Percy Erskine Nobbs (11 August 1875 – 5 November 1964) was a

Scottish-Canadian Scottish Canadians () are people of Scottish descent or heritage living in Canada. As the third-largest ethnic group in Canada and amongst the first Europeans to settle in the country, Scottish people have made a large impact on Canadian cultur ...

architect who was born in

Haddington, East Lothian The Royal Burgh of Haddington (, ) is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the six ...

, and trained in the United Kingdom. Educated at the Edinburgh Collegiate School and

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

, he spent most of his career in the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

area. Often working in partnership with George Taylor Hyde, Nobbs designed a great many of what would become Montreal's heritage buildings and was a key Canadian proponent of the

Arts and Crafts Movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

in architecture. He served as the director of

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

's School of Architecture for ten years. He designed many buildings on the campus as well as McGill's Coat of Arms, which continues to be used today.

Architecture career

He designed the fire station on

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to Kings Cross, London, King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston ...

in the "Arts and Crafts" style. It was built in 1901-2 and still stands. Nobbs had already received awards and won prizes as a practicing architect when he came to

in 1903 to teach architecture. He got permission to practice architecture while teaching and soon obtained commissions for private homes and institutional buildings. His designs for homes had the distinction of paying a great deal of attention to the siting and orientation of the building and the placement of the windows. He considered this at least as important as what the home actually looked like. He called it "building for Prospect as well as Aspect," and designed many an impressive

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

in this way. The magnitude of such mansions can be grasped by studying through his various plans and blueprints, such as the house of the Quebec Alpha of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

fraternity in

. The initial plans divided the house across 4 floors, 11 bedrooms, a library, and 2 servants' rooms. These documents are currently kept in the Canadian Architecture Collection of the McGill University Archives. In partnership with Cecil Burgess, Percy Erskine Nobbs designed the J.B. Porter House on McTavish Street, Montreal, which has been demolished. In 1906-1907 Nobbs was in a temporary partnership with David Robertson Brown.

Projects

Nobbs designed the interior decorative program of the Currie Hall at the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. The Currie Building decorations evoke the achievements of the

Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December 19 ...

in the Great War, and with the British Monarchy. Nobbs and Hyde designed many

buildings: Power House (1909); Strathcona Medical Building (1923); Pathology Building (1923); Pulp & Paper Research Institute (1927). Nobbs and Hyde remodeled many McGill University buildings: MacDonald Engineering Building, reconstruction after a fire in 1907; a major addition to the University Library, McTavish Street (1921–22); addition of West Wing at Royal Victoria College (1930–31). Nobbs and Hyde provided interiors and furniture for the Osler Memorial Library (1923). Many of his drawings for McGill University buildings can be found in his archive, held in the Canadian Architecture Collection at McGill University. Nobbs and Hyde designed some commercial buildings around Montreal as well as the University Club building (1913) on Mansfield Street. Nobbs and Frank Darling designed the master plan for the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

in 1909–1910. With Cecil S. Burgess, Nobbs designed the Provincial College of Medicine (1920–21). Nobbs designed the Arts Building (1914–15); laboratories and Power House (1914); Nobbs and Hyde won the competition for the war memorial in Regina. He designed the University Club building in Montreal, associated with McGill University, which was completed in 1913 and was eventually registered as a monument historique of Quebec. He also designed the McGill University Coat of Arms three years into his directorship at the McGill School of Architecture, which continues to be used by the university today.

Other activities

He was an accomplished athlete in

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

, representing Canada at the 1908 Olympics and for all of his life he was a true fisherman and founded the Atlantic Salmon Federation due to his love of fishing. He published two books, now both out of print, entitled ''Fencing Tactics'' and ''Salmon Tactics''. His talent as a draftsman and painter—he was an RCA—was also quite exceptional.

Honours

He was elected an Academician of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1920 and, in 1924, became President of the Quebec Association of Architects. In 1928, he was named President of the Town Planning Institute of Canada. In 1929, he was elected to the Royal Society of Arts and also became President of the Royal Architectural Institute in Canada.

References

External links