William Henry PlayfairFRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century who designed the Eastern, or Third,
New Town and many of Edinburgh's
neoclassical landmarks.[1]
Life
Playfair was born on 15 July 1790 in
Russell Square,
London to Jessie Graham and
James Playfair.[2][3] His father was also an architect, and his uncles were the mathematician
John Playfair and
William Playfair, an economist and pioneer of
statistical graphics. After his father's death he was sent to Edinburgh to be educated by his uncle John Playfair. He went on to study at the
University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1809.[2] He was first articled to the architect
William Stark and when Stark died in 1813, he went to London.
In the 1830s Playfair is listed as living at 17 Great Stuart Street on the prestigious Moray Estate in
Edinburgh's West End.[4] This is not a building of his own design, but is by his rival
James Gillespie Graham.[5]
Playfair took
David Cousin under his wing and was responsible for the latter part of his training.
Freemasonry
Playfair was Initiated into Scottish Freemasonry in Lodge St David, No.36, (Edinburgh, Scotland) on 18 January 1815.[7]
Death
Playfair died in Edinburgh on 19 March 1857, and is buried in the "Lord's Row" on the western wall of Edinburgh's
Dean Cemetery, where he designed monuments for others, including
Lord Jeffrey.
1817 Appointed architect to complete design work on the
Old College, University of Edinburgh, on the basis of his proposals to complete the plans originated by
Robert Adam. The building was completed around 1831.
1818 Commissioned to design
Dollar Academy: the original building which he created is now known as the Playfair Building[9]
1820 East New Town (Calton Hill), Edinburgh (including
Regent,
Carlton and
Royal Terraces), built between 1821 and 1860
1821–24 Royal Terrace, East New Town, Edinburgh only completed in 1860
1822 Commissioned by the Institution for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Scotland. The building was opened in 1826 and is now the
Royal Scottish Academy Building, Edinburgh
^Jaques and McKean (1 September 1994). West Lothian - An Illustrated Architectural Guide. Scotland: The Rutland Press. pp. 106–107.
ISBN978-1873190258.