George Washington Browne
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. He was born in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and trained there and in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He practiced mainly in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he designed a number of public buildings, although his work is found throughout Scotland and Britain.
He began his career as an architect in around 1869, when he was 16, with the office of Salmon Son & Ritchie. Following completion of his articles
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
in 1873, Browne moved to London in 1875, and joined the Architectural Association. He worked at the practice of Stevenson & Robson for two years, and then moved to the office of Arthur Blomfield
Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield was an English architect.-Background:The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College,...
. In 1877 he won the Pugin
Pugin
Pugin most commonly refers to Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin , English architect and designer.Other members of his family include:...
Studentship, funding travel and study in France and Belgium. After a time working for William Nesfield, he returned to Scotland in 1879 to work for Robert Rowand Anderson
Robert Rowand Anderson
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson RSA was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his main work was small churches in the 'First Pointed' style that is characteristic of...
, becoming Anderson's partner in 1881.
In 1885, Browne established his own independent practice, and two years later won the competition for Edinburgh Central Library, on George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge
George IV Bridge is an elevated street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Measuring 300-metres in length, the bridge was constructed between 1829 and 1832 as part of the Improvement Act of 1827. Named for King George IV, it was designed by architect Thomas Hamilton , to connect the South Side district of...
. After being commissioned to design the Royal Hospital for Sick Children
Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh
The Royal Hospital for Sick Children is a hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland, specialising in paediatric healthcare. It is commonly referred to simply as the Sick Kids. The hospital provides care for children from birth to around 13 years of age, including a specialist Accident and Emergency facility...
in 1892, he entered into partnership with John More Dick Peddie
John More Dick Peddie
-Biography:Peddie was the son of the architect and politician John Dick Peddie and his wife Euphemia Lockhart More. Born in Edinburgh, he attended Edinburgh Academy, followed by two years at a school in Elberfeld, Germany. He enrolled at Edinburgh University, and was also articled to his father's...
in the mid-1890s. The partnership designed a number of bank branches, particularly for the British Linen Bank
British Linen Bank
The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the Bank's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999.-Foundation:...
, as well as the Caledonian Hotel (1898-1903), and the main building of Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
(1906). Following this period of success, the partnership was dissolved in 1907, and Browne had a lean period, during which he only carried out one significant building, the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in St Andrew Street, Edinburgh (1914). He did win competitions for the Edward VII Memorial Gates at Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
, and for St Paul's Bridge in London, although the former was not built until 1922, and the latter was not built at all.
Browne was president of the Edinburgh Architectural Association from 1883 until 1886. He was admitted to the Royal Scottish Academy
Royal Scottish Academy
The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...
in 1892, becoming the Academy's treasurer in 1917, and president from 1924 until 1933. In 1914 he was appointed Head of Architecture at Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art
Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....
, holding the post until 1922. In 1926 he was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
, and was admitted as a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland
Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland
The Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland was a Scottish public body.It was appointed in 1927 "to enquire into such questions of public amenity or of artistic importance relating to Scotland as may be referred to them by any of our Departments of State and to report thereon to such Departments;...
in 1927, a position which enabled him to influence the designs for St. Andrew's House
St. Andrew's House
St. Andrew's House is a large, Category 'A' listed Art Deco-influenced building on the southern flank of Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. Its southern side looks out over Waverley station, the Canongate and Holyrood Park....
and Edinburgh Sheriff Court
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
in the 1930s. He fell ill in 1938 and moved to Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
to be with his daughter, dying there the following year at the age of 85.