William Adam
Encyclopedia
William Adam was a Scottish architect, mason
, and entrepreneur. He was the foremost architect of his time in Scotland, designing and building numerous country houses and public buildings, and often acting as contractor
as well as architect. Among his best known works are Hopetoun House
near Edinburgh, and Duff House
in Banff. His individual, exuberant style built on the Palladian style, but with Baroque
details inspired by Vanbrugh
and Continental architecture.
In the 18th century, Adam was considered Scotland's "Universal Architect". However, since the early 20th century, architectural critics have taken a more measured view, Colin McWilliam
, for instance, finding the quality of his work "varied to an extreme degree". As well as being an architect, Adam was involved in several industrial ventures and improvement schemes, including coal mining, salt panning
, stone quarries and mills. In 1731 he began to build up his own estate in Kinross-shire
, which he named Blair Adam. He was the father of three architects; John
, Robert
and James, the last two were the developers of the "Adam style
".
, Fife
, and was baptised on 24 October 1689. He was the only surviving child of John Adam (d. c. 1710), a mason, and Helen Cranstoun, daughter of William Cranstoun, 3rd Lord Cranstoun
. His paternal grandfather was Archibald Adam, a laird in Angus
. Adam probably attended the grammar school in Kirkcaldy until 1704, when he turned 15, and thereafter learned the craft of masonry, possibly from his father. It is often suggested that Adam was apprenticed to Sir William Bruce
at Kinross House
, although the dates make this unlikely. John Fleming suggests that if Adam trained under Bruce at all, it must have been at Hopetoun House
which Bruce was building from 1699–1703. By 1717 Adam was a fully qualified member of the Kirkcaldy masons' guild, and before 1720 he travelled to France and the Low Countries
, visiting country houses and viewing the canal at Ostend
.
In 1714, Adam entered into a partnership with William Robertson of Gladney, a local laird, to set up a brickworks
at Linktown. The venture was successful, and Adam has been credited with introducing the manufacture of Dutch pantiles
into Scotland. On 30 May 1716, Adam married Robertson's daughter Mary, and the couple moved into his home, Gladney House, at Abbotshall.
, where he executed a design by Vanbrugh, and designing extensions to Hopetoun House
. John Gifford links Adam's rise with the retirement of James Smith
, the most prominent architect of the early 18th century, who was in his 70s by this time. Like Smith, Adam was a trained mason, had social connections through his family, and had the financial backing of successful business ventures.
However, unlike the Episcopalian
s Smith and Bruce, Adam was a Presbyterian
Whig
, in a time of Whig domination of the British government. Scottish Episcopalians were associated with Jacobitism
, and as such found little favour with the ruling Hanoverian
regime. Sir William Bruce, for example, was imprisoned on at least three occasions between 1693 and his death in 1710, merely on account of his principles. Adam's beliefs were much more acceptable, although he did manage to maintain relations with the exiled Jacobite, and amateur architect, John, Earl of Mar
. Adam's political stance allowed him to acquire influential patrons such as John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
, and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik
, who, besides being his clients, attempted to secure government positions and contracts for him. For example, Sir John Clerk unsuccessfully proposed Adam for city architect under the "Town of Edinburgh Bill", which would have seen him overseeing new public works in the capital. In 1727, Stair tried, again unsuccessfully, to have Adam appointed Surveyor of the King's Works in Scotland, although the following year he acquired the lesser position of Clerk and Storekeeper of the King's Works in Scotland, under the Master of Works
Sir John Anstruther. In 1730 Adam was appointed principal Mason to the Board of Ordnance
in North Britain
.
In 1727 Adam and Sir John Clerk travelled to London, visiting a number of country seats along the way, including Cliveden
, Wilton
, and Wanstead Park
. In London, Adam attempted to make further political contacts, as well as seeking out an engraver for his projected book of architectural plan
s, which would eventually become Vitruvius Scoticus. Also while in London, he sat to William Aikman
for his portrait.
's Book of Architecture. On 21 February 1728, Adam was made a burgess of Edinburgh, and moved with his family to a property on the Cowgate, where he later built a large tenement.
His business activities continued to expand. Since the commission for Hopetoun in 1721, he had leased quarries near Queensferry
which provided the stone for his building contracts. Starting in 1734, he leased lofts, granaries and warehouses in Leith, and leased coal mines and salt pans at Cockenzie, and later at nearby Pinkie he built a canal in 1742–44, to serve the mines. Other engineering works included an aqueduct cut through a hill at Inveresk
, and in 1741, an attempt to promote a Forth and Clyde canal
, a project eventually realised by others some 30 years later. His main concern from 1731 became Blair Crambeth, the estate in Kinross-shire
, near Kelty
, which he purchased that year for £8,010 Scots
. Renaming the estate Blair Adam, he set about expanding and improving it, planting trees, enclosing land, and setting up coal mines. He established the village of Maryburgh to house the miners, and built a small house, although he seldom visited for any length of time.
, to retrieve unpaid fees arising from his work at Duff House. There was no formal contract, and client and architect disagreed on costs for carved stonework. Adam sued for £5,796 12s 11⅓d, and the matter was initially resolved in his favour. However, Braco was a stubborn opponent, and dragged out the proceedings, which were not resolved until just before Adam's death.
After the Jacobite rising
of 1745, Adam's position as Mason to the Board of Ordnance brought him a number of large military contracts in the Highlands. In 1746, the position of Master Carpenter to the Board of Ordnance became vacant, and Adam was quick to put forward his son John's name for consideration, although he was unsuccessful in securing him the post. His three eldest sons were all involved in the family business by 1746, James and John both leaving Edinburgh University early to join their father.
William Adam succumbed to illness in late 1747, dying the following summer. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard
, Edinburgh, where John Adam designed the family mausoleum built in 1753. This was restored by Edinburgh City Council and Historic Scotland in 1997 to mark the 250th anniversary of his death.
