John Mylne of Perth (c. 1585 – 1657) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

master mason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

who served as Master Mason to the Crown of Scotland. He was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, the son of John Mylne, also a master mason, and Helen Kenneries. He married Isobel Wilson in 1610 and had two sons,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

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, both of whom followed him into the building profession, and a daughter, Barbara, who was later accused of

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. He learned his craft through assisting his father on his Tay Bridge construction project at Perth.Colvin, p.568-9 In 1616 he was invited to Edinburgh to work on a statue of

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for the Netherbow Port, or city gate, after the previous mason, Frenchman Benjamin Lambert, had died before completing the commission. Mylne also rebuilt the

mercat cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...

in the High Street, and was made a burgess of Edinburgh in June 1617. In 1620 he was contracted to build a new church at Falkland in

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 ...

for David Murray, Lord Scone. The contract stipulated that the church was to be built precisely to Lord Scone's specifications, and left Mylne little room for architectural input. Between 1622 and 1629 he built the

tolbooth A tolbooth or town house was the main municipal building of a Scotland, Scottish burgh, from medieval times until the 19th century. The tolbooth usually provided a council meeting chamber, a court house and a jail. The tolbooth was one of th ...

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a relig ...

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, and was rewarded by being made a burgess of that royal burgh in May 1622. In 1627 he was further made a burgess of

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in right of his father. Following this he carried out alterations to Drummond House for David Drummond,

Earl of Perth Earl of Perth is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond. The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary. Maurice arrived in Sc ...

, which included the sundial in the grounds. On the death of

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

in 1631, Mylne was appointed Master Mason to the Crown, and returned to Edinburgh. His first royal commission came shortly before this, in 1629, when he was tasked with the construction of a large pond at the palace of

Holyroodhouse The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

. With the assistance of his two sons, he also erected a large polyhedral

sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...

at Holyrood for

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, on the occasion of his Scottish coronation in 1633. The sundial, which bears numerous

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

emblems, is the earliest surviving polyhedral example in the country. Mylne was paid £408 15s 6d ( Scots) for the work.Howard, p.44 He held his royal post for five years, before resigning it in favour of his eldest son John in 1636, when he left Edinburgh. In 1643 Mylne was made a burgess of

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 ...

, following his work to repair and enlarge the parish kirk. Over the following years he was engaged on several public works in

, including the church steeple, tolbooth, and the royal burgh's fortifications. Mylne was also a prominent

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, a member of the Lodge of Edinburgh from 1633, and Master of the Lodge of

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from 1621 to 1627. He is buried against the southern wall of

Greyfriars Burial Ground Greyfriars Burial Ground is an historic cemetery in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Perth, Scotland. Dating to 1580, it is now Category A listed building, listed, with its collection of gravestones considered one of the best in Scotland. The cemetery ...

in Perth, close to the southern pedestrian gate. The stone was erected by Robert Mylne and has been restored many times.

References

*Colvin, Howard (1978) ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600 - 1840'' John Murray *''Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 1921–22 *Howard, Deborah (1995) ''Architecture of Scotland: Reformation to Restoration, 1560-1660'' Edinburgh University Press *McEwan, Peter J. M. ''Dictionary of Scottish Art and Architecture'', Antique Collectors’ Club, 1994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mylne, John 1580s births 1657 deaths People from Perth, Scotland Burgesses in Scotland 17th-century Scottish architects Master masons to the Crown of Scotland