thumb|260px|Robert Rowand Anderson by [[James Pittendrigh Macgillivray 1921]]

thumb|260px|McEwan Hall, Edinburgh, by Rowand Anderson

thumb|right|260px|The [[Central Hotel (Glasgow)|Central Hotel at Glasgow Central station]]

Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, (5 April 1834 – 1 June 1921) 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' (or Early English) style that is characteristic of Scott's former assistants. By 1880 his practice was designing some of the most prestigious public and private buildings in Scotland.

His works include the Scottish National Portrait Gallery; the Dome of Old College, Medical Faculty and McEwan Hall, the University of Edinburgh; Govan Old Parish Church and the Pearce Institute; the Central Hotel at Glasgow Central Station, the Catholic Apostolic Church in Edinburgh and Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute for the 3rd Marquess of Bute.

Early life

Anderson was born at Liberton, outside Edinburgh, the third child of James Anderson (1797-1869), a solicitor, and Margaret Rowand (1797-1868). Educated at George Watson's College, he began a legal apprenticeship in 1845, and briefly worked for his father's firm. He began to study architecture in 1849, attending classes at the Trustees' Drawing Academy (which later became Edinburgh College of Art), and was articled to architect John Lessels (1809–1883).

In 1857 he took a two-year post as an assistant to George Gilbert Scott, in his office at Trafalgar Square, London. Here he worked alongside many influential architects. He then spent time travelling and studying in France and Italy,

His first significant commission came in 1871, for the restoration of St Vigeans Parish Church, Angus. He went on to win the competition to design the Catholic Apostolic Church in Edinburgh, leaving Anderson as sole partner again. Notable architects employed within the Anderson practice included Robert Weir Schultz, Robert Lorimer, and Sydney Mitchell.

During the 1880s, Anderson's style became increasingly influenced by Scottish historical architecture, possibly as a result of his friendship with architectural historians MacGibbon and Ross. The Scottish influence is evident in the Normand Memorial Hall, Dysart (1882), Ardgowan Estate Office, Greenock (1886), and the Pearce Institute, Govan (1892).

From the 1890s, restoration became the focus of Anderson's architecture, as major commissions declined. He had already undertaken work at Iona Abbey and Jedburgh Abbey in the 1870s, and now restored Dunblane Cathedral and Paisley Abbey. He became more involved in teaching, helping to set up a School of Applied Art in 1892. In 1903 this merged into the new Edinburgh College of Art, with Anderson as a trustee.

In his later years Anderson became difficult to work with, and was perceived as arrogant. Another partnership, formed in 1899, was dissolved following lawsuits in 1902. Rowand Anderson and Paul was formed in 1904, with Arthur Forman Balfour Paul (who had trained under him from 1892 to 1896), son of Sir James Balfour Paul, the Lord Lyon.

Anderson was knighted in the 1902 Birthday Honours for his work at the Scottish royal residence, Balmoral Castle. In 1916 he was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for architecture.

He retired to Allermuir House on Woodhall Road in Colinton and died there in 1921. He is buried in Warriston Cemetery. The grave is in a hard to find location on a lower level to the south-west, backing onto the western path.

thumb|Gravestone of Sir Robert Rowand Anderson at Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh

The Rowand Anderson practice

Anderson's architectural practice was carried on as Rowand Anderson and Paul (with Paul as sole partner), until Basil Spence and William Kininmonth joined in 1934, forming Rowand Anderson and Paul and Partners. Paul died in 1938, and Spence left in 1945, leaving Kininmonth to carry on as Rowand Anderson, Kininmonth and Paul. When Kininmonth retired in 1976, the firm split, with the Rowand Anderson name taken by Richard Ewing, who had been made a partner around 1971. The Rowand Anderson Partnership is still based in Rutland Square.

References

  • Mansfield Traquair Centre, the former Catholic Apostolic Church in Edinburgh