Adam used a wide variety of sources for his designs, often reminiscent of Continental Baroque
, and created an inventive personal style of decoration. He drew little from his Scots predecessors Bruce and Smith. Rather, his most important influences were the works of John Vanbrugh
and James Gibbs
, whose Book of Architecture Adam subscribed to and used as inspiration throughout his career. Several of Adam's houses have been likened to the highly fashionable Palladian designs reproduced in Colen Campbell
's Vitruvius Britannicus, although the details owe more to Gibbs and Vanbrugh. His early, unexecuted design for Dun House is interesting, as it appears to show a traditional tall Scottish tower house
, complete with spiral stairs within the walls, but externally clad in neo-classical detailing; Adam clearly took some inspiration from the Scottish vernacular.
During his nearly 30-year career as an architect, Adam designed, extended or remodelled over 40 country houses, and undertook numerous public contracts. He also laid out landscape garden schemes, for instance at Newliston and Taymouth Castle
.
, near Edinburgh, for Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun
. Hopetoun had been built only 20 years before by Sir William Bruce, and Adam was retained to rebuild the south-east wing. These works, completed in 1725, aimed to give the east front a bold new facade, stepping forward at the ends with curved sections. According to John Fleming, "nothing so ambitious or imaginative had ever before been attempted in Scotland". Over the following years, Adam would return to Hopetoun, building the south colonnade from 1726, the north wing from 1728, and finally the pavilions from 1736. These were not finished until 1742, the year of the Earl's death, and the completed scheme was finished by Adam's sons after his own death. Adam also laid out the gardens, possibly to designs by Bruce, whose axial style they follow.
Other early designs included Drum House, which boasted Scotland's first venetian window, and Mavisbank
, both near Edinburgh. Mavisbank was a collaboration between Adam and the owner, amateur architect Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. The latter claimed much of the credit, and certainly criticised some of Adam's suggestions, although evidence suggests Adam got his way on a number of points. As at Hopetoun, here Adam enjoyed an unusually close relationship with his client, despite their differences of opinion. His most ambitious early work was the baroque, Vanbrugh-inspired house at Arniston
, near Gorebridge
. Built for Robert Dundas
, a lawyer and politician linked to the Earl of Stair, Arniston includes extensive grounds laid out by Adam, with a parterre
and cascade, and a main avenue centred on Arthur's Seat
to the north. The stucco
work to the hall at Arniston is one of Adam's finest Vanbrughian interiors.
Duff House
, Adam's major work of the 1730s, demonstrates his accretion of local and foreign influences, presenting itself as "a medieval castle in baroque dress". Built between 1735 and 1739, Adam acted as contractor and architect to William, Lord Braco
. James Gibbs had recently built another house for Lord Braco, but he declined the commission for Duff, recommending Adam for the job. The main facade of Duff House is remarkable for its height, and with the tall corner towers the impression is of a highly vertical house. This style is related to the designs produced by the exiled Jacobite Earl of Mar
, an amateur architect who collaborated with Adam at the House of Dun
. Charles McKean
compares Duff to the 17th century Drumlanrig Castle
, and places it within the Scottish architectural tradition. Like Drumlanrig, and Heriot's Hospital
(1620s–1690s) in Edinburgh before it, Duff House has a double-pile block flanked by taller square corner towers. The "baroque dress" at Duff derives from Vanbrugh, and particularly Eastbury Park (1724–38) in Dorset
. Designs for pavilions and quadrant wings were never executed due to Lord Braco's dispute with Adam. Braco never occupied or fitted out the house for the same reason.
Adam's other houses of the 1730s include House of Dun
in Angus, Tinwald in Dumfriesshire, Lawyers House in Perthshire, and Haddo House
in Aberdeenshire. Chatelherault
, the Duke of Hamilton
's "Dogg Kennel" and hunting lodge near Hamilton
, was completed in 1743. His redecoration of the Duke's apartment in Holyroodhouse was Adam's most important interior design commission. In 1742 Adam extended Taymouth Castle
and laid out gardens, although his work was demolished to make way for the present building in the 19th century.
After 1740, Adam built only two houses, Cumbernauld House
for the Earl of Wigton, and Cally House for Alexander Murray, which was not complete until 1763. From 1746, Adam was acting as "Intendant General" and contractor, overseeing the building of Inveraray Castle
to a Gothic
design by Roger Morris. His role was to correspond with the architect on behalf of the client, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
, and Adam also offered Morris his own advice on detail design. He also provided an early draft for the layout of the new town at Inveraray
. His last architectural work was for Lord Lovat
in 1744, for a new house at Castle Dounie. The stone was supplied, but construction never started as Lord Lovat was "out" in the Jacobite rising
of 1745, and his property was sacked by government troops.
Adam's first public building commissions were in Aberdeen
, where he built the town house, or town hall, from 1729–30, since demolished, and Robert Gordon's Hospital
from 1730–32, now an independent school. The original Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
on Infirmary Street was an imposing building designed by Adam in 1738, although based on a standard Ordnance Board barrack block. One of the first infirmaries in the world, it was founded by physician Alexander Monro
, and was partly demolished in 1884. Also in Edinburgh, Adam built George Watson's Hospital from 1738–41, which in the 19th century was rebuilt by David Bryce
to serve as the new Royal Infirmary. In 1745, work was completed on William Adam's "New Library" for the University of Glasgow
, also since demolished. Adam's town house for Dundee
has also been demolished; that of Haddington
remains but is much altered. Adam built only one church, Hamilton Old Parish Church
, in 1733 while working on nearby Chatelherault.
The last Jacobite rising
occurred in 1745, when "Bonnie Prince Charlie" attempted to seize the British throne, aided by rebellious Scottish Highlanders. In the aftermath of this unsuccessful coup, the Highlands
were extensively militarised by the government, and Adam's Ordnance Board work consequently multiplied. He and his sons carried out works at Fort Augustus
, Fort William, Carlisle, and the castles of Dumbarton
, Stirling
, Edinburgh
, Blackness
, and Duart
. He was engaged in 1747 to provide the mason work and brickwork for Fort George near Inverness
, although the project only began shortly before Adam's death. Every summer until 1760, one of his sons spent the summer at Fort George, supervising the works under Colonel Skinner, the chief engineer for North Britain.
