Life and work Archibald Simpson

1 life , work

1.1 life
1.2 architectural practice
1.3 architectural style
1.4 death , legacy

life , work

memorial portrait of archibald simpson james giles (1848)



archibald simpson memorial (1975), bon accord square, aberdeen


early life

archibald simpson born @ 15 guestrow, aberdeen on 4 may 1790, ninth , last child of william simpson (1740 - 1804), clothier @ broadgate, , wife barbara dauney (c.1750 - 1801), daughter of presbyterian minister. family house @ guestrow thought have been built uncle william dauney, master mason. house later demolished in 1930.

simpson attended aberdeen grammar school contemporary of byron, lived nearby in broadgate. @ 13 entered marischal college left after year, on death of father, work in office of james massie, builder @ castlehill, having been influenced uncle william dauney.

due being born lame in left arm, father left him legacy of £200 @ age of 20 went london apprenticed architect robert lugar , later david laing. after 2 years simpson left embark on study tour of italy, returning aberdeen in 1813 start architectural practice in old house @ 15 guestrow.

architectural practice

simpson first established practice in 1813 @ old childhood home @ 15 guestrow. later moved premises @ 130 union street, in 1826 lost entire archive of drawings in fire destroyed building, forcing him move office 8 belmont street , later 22 crown street - former post office building stands - before later moving live @ 15 bon accord street , practicing office @ 1 bon accord street.

st. andrew’s chapel, st. andrew’s cathedral, aberdeen (1817)



bon accord crescent, aberdeen (1823) tailor incorporation



the athenaeum, aberdeen (1823)



north of scotland bank, aberdeen (1844) figure of ceres james giles, pub called archibald simpson



figure of ceres james giles, north of scotland bank, aberdeen (1844)

simpson began work @ time when wealthy country landowners influential in social , cultural development of city of aberdeen, church , institutional expansion rife , enterprising incorporated trades looking invest heavily , speculatively in new civic development - made possible bold construction of union street westwards across denburn towards rich hinterland in 1801.

simpson, along brother alexander, responsible reviving aberdeen musical society, founded in 1747, in move make influential social contacts vital success of architectural practice. archibald played violin , brother alexander played flute. later founded aberdeen artists society friend , collaborator, artist james giles, undertook several portraits of simpson university court.

james matthews articled simpson in 1834.

architectural style

the boldest , refined architecture of simpson in grecian style, in classic purity of detail , proportion, although equally @ ease in adopting gothic, italian renaissance, tudor , hanseatic architectural styles meet preference of clients or nature of site. clients placed him in open competition john smith, though respected 1 s work , ambition achieve civic unity in new streets under construction. result fine granite street architecture influence quality of development further century.

death , legacy

simpson died, aged 56, @ house @ 1 east craibstone street, aberdeen on 23 march 1847, having returned ill business trip derby.

he buried in graveyard of kirk of st nicholas on union street. aberdeen civic society erected granite memorial him in gardens of bon accord square, part of european architectural heritage year in 1975.