Royal
Incorporation of
Architects in
Scotland

The Ian G Lindsay Collection is one of twenty five collections that was catalogued and conserved as part of the Scottish Architects' Papers Preservation Project (SAPPP). From 1999-2004 a total of 195,800 drawings, photographs and manuscripts were catalogued and re-housed to archival standards. 3,000 items received conservation treatment, whilst a further 2,000 were digitally copied, making them readily available for the public to study and enjoy.

The images below show a small selection of the photographs and drawings from the Ian G Lindsay Collection which can be consulted in the public search room from Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm. Click on an image to view the full-size version. Prints of all images can be obtained by contacting RCAHMS directly at info@rcahms.gov.uk quoting the name of the site or building, the SC number, the size and nature of each image required. A price list of services for photographs, digital images and other copies can be found under the price list page.

Ian Gordon Lindsay (1906-1966) was born in Edinburgh and educated at Marlborough and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1926 while still an undergraduate he published 'The Cathedrals of Scotland'. This heralded his enduring interest in the historical buildings of Scotland. Throughout his life he was involved with many more publications, including 'Old Edinburgh' 1939 and 'Georgian Edinburgh' 1948, in which a number of the buildings he was to tackle in practice at a later date is discussed. On finishing his studies he served a short apprenticeship with Reginald Fairlie (1883-1952) and by 1931 he had made the move into independent practice joining B N H Orphoot (1880-1964) and F E Whiting who operated from 21 Alva Street, Edinburgh.

In 1938 Orphoot, Whiting and Lindsay were asked to work on two of their most prestigious projects, an all-embracing restoration scheme to the monastery at Pluscarden and the complete renovation of Cannongate Kirk Edinburgh, where they carried out work including the removal of a vast organ. This provided views of the apse and allowed, once more, an appreciation of the finely proportioned interior spaces. In 1948 the practice was commissioned to work on William Burn's Leith Parish Church, 1813. A large combined organ and pulpit was removed and replaced with a modest classical pulpit by Scott Morton & Co. The work carried out at Leith is typical of their approach to the parish church showing the pattern for many similar restorations carried out by the practice throughout Scotland.

In the years before the Second World War Ian Lindsay became involved with the 4th Marquis of Bute and his concern for the future of Scotland's towns and villages. This led to a survey of buildings considered worthy of conservation. These activities were interrupted by the war, however the first steps had been taken and the documentation Linsday prepared in the 1930s set a precedent for the current listing system and the formation of The Scottish National Buildings Record, now the National Monuments Record of Scotland.

The war brought changes to the practice and in around 1940 the firm relocated to Well House, Belmont Road, Edinburgh. This address was also Orphoot's family home, the practice resided there until 1952. In c.1953 the practice moved to 17 Great Stuart Street, Edinburgh and became known as Ian G Lindsay and Partners.

In the years following the war there is a significant shift in attitude towards the preservation of Scotland's domestic architecture. Housing associations were formed, first for Culross and then for Dunkeld, to obtain grant aid for the restoration and adaptation of their traditional buildings. Ian Lindsay was appointed by the National Trust to tackle the reconstruction of the dilapidated 16th and 17th century domestic buildings in Culross. In 1953 the practice began work in Dunkeld restoring the small houses at the Cross. Many similar projects followed illustrating the practice's ability to adapt historic buildings to life in the 20th century.

One such project was the 18th century planned Burgh town of Inveraray, part of the estate of the Duke of Argyll. By 1949, when the 11th Duke of Argyll inherited his seat, the building stock of the town of Inveraray was in a poor condition. The cost of the repairs required were prohibitively expensive to the Estate and so the properties were handed over to the Ministry of Works, with ownership passing to the Town Council. Ian G Lindsay and Partners were commissioned to undertake a comprehensive improvement scheme to the town from 1958 to 1963. Of the 103 properties to be tackled only 13 had bathroom facilities, many internal walls and floors were rotten and there was widespread problems with leaking roofs.

The practice made detailed survey notes and sketches of the buildings in their existing state before any works were begun, as well as a comprehensive photographic survey of the town in c.1957. The works, carried out in two phases, also included some new construction such as the new cottages 'Fisherrow', which replaced the redundant outbuildings to the rear of 'Relief Land'.

'Relief Land' was a tenement terrace containing single apartment dwellings to which shared external bathroom facilities had been added in the early 20th century. Lindsay's improvements increased the size of the apartments by removing the original partitions and including internal private bathroom and kitchen facilities to accommodate modern family living. In order to retain the character of Inveraray's streetscape all external changes such as fenestration were confined to the rear elevations, including the controversial new external concrete entrance stairs to the rear of 'Relief Land'. This control was extended to the details such as a complete set of designs for shops signs for Main Street.

Lindsay's commitment to restore the town is illustrated by a proposal scheme to rebuild the Spire of Inveraray Parish church, built by Robert Mylne in 1802, and taken down for safety in 1941. This scheme remained unexecuted due to a lack of funds.

Throughout the 1950s to the 1970s, Ian Lindsay and Partners traveled the length and breadth of Scotland working on the restoration of not just small scale domestic dwellings but castles, country houses and churches. They received many Civic Trust awards for protecting and enhancing the architectural heritage of Scotland.

During the later years of the practice history they received projects for the University of Edinburgh, including the reinstatement of St Cecilia's concert hall and the conversion of Milnes Court to student halls of residence, both dating from the 1960s.

Ian G Lindsay died in 1966. The work carried out by the practice on Iona Abbey could perhaps be regarded as his epitaph. Arguably considered his most famous and important work it became a lifetimes occupation, a task he approached with affinity and affection. His wish was for his ashes to be scattered within the sights and sounds of Iona.