Basic Biographical Details

Name: William Stirling II
Designation:  
Born: c. 1789
Died: 2 July 1876
Bio Notes: William Stirling II was born c.1789 and appears to have been the son of William Stirling, slater, who was killed on 14 June 1799 in an accident at the building of the architect builder Thomas Stirling's Falkirk Relief Church which left Thomas himself 'a hopeless cripple … unable to do anything for himself'. At an early age William Stirling II was articled to his much older cousin William Stirling I of Dunblane, who may have made himself responsible for him. At the end of his articles he appears to have had further experience in David Hamilton's office as the calligraphy of the firm becomes identical with Hamilton's from about 1816. Airth Parish Church, where the Stirlings competed against Hamilton, seems to have been William II's first major design, and he appears to have done most of the designing for the firm from at least 1818, although on at least one occasion, at Lecropt, Hamilton and the Stirlings were joint architects.

After the death of William Stirling I, William II continued the practice, albeit at a reduced level. He married Ann Kinross, probably of the Stirling carriage-building firm, by whom he had four sons: William III, architect, born in 1819 or 1820; James, born 1822, who was a bank clerk and who continued to live at home with his parents and who seems to have been provided for by an area of land in George Square, Edinburgh which his father 'seized' in 1842; John, born 1824, Governor of Duke Street Prison, Glasgow; and Lewis, procurator fiscal of Falkirk, born in 1828.

William III was presumably articled to his father; it is not known whether he sought any wider experience, but by 1852 he had established a Falkirk office in parallel with his father's in Dunblane. He died at Downe Road, Dunblane on 16 February 1867, by which time his father had retired, and the practice was then closed: the completion of William III's Stirling District Asylum at Larbert was taken over by James Brown of Currie, then in retirement and formerly of Brown & Carrick, suggesting that he may have had some connection with that firm.

William II died in retirement at Woodend, Dunblane on 2 July 1876.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 3Woodside, Dunblane, Perthshire, ScotlandPrivate1841  
Item 2 of 3Leonard Bank, Perth, Perthshire, ScotlandPrivate1851  
Item 3 of 3Woodend, New Road, Dunblane, Perthshire, ScotlandPrivate1861 *2 July 1876Place of death.

* 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):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 3William Stirling Ic. 1803(?)c. 1807(?)Apprentice 
Item 2 of 3David HamiltonAfter 1807Before 1816Assistant(?) 
Item 3 of 3William Stirling IBefore 18161838  

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 2William Stirling IIIc. 1835c. 1840Apprentice 
Item 2 of 2William Stirling IIIc. 1840Before 1852  

