Basic Biographical Details Name: | Swanston & Syme | Designation: | | Born: | 1904 | Died: | | Bio Notes: | The partnership between John Daniel Swanston and William Syme was formed in 1904, the office being located in Redburn Wynd, Kirkcaldy.
Swanston (b. Dundee 1868) had previously been in practice in Kirkcaldy with _____ Legge after serving an apprenticeship with William Simpson of Stirling, and assistantships with Leadbetter & Fairley of Edinburgh, Alexander Cullen of Glasgow and Hamilton and James Graham Fairley of Edinburgh. From his earliest years in Kirkcaldy he was prominent in public life, becoming town councillor for the Second Ward and a burgess in November 1900. He was convener of the Street Committee from November 1904 to November 1908. Like many other architects, Swanston was an enthusiastic volunteer and was commissioned in the 1st Fife Royal Garrison Artillery. After the First World War broke out, he was commissioned as a captain in the Black Watch and was for a time commandant of Lewes prisoner-of-war camp in Sussex.
No details are currently known of Syme, who predeceased Swanston, the latter thereafter practising alone until he retired in 1951 at the age of eighty-three.
The practice specialised in theatre, cinema and public house work, mostly in a bold neo-baroque or half-timbered neo-Tudor idiom. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Redburn Wynd, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland | Business | 1904 | After 1911 | |
Employment and TrainingEmployees or Pupils
Buildings and DesignsThis 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 | | 1893 | Auchterderran, Cemetery | Auchterderran | | Fife | Scotland | 'Cemetery with sexton's lodge, mortuary and offices' | | 1904 | Empire Theatre of Varieties | Cowdenbeath | | Fife | Scotland | Begun by Swanston prior to partnership | | 1904 | Kelso Town Hall | Kelso | | Roxburghshire | Scotland | Reconstruction and replacement of original 1816 building | | 1905 | King's Theatre | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1905 | Pair of villas, Balwearie Road and Balwearie Crescent | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1905 | Tenement (and Malcolm's House at rear), High Street | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | Alterations | | 1905 | Villa, Balwearie Road | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1905 | Villa, Balwearie Road | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1906 | St Columba's Episcopal Church, Linktown | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1907 | Fife Linoleum Company Factory | Pathhead, Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1907 | Gaiety Theatre | Methil | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1907 | Hippodrome Theatre | | | Dundee | Scotland | Designs | | 1908 | Hall for Bowhill Public House Society Ltd | Bowhill, Auchterderran | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1909 | Alexandra Theatre | | | Belfast | Northern Ireland | | | 1909 | King's Theatre (and tenement) | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | Alterations | | 1913 | Dunfermline Opera House and Hippodrome | Dunfermline | | Fife | Scotland | New interior within existing shell | | 1935 | Open-Air Swimming Pool | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | Swanston responsible | | Early 1900s | Pair of villas | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | 'Possibly' (HS) |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Measurers\' Companion | 1911 | The Scottish Architects' and Measurers' Companion | | | | | Who's Who in Architecture | 1914 | | | | | | Who's Who in Architecture | 1923 | | | | |
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 Dr John Swanston, 11 July 1990 | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | F no2099 (microfilm reel 16) (declaration only - other papers missing) |
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