William Bruce (architect)

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William Bruce 1664, painting by Wright

Sir William Bruce, 1st Baronet (* 1630 in Blairhall , Fife (Scotland) , † January 1, 1710 ) was a Scottish architect of Palladianism . He is considered the founder of classical architecture in Scotland .

Life

Kinross House , about 1684–1695

William Bruce was the second son of local laird Robert Bruce of Blairhall, a dedicated partisan of the Stuarts . William also followed this political direction throughout his life. In 1665 he bought the Balcaskie estate near St Monans . On October 21, 1668 Charles II awarded him the hereditary title of Baronet , of Balcaskie in Scotland in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia ; In 1671 he appointed him the responsible architect and appraiser for the royal palaces ( King's Surveyor and Master of Works ). In 1675 he bought the territorial Barony Kinross from the 9th Earl of Morton with lands around Loch Leven and the town of Kinross . In 1698 he sold his Balcaskie estate to Sir Robert Anstruther, 1st Baronet.

From 1669 to 1674 he was Member of Parliament for Fifeshire and from 1681 to 1682 for Kinross-shire . However, his hopes to rise to the higher nobility were not fulfilled. After the death of his employer and patron Charles II and the Glorious Revolution in 1688/89, Sir William fell out of favor as a Jacobite and was imprisoned again and again until the end of his life, although never convicted.

Sir William was married to Mary Halkett, daughter of Sir James Halkett, with whom he had two children: Anne Bruce and his heir Sir John Bruce, 2nd Baronet († 1710).

plant

William Bruce is considered to be one of the most important pioneers of the classical Palladian architecture in Scotland and Britain . Examples of significant and characteristic works include: the fundamental rebuilding of the manor house of his first Balcaskie estate, the extensive expansion and redesign of Holyrood Palace into a contemporary baroque palace, the new construction of Hopetoun House and the representative expansion of Thirlestane Castle .

In many respects perhaps his most important work was his second country estate, Kinross House, with the line of sight reaching through the ornately landscaped gardens to Loch Leven Castle , of which he had become lord of the castle by purchasing the land in 1675.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Sir William Bruce. Gazetteer for Scotland, accessed October 3, 2013 .
  2. ↑ Sir William Bruce. Oxford Reference, accessed October 6, 2013 .
  3. ^ Sir William Bruce, 1st Baronet, of Balcaskie. spokeo.com, accessed October 6, 2013 .
  4. ^ The Country House Revealed. The Country Seat, May 17, 2011, accessed October 4, 2013 .
  5. ↑ a b Sir William Bruce. Undiscovered Scotland, accessed October 3, 2013 .
  6. ↑ a b c Sir William Bruce of Kinross, 1st Bt. On thepeerage.com , accessed October 3, 2013.
  7. ↑ George Wardlaw Burnet:  Bruce, William (d.1710) . In: Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 7, New York City / London, 1886, pp 131 - 132 (English).
  8. ↑ Sir William Bruce. National Galleries of Scotland, accessed October 3, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Bruce, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bruce, Sir William, 1st Baronet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Scottish architect
DATE OF BIRTH 1630
PLACE OF BIRTH Blairhall , Fife (Scotland)
DATE OF DEATH January 1, 1710