Sir Frank Charles Mears LLD (11 July 1880 – 25 January 1953) was an architect and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

's leading planning consultant from the 1930s to the early 1950s.

Life and work

Memorial tablet to Frank Mears, Warriston Crematorium

Born in Tynemouth he moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

in 1897 when his father, Dr William Pope Mears (1855-1901), was appointed to a lecturing post in the Anatomy Department of

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

. His mother, Isabella Bartholomew LDCPE (1853-1936), was one of the first licensed physicians in Scotland and an early Taoist author. The family lived at Woodburn House on Canaan Lane in the Morningside district of Edinburgh. He trained as an architect, initially under

Hippolyte Blanc Hippolyte Jean Blanc (18 August 1844 – 17 March 1917) was a Scottish architect. Best known for his church buildings in the Gothic revival style, Blanc was also a keen antiquarian who oversaw meticulously researched restoration projects. ...

(1896-1901), and then, in 1903, under

Robert Weir Schultz Robert Weir Schultz (26 July 1860 – 29 April 1951), later Robert Weir Schultz Weir and known as R. W. S. Weir, was a Scottish Arts and Crafts architect, artist, landscape designer and furniture designer. He did much work on the Isle of Bute ...

(1860-1951). In 1906, after tours of England and the Continent, he returned to Scotland and worked under

Ramsay Traquair Ramsay Heatley Traquair Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE Fellow of the Royal Society of London, FRS (30 July 1840 – 22 November 1912) was a Scottish naturalist and palaeontologist who became a leading expert on fossil fish. Tra ...

(1874-1952). In 1908 he became an assistant to the pioneer planner

Patrick Geddes Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932) was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning ...

(1854-1932), working on the Civic Survey of Edinburgh for the first ever Town Planning Exhibition (1910). He worked with Geddes and his daughter Norah on the creation of a Scottish National Zoological Garden 1913-14 which became

Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo, formerly the Scottish National Zoological Park, is an non-profit zoological park in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The land lies on the south facing slopes of Corstorphine Hill, from which it provides extensive v ...

. In 1915 he married Norah Geddes, making

his father-in-law.(Sir) Frank Charles Mears

Dictionary of Scottish Architects The Dictionary of Scottish Architects is a publicly available online database that provides biographical information about all architects known to have worked in Scotland between 1660 and 1980, and lists their works. Launched in 2006, it was comp ...

In World War I he served with Geddes' son Alasdair in the Kite Balloon section of the Royal Flying Corps and, importantly, invented the modern parachute (and quick release buckle) whilst serving as a Major in this role. Mears was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1936, became full academician in 1943 and served as its President 1944–50. The University of Edinburgh conferred an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

( LLD) on him in 1945, and he was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginni ...

. He also advised the Department of Health on Housing in Scotland. Frank Mears died in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand whilst visiting his son, Kenneth Patrick Geddes Mears (1916-2001). His body was returned to

for cremation. A memorial plaque is placed to his memory on the south side of

Warriston Crematorium Warriston ( ) is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It lies east of the Royal Botanic Garden in Inverleith. The name derives from Warriston House, a local mansion house demolished in 1966. In July 1600 John Kincaid, the Laird of ...

above a plaque to his other two sons both of whom died young: Alastair Mears (1918-1939) and John M. Mears (1921-1949).

Hebrew University of Jerusalem

In 1919, Patrick Geddes was engaged by the

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

to prepare a scheme for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Frank Mears worked as his assistant, translating his ideas into plans and architectural drawings. Between 1925 and 1929, Mears worked with the Jerusalem-based architect, Benjamin Chaikin, on designs for specific university buildings, including the Einstein Institute of Mathematics and the

David Wolffsohn David Wolffsohn ( yi, דוד וואלפסאן; he, דוד וולפסון; 9 October 1855 in Darbėnai, Kovno Governorate – 15 September 1914) was a Lithuanian-Jewish businessman, prominent early Zionist and second president of the Zion ...

Library.

