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Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothic Revival styles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Lorimer was born in Edinburgh, the son of Hannah Stodart (1835–1916) and James Lorimer, who was Regius Professor of Public Law at University of Edinburgh from 1862 to 1890. In his youth, the family lived at 21 Hill Street, a Georgian house in Edinburgh's South Side, close to where his father worked at Old College.
From 1877 to 1882, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy, going on to study at University of Edinburgh from 1882 to 1885, however he left without completing his studies. He was part of a talented family, being the younger brother of painter John Henry Lorimer, and father to the sculptor Hew Lorimer. In 1878 the Lorimer family acquired the lease of Kellie Castle in Fife and began its restoration for use as a holiday home.
Lorimer began his architectural career in 1885 working for Sir Robert Rowand Anderson in Edinburgh, and in 1889 for George Frederick Bodley in London. He returned to Edinburgh opening his own practice in 1891. His first major restoration commission was Earlshall Castle in Fife for Robert MacKenzie, a friend of his parents.
He was influenced by Scottish domestic architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries and the Scottish baronial style of Kellie Castle where he had spent much of his childhood and adolescence. From his time in Bodley's office, Lorimer was influenced by the ideas of William Morris, and went on to become a committed exponent of the Arts and Crafts approach to architecture. He assembled a collaborative group of artists and craftsmen who, collectively, often contributed to his various commissions and to the manufacture of furniture sent to the Arts and Crafts exhibitions in London. In 1896 he was elected to the Art Workers Guild.
Lorimer designed a series of cottages in the Arts and Crafts style in the Colinton area of Edinburgh, the so-called "Colinton Cottages". Constructed using traditional methods and materials, each cottage included a garden layout and interior design, including furniture, in keeping with the Arts and Crafts concept. By 1900, eight cottages had been built and four others were under construction.
Lorimer designed a private residence in Helsinki for industrialist Ossian Donner and his Scottish wife, Violet McHutchen. At that time, the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland belonged to the Russian Empire. The house, located at Maurinkatu 6 and representing English and Scottish styles, was completed in 1901. The Donners fled the Russian Revolution to Britain, and sold the house to Svenska Klubben in 1932.
As his reputation grew the scale of his commissions increased, including major alterations and additions to important houses in various styles, culminating in three entirely new country houses designed in his personal interpretation of Scots baronial style; at Rowallan Castle, Ayrshire (1903), Ardkinglas, Argyll (1906), and Formakin House, Renfrewshire (1912). Of these, Ardkinglas, on Loch Fyne, was the only one built as originally designed and, Lorimer having been given carte blanche, represents his masterpiece.
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Robert Lorimer
Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer, KBE (4 November 1864 – 13 September 1929) was a prolific Scottish architect and furniture designer noted for his sensitive restorations of historic houses and castles, for new work in Scots Baronial and Gothic Revival styles, and for promotion of the Arts and Crafts movement.
Lorimer was born in Edinburgh, the son of Hannah Stodart (1835–1916) and James Lorimer, who was Regius Professor of Public Law at University of Edinburgh from 1862 to 1890. In his youth, the family lived at 21 Hill Street, a Georgian house in Edinburgh's South Side, close to where his father worked at Old College.
From 1877 to 1882, he was educated at Edinburgh Academy, going on to study at University of Edinburgh from 1882 to 1885, however he left without completing his studies. He was part of a talented family, being the younger brother of painter John Henry Lorimer, and father to the sculptor Hew Lorimer. In 1878 the Lorimer family acquired the lease of Kellie Castle in Fife and began its restoration for use as a holiday home.
Lorimer began his architectural career in 1885 working for Sir Robert Rowand Anderson in Edinburgh, and in 1889 for George Frederick Bodley in London. He returned to Edinburgh opening his own practice in 1891. His first major restoration commission was Earlshall Castle in Fife for Robert MacKenzie, a friend of his parents.
He was influenced by Scottish domestic architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries and the Scottish baronial style of Kellie Castle where he had spent much of his childhood and adolescence. From his time in Bodley's office, Lorimer was influenced by the ideas of William Morris, and went on to become a committed exponent of the Arts and Crafts approach to architecture. He assembled a collaborative group of artists and craftsmen who, collectively, often contributed to his various commissions and to the manufacture of furniture sent to the Arts and Crafts exhibitions in London. In 1896 he was elected to the Art Workers Guild.
Lorimer designed a series of cottages in the Arts and Crafts style in the Colinton area of Edinburgh, the so-called "Colinton Cottages". Constructed using traditional methods and materials, each cottage included a garden layout and interior design, including furniture, in keeping with the Arts and Crafts concept. By 1900, eight cottages had been built and four others were under construction.
Lorimer designed a private residence in Helsinki for industrialist Ossian Donner and his Scottish wife, Violet McHutchen. At that time, the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland belonged to the Russian Empire. The house, located at Maurinkatu 6 and representing English and Scottish styles, was completed in 1901. The Donners fled the Russian Revolution to Britain, and sold the house to Svenska Klubben in 1932.
As his reputation grew the scale of his commissions increased, including major alterations and additions to important houses in various styles, culminating in three entirely new country houses designed in his personal interpretation of Scots baronial style; at Rowallan Castle, Ayrshire (1903), Ardkinglas, Argyll (1906), and Formakin House, Renfrewshire (1912). Of these, Ardkinglas, on Loch Fyne, was the only one built as originally designed and, Lorimer having been given carte blanche, represents his masterpiece.