Thomas Lennox Watson (21 August 1850 – 12 October 1920),

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, was a Scottish architect and interior designer. Born in

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 ...

, he submitted designs for the city's City Chambers (1880) and

Kelvingrove Art Gallery Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. The building is located in Kelvingrove Park in the West End of the city, adjacent to Argyle Street. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Mu ...

(1892) competitions, but was unsuccessful.

Early life

Watson was born in Glasgow on 21 August 1850, the son of Charles and Elizabeth. His father was a member of the G. & J. Burns shipping company. The naval architect

George Lennox Watson George Lennox Watson (30 October 1851 – 12 November 1904) was a Scottish naval architect. Born in Glasgow, son of Thomas Lennox Watson, a doctor at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and grandson of Sir Timothy Burstall, engineer and entrant at th ...

was his cousin. He was educated at the

High School of Glasgow The High School of Glasgow is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, co-educational day school, day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the Cathedral school, choir school of Glasgow Cathedra ...

Career

At the age of 16, Watson was articled to Boucher & Cousland. He studied at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

under

Charles Heath Wilson Charles Heath Wilson (September 1809 – 3 July 1882) was an Anglo-Scottish art teacher and author. Life The eldest son of Andrew Wilson, the landscape-painter, he was born in London in September 1809. He studied art under his father, and in 1 ...

. Upon the end of his apprenticeship in 1871, he moved to London as an assistant to

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his designs ...

. He returned to his hometown in 1874, and formed his own practice at 137 West Regent Street. He moved down the street to number 108 shortly thereafter. Around 1907, Watson began a partnership with Henry Mitchell. Professor Alexander McGibbon explained how Watson established patents for hollow walls and monolithic construction in concrete. These were tested in a cottage in

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie () is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and ...

, with walls hardened on the flat which were raised vertically in around ninety minutes.

Selected notable works

Adelaide Place Baptist Church Adelaide Place Baptist Church is a Scottish Baptist church in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow. The name "Adelaide Place" is taken from the former name of this part of Bath Street. The church was founded in 1829 and the present church building d ...

, Pitt Street (1875-77) * Perth North Church, Mill Street (1880) *

Hillhead Baptist Church Hillhead Baptist Church is a Baptists, Baptist church in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. It is affiliated with the Baptist Union of Scotland. It has operated for over 125 years, one of 164 active Baptist churches in Scotland in the early twen ...

, Creswell Street (1883) * Crieff West Parish Church, Perthshire (1883-84) *

Wellington Church Wellington Church is a congregation and parish church of the Church of Scotland, serving part of the Hillhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. The building is located on University Avenue, Glasgow, opposite the University of Glasgow. Building The b ...

, University Avenue (1882-84) * Royal Marine Hotel,

Hunters Quay Hunters Quay () is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Situated between Kirn to the south and Ardnadam to the north, Hunters Quay is the main base of Western Ferries, operating between Hunters Quay and McInroy's Point. Structures Roya ...

(1890) * Woodcroft, Larbert (1890-91) * The South School, Paisley (1893-95) * 59 Bath Street (1899–1900, demolished c. 1967) * Dr James Hederwick Monument, with a bronze portrait by J. P. Macgillivray, Glasgow Cathedral (1901) * Saracen Head tenement, Gallowgate (1906) * the interiors for the yachts, ''

Mohican The Mohicans ( or ) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, whose indigenous territory was ...

'' and ''

Meteor A meteor, known colloquially as a shooting star, is a glowing streak of a small body (usually meteoroid) going through Earth's atmosphere, after being heated to incandescence by collisions with air molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating a ...

'', the latter for

Kaiser Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

* War memorial of the

Royal Technical College The Royal College of Science and Technology was a higher education college that existed in Glasgow, Scotland between 1887 and 1964. Tracing its history back to the Andersonian Institute (founded in 1796), it is the direct predecessor instituti ...

(1920)

Personal life

Watson become a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1884. He became president of the Glasgow Institute of Architects and of the Glasgow Architectural Association. He was also governor of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Technical College. He retired around 1915, in his mid-60s. He did continue to exhibit, however.

Death

Watson died from cancer on 12 October 1920, at 11 Loudon Terrace, the house in which he was born 70 years earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Thomas Lennox 1850 births 1920 deaths 19th-century Scottish architects 20th-century Scottish architects Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Scottish interior designers Architects from Glasgow Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art