Greater Dublin Reconstruction

Before the war, Mears had assisted Geddes with the mounting of the Cities and Town Planning Exhibition in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and he subsequently worked with Dublin Corporation and the Irish Local Government Board on a number of schemes for garden villages in various parts of the city. Between 1922 and 1924, in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War, he prepared plans for civic renewal and the accommodation of new national institutions on behalf of the Greater Dublin Reconstruction Movement.

Monuments and Memorials

In the course of his career, Mears prepared a number of schemes for monuments and memorials. With

he prepared schemes for a memorial to

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

& I at the foot of the Canongate (1911) and the completion of the National Monument on Calton Hill (1912). In 1919 he submitted a proposal for a Scottish National War Memorial as Via Sacra following the line of Johnston Terrace on the southern slope of the Edinburgh Castle Rock. In 1926, Mears was engaged to prepare a scheme for a National Memorial to David Livingstone at Livingstone's birthplace in

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

. A series of relief tableaux and a World Fountain were devised in collaboration with the sculptor, Charles d'Orville Pilkington Jackson. In 1950, Mears worked with his partners, H.A. Rendel Govan and Robert J. Naismith, and Pilkington Jackson on the design for the monument to his old regiment, the

Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regime ...

, in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

Rural Development

Mears was keenly interested in rural issues and in 1926 he played a key role in the establishment of the Association for the Preservation of Rural Scotland (APRS). He was critical of the insensitivity of the Ministry of Transport's proposal to drive a modern trunk road through Glencoe and, in response to representations by the APRS, the Ministry agreed to face its engineering works in Glencoe in local stone and to respect the local land form in its designs for road improvements throughout the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

. In 1930, Mears and Charles Denny Carus-Wilson were appointed consultant architects for five new road bridges on the A82: over the River Kiachnish (1932) between

North Ballachulish The village of Ballachulish ( or , from Scottish Gaelic ) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred on former slate quarries. The name Ballachulish (Ballecheles, 1522 – Straits town) was more correctly applied to the area now called No ...

and Fort William; and over the River Oich and at

Invergarry Invergarry ( gd, Inbhir Garadh) is a village in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Great Glen, near where the River Garry flows into Loch Oich Loch Oich (; gd, Loch Omhaich) is a freshwater loch in the Highlands of Scotland which forms p ...

(1932), at

Invermoriston Invermoriston (''Inbhir Mhoireastain'' in Gaelic) () is a small village north of Fort Augustus, Highland, Scotland. The village is on the A82 road, at a junction with the A887. The village's most visited attraction is the Thomas Telford bri ...

(1933) and at

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History The Gaeli ...

(1935) in the

Great Glen The Great Glen ( gd, An Gleann Mòr ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic "Glen of Scotland" ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic ), is a glen in Scotland running for from Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth, in an approximately straight ...

. In 1935, Mears was appointed consultant architect for a new crossing of the River Dee at Allenvale in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, to relieve congestion on the historic Brig o Dee upstream. Work began on his design for a three-span reinforced concrete bridge faced in Kemnay granite in 1938 and the new crossing was opened as the George VI Bridge in 1941. In 1932, Mears and Leslie Grahame-Thomson prepared model designs for rural houses on behalf of the APRS. 71 cottages to their design were built in Roxburghshire. Mears also prepared plans and designs for a number of housing schemes in

Peebles Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...

, including developments at Neidpath Road (1935) and Connor Street (1936). In 1933, Mears and Carus-Wilson were engaged to design the Lucy Sanderson Cottage Homes, an early sheltered housing development in Galashiels. Towards the end of his career, Mears addressed the problem of rural depopulation in its most acute form in a strategy for the planning and redevelopment of the County of Sutherland. In a plan strongly influenced by

Frank Fraser Darling Sir Frank Fraser Darling FRSE (23 June 1903 – 22 October 1979) was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author, who is strongly associated with the highlands and islands of Scotland. He gives his name to the Frase ...

's Preliminary Report on the ''West Highland Survey'' (1948), he advocated a strategy based on the regeneration of the

crofting Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bett ...

economy through measures such as land rehabilitation, tenure reform, investment in agriculture, forestry and fishing, and the encouragement of small rural industries based on indigenous resources.