's Vitruvius Britannicus. He commissioned some engravings during his 1727 trip to London, and had begun to collect subscriptions. Further engraving were completed in Edinburgh in the 1730s by Richard Cooper. The project then stalled, possibly due to the lack of subscriptions (only 150 were collected, compared to over 700 for Vitruvius Britannicus), although it may have been revived around the time of Adam's death. In 1766, John Adam attempted to restart the project and collect fresh subscriptions, although nothing came of this. The book was finally published in 1812 by John's son William
, and contained 160 plates, including 100 of Adam's own designs.
Adam's death coincided with the final defeat of the Jacobite threat in 1746, and the advance of the Scottish Enlightenment
, which resulted in new styles of building becoming popular. The development of Neoclassicism
in the late 18th century was paralleled by a revival of the "castle" form of house, which would lead to the Scottish baronial style
. Neither idiom however, owed much to the work of William Adam. As a practical man rather than a theorist, Adam never developed a strong enough style to exert a direct influence on the course of building design.
His main bequest to architectural history was his three architect sons, and in particular Robert Adam, whose success as developer of the "Adam Style" far outran that of his father. Although Robert formed his own style through lengthy study in Rome, John Fleming detects traces of his father's influence on all three of the brothers' work, and suggests that the Adam principle of "movement" in architecture was partly inspired by William's admiration for Vanbrugh. More concretely, Fleming notes that working with their father gave the brothers a solid grounding in the technical aspects of architecture, and introduced them to a set of clients which they might never otherwise have had access to.
suggested in The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland that William was "at least" the equal in talent of his son Robert.
In the 20th century, a more critical view of Adam's work was taken. For example, Ian Hannah
in The Story of Scotland in Stone (1934) found Adam to be "a rather ordinary classical architect". Arthur T. Bolton, in the introduction to his definitive work on Robert and James Adam (1922), dismissed the father's work as "heavy and ordinary", and a mere "compilation of ideas... from Vanbrugh and Gibbs to Kent". John Fleming lamented his "ad hoc improvisation from source books, improperly digested", and decided that he "cannot be allowed great distinction as an architect". John Summerson
disregards Adam's work, in Architecture in Britain, 1530–1830 (1953), as it does not fit into the English Palladian orthodoxy, although John Dunbar suggests that "he could express himself convincingly enough in that idiom", for instance at Haddo House. Dunbar found Adam's work "as remarkable for its eclecticism as for its unevenness of quality", and he went on to stress William Adam's "robustness and directness", and found these "appropriate to the artistic climate of North Britain". Gifford also stresses Adam's Scottish context, pointing out that Scotland was in many ways a foreign country during his working life, and indeed was a separate country to England until 1707. Adam should, he argues, be seen not as a provincial British architect, but as "the architect of Scotland".
John Fleming and Colin McWilliam are in agreement that Adam was at his best as a collaborator. Fleming's comment that Adam "was at his best when guided by a man of taste who knew his own mind", is echoed by McWilliam, who suggests that William Adam "always did his best, but did his best architecture... when he was in touch not only with his source books, but with other lively minds".
The birth dates of their five younger daughters are not recorded. In addition another son, named William, and two daughters died in infancy.
After William Adam's death, John inherited the family business, and immediately took his brothers Robert and James into partnership, which would last until the late 1750s when Robert established himelf in London. William Adam's obituary in the Caledonian Mercury noted that "it is fortunate he has left behind him some promising young men to carry on what he has so happily begun". John Adam passed Blair Adam on to his own son, lawyer and politician William Adam
KC, whose descendants continue to own the estate, and have included several notable politicians, soldiers and civil servants.
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
, and entrepreneur. He was the foremost architect of his time in Scotland, designing and building numerous country houses and public buildings, and often acting as contractor
Independent contractor
An independent contractor is a natural person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement. Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not work regularly for an employer but works as and when...
as well as architect. Among his best known works are Hopetoun House
Hopetoun House
Hopetoun House is the traditional residence of the Earl of Hopetoun . It was built 1699-1701, designed by William Bruce. It was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748 being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert...
near Edinburgh, and Duff House
Duff House
Duff House is a Georgian house in Banff, Scotland.Within the Deveron Valley lies Duff House, designed by William Adam, built between 1735 and 1740, and widely thought to be one of Britain's finest Georgian houses. Duff House was built for William Duff of Braco, who became Earl Fife in 1759.The...
in Banff. His individual, exuberant style built on the Palladian style, but with Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
details inspired by Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
and Continental architecture.
In the 18th century, Adam was considered Scotland's "Universal Architect". However, since the early 20th century, architectural critics have taken a more measured view, Colin McWilliam
Colin McWilliam
Colin McWilliam was a Scottish architecture academic and author.-Career:Born in London, he graduated from the University of Cambridge and became Director of the Scottish National Buildings Record, then the Assistant Secretary of the National Trust for Scotland. He also directed architectural...
, for instance, finding the quality of his work "varied to an extreme degree". As well as being an architect, Adam was involved in several industrial ventures and improvement schemes, including coal mining, salt panning
Open pan salt making
In Europe virtually all domestic salt is obtained by solution mining of underground salt formations although some is still obtained by the solar evaporation of sea water. Salt is extracted from the Brine using vacuum pans, where brine is heated in a partial vacuum in order to lower the boiling...
, stone quarries and mills. In 1731 he began to build up his own estate in Kinross-shire
Kinross-shire
Kinross-shire or the County of Kinross is a registration county, electoral ward and historic county in the Perth and Kinross council area in the east central Lowlands of Scotland...
, which he named Blair Adam. He was the father of three architects; John
John Adam (architect)
John Adam was a Scottish architect. Born in Linktown of Abbotshall, now part of Kirkcaldy, Fife, he was the eldest son of architect and entrepreneur William Adam. His younger brothers Robert and James Adam also became architects.The Adam family moved to Edinburgh in 1728, as William Adam's career...
, Robert
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
and James, the last two were the developers of the "Adam style
Adam style
The Adam style is an 18th century neoclassical style of interior design and architecture, as practiced by the three Adam brothers from Scotland; of whom Robert Adam and James Adam were the most widely known.The Adam brothers were the first to advocate an integrated style for architecture and...
".
