Annual Exhibition 2001

The John Kinross Memorial Fund was established in 1982 by Mr J.B Kinross CBE, HRSA, in memory of his father, Mr John Kinross, RSA, architect (1855-1931) to assist young artists and architects from the established centres in Scotland, within the departments of Architecture and Fine Art, to spend three months in Florence.

JOHN KINROSS, RSA. Architect (1855 – 1931)
John Kinross began practice in Edinburgh on his own account in 1882, and in 1885 became architect to the third Marquess of Bute, largely as the result of Bute having read ‘Details from Italian Buildings Chiefly Renaissance’ which Kinross published after spending part of 1880 and 1881 in Northern Italy with Florence as his base. This not only launched him on his career but proved to be a major influence throughout the whole of his life. For fifteen years, until the Marquess’ death in 1900, John Kinross restored a number of historic buildings such as Falkland Palace in Fife, the Augustinian Priory, St Andrews, and the 15th century Franciscan Friary in Elgin (Grey Friars). He built many country houses and by the last decade of the 19th century he had become one of the leading domestic architects in Scotland. Manderston, near Duns in Berwickshire (now a designated house and open to the public) is probably his masterpiece. The Peel, Clovenford; Thurston, Innerwick; Carlkemp, North Berwick and Ardtornish in Argyllshire are other fine examples of his work. His ecclesiastical work included the restoration of the Carmelite Friary Church at South Queensferry and the new Churches for the Scottish Episcopal Church in Fraserburgh and Torry (Aberdeen).