Alexander Hunter Crawford (1865–1945) was a Scottish architect and businessman. Closely associated with his father's firm of Crawford's Biscuits he designed many biscuit factories, and became owner of the company in 1931. Many of his villas are now

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s. His masterpiece (although somewhat "old-fashioned" for its date) is probably the huge Masonic Lodge on George Street in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Life

He was born on 10 August 1865 in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, the harbour area of

, the son of William Crawford, owner of Crawford's Biscuits. They lived at 6 Wellington Place on the west side of

Leith Links Leith Links is the principal open space within Leith, the docks district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park is divided by a road into two main areas, a western section and an eastern section, both being largely flat expanses of grass bor ...

. He was educated at Edinburgh Institution (now called Stewarts Melville College). In 1881 he was articled as a trainee architect to John Russell Walker, an Edinburgh architect based on Hanover Street in the

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

. In 1886, he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to work as assistant to Ralph Selden Wornum. In February 1891 he moved to work in the Architects Department of

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. In August 1891 he returned to

to set up his own practice, based at 39 York Place, a Georgian townhouse. In 1898 he went into partnership with

Frank Worthington Simon Frank Lewis Worthington Simon (31 March 1862 – 19 May 1933) was a British architect working in the Arts and Crafts style. In Scotland, he was sufficiently noteworthy as to be commissioned by Queen Victoria to remodel Balmoral Castle. In lat ...

moving the office to 10 Randolph Place. From 1902 to 1903 he was President of the Edinburgh Architectural Association. In 1912 he went into partnership with Henry Rochead Williamson (grandson of

John Thomas Rochead John Thomas Rochead (28 March 1814 – 7 April 1878) was a Scottish architect. He is most noteworthy on a national scale for having been the designer of the Wallace Monument. Life He was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Rochead and Catheri ...

) to create Crawford & Williamson. He retired from architecture in 1931 and moved to

to run the family biscuit company. He died in London on 11 October 1945 but his body was returned to Edinburgh for burial in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

with his siblings, and wife, Amelie Gabrielle Sandrin. The grave lies in the section to the north of the vaults. His older brother William Crawford (1858-1926) lies opposite. William inherited the biscuit company. He left a huge estate of over £400,000 (partly from inheritance from his father and partly from his own efforts).

Works

*Warehouse, Maritime Street/Maritime Lane, Leith (1891) *Revoe Council School,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

(1895) *Crawford's Biscuit Factory, Leith (1896) *Crawford's Biscuit Factory, Omoa, Lanarkshire (1896) *Six houses on Primrose Bank Road,

Trinity, Edinburgh Trinity is a district in northern Edinburgh, Scotland, formerly part of the burgh of Leith. It is one of Edinburgh's outer villa suburbs, mainly developed in the 19th century. It is bordered by Wardie to the west and north-west, Newhaven to th ...

(1895) *Crawford's Biscuit Factory,

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

(1895) *

Tranent Tranent is a town in East Lothian (formerly Haddingtonshire), in the south-east of Scotland. Tranent lies 6 miles from the boundary of Edinburgh, and 9.1 miles from the city centre. It lies south of the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road that r ...

United Presbyterian Church (1896) *Feuing of Braid estate, Edinburgh (1899) *Feuing of the

Fettes Fettes may refer to: * Fettes College, a private school in Edinburgh, Scotland * , a German hip-hop group * Fettesian-Lorettonian Club, Sports Club People with the surname * Christopher Fettes (born 1937), English-born Irish teacher and social act ...

estate, Edinburgh (1899) *Modernisation of

Pollok House Pollok House, formerly the family seat of the Stirling-Maxwell family, is located at Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Scotland (which also houses the Burrell Collection). Overview The house, built in 1752 and originally thought to be designed ...

(1899) * Dalmeny Street drill hall, Edinburgh (1900) *Bonnycraig (villa near

Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...

) (1902) *Dunalister, villa in

Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north-east. To the north-w ...

(1902) *

Inchinnan Inchinnan (; ) is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine. History The name of Inchinnan village is derived from the Gaelic ...

Parish Church Hall (1902) *Alterations to

Balmoral Castle Balmoral Castle () is a large estate house in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and a residence of the British royal family. It is near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and west of Aberdeen. The estate and its original castle were bought ...

(1902) *North British Rubber Factory Offices (1903) - demolished 2015 *

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

Parish Church, Ormidale Terrace, Edinburgh (1904) *Villa, Marine Road, Dunbar (1905) *Tidings Hill (villa in

Bo'ness Borrowstounness, commonly known as Bo'ness ( ), is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...

) (1908) *Masonic Hall, George Street, Edinburgh (1909) one of the largest lodges in Britain *Crawford's Biscuit Factory, Elbe Street, Leith (1935) - demolished 1995

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Alexander Hunter 1865 births 1945 deaths 20th-century Scottish architects 20th-century Scottish people Businesspeople from Edinburgh Scottish Freemasons