Early life
William Adam was born in Linktown of Abbotshall, now a neighbourhood of KirkcaldyKirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, and was baptised on 24 October 1689. He was the only surviving child of John Adam (d. c. 1710), a mason, and Helen Cranstoun, daughter of William Cranstoun, 3rd Lord Cranstoun
William Cranstoun, 3rd Lord Cranstoun
William Cranstoun, 3rd Lord Cranstoun was a Scottish Lord of Parliament and a renowned Cavalier.-Origins:...
. His paternal grandfather was Archibald Adam, a laird in Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
. Adam probably attended the grammar school in Kirkcaldy until 1704, when he turned 15, and thereafter learned the craft of masonry, possibly from his father. It is often suggested that Adam was apprenticed to Sir William Bruce
William Bruce (architect)
Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Baronet was a Scottish gentleman-architect, "the effective founder of classical architecture in Scotland," as Howard Colvin observes...
at Kinross House
Kinross House
Kinross House is a late 17th-century country house overlooking Loch Leven, near Kinross in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Construction of the house was begun in 1686, by the architect Sir William Bruce as his own home. It is regarded as one of his finest works, and was called by Daniel Defoe "the...
, although the dates make this unlikely. John Fleming suggests that if Adam trained under Bruce at all, it must have been at Hopetoun House
Hopetoun House
Hopetoun House is the traditional residence of the Earl of Hopetoun . It was built 1699-1701, designed by William Bruce. It was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748 being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert...
which Bruce was building from 1699–1703. By 1717 Adam was a fully qualified member of the Kirkcaldy masons' guild, and before 1720 he travelled to France and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
, visiting country houses and viewing the canal at Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
.
In 1714, Adam entered into a partnership with William Robertson of Gladney, a local laird, to set up a brickworks
Brickworks
A brickworks also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock often with a quarry for clay on site....
at Linktown. The venture was successful, and Adam has been credited with introducing the manufacture of Dutch pantiles
Pantiles
The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Formerly known as The Walks and the Parade, it leads from the well that gave the town its name...
into Scotland. On 30 May 1716, Adam married Robertson's daughter Mary, and the couple moved into his home, Gladney House, at Abbotshall.
Rise to fame
It is not known how William Adam became a successful architect from these beginnings, but by 1721 he was engaged on major projects at Floors CastleFloors Castle
Floors Castle, on the western outskirts of Kelso, south-east Scotland, is the seat of the Duke of Roxburghe. Despite its name it is a country house, rather than a fortress. It was built in the 1720s by the architect William Adam for the 1st Duke, possibly incorporating an earlier tower house...
, where he executed a design by Vanbrugh, and designing extensions to Hopetoun House
Hopetoun House
Hopetoun House is the traditional residence of the Earl of Hopetoun . It was built 1699-1701, designed by William Bruce. It was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748 being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert...
. John Gifford links Adam's rise with the retirement of James Smith
James Smith (architect)
James Smith was a Scottish architect, who pioneered the Palladian style in Scotland. He was described by Colen Campbell, in his Vitruvius Britannicus , as "the most experienced architect of that kingdom".-Biography:...
, the most prominent architect of the early 18th century, who was in his 70s by this time. Like Smith, Adam was a trained mason, had social connections through his family, and had the financial backing of successful business ventures.
However, unlike the Episcopalian
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
s Smith and Bruce, Adam was a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
, in a time of Whig domination of the British government. Scottish Episcopalians were associated with Jacobitism
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
, and as such found little favour with the ruling Hanoverian
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
regime. Sir William Bruce, for example, was imprisoned on at least three occasions between 1693 and his death in 1710, merely on account of his principles. Adam's beliefs were much more acceptable, although he did manage to maintain relations with the exiled Jacobite, and amateur architect, John, Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 22nd and de jure 6th Earl of Mar, KT , Scottish Jacobite, was the eldest son of the 21st Earl of Mar , from whom he inherited estates that were heavily loaded with debt. By modern reckoning he was 22nd Earl of Mar of the first creation and de jure 6th Earl of Mar of the seventh...
. Adam's political stance allowed him to acquire influential patrons such as John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair
Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair KT PC was a Scottish soldier and diplomat.-Military career:Despite being born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dalrymple spent his early life mostly in the Netherlands and he studied at Leiden University...
, and Sir John Clerk of Penicuik
John Clerk of Penicuik
Sir John Clerk of Pennycuik, 2nd Baronet was a Scottish politician, lawyer, judge, composer and architect.He was Vice-President of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh, the pre-eminent learned society of the Scottish Enlightenment.-Early life:...
, who, besides being his clients, attempted to secure government positions and contracts for him. For example, Sir John Clerk unsuccessfully proposed Adam for city architect under the "Town of Edinburgh Bill", which would have seen him overseeing new public works in the capital. In 1727, Stair tried, again unsuccessfully, to have Adam appointed Surveyor of the King's Works in Scotland, although the following year he acquired the lesser position of Clerk and Storekeeper of the King's Works in Scotland, under the Master of Works
Master of Work to the Crown of Scotland
The Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland was responsible for the construction, repair and maintenance of royal palaces, castles and other crown property in Scotland. The main buildings were; Holyroodhouse; Edinburgh Castle; Stirling Castle; Linlithgow Palace; and Falkland Palace. The position...
Sir John Anstruther. In 1730 Adam was appointed principal Mason to the Board of Ordnance
Board of Ordnance
The Board of Ordnance was a British government body responsible for the supply of armaments and munitions to the Royal Navy and British Army. It was also responsible for providing artillery trains for armies and maintaining coastal fortresses and, later, management of the artillery and engineer...
in North Britain
North Britain
North Britain is a term which has been occasionally used, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, for either the northern part of Great Britain or to Scotland, which occupies the northernmost third of the island...
.
Cliveden
Cliveden is an Italianate mansion and estate at Taplow, Buckinghamshire, England. Set on banks above the River Thames, its grounds slope down to the river. The site has been home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor....
, Wilton
Wilton House
Wilton House is an English country house situated at Wilton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It has been the country seat of the Earls of Pembroke for over 400 years....