The Development of Edinburgh

In 1931 he prepared a "Plan for Edinburgh" and in 1935 founded the first Town Planning course at the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

whilst Head of the School. Drawing on the work he had undertaken for the Civic Survey of Edinburgh, he wrote a number of articles on the planning of medieval settlements and the development of Edinburgh from Roman times.

Central and South-East Scotland

In 1943, Mears was asked to prepare a regional plan for catchments of the Rivers Forth and Tweed. His ''Interim Report on Population Trends'' in March 1945 identified sharply contrasting challenges in the two catchments. Future developments indicated in the Report of the Scottish Coalfields Committee at the end of 1944 suggested that, in anticipation of a large increase in population, the problem in the Forth Basin would be to find sites for a number of large new communities without overwhelming existing towns, while avoiding as far as possible good agricultural land and areas liable to subsidence. In the Tweed Valley the problem was not so much one of "town" planning as of discovering ways of arresting the decline in population by the provision of improved housing and social facilities where these were lacking, and by the introduction of balancing industries to supplement those of agriculture and weaving. The ''Regional Plan for Central and South-East Scotland'', one of three major regional plans for Scotland's post-war reconstruction, was published in 1948.

Greenock Plans Ahead

In 1940, Mears was appointed planning consultant to the Corporation of Greenock. In a plan entitled ''Greenock: Portal of the Clyde'' (1947) he argued that the scale and character of future housing development, social facilities and services should reflect the industrial potential offered by the town's strategic location on the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

Patrick Abercrombie Sir Leslie Patrick Abercrombie (; 6 June 1879 – 23 March 1957) was an English regional and town planner. Abercrombie was an academic during most of his career, and prepared one city plan and several regional studies prior to the Second Worl ...

's Clyde Valley planning team had identified a serious deficiency of open spaces in the lower part of the town. Mears proposed redevelopment at lower densities, the creation of new industrial areas and the accommodation of the displaced population in a constellation of new neighbourhoods laid out in the Kip Valley on American Parkway lines to create a "federal Garden City". He also prepared layouts and designs for council housing in Greenock and a scheme for the redevelopment of part of the town centre which had been badly damaged by wartime bombing. His work in the burgh was the subject of a documentary film entitled ''Greenock Plans Ahead'' (1948), directed by the photographer Hamilton Tait and narrated by Frank Phillips.

University of Glasgow

In 1951, Mears submitted proposals for the expansion and redevelopment of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. His scheme involved a major expansion to the north of University Avenue into

Hillhead Hillhead ( sco, Hullheid, gd, Ceann a' Chnuic) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland. Situated north of Kelvingrove Park and to the south of the River Kelvin, Hillhead is at the heart of Glasgow's fashionable West End, with Byres Road forming th ...

, with new buildings arranged around a system of courts and quadrangles and linked by tree-lined footpaths.

Projects

Mears was employed across Scotland and was also involved in significant projects in Ireland and Palestine: * Master plan and designs for new buildings for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1919-1929) ** The

University and National Library, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Design by Patrick Geddes, Frank Mears and Benjamin Chaikin, inaugurated on 15 April 1930. ** The Einstein Institute of Mathematics, Wattenberg Hall, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Design by Frank Mears and Benjamin Chaikin, inaugurated on 31 October 1928. * Greater

Reconstruction (1922-1924) * The Scottish National Memorial to

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...

(1926-1935) * New road bridges on the A82 (1930-1935) * Proposals for Central Edinburgh (1931) * Rural house designs for the APRS (1932) * Housing schemes in

(1932-1935) * The Lucy Sanderson Cottage Homes in

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

(1933) * County Planning in East Lothian (1933-1950) * George VI Bridge,

(1935-1941) * Renewal of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

's Old Town (1936-1953)Mears, F.C. (1938), ''The Re-Construction of Central Stirling'', Journal of the Town Planning Institute, May 1938, pp. 226 - 229 * County Planning in Midlothian (1937-1941) * Planning proposals for Elgin (1938-1944) * Plan for the Redevelopment of Greenock (1940-1947) * Central and South-East Scotland Plan (1943-1948) * Monument to the

Royal Scots Regiment The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I of Scotland. The regimen ...

(1950-1952) * Proposals for the