// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Ross say to Macbeth? "You're a real killer salesman.
Ross & Macbeth was an architectural practice based in Inverness, Scotland, active from 1887 until 1907. It was formed by Alexander Ross and his former assistant Robert John Macbeth. The practice carried out a large number of commissions, principally in the Highlands, including churches, schools, houses and commercial and estate buildings.[1][2]
History
[edit]Alexander Ross had taken over his father's architectural practice in Inverness in 1853 and subsequently worked in partnership with William Joass and David Mackintosh. Robert John Macbeth was born in Elgin on 9 November 1857. He trained with Alexander Marshall Mackenzie in Elgin and Aberdeen between 1872 and 1877, remaining as an assistant before joining Ross's practice in 1880.[1]
Ross and Macbeth entered into partnership in 1887. Ross was admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1893, and Macbeth became a fellow in 1906.[1] The Dictionary of Scottish Architects records 299 buildings and designs associated with the practice.[1]
The partnership ended in late 1907. Ross wanted to take his son, John Alistair Ross, into partnership, and the practice subsequently became Alexander Ross & Son. Macbeth continued to practise independently until his death in 1912.[1]
Architecture and works
[edit]Ross & Macbeth worked in a variety of architectural styles. The former Inverness Royal Academy building, constructed between 1893 and 1895, was designed in a style influenced by the French Renaissance and the Beaux-Arts movement. Historic Environment Scotland describes it as one of the first purpose-built large secondary school buildings in the Highlands.[2]
At Skibo Castle, the practice remodelled and greatly enlarged an earlier house for industrialist Andrew Carnegie around the turn of the 20th century. The resulting building is a large Scottish Baronial castellated mansion, while Ross & Macbeth also designed several estate buildings including the dairy, coach house, swimming pool and principal gate lodge.[3]
Dunbeg House at North Ballachulish, designed in 1902–03, was markedly different from much of the practice's other work. Historic Environment Scotland describes it as among Ross & Macbeth's most distinctive designs, combining elements of an Alpine chalet with Scottish architecture, the Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau.[4]
Selected works
[edit]- Free North Church, Bank Street, Inverness, 1889–93.[5]
- Additions to the Old High Church, Inverness, 1891.[6]
- Former Inverness Royal Academy, St Stephen's Street, Inverness, 1893–95.[2]
- 2–10 Queensgate, Inverness, 1894.[7]
- Additions to the Royal Northern Infirmary and the Tweedmouth Memorial Chapel, Inverness, 1896–98.[8]
- Skibo Castle, near Dornoch, alterations and additions, c. 1900.[9]
- St Leonard's Church, Forres, 1901–03.[10]
- Dunbeg House, North Ballachulish, 1902–03.[4]
- St Michael & All Angels, Inverness, 1903.[11]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "Ross & Macbeth". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Former Inverness Royal Academy Building and Lodge, including boundary wall, railings and gatepiers, St Stephen's Street, Inverness". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Skibo Castle". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Dunbeg House including gatepiers and boundary walls, North Ballachulish". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Free North Church, Bank Street, Inverness". Highland Historic Environment Record. Highland Council. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ Banerjee, Jacqueline. "Old High Church, Inverness, with additions by Alexander Ross (1834–1925) and Robert Macbeth (1857–1912)". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "2–10 (Even Numbers Only) Queensgate". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Ness Walk, Royal Northern Infirmary and Tweedmouth Memorial Chapel". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Skibo Castle and Garden Terraces, Walled Garden and Glasshouses". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "High Street, St Leonard's Church". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
- ↑ "Abban Street and Lochalsh Road, St Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2026.
External links
[edit]- "Ross & Macbeth". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Historic Environment Scotland.