John Milne (1823–1904) was a Scottish architect operating throughout the second half of the 19th century, working largely in the

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

area. He was described as an ‘’inventive

neo-Jacobean The Jacobethan ( ) architectural style, also known as Jacobean Revival, is the mixed national Renaissance revival style that was made popular in England from the late 1820s, which derived most of its inspiration and its repertory from the Engli ...

and

Scots Baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival which Revivalism (architecture), revived the forms and ornaments of historical Architecture of Scotland in the Middle Ages, ...

designer’’. He exhibited works at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

in the 1860s. He was also an inventor of a pyro-pneumatic grate: a heating system for churches. He self-financed several improvement schemes to the town of

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

Life

He was born in

Fettercairn Fettercairn (, ) is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell. Fettercairn is also reached via the Cairn O' Mount road (B974) from Deeside. The name comes from the Scott ...

in the north of Scotland, the son of a joiner and builder. He was apprenticed to John Henderson, an architect 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 ...

, probably around 1838. He then transferred to the offices of

David Bryce David Bryce Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FRIBA Royal Scottish Academy, RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scotland, Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David B ...

, probably around 1845, acting as Clerk of Works on Clatto House, near

. Milne settled in

and stayed there for the remainder of his life, operating from an office at 81 Market Street. At the time of the Disruption of the Church of Scotland, Milne ‘’came out’’ and left the established church to join the Free Church of Scotland. Thereafter many of his commissions came from the Free Church. The majority of his works are within

other than a small handful in his native town of

. In the mid 19th century he did several extension schemes for

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 ...

Docks in combination with

R & R Dickson Richard and Robert Dickson (usually simply referred to as R & R Dickson) were brothers, acting as architects in Scotland in the early and mid-19th century. Whilst most of their work is typified by remote country houses they are best known for t ...

. He was an elected member of the Town Council in St Andrews and promoted several improvement schemes including extension of the Links Embankment and culverting of the old mill lade. When the council voted not to pay for the schemes he decided to pay for them himself. His project at the West Sands reclaimed twelve and a half acres of land for use as a public park. This was timed such as to be labelled as St Andrews Jubilee Scheme, marking

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

’s Golden Jubilee. Over and above designing buildings, Milne also designed the graves of two of his fellow Town Councillors in St Andrews: Provost John Paterson and Baillie Ireland. Both are in the New Cemetery in St Andrews (south-east of the cathedral). He also designed the Pagan monument in

Leuchars Leuchars (pronounced or ; "rushes") is a town and parish near the north-east coast of Fife in Scotland. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by Nati ...

churchyard. John Milne died in St Andrews in May 1904.

Family

He is thought to be the uncle or cousin of Robert Milne, architect, who died in Fettercairn in 1891.

Main works

*Clatto Estate: Clatto House and Steading (between Pitscottie and Strathkinness) (1845) *Remodelling of St Andrews Free Church, St Andrews (1851) *Refronting of

St Leonard's College (University of St Andrews) St Leonard's College is a postgraduate institute at the University of St Andrews in St Andrews, Scotland. Founded in 1512 as an autonomous theological college of the University of St Andrews, it merged with St Salvator's College in 1747 to form ...

(1853) *Free Church,

Arbirlot Arbirlot (Gaelic: ''Obar Eilid'') is a village in a rural parish of the same name in Angus, Scotland. The current name is usually presumed to be a contraction of Aberelliot''Statistical Account of Scotland'', edited by Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster ...

(1854) *Upgrading of interior, Carnbee Church (1854) *Free Church Manse, Rathelpie, near St Andrews (1856) *St Bernards Free Church, Henderson Row,

(1856, demolished c.1990) *Kinburn House,

(1856) *Restoration of

Parish Church (1856) *

Dunino :''See also Dunino, Poland.'' Dunino is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife. It is 10 km from the nearest town, St Andrews, and 8 km from the fishing village of Anstruther. It is a small village with no local shops or servic ...

School (1856) *Free Church and manse, Carnbee (1857) *Feuing of Rathelpie estate,

(1857) * Logie Parish School (1858) *2-4 Queens Terrace, St Andrews (1859) *Rockview,

(1860) *Dura House,

Kemback Kemback (Scottish Gaelic: ''Ceann Bac'') is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland, located east of Cupar. The present village was developed in the 19th century to house those working the flax mills on the nearby Ceres Burn. From 1681 the minis ...

(1861) *Lathockar House, south of St Andrews (1861) *Rathelpie Villa,

(1861) *Commemorative Arch (for

’s visit),

(1863) *Madras School complex,

Newburgh Newburgh (''"new"'' + the English/Scots word ''"burgh"'') may refer to: Places Scotland *Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh *Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village England *Newburgh, Lancashire, a village * Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village ...

(1863) *Revised roof form on Ceres Parish Church (1865) *Remodelling of Pittormie House,

Dairsie Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements (call ...

(1866) *

Parish School (1868) *Duncan Institute,

Cupar Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...

(1869) *Mayfield House, St Andrews (1870) *Westlands House, St Andrews (1870) *Baxter Institute for Female Education,

(1871) *Conservative Club, St Andrews (1873) *East School,

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...

(1874) *

Tayport Tayport, also known as Ferry-Port-on-Craig, is a town in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the Firth of Tay opposite Broughty Ferry, a suburb of Dundee. The two were linked by a ferry service until 1939. To the east of Tayport is the vast Tentsmuir ...

School (1875) *

Freuchie Freuchie is a village in Fife, Scotland, at the foot of the Lomond Hills, and near Falkland. The nearest major town is Glenrothes located 4 miles to the south. The name derives from the Scottish Gaelic, ''fraoch'', meaning heather. This Fife ...

Parish Manse (1882) *25-29 Marketgate,

Crail Crail (; ) is a former royal burgh, parish and Community council#Scotland, community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018). Etymology The ...

(1886) *Melville Terrace, Montrose (1887) *

Public Hall (1891) *Cottages at Longrow, Fife (1892) *Extension to the Royal Hotel, St Andrews (1894) From 1894 until death Milne involved himself with numerous small commissions for individual houses in St Andrews.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milne, John 1823 births 1904 deaths Scottish architects People associated with Fife People from Fettercairn