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Records of Haxton and Watson, architects, Leven, Fife, Scotland

551 102

Description Records of Haxton and Watson, architects, Leven, Fife, Scotland

Date 1875 to 1960

Collection Records of Haxton and Watson, architects, Leven, Fife, Scotland

Catalogue Number 551 102

Category All Other

Scope and Content The Collection consists of around 15,000 items relating to buildings in North East Fife, of which 7,340 have been catalogued. The catalogued material dates from the 1910s to the 1960s and largely consists of drawings from the 1930s. These include several social housing schemes built by the practice and all papers for cinemas, hospitals, co-operative societies, public halls, schools and churches. There is also a small amount of manuscript material relating to job specifications and correspondence with contractors. The drawings are mostly in graphite on tracing paper or mechanical copies and include a number of colour elevations.

Archive History The Collection was compiled by the practice between 1907 and around 1985. It was presented to RCAHMS in 1985 by David Moir, the senior partner in David Moir, Architect, as the firm required additional storage space. 7,340 items from this Collection were catalogued and conserved as part of the Scottish Architects' Papers Preservation Project (SAPPP) between 1999 and 2004.

System of Arrangement The Collection was indexed on a spreadsheet prior to cataloguing. Each of the original 841 sealed rolls and 28 parcels were inscribed with a letter and number corresponding to a practice job book, dated 1963, that is now held in the public search room. Each job was originally filed alphabetically according to a specific job or site. The exceptions to this rule are the two building types of cinemas and social housing which were given their own codes. During SAPPP, all items for each building were grouped together into projects. Projects are then grouped by decade, with all projects numbered by the earliest decade in which they appeared. Material not catalogued during SAPPP is handlisted and stored off-site.

Related Material The practice job book is held in the RCAHMS public search room. RIBA nomination papers are held in the RIBA Archive at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Access Conditions Access is unrestricted, except where conservation concerns exist. An appointment is necessary in order to view material that is stored off-site.

Administrative History Andrew David Haxton (1878-1960) began a five-year apprenticeship with the St Andrews firm of Gillespie & Scott in 1893. He continued as an assistant for a further eighteen months, during which time he attended evening classes and was awarded prizes by the Dundee Institute of Architects for measured drawing. Between 1900 and 1901, he worked as an assistant to Thomas Edward Marshall (c.1860-1940), Harrogate and then to Thomson & Sandiland, Glasgow. Haxton returned to Gillespie & Scott in 1901 and worked as chief assistant with the firm for the following 6 years. William Walker (1881-1923) worked for Gillespie & Scott from 1898-c.1906, first as an apprentice and then assistant. He then joined J D Swanston & Syme, Kirkcaldy as an assistant for a year. After this he was briefly engaged in competition work on his own account and produced the winning entry for a block of business premises in Leven. Haxton & Walker began independent practice in 1907 at 3 High Street, Leven and on 24 June 1912 both partners were admitted LRIBA. Walker was injured during the Great War and gave up his share in the partnership around this time. He died in 1923 and Haxton continued the practice under his own name, moving to Commercial Road, Leven in 1930. He was elected President of the Dundee Chapter of the RIAS from the 1943 to 1945. After the war, Adam Elliot Watson (1908-1996) became a partner and the business became A D Haxton & Watson at the new address of 5 Scoonie Place, Leven. Adam Watson was born in Glasgow in 1908 and qualified from Glasgow School of Architecture in 1935. He became Associate (later Fellow) of the RIBA in the same year, serving his apprenticeship with Wylie Shanks & Wylie of Glasgow. Whilst working for a London firm of architects he applied to join the Royal Engineers but was ‘reserved’ and between 1935 and 1947 he undertook the building and rebuilding of factories in England. After setting up practice with Haxton, Watson became an Associate Member of the RIAS in 1948, and a Fellow in 1953. The practice commissions reflect the changes in Fife society brought about by the boom in the coal and steel industry in the middle decades of the 20th century. Social housing developments were needed to house increased numbers of workers in urban areas and these new communities required buildings to accommodate the services of health, entertainment, education and religion. They established a particular reputation for cinema design, the majority of which were Art Deco buildings. Andrew Haxton retired around 1950 to the house that he had designed with Frank Pride, The Pines, 13 (now 28) Buchanan Gardens, St Andrews. Adam Watson retired in c.1973. The practice continued until c.1984 when it was incorporated into the practice of David Moir, Architect.

Accruals No further accruals are expected.

Accession Number 2003/123

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1176401

Collection Hierarchy - Collection Level

Collection Level (551 102) Records of Haxton and Watson, architects, Leven, Fife, Scotland

Preview Category Catalogue Number Title Date Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001188 Section showing alternative lattice girder for cinema. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001189 Section of auditorium showing rake of floor and radiator recesses. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001190 Section showing shoe of truss. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001191 Section of auditorium showing rake of floor and radiator recesses. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001192 Plan and section showing various roof trusses. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001193 Elevations showing details of doors. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001194 Section showing roof trusses. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001195 Plan and elevations showing detail of faience work. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001196 Full size details of precast terrazzo steps. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001517 Details of doorway from foyer to balcony. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001518 Details of panelling in foyer. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001519 Details of windows. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001520 Details of pre-cast terrazzo steps from entrance hall to foyer. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001521 Section showing position and dimentions of well required for footlight lamps. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001522 Details of equipment. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001523 Detail of doors and windows. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001524 Block plan. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001197 Plan and elevation of column and cove. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001198 Elevations showing panneling in entrance hall. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001199 Elevation of roof. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001200 Plan of roof. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001201 Plan, section and elevation showing detail of ridge ventilator. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001202 Plan and section of roof. Item Level
On-line Digital Images On-line Digital Images DP 001203 Plan and elevations of screen carrier. Item Level

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