Basic Biographical Details

Name: John Young
Designation:  
Born: c. 1726
Died: 1801
Bio Notes: John Young was born about 1726, the son of John Young senior, shipwright, Leith. The older John Young died in about 1742 but the family enabled him to obtain an apprenticeship with Alexander Douglas. By 1755 he was ready to sit his essay to become a freeman. From then on he practised as a wright and was elected as Deacon of the Incorporation of Wrights. He subscribed to George Jameson's important book ' Thirty Three Designs with the Orders of Architecture according to Palladio' (1765). His name appears as an 'architect' in sources at the time. After 1767 he became a hugely sussessful property builder and was a leading figure among the builders of Edinburgh's New Town. He was the first tradesman to build in the New Town. He acquired five feus in 1767 and seventeen more between 1776 and 1795. He was responsible for several houses in St Andrew Square and he built Young Street. By the 1770s he had acquired several feus on the north side of George Street and on which he had his yard. He offered these for the site of a New Town Church (Sir Laurence Dundas had taken the east termination of George Street for his town house). He seems to have retained an area of ground adjacent as there is a petition in the Edinburgh Dean of Guild Archive for taking down and rebuilding his workshop on a site immediately adjoining St Andrew's Church.

Young was a member of the Town Council in 1790 and in 1792 and 1793.

In the mid-1770s when there was a split in the Town Council and when building activity in the New Town had more or less come to a halt, Young was seen as the leader of the builders in opposition to the established order and this split the incorporation of wrights into two factions. Young gathered a group of tradesman around him through family relationships and business partnerships.

He lived in the prestigous Hanover Street and had a mansion at Quarryhead, near Lasswade. He died on 26 July 1801. By that time he had built houses in Princes Street, South Hanover Street, George Street, St David Street, Thistle Street and Thistle Court and had also worked in Canongate, Leith and beyond.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 2Quarryhead, Lasswade, Midlothian, ScotlandPrivate   
Item 2 of 218, Hanover Street, Edinburgh, ScotlandPrivate1792  

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 141760sHouses in Thistle Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 2 of 141760sHouses, St Andrew Square  EdinburghScotland 
Item 3 of 141767Thistle Court  EdinburghScotland 
Item 4 of 141770sHouses, St David Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 5 of 141777'The Bow Flats', Princes Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 6 of 141780sBuilding on north side of George Street, opposite Assembly Rooms  EdinburghScotland 
Item 7 of 141780sHouses in Thistle Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 8 of 141780sOffice block, 10 and 12 Young Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 9 of 141780sTenements, 89 Hanover Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 10 of 141780sYoung Street  EdinburghScotland 
Item 11 of 14Before 1787House for Alexander Young, solicitor  EdinburghScotland 
Item 12 of 14Before 1787House for Archibald Milne, solicitor  EdinburghScotland 
Item 13 of 14Late 1780sBuilding on north side of George Street, opposite Assembly Rooms  EdinburghScotlandFurther 92 feet feued on north side for building
Item 14 of 14c. 1792Houses, Princes Street  EdinburghScotland 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 3Colvin, Howard2008A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 London: YUP. 4th edition 
Item 2 of 3Lewis, Anthony2014The Builders of Edinburgh New Town 1767-1795 Reading: Spire Books 
Item 3 of 3Youngson, A J1966The Making of Classical Edinburgh Edinburgh University Presspp84, 91, 101, 205

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this :
 Periodical NameDateEditionPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 1Scots Magazine1801  p516

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 2Edinburgh City ArchivesEdinburgh Dean of Guild7 August 1800 (Young)
WARRANT GRANTED: 7 August 1800.
PETITION LODGED: 31 July 1800.
PETITIONER: John Young sen., wright.
SITE: A timber yard immediately adjoining St. Andrew’s Church [George Street].
PROPOSAL: To take down and rebuild a wright’s shop.
DRAWINGS: None.
Item 2 of 2Edinburgh City ArchivesEdinburgh Town Council Minutes 11 August 1779 and 16 June 1806