The Office of Works architect Sir Henry Tanner took over the drawings from his executor Leonard Stokes and appointed his predecessor Sir John Taylor to carry them out. Brydon’s principal assistant was recruited to help him, their work being subject to the scrutiny of an advisory committee which included Sir William Emerson and Sir Aston Webb. Some minor changes of detail were made, resulting in a protest from Leonard Stokes, but the executed building is still generally faithful to Brydon’s conception.

* J M Brydon’s son, H J Brydon, trained as a civil engineer and by 1900 was engineer to the Dublin United Tramway Company. On a brief visit to London he disappeared, his bag being found on the steamer to Holyhead. [British Architect 2 March 1900 p146]

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this architect:
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 11Dunfermline, Fife, ScotlandPrivate1840Before 1856Place of birth
Item 2 of 1111, Picardy Place, Edinburgh, ScotlandPrivate1860  
Item 3 of 11Duke Street, Edinburgh, ScotlandPrivate1861 As a boarder here with George Wilson, clothier
Item 4 of 11143, Elderslie Street, Glasgow, ScotlandPrivate1866 *  
Item 5 of 1110, Nottingham Place, London, EnglandBusiness1869  
Item 6 of 11Blenheim Road, Marylebone, London, EnglandPrivate1871 *  
Item 7 of 1139, Marlborough Street, London, EnglandBusiness18721874 
Item 8 of 1131, Steele's Road, Haverstock Hill, London, EnglandPrivatec. 18741901 
Item 9 of 1198, Gower Street, London, EnglandBusiness18761890sBusiness address - also had Cambridge as business at the same time.
Item 10 of 115, Cambridge Place, London, EnglandBusiness1881c. 1900Returned to this address before 1900?
Item 11 of 1177, Newman Street, London, EnglandBusiness1894 *  

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this architect (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 7J, W H & J M Hay ('The Hays of Liverpool')18561860Apprentice 
Item 2 of 7David Bryce18601863Assistant 
Item 3 of 7Campbell Douglas & Stevenson1863May 1866Draughtsman 
Item 4 of 7Nesfield & ShawMay 18661867Clerk 
Item 5 of 7Nesfield & Shawc. 18671869Chief Assistant 
Item 6 of 7Nesfield & Shaw18691871AssistantPart-time assistant
Item 7 of 7Brydon & Wallace1880c. 1880Partner 

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this architect (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 6Francis William TroupAfter 1888Before 1890  
Item 2 of 6Charles Henry Bourne Quennell18931896Assistant 
Item 3 of 6William Adam Forsythc. 1895c. 1896Assistant 
Item 4 of 6James Black FultonAfter 18971901Assistant 
Item 5 of 6David McLeod Craik18981900Assistant 
Item 6 of 6George Salway Nicol19001902Assistant 

RIBA

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this architect for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate proposedNotes
Item 1 of 3(Sir) Robert William Edis23 May 1881for Fellowship
Item 2 of 3John James Stevenson23 May 1881for Fellowship
Item 3 of 3Alfred Waterhouse23 May 1881for Fellowship

RIBA Proposals

This architect proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate proposedNotes
Item 1 of 13Hippolyte Jean Blanc1 April 1901for Fellowship
Item 2 of 13Thomas Cooper13 June 1892for Associateship
Item 3 of 13Erskine Seaton Cummings4 December 1893for Associateship
Item 4 of 13William Flockhart18 February 1901for Fellowship
Item 5 of 13John James Joass10 June 1895for Associateship
Item 6 of 13David William Kennedy4 December 1893for Associateship
Item 7 of 13(Sir) Robert Stodart Lorimer16 June 1890for Associateship
Item 8 of 13Alexander Marshall Mackenzie30 November 1896for Fellowship
Item 9 of 13Francis William Troup11 March 1889for Associateship
Item 10 of 13Francis William Troup4 December 1899for Fellowship
Item 11 of 13Robert Watson11 June 1888for Associateship
Item 12 of 13Clyde Francis Young3 December 1900for Associateship
Item 13 of 13William Young12 January 1891for Fellowship

Buildings and Designs

This architect 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 51865Bolton Town HallBolton LancashireEnglandCompetition design - unsuccessful
Item 2 of 51886Edinburgh Municipal Buildings  EdinburghScotlandCompetition design - unsuccessful.
Item 3 of 51893Pump Room and Municipal Buildings extensionBath SomersetEnglandWon design competition
Item 4 of 51896Liverpool Museum extension and Technical Schools  LiverpoolEnglandCompetition design - placed second
Item 5 of 51898Taunton Town HallTaunton DevonEnglandCompetition design - placed second

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this architect:
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 8Girouard, Mark1977Sweetness and Light: The Queen Anne Movement   
Item 2 of 8Gray, A Stuart1985Edwardian Architecture: A Biographical Dictionary   
Item 3 of 8Grove Dictionary of Art Grove Dictionary of Art  Article by Neil Bingham
Item 4 of 8Loftie, W J1905Brydon at Bath Architectural Review, pp3-9, 51-9, 147-154 
Item 5 of 8Macartney, Hilary and Robertson, David (eds)2011Cottiers in Context   
Item 6 of 8New DNB New Dictionary of National Biography  Article by Paul Waterhouse revised by Ian Dungavell.
Item 7 of 8Port, M H1995Imperial London: Civil Government Building in London, 1851-1915 New Haven & London: Yale University Press 
Item 8 of 8Richardson, Harriet1998English Hospitals 1660-1948   

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this architect:
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 8British Architect31 May 1901  p377
Item 2 of 8Builder1 June 1901  pp529, 540 Obituary
Item 3 of 8Builder8 June 1901   
Item 4 of 8Building News31 May 1901  p726 Obituary
Item 5 of 8Country Life22 May 2013  p106 Pickhurst
Item 6 of 8RIBA Journal8 June 1901 London: Royal Institute of British Architectsp382
Item 7 of 8RIBA Journal22 June 1901 London: Royal Institute of British Architectspp400-403 Obituary by James Sivewright Gibson
Item 8 of 8The Times28 May 1901   

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this architect:
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 1RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Nomination Papers F v6, p74 (microfiche 95/B1)

Images

© All rights reserved. Edinburgh Architectural Association 1907 Exhibition Catalogue  

© All rights reserved. Edinburgh Architectural Association 1907 Exhibition Catalogue

© All rights reserved. Building News 7 February 1890 

© All rights reserved. Building News 7 February 1890