, and Wanstead Park
Wanstead Park
Wanstead Park is the name of a grade II listed municipal park covering an area of about 140 acres , located in Wanstead, in the London Borough of Redbridge, historically within the county of Essex...
. In London, Adam attempted to make further political contacts, as well as seeking out an engraver for his projected book of architectural plan
Architectural plan
An architectural plan is a plan for architecture, and the documentation of written and graphic descriptions of the architectural elements of a building project including sketches, drawings and details.- Overview :...
s, which would eventually become Vitruvius Scoticus. Also while in London, he sat to William Aikman
William Aikman
William Aikman may refer to:* William Aikman , Scottish portrait-painter* William Aikman , American writer and pastor...
for his portrait.
Architect, entrepreneur, and laird
By 1728, Adam was firmly established as a successful architect with numerous ongoing business concerns, including coal mining, salt panning, quarrying and agricultural improvements, although in that year occurred the death of his partner and father-in-law William Robertson. For the same year, William Adam and Alexander McGill are called architects in the subscribers' list to James GibbsJames Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
's Book of Architecture. On 21 February 1728, Adam was made a burgess of Edinburgh, and moved with his family to a property on the Cowgate, where he later built a large tenement.
His business activities continued to expand. Since the commission for Hopetoun in 1721, he had leased quarries near Queensferry
South Queensferry
South Queensferry , also called Queensferry, is a former Royal Burgh in West Lothian now part of the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located some ten miles to the north west of the city centre, on the shore of the Firth of Forth between the Forth Bridge and the Forth Road Bridge, approximately 8...
which provided the stone for his building contracts. Starting in 1734, he leased lofts, granaries and warehouses in Leith, and leased coal mines and salt pans at Cockenzie, and later at nearby Pinkie he built a canal in 1742–44, to serve the mines. Other engineering works included an aqueduct cut through a hill at Inveresk
Inveresk
Inveresk is a civil parish and was formerly a village that now forms the southern part of Musselburgh. It is situated on slightly elevated ground at the south of Musselburgh in East Lothian, Scotland...
, and in 1741, an attempt to promote a Forth and Clyde canal
Forth and Clyde Canal
The Forth and Clyde Canal crosses Scotland, providing a route for sea-going vessels between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. The canal is 35 miles long and its eastern end is connected to the River Forth by a short stretch of the River...
, a project eventually realised by others some 30 years later. His main concern from 1731 became Blair Crambeth, the estate in Kinross-shire
Kinross-shire
Kinross-shire or the County of Kinross is a registration county, electoral ward and historic county in the Perth and Kinross council area in the east central Lowlands of Scotland...
, near Kelty
Kelty
Kelty is located in Fife, Scotland. Kelty is a former coal mining village in the heart of the old mining heartlands of Fife. It is situated on the Fife/Kinross-shire boundary with a population of around 6,000 residents This was nearer to 9,000 when the mining industry was still operational in...
, which he purchased that year for £8,010 Scots
Pound Scots
The pound Scots was the national unit of currency in the Kingdom of Scotland before the country entered into political and currency union with the Kingdom of England in 1707 . It was introduced by David I, in the 12th century, on the model of English and French money, divided into 20 shillings...
. Renaming the estate Blair Adam, he set about expanding and improving it, planting trees, enclosing land, and setting up coal mines. He established the village of Maryburgh to house the miners, and built a small house, although he seldom visited for any length of time.
Later life
In 1741 Adam was forced to initiate legal proceedings against William, Lord BracoWilliam Duff, 1st Earl Fife
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife was a Scottish peer.The son of William Duff of Dipple, in 1719 he married Janet Ogilvie, daughter of James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater. She died in 1720 and in 1723 he married Jean Grant, daughter of Sir James Grant, Bt...
, to retrieve unpaid fees arising from his work at Duff House. There was no formal contract, and client and architect disagreed on costs for carved stonework. Adam sued for £5,796 12s 11⅓d, and the matter was initially resolved in his favour. However, Braco was a stubborn opponent, and dragged out the proceedings, which were not resolved until just before Adam's death.
After the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745, Adam's position as Mason to the Board of Ordnance brought him a number of large military contracts in the Highlands. In 1746, the position of Master Carpenter to the Board of Ordnance became vacant, and Adam was quick to put forward his son John's name for consideration, although he was unsuccessful in securing him the post. His three eldest sons were all involved in the family business by 1746, James and John both leaving Edinburgh University early to join their father.
William Adam succumbed to illness in late 1747, dying the following summer. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at...
, Edinburgh, where John Adam designed the family mausoleum built in 1753. This was restored by Edinburgh City Council and Historic Scotland in 1997 to mark the 250th anniversary of his death.
Architectural works
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, and created an inventive personal style of decoration. He drew little from his Scots predecessors Bruce and Smith. Rather, his most important influences were the works of John Vanbrugh
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
and James Gibbs
James Gibbs
James Gibbs was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Scotland, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England...
, whose Book of Architecture Adam subscribed to and used as inspiration throughout his career. Several of Adam's houses have been likened to the highly fashionable Palladian designs reproduced in Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell was a pioneering Scottish architect who spent most of his career in England, and is credited as a founder of the Georgian style...
's Vitruvius Britannicus, although the details owe more to Gibbs and Vanbrugh. His early, unexecuted design for Dun House is interesting, as it appears to show a traditional tall Scottish tower house
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, complete with spiral stairs within the walls, but externally clad in neo-classical detailing; Adam clearly took some inspiration from the Scottish vernacular.
During his nearly 30-year career as an architect, Adam designed, extended or remodelled over 40 country houses, and undertook numerous public contracts. He also laid out landscape garden schemes, for instance at Newliston and Taymouth Castle
Taymouth Castle
Taymouth Castle is situated just north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross in the Highlands of Scotland.It stands on the site of the much older Balloch Castle , which was demolished to be rebuilt on a much larger scale in the early 19th century by the Campbells of Breadalbane.It was...
.
Country houses
His first commission seems to have been for extensions to Hopetoun HouseHopetoun House
Hopetoun House is the traditional residence of the Earl of Hopetoun . It was built 1699-1701, designed by William Bruce. It was then hugely extended from 1721 by William Adam until his death in 1748 being one of his most notable projects. The interior was completed by his sons John Adam and Robert...
