Basic Biographical Details Name: | Maclaren Sons & Soutar | Designation: | | Born: | 1908 | Died: | 1920 | Bio Notes: | John Turnbull Maclaren was born in Monifieth, Angus on 19 April 1863, the son of James Maclaren, architect, Dundee, and Jemima Margaret Miller. He was sent to an unspecified office in the United States to gain experience, returning to Dundee on his father's death in 1893 to continue the family firm with his brother, George Gordon Maclaren.
After George Gordon Maclaren's death on 31 June 1899, John Turnbull Maclaren continued the practice as sole practitioner into the early years of the twentieth century but his American experience was not significantly reflected in the firm's buildings. The more ambitious designs of the later 1890s and early 1900s were known to be the work of Andrew Graham Patrick, born in Perth in 1864. He had been recruited as leading draughtsman from David Smart's office in Perth in 1894. He had attracted the Maclarens' notice by winning an open competition at Port Townsend, USA, but his fiancée had declined to emigrate with him.
In 1908 Maclaren took Charles Geddes Soutar into partnership, a move which took the practice back into the premier league, the office now being at 10 Reform Street. Soutar was born in 1878 of a Forfar family and apprenticed to Charles & Leslie Ower, 1892-98, latterly working under William Gillespie Lamond by whom he was profoundly influenced. During this period he took classes at Dundee Technical College, latterly under Patrick Hill Thoms who also had a considerable influence on the development of his domestic style. In 1899 following the break-up of the Charles & Leslie Ower partnership he moved to the office of John Murray Robertson to widen his experience, but returned to Leslie Ower in 1900, remaining with him as chief assistant until 1902, from which year he practised on his own account with some success. He remained on good terms with Charles Ower, for whom he designed Aystree in 1903. With his white or cream suits and stylish boating hats, Soutar brought a breath of fresh air to the Maclaren Sons & Soutar practice, which had remained somewhat staid despite the recruitment of Patrick: a staff photograph of around the time of the partnership's formation, now in the RCAHMS, well illustrates the difference between the partners, Maclaren being a portly figure in a sombre city suit.
In 1920 the practice merged with J & F Salmond, a firm of civil engineers, land surveyors and architects based at 6 High Street, the firm now becoming Maclaren Soutar Salmond with John Turnbull Maclaren, Charles Geddes Soutar and William Salmond as partners. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 10, Reform Street, Dundee, Scotland | Business | | | |
Employment and TrainingEmployees or Pupils
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Dundee Yearbook | 1893 | | | | James Maclaren obituary |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 12 April 1948 | | | John T Maclaren | | Dundee Advertiser | July 1899 | | | George Gordon Maclaren (cutting in NMRS) | | RIAS Quarterly | August 1948 | no 73 | Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) | John T Maclaren | | RIAS Quarterly | February 1953 | no 91 | Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) | Soutar |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Professor David M Walker personal archive | Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material | | Personal information from William Salmond, William Patrick, James McIntosh Patrick, Ann Patrick, Stuart O Barron, Peter Young and Ian Gordon Lindsay |
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