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John Baird I (1798-1859)

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John Baird the First, a famous Glasgow architect of the 19th century, also went by the name Gildard 'Primus'[1] in order for people to be able distinguish him from a second John Baird (1816-93). A Scottish architect that has an extreme classical reserve for a style, implementing a lot of severity in it as well. He is a very influential figure in the development of Glasgow’s late Georgian and early Victorian Architecture.

Life and Work

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John Baird was born in a village in Britain, in Dunbartonshire, called Dalmuir, and he was the son of a Wright (popular figure of that time), and the elder brother of another architect with the name of Anthony Baird (practiced, 1834-5).

Early in his young years, at the age of 15, he started training as an architect with another relative of his named John Shepherd, of John Shepherd & Co., which as a firm that consistent of architects and property agents and was located at 636 Argyle Street. In 1818, when he was at the age of 20 and barely out of his apprenticeship and after Shepherd’s death, he took over the business and quickly built up a good reputation that was only seconded by David Hamilton.

John Baird’s most important and worthwhile contribution to the city of Glasgow’s architecture was his spearheading use of the cast iron in his buildings’ constructions. The earlier use of the cast iron was for the roof trusses in the Argyll Arcade, in 28-32 Buchanan Street (1827).[2]

Later in 1828, Baird was appointed by an organisation called the Merchants' House to work together with David Hamilton[3] in figuring out and devising the layout of the Necropolis which is Glasgow's finest cemetery, but unfortunately their plans were put aside and he was, not long after that, relegated as an advisor in approving George Milne as its designer eventually.

He married his wife, Janet Bryson or McKean, in 1837. And he had two daughters by the names of Flora, who was born in 1838 and Agnes who was born in 1841. His wife died on 24 April 1887. He also had a younger brother named Anthony who also practised architecture, independently, until 1834/5 when he gave it up and took up accountancy. His only known work was mentioned by Gildard and it was a tenement in the west side of Warwick Street, beyond Norfolk Street, a plain design with cast iron balconies.

Early in 1853 he was accounted for the design of the pink granite sarcophagus for James Ewing of Strathleven in the Necropolis, an truly eye capturing work of art, which featured four bronze relief panels by Mossman.[4]

In his private life, John Baird I was a mason, Lodge Glasgow St John. His appearance and character is described by a portrait of him by Sir Daniel Macnee, which is now in Glasgow Art Gallery. It picturises Gildard's description of him as 'a large well-built man' who 'had a presence of one that ought to be in authority'.

One of Baird's largest architecture projects could have been his Jacobean design for the new University of Glasgow building that was to be built on Woodlands Hill which is right by Kelvingrove Park. However, the plans were abandoned after the land was bought to build Park Terrace and Circus.

List of Buildings

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The table below shows the majority of Baird's work.[5]

Date Started Name of Building Location
1820 Greyfriars UP Church Glasgow, Scotland
1823 St Thomas Wesleyan Methodist Church Glasgow, Scotland
1825 UP Church, Wellington Street Blythswood, Glasgow, Scotland
1826 Oakshaw Street UP Church Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
1828 Argyle Arcade Glasgow, Scotland
c. 1830 Layout of the lands of South Woodside and Clairmont Woodlands Hill, Glasgow, Scotland
1831 Glasgow Necropolis Dennistoun, Glasgow, Scotland
1831 Woodside Crescent Woodlands Hill, Glasgow, Scotland
1833 Cambridge UP Church Glasgow, Scotland
1833 Clober House New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
1833 Highland Parish Church Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland
1833 Terraced houses, Athol Place, Bath Street Glasgow, Scotland
1833 West of Scotland Agricultural College Glasgow, Scotland
1834 Union Church Greenock, Renfrewshire
1835 Bonhill Parish Church Bonhill, Dunbartonshire, Scotland
1835 Woodside Terrace Glasgow,Scotland
1837 Caledonia Place Glasgow, Scotland
1838 Woodside Place Glasgow, Scotland
c. 1838 Anderston UP Church Glasgow, Scotland
1839 George Square Congregational Church Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland
1839 Park of Drumquhassle Drymen, Stirlingshire, Scotland
1840 169 Elderslie Street Glasgow, Scotland
1840 2-4 Clifton Street Glasgow, Scotland
1840 National Bank of Scotland, Airdrie Branch Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1840 Somerset Place Glasgow, Scotland
c. 1840 Erskine UP Church Glasgow, Scotland
c. 1840 Viewpark House Uddingston, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1841 Cairnhill House Airdrie, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1841 Congregational Church, Dunfermline Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland
1841 National Bank of Scotland, First (?) Glasgow Branch Glasgow, Scotland
1842 Claremont House Glasgow, Scotland
1842 Claremont Terrace and Beresford House Woodlands, Glasgow, Scotland
1844 Stonebyres House Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1845 Lynedoch Place and Lynedoch Crescent Glasgow, Scotland
1847 University of Glasgow, proposed new college at Woodlands Woodlands, Glasgow, Scotland
1847 Wellington Street UP Church, mural monument to John Mitchell Glasgow, Scotland
1849 1-17 Woodlands Terrace Woodlands, Glasgow, Scotland
1850 UP Church, Shamrock Street Glasgow, Scotland
1851 64 Buchanan Street Glasgow, Scotland
1851 Macdonald's Muslin Warehouse Glasgow, Scotland
1851 Premises of Messrs Wilson, Kay & Co Glasgow, Scotland
1852 House in St Vincent Street Glasgow, Scotland
1853 Monument to James Ewing Glasgow, Scotland
c. 1853 Church School Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland
1854 Houses in Hope Street and West George Street for McGrigors & Stevenson Glasgow, Scotland
1854 Prince of Wales's Buildings Glasgow, Scotland
1854 Sir James Campbell's Warehouse, Ingram Street and Brunswick Street Glasgow, Scotland
1854 Tobacco Warehouse, James Watt Street Glasgow, Scotland
1855 Carbeth Guthrie House Stirlingshire, Scotland
1855 Gardner's Warehouse Glasgow, Scotland
1855 Urie House Fetteresso, Kincardineshire, Scotland
1856 Smith and Sons' Warehouse Glasgow, Scotland
1858 Birkwood House Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, Scotland
1858 Crown Circus Glasgow, Scotland
1859 Commercial building, 138-140 West George Street Glasgow, Scotland
1859 Gartsherrie Offices Glasgow, Scotland

Death

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Baird died at home in Westfield, Partick on the 18th of December 1859 and was buried inGlasgow Necropolis. From 1855 he had suffered from a chronic brain disease which then resulted in his death four years later. Some time before his death he took on a partner, Sir Daniel Macnee[6] to help him carry out his business until the illness took over.

References:

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  1. ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (November 25, 2015, 2:02 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  2. ^ A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
  3. ^ "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography".
  4. ^ "Glasgow - City of Sculpture by Gary Nisbet (January 2002)".
  5. ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (November 25, 2015, 2:35 pm)". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-25.
  6. ^ "John Baird". www.glasgowwestaddress.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-25.


External Links:

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  1. "Buildings and Cityscape" by Charles McKean
  2. University of Glasgow
  3. "The Victorian Walk" by New Glasgow Society
  4. Commercial Glasgow