Basic Biographical Details Name: | James Gillespie | Designation: | | Born: | 2 December 1879 | Died: | August 1942 | Bio Notes: | James Gillespie was born on 2 December 1879 and received his education at a Merchant Company School and at George Heriot's Hospital school in Edinburgh. He began his architectural training in 1895 (RIBA obituary says 1896) when he was articled to Thomas Marwick, and from the following year he attended classes at the Edinburgh School of Applied Art where he was awarded first a scholarship (in 1900) and afterwards a £40 travel bursary (in 1902); these and his later success in winning the Banister Fletcher Bursary awarded by the London Architectural Association (in 1903) enabled him to spend a total of two years of his early career travelling and studying ecclesiastical and secular buildings in Scotland, France and England, including the Oxford colleges and some of the well-known cathedral towns.
From 1901 to 1903 he was an assistant in the office of Sydney Mitchell & Wilson, where he had the special opportunity of gaining experience in works of considerable magnitude and of varied character. In the latter year he obtained the position of chief assistant to Rowand Anderson & Paul. He was admitted LRIBA in the mass intake of 20 July 1911, proposed by James Bow Dunn and the Edinburgh Architectural Association. He left the Anderson office in 1916 to take up an appointment with H M Office of Works, where he served both in the Ancient Monuments and New Works departments until incapacitated by illness.
James Gillespie was extremely interested in old work, and was entrusted by Sir Rowand Anderson with the editorship of 'Details of Scottish Domestic Architecture.' He himself was an excellent draughtsman, his work possessing 'vigour and slickness'. For many years he held a teaching appointment in the architecture section of Edinburgh College of Art. He accompanied Bailey S Murphy for some of the tour during which the latter was gathering material and doing drawings for his book, 'English and Scottish Wrought Iron Work'.
He still had an office at 6 Gillespie Crescent in 1939-40. He died after a long illness in August 1942. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 6, Bruntsfield Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | Before 1911 | c. 1940 | |
Employment and TrainingEmployers
RIBARIBA ProposersThe following individuals proposed this for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date proposed | Notes | | James Bow Dunn | 20 July 1911 | for Licentiateship - as President of the Edinburgh Architectural Association |
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Post Office Directories | | | | | | | RIBA | 1939 | The RIBA Kalendar 1939-1940 | | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | RIBA Journal | January 1943 | | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | Obituary by James A Arnot & James S Bennet p68 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | L v17 no1289 |
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