MacGibbon and Ross

MacGibbon and Ross

Company type	Partnership
Industry	Architecture
Founded	1872
Founder	David MacGibbon, Thomas Ross
Defunct	1914
Headquarters	Edinburgh , Scotland
Products	Architectural designs, publications on Scottish architecture

David MacGibbon (2 April 1831 – 20 February 1902) and Thomas Ross (10 November 1839 – 4 December 1930) were prominent Scottish architects whose partnership, known as MacGibbon and Ross, was active from 1872 until 1914. They are distinguished for their detailed documentation of Scotland’s architectural heritage.

David MacGibbon

Born in Edinburgh into a family engaged in building, David MacGibbon LLD received his early education at the Royal High School, Edinburgh. He studied at the University of Edinburgh between 1846 and 1849 but did not complete a degree. In 1851, he began working in the London office of architect William Burn and spent much of the 1850s traveling across Europe for architectural study. By 1856, he had entered into partnership with his father Charles, concentrating primarily on residential architecture.

By 1858, MacGibbon had opened his own practice in Edinburgh and was appointed architect to the Merchant Company of Edinburgh, managing projects related to city schools. From 1861 onward, taking over from David Rhind, he served as principal architect for the Royal Bank of Scotland, designing numerous branches throughout Scotland, including those in Dunfermline, Kilmarnock, and Montrose. Thomas Ross joined as his assistant in 1862 and became a partner a decade later, establishing the firm MacGibbon and Ross.

In 1865, MacGibbon married Jessie Vannan Rintoul and purchased the Laggan estate near Ballantrae. They constructed a home there and owned additional properties within Edinburgh’s Dean Village and Grange Loan districts. However, financial difficulties following the collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank in the early 1880s compelled them to sell these holdings.

MacGibbon was elected president of the Edinburgh Architectural Association in 1880 and delivered lectures on Scottish castles and country residences. His extensive on-site investigations formed the foundation for The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland. After suffering a family loss in 1884, he temporarily moved to the French Riviera for his daughter’s health and authored The Architecture of the Riviera (1888). Upon returning to Scotland, he resumed his architectural surveys and produced further works such as The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland. A collaborative continental project with his son Alfred during the 1890s remained unfinished.

A heart condition caused by his heavy workload restricted his later professional activity. Despite this, he published The Five Great Churches of Galloway in 1899 but was too unwell to accept an honorary degree from the University of St Andrews. Residing at 23 Learmonth Terrace with an office located at 65 Frederick Street in Edinburgh’s New Town, MacGibbon passed away in 1902. He was survived by his wife, son, and three daughters. His grave is situated in Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh, adjacent to that of Jessie.

Thomas Ross

Thomas Ross (10 November 1839 – 4 December 1930), a Scottish architect born in Errol, Perth and Kinross, trained under Alexander Kirkland and Charles Wilson before joining David MacGibbon’s Edinburgh practice in 1862. Elevated to partner status in 1872, Ross played a key role in their influential publications on Scottish architecture. These works enhanced their reputation and led to numerous restoration commissions despite some projects remaining unrealized and an overall decline in business activity.

After MacGibbon’s death in 1902, his son Alfred took over his position within the firm. Ross became one of the founding commissioners of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) in 1908 and was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Edinburgh in 1910. He also presented the Rhind lectures on Scottish architecture that same year. The partnership dissolved in 1914 following Fred MacGibbon’s resignation due to ill health.

Although retiring officially in 1916, Ross continued to undertake minor commissions. During wartime restrictions, he was notably fined for sketching Rossend Castle. In 1918, he was elected as Professor of Antiquities at the Royal Scottish Academy. Passing away at age ninety-one, Ross left behind an architect son, James MacLaren Ross, along with two daughters. He is interred at Comely Bank Cemetery in Edinburgh.

Published works

Ross collaborated on comprehensive studies of Scottish architecture, drawing from thorough site examinations and precise measured drawings:

• The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland spanning the twelfth through eighteenth centuries, consisting of 5 volumes (1887–92)
• The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland covering from early Christian periods to the seventeenth century, presented in 3 volumes (1896–97)