Thomas Beveridge ARSA 1888 -1964

Thomas Johnston Beveridge, son of Robert Beveridge, a Law Clerk, wasborninEdinburghon15thJuly,1888. He was educated at Bruntsfield School, and joined the firm of Scott Morton Ltd., where he served for one year in the Carving Shop and about four years in the Drawing Office. During this period, he attended the architectural classes at Edinburgh College of Art and was awarded the National Art Survey Scholarship in 1908, and a Travelling Bursary in 1910.

Mr. Beveridge was resident in Edinburgh until 1924, and during that period he was an assistant in the office of John Kinross, R.S.A.: worked on the measured drawings for a book "English Renaissance Wood- work 1660-1730", published in 1921; and setup practice at 22 Ainslie Place in 1920. He served in France with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders from 1914 to 1918.

He moved to Glasgow in 1924 and, after serving as Assistant Quartering Commandant in Hamilton from 1940 to 1947, he re-started private practice in partnership with J, E, Dallachy at 248 West George Street, Glasgow. Mr. Beveridge's great interest was in domestic building of a traditional character: he had an exceptional knowledge of Scottish architectural detail in timber and stone.

In addition to the normal of a busy architectural practice, he found time to design furniture and ship interiors, and to collaborate with the structural engineers in the design of a number of steel and concrete bridges erected for Scotland's roads. He had a marked flair for ecclesiastical woodwork, and delightful examples of his oak furniture are in the Blacader Aisle of Glasgow Cathedral. All his works show painstaking regard for the subtle detail and fine craftsmanship, and bear evidence of the influence of Lutyens and Lorimer.

He was elected an Associate of. the Royal Scottish Academy in 1957, and his fellow Members will remember him for his kindly, warm-hearted qualities; the charming country houses, schools, and Church works which he carried out in the West of Scotland remain as a tribute to his skill. Tom Beveridge died in the Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow, on 25th July, 1964. He is survived by his wife.

RSA Obituary by William MacTaggart & WM. H. Kininmonth, transcribed from the 1964 RSA Annual Report.