William Henry Playfair

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File:17 Great Stuart Street, Edinburgh.jpg
Playfair's townhouse at 17 Great Stuart Street, Edinburgh
File:Grave of William Henry Playfair, Dean Cemetery Edinburgh.jpg
Playfair's grave in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh
File:William Henry Playfair statue.jpg
Statue of William Henry Playfair, Chambers Street, Edinburgh

William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Life

Playfair was born on 15 July 1790 in Russell Square, London to Jessie Graham and James Playfair.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref name="Waterston">Template:Cite book</ref> His father was also an architect, and his uncles were the mathematician John Playfair and William Playfair, an economist and pioneer of statistical graphics. After his father's death he was sent to Edinburgh to be educated by his uncle John Playfair. He went on to study at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1809.<ref name=":0" /> He was first articled to the architect William Stark and when Stark died in 1813, he went to London.

In the 1830s Playfair is listed as living at 17 Great Stuart Street on the prestigious Moray Estate in Edinburgh's West End.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is not a building of his own design, but is by his rival James Gillespie Graham.<ref>CEC: listed buildings in Edinburgh</ref>

Playfair joined the Free Church following the Disruption of 1843,<ref>Dictionary of Scottish Architects:David Cousin</ref> losing his right to burial in the parish churchyard.

Playfair took David Cousin under his wing and was responsible for the latter part of his training.

File:Seal of St David 36.jpg
Seal of Lodge St David, No.36.

Freemasonry

Playfair was Initiated into Scottish Freemasonry in Lodge St David, No.36, (Edinburgh, Scotland) on 18 January 1815.<ref>Notes on the History of Lodge St. David, Edinburgh, No.36. A. A. MacKay. 1922. P.54.</ref>

Death

Playfair died in Edinburgh on 19 March 1857, and is buried in the "Lord's Row" on the western wall of Edinburgh's Dean Cemetery, where he designed monuments for others, including Lord Jeffrey.

Major works

Two of his finest works are the neoclassical buildings of the National Gallery of Scotland and the Royal Scottish Academy which are in the centre of Edinburgh. The Playfair Project, completed in 2004, joined the two historic buildings with an underground link. Many of his architectural drawings are held by the University of Edinburgh Heritage Collections. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Timeline of major projects

File:National Monument, Edinburgh 2005-02-18.jpg
The unfinished National Monument, Edinburgh, begun in 1826
File:Detail on Royal Scottish Academy on the Mound.jpg
Fine detailing by Playfair on the Royal Scottish Academy
  • 1817 Appointed architect to complete design work on the Old College, University of Edinburgh, on the basis of his proposals to complete the plans originated by Robert Adam. The building was completed around 1831.
  • 1818 Commissioned to design Dollar Academy: the original building which he created is now known as the Playfair Building<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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References

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Sources

Further reading

  • Gow, Ian (1984): William Henry Playfair in Scottish Pioneers of the Greek Revival, The Scottish Georgian Society, Edinburgh, pp 43–55

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