James Smith (1808–1863) was a 19th-century Scottish architect who specialised in very large country mansions.

Life

He was born in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...

on 12 October 1808 the son of John Smith, a builder, and his wife Betty Thompson. His father had worked with

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 21 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Much of his work was Scottish baronial in style. A prominent example is Ayton Castle. He also worked in the Gothic Revival ...

on the rebuilding of Alloa Parish Church. In 1826 the family moved to

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 ...

. In 1835 they were living at 81 Wellington Place and the father had offices at 22 Royal Exchange Square (quite a prestigious address). From 1837 he took over from his father and began stylising himself as "architect". In 1850 the family was living at 230

Sauchiehall Street Sauchiehall Street () is one of the main shopping streets in the Glasgow city centre, city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, Argyle Street. Although commonly associated with the city centre, Sau ...

and Smith had offices at 123 St Vincent Street. In 1854 he moved to a large country house of his own design in

Rhu Rhu (; ) is a village and historic parish on the east shore of the Gare Loch in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. The traditional spelling of its name was ''Row'', but it was changed in the 1920s so that outsiders would pronounce it correctly. The ...

which he named Rowaleyn. Following the family scandal in 1857 he was forced to leave his Glasgow home and sell Rowaleyn and went to live in the quiet suburb of

Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan (, ), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a former spa town in the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on th ...

near Stirling. In 1860 he moved again, this time to Old Polmont near

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

. Here he lived in the large villa known as Polmont Bank. He died in Polmont on 30 December 1863 aged 55. Architect (and later artist) John Moyr Smith trained in his office 1860 to 1863.

Family

In March 1833 he married Janet Hamilton, daughter of

David Hamilton (architect) David Hamilton (11 May 1768 – 5 December 1843) was a Scottish architect based in Glasgow. He has been called the "father of the profession" in Glasgow. Career Notable works include Hutchesons' Hall, Nelson Monument in Glasgow Green and ...

. Their children included

Madeleine Smith Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. Background Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...

Blythswood Square Blythswood Square is the Georgian square on Blythswood Hill in the heart of the City of Glasgow, Scotland. The square is part of the 'Magnificent New Town of Blythswood' built in the 1800s on the rising empty ground west of a very new Buch ...

, acquitted of poisoning her lover in 1857; and also Bessie, Janet and John Hamilton Smith. Madeleine married and died in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

aged 93.

Artworks

Smith had an extensive collection of artworks including two by

Alexander Nasmyth Alexander Nasmyth (9 September 175810 April 1840) was a Scottish portrait and Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter, a pupil of Allan Ramsay (artist), Allan Ramsay. He also undertook several architectural commissions. Biography Nasmyth ...

: "Waterfall" and "View of Edinburgh". He had 30 works by other artists and 21 chromo-lithographs. These were auctioned in Glasgow following his death.Glasgow Daily Herald 1 June 1864

Known works

*Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow (1830) with David Hamilton * Meiklewood House in

Gargunnock Gargunnock is a small village in the Stirling council area with an active community trust, west of Stirling, in Scotland. The census population was 912. It is situated on the south edge of the Carse of Stirling, at the foot of the Gargunnock ...

(1832) *Victoria Public Baths, Glasgow (1837) *Collegiate School,

Garnethill Garnethill is a predominantly residential area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland with a number of important public buildings. Geography Located in the city centre, the area borders Cowcaddens to its north, Sauchiehall Street to its south, Camb ...

(1840) *Pedestal for equestrian statue of Victoria by

Carlo Marochetti Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...

George Square, Glasgow George Square () is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Square, and Blythswood Squa ...

(1840) *Dhuhill

Helensburgh Helensburgh ( ; ) is a town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

(1850) *Tenements in Cranstonhill, Glasgow (1853) *Ardchapel in Shandon, Dunbartonshire (1854) *Rowaleyn in

(1854) *

McLellan Galleries The McLellan Galleries are a major exhibition space in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, situated behind a frontage of shops and offices in Sauchiehall Street. History As part of the city's expansion on Blythswood Hill spearheaded by William H ...

(1855) *

Overtoun House Overtoun House is a 19th-century country house and estate in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. Situated on a hill overlooking the River Clyde, it is north of the village of Milton and east of the town of Dumbarton. The house, an example of Scott ...

(1859) *

Bellahouston Bellahouston (, ) is a district in the southwest of Glasgow. It is bordered by Dumbreck, Ibrox, Pollokshields, Craigton. History Bellahouston Estate in the parish of Govan was purchased in 1726 by James Rowan of Marylands and his family re ...

Established Church (1863) *

manse (1863) completed after death *Stirling's Library, Glasgow (1863) completed by John Moyr Smith

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James 1808 births 1863 deaths Scottish architects People from Alloa