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 651818Airth Parish ChurchAirth StirlingshireScotlandSubmitted design - and scheme selected and built - possibly by William Stirling II alone (see Love)
Item 2 of 651818Comrie ManseComrie PerthshireScotlandNew front block
Item 3 of 651820Linlathen HouseBroughty Ferry DundeeScotlandReconstruction and new wing
Item 4 of 651820Rattray Parish ChurchRattray PerthshireScotland 
Item 5 of 65c. 1820Dupplin Castle, stablesForteviot PerthshireScotlandEnlargement
Item 6 of 65c. 1820House (?) for D Saddler   Scotland 
Item 7 of 651821House, Allan ParkStirling StirlingshireScotland 
Item 8 of 651821Kincardine in Menteith ManseKincardine in Menteith PerthshireScotland 
Item 9 of 651821Moncreiffe House, StablesBridge of Earn PerthshireScotlandEnlargement
Item 10 of 651821Moncreiffe InnBridge of Earn PerthshireScotlandEnlargement
Item 11 of 651823Kippen Parish ChurchKippen StirlingshireScotlandProbably mainly responsible for design
Item 12 of 651823Redgorton Parish ChurchRedgorton PerthshireScotlandScheme for new aisle - not executed
Item 13 of 651824Blairgowrie Parish ChurchBlairgowrie PerthshireScotland 
Item 14 of 651824Culross Abbey ChurchCulross FifeScotlandExtensive repairs
Item 15 of 651824Culross ManseCulross FifeScotlandRepairs, addition of west wing, and offices
Item 16 of 651824Garden House  StirlingshireScotland 
Item 17 of 651824Tibbermore ManseTibbermore PerthshireScotland 
Item 18 of 651825Forteviot ManseForteviot PerthshireScotland 
Item 19 of 651825Lecropt Parish ChurchLecropt PerthshireScotlandMay also be inviolved as joint architect with his father and David Hamilton
Item 20 of 65c. 1825Dron Parish ChurchDron PerthshireScotland 
Item 21 of 651826Ardoch House, stables  PerthshireScotlandAddition
Item 22 of 651826Colquhalzie  PerthshireScotlandNew wing
Item 23 of 651826Crieff Old Parish ChurchCrieff PerthshireScotlandCompletion of church
Item 24 of 651826Holmehill HouseDunblane PerthshireScotland 
Item 25 of 651826Holmehill Lodge EastDunblane StirlingshireScotland 
Item 26 of 651826Lecropt SchoolLecropt PerthshireScotland 
Item 27 of 651827Tillicoultry Parish ChurchTillicoultry ClackmannanshireScotland 
Item 28 of 651828Ardoch HouseArdoch PerthshireScotlandNew wing (attribution)
Item 29 of 651828Red Lion InnFalkirk StirlingshireScotland 
Item 30 of 651829Drumshoogle Farmhouse  PerthshireScotland 
Item 31 of 651829Dunblane ManseDunblane PerthshireScotland 
Item 32 of 651829Monzie ChurchMonzie PerthshireScotland 
Item 33 of 651829Monzie ManseMonzie PerthshireScotlandReconstruction
Item 34 of 651830Creich Parish ChurchCreich FifeScotland 
Item 35 of 651830Culross Abbey HouseCulross FifeScotlandRe-roofing, new interior
Item 36 of 651830Parish Church of ForteviotForteviot PerthshireScotlandRepairs jointly with Andrew Heiton
Item 37 of 65c. 1830Argaty EstateDoune PerthshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 38 of 65c. 1830Arnprior Estate, farms  PerthshireScotland 
Item 39 of 65c. 1830Barbush EstateDunblane PerthshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 40 of 65c. 1830Cowden CastleMuckart PerthshireScotlandUnspecified
Item 41 of 65c. 1830Drummond Castle Estate  PerthshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 42 of 65c. 1830Falkirk Heritors, work on church, manse or school (?)Falkirk StirlingshireScotlandUnspecified work on church manse or school
Item 43 of 65c. 1830Gartmore Estate  PerthshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 44 of 65c. 1830Glentyan Estate  PerthshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 45 of 65c. 1830House (?) for C Stewart, surgeon   Scotland 
Item 46 of 65c. 1830Manor  StirlingshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 47 of 65c. 1830Tillicoultry House Estate, stables (?)Tillicoultry ClackmannanshireScotlandUnspecified work, probably stables
Item 48 of 651831Inn at Bridge of AllanBridge of Allan StirlingshireScotland 
Item 49 of 651831Parish ChurchPort of Menteith PerthshireScotlandRepairs and alterations to first church - demolished 1875
Item 50 of 651831United Associate ChurchBridge of Teith PerthshireScotlandProvided design
Item 51 of 651832Dunipace (Old) Parish ChurchDunipace StirlingshireScotland 
Item 52 of 651832Keir Mains Farmhouse and Factor's house  StirlingshireScotlandFarmhouse
Item 53 of 651832Logie ManseLogie StirlingshireScotlandAddition
Item 54 of 651832Muckhart ManseMuckhart PerthshireScotland 
Item 55 of 651832Obelisk to Sir David BairdTom A' Chaistel, Strowan PerthshireScotland 
Item 56 of 651832Ochtertyre Estate, Locherlour Steading (?)Ochtertyre, near Crieff PerthshireScotlandUnspecified work
Item 57 of 651834Colquhalzie House stables  PerthshireScotland 
Item 58 of 651836Monzievaird ManseMonzievaird PerthshireScotland 
Item 59 of 651837William Simpson's AsylumPlean/Quarter/Cushen Quarter StirlingshireScotlandBuilding completed
Item 60 of 651839Stewart's SchoolFintry StirlingshireScotland 
Item 61 of 651841Dunblane PrisonDunblane PerthshireScotland 
Item 62 of 651842Natural History MuseumBridge of Allan StirlingshireScotland 
Item 63 of 651843Catholic Church and presbyteryFalkirk StirlingshireScotland 
Item 64 of 651858Blackford Parish ChurchBlackford PerthshireScotlandConflict of information - may have provided design but did not get the job
Item 65 of 651863Keir HouseDunblane PerthshireScotlandPorte-cochere heightened from 2 storeys to 3 with French pavilion roof, completing scheme by Alfred Jenoure after disagreement with client Sir William Stirling

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 3Colvin, H M1995A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-18403rd editionNew Haven and London: Yale University PressUnder William Stirling I
Item 2 of 3Love, J1928Local Antiquarian Notes and Queries Falkirk: Falkirk LibraryVolume III, p154
Item 3 of 3Walker, David1972The Stirlings of Dunblane and Falkirk: Fragments of five architectural biographies in the Bulletin of the Scottish Georgian Society, Volume 1, 1972 

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 1National Archives of Scotland (formerly SRO)Register of Sasines1256