Basic Biographical Details Name: | Francis Davidson Robertson (or Francis Duff Robertson) | Designation: | | Born: | 29 June 1839 | Died: | 31 August 1922 | Bio Notes: | Francis Davidson (or Duff - sources vary) Robertson was born in Keith, Banffshire on 29 June 1839, the son of Francis Robertson and his wife Elspet Watt, and was christened on 15 July. He was apprenticed to a carpenter but ill-health forced him to withdraw from this profession, and instead he became an architect. His practice appears to have been wholly confined to the Keith-Huntly area, and was based in West End Cottage, Fife-Keith from the early 1870s until at least 1895. He designed numerous houses in addition to his known commissions.
Davidson was precentor and conductor at the UP Church in Keith and he married Isabella Bremner, who predeceased him. There is some uncertainty about his offspring: he is known to have had one son, William Coull Robertson, who registered his death and is mentioned in his obituary, but in 1904 a Francis Robertson, architect, Fife-Keith is recorded as paying for the maintenance of Jane Ross Burgess, illegitimate daughter of Jane Robertson Burgess, who would have been born when he was about sixty years old. It is possible that he had a son of the same name who was the father of this child, practised as an architect and predeceased him.
Robertson died of cancer on 31 August 1922 at Regent Street, Keith. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Oldmore, Keith, Banffshire, Scotland | Private | 1851 * | | | | West End Cottage/Westend Cottage, Keith, Banffshire, Scotland | Private | Before 1871 | After 1911 | | | 92, Mid Street, Keith, Banffshire, Scotland | Business | 1897 | | Builder 1 May 1897 p409 |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Measurers\' Companion | 1911 | The Scottish Architects' and Measurers' Companion | | | |
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 | | Research by Anne Burgess |
|