Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer
551 247
Description Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer
Collection Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer
Catalogue Number 551 247
Category All Other
Scope and Content The Office Drawings. A very large collection comprising: preliminary sketches, surveys, working drawings, related designs by craftsmen for furniture, stained glass, etc., exhibition drawings and some manuscript material covering almost all of the buildings designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and the firm's subsequent partnerships. A few private commissions for members of his family, etc., appear to be missing. The drawings include: Earlshall, his first important work 1892; the Colinton Cottages, Edinburgh from 1893; Brakenburgh and Rowallan 1901; Marly Knowe 1902; Barton Hartshon 1902; Ardkinglas 1906; Lympne Castle 1907; Rhuna-Haven; The Thistle Chapel, St Giles, Edinburgh 1909; Dunderave Castle 1911; Marchmont 1914; Dunrobin Castle 1915; Balmanno 1916; The Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle 1919; Stowe Chapel 1927, etc. The collection also comprises a very large group of designs for War Memorials, both public (including many designs for the Imperial War Graves Commission) and private. Many of the drawings are published in Peter Savage, Lorimer and the Edinburgh Craft Designers. (Source 1941-1991 NMRS Jubilee publication).
Archive History The first accrual of R.S. Lorimer material was in 1978, with the deposit of office plan drawings. Since then, various purchases, gifts and further deposits have increased the extent of the collection; the most recent being in 2022.
System of Arrangement The collection is partially arranged by Lorimer's sketchbooks and plans of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Murrayfield, Edinburgh. The remaining items are not currently arranged as a hierarchy.
Related Material Edinburgh University Library holds the Lorimer papers, 87 boxes of office letters, with some plans of buildings and office details, covering the period 1901-1949. GB 237 Coll-27. Lorimer-related material can also be found in the following HES Archives collections: Architectural drawings of St Mary's Parish Church, Whitekirk, East Lothian, Scotland Scottish Development Department Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh Records of Lorimer and Matthew, architects, Edinburgh, Scotland Records of John Watherston and Sons, builders, Edinburgh, Scotland Papers of John Marshall, sculptor, Edinburgh, Scotland Drawings by Sir Robert Lorimer
Administrative History Sir Robert Stodart Lorimer (1864-1929) was one of Scotland's leading architects of the 20th Century. Born and raised in the New Town of Edinburgh, he was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and later at the University of Edinburgh. He began working at the office of Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, then later moved to London to work in the office of G. F. Bodley, R.A, before returning to Edinburgh. Lorimer became renowned for his restorations of Scottish castles and historic houses, underpinned by his interest in the Arts and Crafts Movement, and his most prestigious projects include the Scottish National War Memorial within Edinburgh Castle, and The Thistle Chapel in St Giles' Cathedral. He married Violet Alicia Wyld (1875-1940) in 1903. The couple had four children: Christopher Lorimer (1904-1991), Hew Lorimer (1907-1993), Daphne Lorimer (1907-1974), and Michael Lorimer (1912-1991). Source: University of Edinburgh Archives - https://archives.collections.ed.ac.uk/agents/people/9699
Accruals Further accruals may be anticipated.
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