, near Edinburgh, for Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun
Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun
Charles Hope, 1st Earl of Hopetoun KT was a Scottish nobleman.He was the son of John Hope of Hopetoun, grandson of Sir Thomas Hope, 1st Baronet of Craighall, Fife. John Hope purchased the barony of Niddry Castle from the Earl of Winton around 1680...
. Hopetoun had been built only 20 years before by Sir William Bruce, and Adam was retained to rebuild the south-east wing. These works, completed in 1725, aimed to give the east front a bold new facade, stepping forward at the ends with curved sections. According to John Fleming, "nothing so ambitious or imaginative had ever before been attempted in Scotland". Over the following years, Adam would return to Hopetoun, building the south colonnade from 1726, the north wing from 1728, and finally the pavilions from 1736. These were not finished until 1742, the year of the Earl's death, and the completed scheme was finished by Adam's sons after his own death. Adam also laid out the gardens, possibly to designs by Bruce, whose axial style they follow.
Mavisbank House
Mavisbank is a country house outside Loanhead, south of Edinburgh in Midlothian, Scotland. It was designed by the architect William Adam, in collaboration with his client, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, and was constructed between 1723 and 1727. It is described by Historic Scotland as "one of...
, both near Edinburgh. Mavisbank was a collaboration between Adam and the owner, amateur architect Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. The latter claimed much of the credit, and certainly criticised some of Adam's suggestions, although evidence suggests Adam got his way on a number of points. As at Hopetoun, here Adam enjoyed an unusually close relationship with his client, despite their differences of opinion. His most ambitious early work was the baroque, Vanbrugh-inspired house at Arniston
Arniston House
Arniston House is a historic house in Midlothian, Scotland, near the village of Temple. This Georgian mansion was designed by William Adam in 1726 for Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder, the Lord President of the Court of Session...
, near Gorebridge
Gorebridge
Gorebridge is a former mining village in Midlothian, Scotland. The village gets its name from the bridge across the River Gore, a tributary of the South Esk. It was once the home of Scotland's first gunpowder mill, at the Gore Water, commencing operation in 1794.Gorebridge has an annual gala day....
. Built for Robert Dundas
Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder
Robert Dundas, Lord Arniston, the elder was a Scottish judge.The second son of Robert Dundas he served as Solicitor General for Scotland from 1717 to 1720 and as Lord Advocate from 1720 to 1725...
, a lawyer and politician linked to the Earl of Stair, Arniston includes extensive grounds laid out by Adam, with a parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
and cascade, and a main avenue centred on Arthur's Seat
Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh
Arthur's Seat is the main peak of the group of hills which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design". It is situated in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, about a mile to the east of Edinburgh Castle...
to the north. The stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
work to the hall at Arniston is one of Adam's finest Vanbrughian interiors.
Duff House
Duff House is a Georgian house in Banff, Scotland.Within the Deveron Valley lies Duff House, designed by William Adam, built between 1735 and 1740, and widely thought to be one of Britain's finest Georgian houses. Duff House was built for William Duff of Braco, who became Earl Fife in 1759.The...
, Adam's major work of the 1730s, demonstrates his accretion of local and foreign influences, presenting itself as "a medieval castle in baroque dress". Built between 1735 and 1739, Adam acted as contractor and architect to William, Lord Braco
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife was a Scottish peer.The son of William Duff of Dipple, in 1719 he married Janet Ogilvie, daughter of James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater. She died in 1720 and in 1723 he married Jean Grant, daughter of Sir James Grant, Bt...
. James Gibbs had recently built another house for Lord Braco, but he declined the commission for Duff, recommending Adam for the job. The main facade of Duff House is remarkable for its height, and with the tall corner towers the impression is of a highly vertical house. This style is related to the designs produced by the exiled Jacobite Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 22nd Earl of Mar
John Erskine, 22nd and de jure 6th Earl of Mar, KT , Scottish Jacobite, was the eldest son of the 21st Earl of Mar , from whom he inherited estates that were heavily loaded with debt. By modern reckoning he was 22nd Earl of Mar of the first creation and de jure 6th Earl of Mar of the seventh...
, an amateur architect who collaborated with Adam at the House of Dun
House of Dun
House of Dun, together with the adjacent Montrose Basin nature reserve, is a National Trust for Scotland property in Angus, Scotland.The Dun Estate was home to the Erskine family from 1375 until 1980. John Erskine of Dun was a key figure in the Scottish Reformation. The current house was designed...
. Charles McKean
Charles McKean
Charles McKean is Professor of Scottish Architectural History at the University of Dundee.Charles McKean was formerly Secretary and Treasurer of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland. Educated at Fettes College, the University of Poitiers , and the University of Bristol, from 1977 to...
compares Duff to the 17th century Drumlanrig Castle
Drumlanrig Castle
Drumlanrig Castle sits on the Queensberry Estate in Scotland's Dumfries and Galloway.The Castle is the Dumfriesshire family home to the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry...
, and places it within the Scottish architectural tradition. Like Drumlanrig, and Heriot's Hospital
George Heriot's School
George Heriot's School is an independent primary and secondary school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, with around 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff and 80 non-teaching staff. It was established in 1628 as George Heriot's Hospital, by bequest of the royal goldsmith George...
(1620s–1690s) in Edinburgh before it, Duff House has a double-pile block flanked by taller square corner towers. The "baroque dress" at Duff derives from Vanbrugh, and particularly Eastbury Park (1724–38) in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. Designs for pavilions and quadrant wings were never executed due to Lord Braco's dispute with Adam. Braco never occupied or fitted out the house for the same reason.
House of Dun
House of Dun, together with the adjacent Montrose Basin nature reserve, is a National Trust for Scotland property in Angus, Scotland.The Dun Estate was home to the Erskine family from 1375 until 1980. John Erskine of Dun was a key figure in the Scottish Reformation. The current house was designed...
in Angus, Tinwald in Dumfriesshire, Lawyers House in Perthshire, and Haddo House
Haddo House
Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately 20 miles north of Aberdeen . It has been owned by the National Trust for Scotland since 1979....
in Aberdeenshire. Chatelherault
Chatelherault Country Park
Chatelherault Country Park is a country park in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.Its name is derived from the French town of Châtellerault, the title Duc de Châtellerault being held by the Duke of Hamilton....
