Andrew Balfour

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(1863 – 2 November 1943) was a Scottish architect.

Early life

Andrew Balfour was born in 1863, the son of the baker Thomas Balfour, of

Torryburn Torryburn (previously called Torry/ Torrie) is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland, lying on the north shore of the Firth of Forth. It is one of a number of old port communities on this coast and at one point served as port for Dunfermline. ...

, Fife, and his wife Mary Campbell.

Career

Together with Harry Steele, he established the firm of Steele & Balfour, which made its name through winning a competition to design

Largs Largs () is a town on the Firth of Clyde in North Ayrshire, Scotland, about from Glasgow. The original name means "the slopes" (''An Leargaidh'') in Scottish Gaelic. A popular seaside resort with a pier, the town markets itself on its histor ...

Parish Church in 1889. Balfour was admitted

on 11 June 1906. Balfour was the architect of the former bank premises that now house ''The Drum and Monkey'' in

St. Vincent Street St. Vincent Street, is one of the major streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in the early 1800s as part of the residential New Town of Blythswood developed by William Harley of Blythswood Square. St. Vincent Street w ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and he designed Gillespie Church in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

which was completed in 1849. He was the architect of

Holmlea Primary School Holmlea Primary School is a Category B listed former school in Glasgow. It was built in 1908 and closed in 2005. The building lay empty for several years after the school's closure but has now been renovated and converted into affordable housin ...

, a Category B listed former school at 352-362 Holmlea Road,

Cathcart Cathcart (; , )
is an area of

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

in an Edwardian baroque style. It has been closed since at least 2004, and is currently classified as being in poor condition on the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland.

Personal life

Balfour died on 2 November 1943 at

Rostrevor Rostrevor () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nearb ...

Bridge of Weir Bridge of Weir is a village within the Renfrewshire council areas of Scotland, council area and wider counties of Scotland, historic county of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying within the Gryf ...

. He was survived by his wife, Margaret Hood Frew.

References

19th-century Scottish architects 1863 births 1943 deaths Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects 20th-century Scottish architects {{UK-architect-stub