Robert Kay (architect)
Robert Kay (1740–1818) was an Edinburgh builder and architect who designed bridges and lighthouses.
Life
In 1784 Kay received a major commission from the Town Council and James Hunter Blair to create a new bridge south of North Bridge, spanning the Cowgate to reach Edinburgh's South Side. This project, named South Bridge was built from 1785 to 1788,[1] at a total cost of £6,446.[2] This complex scheme has only one visible arch (over the Cowgate) and is largely a scheme of shops and flats as seen from South Bridge, but from the Cowgate is a huge block eight storeys in height.[3] The buildings created are now addressed as South Bridge, Hunter Square, Blair Street and Niddry Street.[4]
In 1787 he entered the competition for the design of Charlotte Square but this passed to Robert Adam.[5]
Around 1810 he built Sycamore Bank, a villa on Duddingston Road.[6][7]
He died in 1818 and is buried in a private vault in the non-denominational Old Calton Burial Ground in central Edinburgh.[citation needed]
Family
He married Janet Skirving (d. August 1813), a widow who ran a tavern on the Canongate. They had no children and on his death his assets were given 50% to charity and 50% to his wife's niece Mary Musgrove (aka Mrs Hardie). The charitable donations included major contributions to the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and the building of the Edinburgh Sessional School on Market Street.[8]
He was caricatured by his distant cousin John Kay around 1810,[9] and also included in an 1817 group caricature with two others.[10]
References
- ↑ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker p.188
- ↑ Perman, Ray (2019). The Rise and Fall of the City of Money. Birlinn. p. 110. ISBN 9781780276236. Search this book on
- ↑ "South Bridge". Gazetteer for Scotland. 2002. p. 19. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- ↑ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker p.233/4
- ↑ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker p.293
- ↑ Buildings of Scotland: Edinburgh by Gifford, McWilliam and Walker p.562
- ↑ Duddingston Conservation Area Character Appraisal. Edinburgh Council. 13 June 2002. p. 19. ISBN 1 85191 060 3. Retrieved 5 September 2023. Search this book on
- ↑ Kay's Originals vol.2 p.379
- ↑ Kay's Originals vol.2 p.378
- ↑ "Robert Kay (1740-1818), Architect and builder". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
This article "Robert Kay (architect)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Robert Kay (architect). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
