Thomas Brown (12 April 1806 – 23 August 1872) was a Scottish architect operating throughout Scotland in the mid-19th century, primarily involved with prison design. Despite training under
Thomas Brown Senior he was not related to him.
Life

Thomas was the third son of Thomas Brown an architect/builder in Uphall, just south of
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
and Janet Neil.
Thomas trained first under
Thomas Brown and then under
William Burn in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, and his early work show much stylistic influence from Burn. In 1837 he received a very prestigious appointment as architect to the Prison Board of Scotland, a newly formed board tasked with replacing many ancient and ruinous tolbooths and prisons with new and generally larger facilities, partly inspired by the hugely successful prison for Napoleonic prisoners of war at Perth, which was quickly converted to standard prison use after that war, and was held as an exemplar. He had a prestigious office at 3 North Charlotte Street, just off
Charlotte Square.
The production of prisons in the 1840s was huge, each working to a reasonably simple formula in design terms.
In 1849 he entered into partnership with James Maitland Wardrop to create Brown & Wardrop who thereafter practiced from 19 St Andrew Square.
In the same year Brown married Helen Neill, and they lived at 27 Royal Terrace on
Calton Hill
Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the ci ...
. They had one daughter, Janetta, who died aged six.
Brown died at 32
Royal Terrace
Royal may refer to:
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* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
. Thereafter the practice took Charles Reid as a partner and became known as Wardrop & Reid.
Works
see
*Church and Session House,
Temple, Midlothian (1830)
*St. Nicholas Parish Church,
Uphall
Uphall ( sco, Uphauch, gd, Ubhalaidh) is a village in West Lothian, Scotland. It is a swiftly growing village in a conurbation with Broxburn to the east, Dechmont to the west and the major town of Livingston to the south west. Uphall is 30 m ...
,
West Lothian
West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Av ...
(1832)
*
Elgin
Elgin may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Elgin County, Ontario
* Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario
* Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...
Prison,
Morayshire
Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...
(1839)
*Debtor’s Prison, Calton,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
(1841) demolished
*New front,
Luffness Castle
Luffness Castle, also known as Luffness House, is a house built in a former fortification near the village of Aberlady, East Lothian, Scotland.
History
The lands around the current house were a part of the estates of the Gospatrick Earls of Lot ...
,
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the hi ...
(1841)
*Stonehaven Prison,
Kincardineshire
Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and ...
(1841)
*
Dingwall Prison and Courthouse (1842)
*
Dornoch
Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the M ...
Prison, Sutherland (1842)
*
Dunfermline Prison (1843)
*
Stornoway
Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well ...
Sheriff Courthouse and Prison, Ross and Cromarty (1843)
*
Tain Courthouse and Prison, Ross and Cromarty (1843)
*Berwick Courthouse and Prison,
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...
(1844)
*
Cromarty Courthouse (1844)
*
Inveraray Courthouse and Prison (1844) (now a fully preserved “living museum”)
*Rebuilding of
Kilberry Castle to create Kilberry House (1844)
*
Peebles
Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...
Courthouse and Prison (1844)
*
Ayr Prison (1845) (altering existing prison)
*
Campbeltown
Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishi ...
Prison (1845)
*
Ingliston
Ingliston (; sco, Inglistoun) is an area in the west of Edinburgh, near Maybury, South Gyle and Newbridge, and is home to Edinburgh Airport and The Royal Highland Showground.
History
The name Ingliston either means the "settlement of the In ...
House (1846)
*
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...
Prison (1846)
*
Wigtown County Buildings
Wigtown County Buildings, also known as Wigtown County Buildings and Town Hall, is a municipal building in The Square, Wigtown, Scotland. The structure primarily served as the meeting place and town hall for Wigtown Burgh Council, but was also u ...
(1862)
*
County Buildings, Alloa
County Buildings is a municipal structure in Drysdale Street, Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland. The structure, which was the headquarters of Clackmannanshire County Council and is currently used as courthouse, is a Category B listed buildin ...
(1863)
*
Stirling Sheriff Court (1864)
*
Stranraer Sheriff Court (1872)
References
*Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by McWilliam Gifford and Walker
*Buildings of Scotland: Lothian by Colin McWilliam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Thomas
1806 births
1872 deaths
Architects from Edinburgh
19th-century Scottish architects