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 AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Quarryhead, Lasswade, Midlothian, Scotland | Private | | | | | 18, Hanover Street, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1792 | | |
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 | | 1760s | Houses in Thistle Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1760s | Houses, St Andrew Square | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1767 | Thistle Court | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1770s | Houses, St David Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1777 | 'The Bow Flats', Princes Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1780s | Building on north side of George Street, opposite Assembly Rooms | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1780s | Houses in Thistle Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1780s | Office block, 10 and 12 Young Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1780s | Tenements, 89 Hanover Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1780s | Young Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | Before 1787 | House for Alexander Young, solicitor | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | Before 1787 | House for Archibald Milne, solicitor | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | Late 1780s | Building on north side of George Street, opposite Assembly Rooms | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | Further 92 feet feued on north side for building | | c. 1792 | Houses, Princes Street | | | Edinburgh | Scotland | |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Colvin, Howard | 2008 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | | London: YUP. 4th edition | | | Lewis, Anthony | 2014 | The Builders of Edinburgh New Town 1767-1795 | | Reading: Spire Books | | | Youngson, A J | 1966 | The Making of Classical Edinburgh | | Edinburgh University Press | pp84, 91, 101, 205 |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Scots Magazine | 1801 | | | p516 |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Edinburgh City Archives | Edinburgh Dean of Guild | 7 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. | | Edinburgh City Archives | Edinburgh Town Council Minutes | | 11 August 1779 and 16 June 1806 |
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