, the Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
's "Dogg Kennel" and hunting lodge near Hamilton
Hamilton, South Lanarkshire
Hamilton is a town in South Lanarkshire, in the west-central Lowlands of Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It is the fifth-biggest town in Scotland after Paisley, East Kilbride, Livingston and Cumbernauld...
, was completed in 1743. His redecoration of the Duke's apartment in Holyroodhouse was Adam's most important interior design commission. In 1742 Adam extended Taymouth Castle
Taymouth Castle
Taymouth Castle is situated just north-east of the village of Kenmore, Perth and Kinross in the Highlands of Scotland.It stands on the site of the much older Balloch Castle , which was demolished to be rebuilt on a much larger scale in the early 19th century by the Campbells of Breadalbane.It was...
and laid out gardens, although his work was demolished to make way for the present building in the 19th century.
After 1740, Adam built only two houses, Cumbernauld House
Cumbernauld House
Cumbernauld House is an 18th-century country house located in Cumbernauld, Scotland. It is located near in the Cumbernauld Glen, close to Cumbernauld Village, at . The house is situated on the site of Cumbernauld Castle, which was besieged by General Monck in 1651. It was built in 1731, to designs...
for the Earl of Wigton, and Cally House for Alexander Murray, which was not complete until 1763. From 1746, Adam was acting as "Intendant General" and contractor, overseeing the building of Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle is an estate house near Inveraray in Argyll in western Scotland.It is the seat of the Duke of Argyll and a Category A listed building.-Ghosts:...
to a Gothic
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
design by Roger Morris. His role was to correspond with the architect on behalf of the client, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st Earl of Ilay was a Scottish nobleman, politician, lawyer, businessman and soldier...
, and Adam also offered Morris his own advice on detail design. He also provided an early draft for the layout of the new town at Inveraray
Inveraray
Inveraray is a royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is the traditional county town of Argyll and ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll.-Coat of arms:...
. His last architectural work was for Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat , was a Scottish Jacobite and Chief of Clan Fraser, who was famous for his violent feuding and his changes of allegiance. In 1715, he had been a supporter of the House of Hanover, but in 1745 he changed sides and supported the Stuart claim on the crown of Scotland...
in 1744, for a new house at Castle Dounie. The stone was supplied, but construction never started as Lord Lovat was "out" in the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1745, and his property was sacked by government troops.
Public buildings
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, where he built the town house, or town hall, from 1729–30, since demolished, and Robert Gordon's Hospital
Robert Gordon's College
Robert Gordon's College is a private co-educational day school in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery-S6.-History:...
from 1730–32, now an independent school. The original Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...
on Infirmary Street was an imposing building designed by Adam in 1738, although based on a standard Ordnance Board barrack block. One of the first infirmaries in the world, it was founded by physician Alexander Monro
Alexander Monro
Alexander Monro may refer to:*Alexander Monro , Principal of Edinburgh University, 1685–1690* Alexander Monro , Scottish physician, founder of Edinburgh Medical School...
, and was partly demolished in 1884. Also in Edinburgh, Adam built George Watson's Hospital from 1738–41, which in the 19th century was rebuilt by David Bryce
David Bryce
David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA was a Scottish architect. Born in Edinburgh, he was educated at the Royal High School and joined the office of architect William Burn in 1825, aged 22. By 1841, Bryce had risen to be Burn's partner...
to serve as the new Royal Infirmary. In 1745, work was completed on William Adam's "New Library" for the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, also since demolished. Adam's town house for Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
has also been demolished; that of Haddington
Haddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
remains but is much altered. Adam built only one church, Hamilton Old Parish Church
Hamilton Old Parish Church
Hamilton Old Parish Church is a Church of Scotland parish church serving part of the Burgh of Hamilton in Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is notable for its Georgian architecture. It was built in 1734 to an unusual, largely circular design...
, in 1733 while working on nearby Chatelherault.
The last Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
occurred in 1745, when "Bonnie Prince Charlie" attempted to seize the British throne, aided by rebellious Scottish Highlanders. In the aftermath of this unsuccessful coup, the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
were extensively militarised by the government, and Adam's Ordnance Board work consequently multiplied. He and his sons carried out works at Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
, Fort William, Carlisle, and the castles of Dumbarton
Dumbarton Castle
Dumbarton Castle has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Great Britain. It overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton, and sits on a plug of volcanic basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high.-Iron Age:...
, Stirling
Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
, Blackness
Blackness Castle
Blackness Castle is a 15th century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackness was the main port serving the Royal Burgh of...
, and Duart
Duart Castle
Duart Castle or Caisteal Dhubhairt in Scottish Gaelic is a castle on the Isle of Mull, off the west coast of Scotland, within the council area of Argyll and Bute...
. He was engaged in 1747 to provide the mason work and brickwork for Fort George near Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
, although the project only began shortly before Adam's death. Every summer until 1760, one of his sons spent the summer at Fort George, supervising the works under Colonel Skinner, the chief engineer for North Britain.
Vitruvius Scoticus
In the 1720s Adam planned to publish a book of architectural drawings of Scottish houses, including his own work and that of others. His Vitruvius Scoticus was started and named in response to Colen CampbellColen Campbell
Colen Campbell was a pioneering Scottish architect who spent most of his career in England, and is credited as a founder of the Georgian style...
's Vitruvius Britannicus. He commissioned some engravings during his 1727 trip to London, and had begun to collect subscriptions. Further engraving were completed in Edinburgh in the 1730s by Richard Cooper. The project then stalled, possibly due to the lack of subscriptions (only 150 were collected, compared to over 700 for Vitruvius Britannicus), although it may have been revived around the time of Adam's death. In 1766, John Adam attempted to restart the project and collect fresh subscriptions, although nothing came of this. The book was finally published in 1812 by John's son William
William Adam (MP)
William Adam, KC was a Scottish Member of Parliament in the British Parliament and subsequently a Judge.-Biography:...
