Basic Biographical Details

Name:	Alfred Greig
Designation:
Born:	1869 or 1870
Died:
Bio Notes:	Alfred Greig was born in Edinburgh in 1869 or 1870, the son of Peter Macfarlane Greig. Educated at the Edinburgh Institution from 1881-1885, he was articled to Thornton Shiells & Thomson in the latter year, but quickly transferred to the more up-to-date practice of the Beaux-Arts-educated Frank Worthington Simon in which he remained until 1890, subsequently attending Simon's classes at the Edinburgh School of Applied Art from 1892, together with others at Edinburgh College of Art and Heriot-Watt College. At the end of his apprenticeship with Simon, he became an assistant in Robert Rowand Anderson's office. In 1896, whilst still with Rowand Anderson, he began teaching at the School of Applied Art, and the following year he won the School's travelling scholarship. Greig established his own practice in 1898. In association with Andrew Muirhead, Greig won first premium in the competition for the Carnegie Baths in Dunfermline in 1901, but Hippolyte Jean Blanc secured the commission and Muirhead died a few years later. No other work from Greig's first years in practice has yet been identified but his appointment by Anderson to the post of principal teacher of architecture in the School of Applied Art in 1903 enabled him to marry Helen Forsyth, daughter of John Forsyth, and to take into partnership Walter Fairbairn and George Donaldson Macniven. Following the taking over of the School of Applied Art to become a part of Edinburgh College of Art in 1906, Greig's appointment came to an end in 1908, but Fairbairn secured a part-time appointment at Edinburgh College of Art and Lauder Technical School in Dunfermline. The practice was based at 31 York Place and seems to have specialised in small-scale competitions, particularly for public libraries, but they also won that for a model church for the United Free Church in the Highlands, which brought a considerable number of commissions for small churches in that area. All three architects were admitted LRIBA in the mass intake of 20 July 1911 with the same proposers - John Wilson, James Bow Dunn and Thomas Duncan Rhind. The partnership continued until the First World War when Macniven withdrew to enter government service. He married Maud Grace Hendry in 1922 and became in succession Principal Architect and Housing Commissioner for the Scottish Board of Health, Depute Chief Architect at the Department of Health for Scotland and later Chief Architect. He died in 1949. On Macniven's withdrawal the partnership became Greig & Fairbairn and was fortunate in securing a share of the Scottish National Housing Company's Admiralty Dockyard Garden City at Rosyth in 1915, a development planned and partly designed by Alfred Hugh Mottram from Sir Raymond Unwin's office, which came to an end with the closure of the dockyard in 1925. Thereafter the partnership was dissolved; Fairbairn continued to specialise in housing work, becoming Chief Technical Officer of the Scottish Special Housing Association in 1937-39. Greig continued the practice alone, specialising in 'Mansion House Architecture' (Scottish Biographies 1938). It appears that his practice consisted mainly of modernising existing houses but one large country house designed by him has been identified - Ardtaraig, near Dunoon.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
	Address	Type	Date from	Date to	Notes
	44, Queen Street, Edinburgh, Scotland	Business	1899	1901
	31, York Place, Edinburgh, Scotland	Business	1903	c. 1940	In various partnerships and then on his own from 1925-1940
	25, St Clair Terrace, Edinburgh, Scotland	Private	1911 *
	2, Victoria Terrace, Musselburgh, Midlothian, Scotland	Private	c. 1920	c. 1927
	2, East Brighton Crescent, Portobello, Midlothian, Scotland	Private	c. 1934	c. 1938

* earliest date known from documented sources.