, and contained 160 plates, including 100 of Adam's own designs.
Legacy
William Adam's dominant position in Scottish architecture is reinforced by his lack of contemporaries. Colin McWilliam, in The Buildings of Scotland: Lothian, wondered "whether Scottish architecture at this period... would have achieved very much without him."Adam's death coincided with the final defeat of the Jacobite threat in 1746, and the advance of the Scottish Enlightenment
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...
, which resulted in new styles of building becoming popular. The development of Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
in the late 18th century was paralleled by a revival of the "castle" form of house, which would lead to the Scottish baronial style
Scottish baronial style
The Scottish Baronial style is part of the Gothic Revival architecture style, using stylistic elements and forms from castles, tower houses and mansions of the Gothic architecture period in Scotland, such as Craigievar Castle and Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. The revival style was popular from the...
. Neither idiom however, owed much to the work of William Adam. As a practical man rather than a theorist, Adam never developed a strong enough style to exert a direct influence on the course of building design.
His main bequest to architectural history was his three architect sons, and in particular Robert Adam, whose success as developer of the "Adam Style" far outran that of his father. Although Robert formed his own style through lengthy study in Rome, John Fleming detects traces of his father's influence on all three of the brothers' work, and suggests that the Adam principle of "movement" in architecture was partly inspired by William's admiration for Vanbrugh. More concretely, Fleming notes that working with their father gave the brothers a solid grounding in the technical aspects of architecture, and introduced them to a set of clients which they might never otherwise have had access to.
Critical appreciation
Although his contemporaries acclaimed Adam's "genius for architecture", recent architectural historians have found his work of more variable quality. In the 18th and 19th centuries, he was accepted as Scotland's "Universal Architect", and at the end of the 19th century, MacGibbon and RossMacGibbon and Ross
David MacGibbon and Thomas Ross were Scottish architects. Their practice, MacGibbon and Ross was established in 1872 and continued until 1914...
suggested in The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland that William was "at least" the equal in talent of his son Robert.
In the 20th century, a more critical view of Adam's work was taken. For example, Ian Hannah
Ian Hannah
Dr. Ian Campbell Hannah was a British academic, writer and Conservative Party politician.Born in Chichester, he was president of the University of King's College, in Windsor, Nova Scotia, from 1904-1906. In 1904 Campbell married American artist Edith Brand...
in The Story of Scotland in Stone (1934) found Adam to be "a rather ordinary classical architect". Arthur T. Bolton, in the introduction to his definitive work on Robert and James Adam (1922), dismissed the father's work as "heavy and ordinary", and a mere "compilation of ideas... from Vanbrugh and Gibbs to Kent". John Fleming lamented his "ad hoc improvisation from source books, improperly digested", and decided that he "cannot be allowed great distinction as an architect". John Summerson
John Summerson
Sir John Newenham Summerson CH CBE was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century....
disregards Adam's work, in Architecture in Britain, 1530–1830 (1953), as it does not fit into the English Palladian orthodoxy, although John Dunbar suggests that "he could express himself convincingly enough in that idiom", for instance at Haddo House. Dunbar found Adam's work "as remarkable for its eclecticism as for its unevenness of quality", and he went on to stress William Adam's "robustness and directness", and found these "appropriate to the artistic climate of North Britain". Gifford also stresses Adam's Scottish context, pointing out that Scotland was in many ways a foreign country during his working life, and indeed was a separate country to England until 1707. Adam should, he argues, be seen not as a provincial British architect, but as "the architect of Scotland".
John Fleming and Colin McWilliam are in agreement that Adam was at his best as a collaborator. Fleming's comment that Adam "was at his best when guided by a man of taste who knew his own mind", is echoed by McWilliam, who suggests that William Adam "always did his best, but did his best architecture... when he was in touch not only with his source books, but with other lively minds".
Family
William Adam and Mary Robertson had ten surviving children:- Janet ("Jenny") (b. 1717), born at Linktown, later managed their brothers' London business.
- JohnJohn Adam (architect)John Adam was a Scottish architect. Born in Linktown of Abbotshall, now part of Kirkcaldy, Fife, he was the eldest son of architect and entrepreneur William Adam. His younger brothers Robert and James Adam also became architects.The Adam family moved to Edinburgh in 1728, as William Adam's career...
(b. 3 July 1721), born at Linktown, took over Blair Adam and the other family businesses, as well as practising architecture. - RobertRobert AdamRobert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
(b. 3 July 1728), born at Linktown, architect, and best known of the Adam brothers. - James, (b. 21 July 1732) architect, business partner of Robert.
- William ("Willie") (b. 1738)
- Elizabeth ("Betty"), with Janet, managed their brothers' London business.
- Helen ("Nellie")
- Margaret ("Peggy")
- Mary, married John Drysdale, Minister of the Tron KirkTron KirkThe Tron Kirk is a former principal parish church in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a well-known landmark on the Royal Mile. It was built in the 17th century, and closed as a church in 1952...
and one time Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandThe Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
, though now chiefly remembered for his friendship with economist Adam SmithAdam SmithAdam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
. - Susannah, married Sir John Clerk of EldinJohn Clerk of EldinJohn Clerk of Eldin FRSE FSAScot was a Scottish merchant, naval author, artist, geologist and landowner. The 7th son of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, Bt, Clerk of Eldin was a figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, best remembered for his influential writings on naval tactics in the Age of Sail.A...
, son of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik.
The birth dates of their five younger daughters are not recorded. In addition another son, named William, and two daughters died in infancy.
After William Adam's death, John inherited the family business, and immediately took his brothers Robert and James into partnership, which would last until the late 1750s when Robert established himelf in London. William Adam's obituary in the Caledonian Mercury noted that "it is fortunate he has left behind him some promising young men to carry on what he has so happily begun". John Adam passed Blair Adam on to his own son, lawyer and politician William Adam
William Adam (MP)
William Adam, KC was a Scottish Member of Parliament in the British Parliament and subsequently a Judge.-Biography:...
KC, whose descendants continue to own the estate, and have included several notable politicians, soldiers and civil servants.
External links
- Testament Testamentar of William Adam, architect in Edinburgh from Scotland's People