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	Shiells & Thomson	1885	Before 1890	Apprentice
	Frank Lewis Worthington Simon	After 1885	1890	Apprentice
	Wardrop & Anderson	1890	1898	Assistant
	Greig & Potts	1902
	Greig, Fairbairn & Macniven	1903	April 1915	Partner
	Greig & Fairbairn	1914	1925	Partner

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
	Name	Date from	Date to	Position	Notes
	Harold John Muir	1927	1929	Assistant

RIBA

RIBA Proposers

The 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
	(Sir) Thomas Duncan Rhind	20 July 1911	for Licentiateship
	John Watson	20 July 1911	for Licentiateship

Buildings and Designs

This 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
	1899	Terrace of houses, Colinton Road			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1900(?)	Caddonfoot Parish Church	Caddonfoot		Selkirkshire	Scotland	Organ case
	1902	Carnegie Public Baths and gymnasium	Dunfermline		Fife	Scotland	First premiated competition design published; but Blanc was awarded the commission
	1903	Carnegie Public Library	Motherwell		Lanarkshire	Scotland	Won competition and was commissioned
	After 1903	Alvie UF Church	Alvie		Inverness-shire	Scotland
	After 1903	Aultbea UF Church	Aultbea		Ross and Cromarty	Scotland	With executant architects Mackenzie & MacDonald
	After 1903	Bonnyrigg Infant School	Bonnyrigg		Midlothian	Scotland
	After 1903	Glenurquhart UF Church	Glenurquhart		Inverness-shire	Scotland
	After 1903	Kinloch UF Church	Kinloch	Lewis	Ross and Cromarty	Scotland
	After 1903	Rosehall UF Church	Rosehall		Sutherland	Scotland
	After 1903	UF Church	Muir of Ord		Ross and Cromarty	Scotland
	1905	Prestonpans Public Library	Prestonpans		East Lothian	Scotland	Competition design, not selected
	1905	Whitehaven Public Library	Whitehaven		Cumberland	England	Won open competition to secure job
	1906	Kippenross House	Dunblane		Stirlingshire	Scotland	Staircase
	After 1906	Fairnalie	Selkirk		Selkirkshire	Scotland	Alterations
	1907	Maxton Public Library	Maxton		Roxburghshire	Scotland
	1907	Strathy Lochs UF Church and manse	Strathy Lochs		Sutherland	Scotland	With Sinclair MacDonald as executant architect
	1908	Bonnyrigg Public Library	Bonnyrigg		Midlothian	Scotland	Won open competition to secure job
	1909	Bruan UF Church	Bruan		Caithness	Scotland	With Sinclair MacDonald as executant architect
	1909	Cockpen Parish Council Offices	Bonnyrigg		Midlothian	Scotland
	1909	Latheron UF Church	Latheron		Caithness	Scotland
	1909	Rogart UF Church	Rogart		Sutherland	Scotland
	1909	UF Church	Brora		Sutherland	Scotland
	1910	Tobermory UF Church	Tobermory	Mull	Argyll	Scotland
	1912	Inverchaolain Parish Church	Inverchaolain		Argyll	Scotland
	Before 1914	Loganbank House	Glencorse		Midlothian	Scotland	Internal reconstruction and decoration
	1915	Rosyth Garden City, one hundred and fifty houses	Rosyth		Fife	Scotland	Won competition to secure job
	1916(?)	Ardtaraig	Dunoon (near)		Argyll	Scotland	Remodelling
	1918(?)	Rosyth Garden City development	Rosyth		Fife	Scotland	Worked on the scheme while Mottram was in the army
	1925	Six Houses, Willowbrae Road and Kenmure Avenue,			Edinburgh	Scotland
	1927	Dalmeny Kirk	Dalmeny		West Lothian	Scotland	Completion of Macgregor Chalmers's work (after Chalmers's death)
	1935	Ardtaraig	Dunoon (near)		Argyll	Scotland	May have been repsonsible for the addition of w wing but no documentary evidence.
	1935	Slamannan Parish Church	Slamannan		Stirlingshire	Scotland	Chancel furnishings
	1937	Dalmeny Kirk	Dalmeny		West Lothian	Scotland	Rebuilding of tower

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
	Author(s)	Date	Title	Part	Publisher	Notes
	Scottish Biographies	1938			E J Thurston (pub.)	Gives year of birth as 1869
	Who's Who in Architecture	1914

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
	Source	Archive Name	Source Catalogue No.	Notes
	RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum	RIBA Nomination Papers		L v18 no1303 (gives year of birth as 1870)