Robert Alexander Bryden (7 July 1841 – 14 April 1906) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the second half of the 19th century. He was mainly active in the west of Scotland, where he designed schools, churches and municipal buildings.
Early life Bryden was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1841, the son of Robert Bryden and Margaret Ramage.Robert Alexander Bryden at ScottishArchitects.org.uk
He was educated at Arthur's Academy in Dunoon, Argyll, and Kirkcaldy Grammar School.
Career In the 1860s, he was an apprentice at Glasgow-based practice Clarke & Bell, of whom he became a partner around 1875.Clarke & Bell & R. A. Bryden – Dictionary of Scottish Architects He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878.
Around 1875, Robert Alexander Bryden, with William Clarke (1809–1889) and George Bell (1814–1887) created the Clarke & Bell & R. A. Bryden, a major architectural firm based in Glasgow. The practice dissolved in 1902,Clarke & Bell & R. A. Bryden – Dictionary of Scottish Architects but several of their designs are now listed buildings.
Selected works Selected works include:Robert Alexander Bryden
Dunoon Burgh Hall (1873)"Jenny Hunter: Halls worth restoring for good of the community" - The Scotsman, 3 August 2017"Robert Mapplethorpe show heads to remote Scottish town of Dunoon" - The Guardian, 24 March 2012Dunoon Burgh Hall - Page Park architectural practice St Cuthbert's Church, Dunoon (1874; now demolished) St John's Church, Dunoon (1876) Martin's Memorial Church, Stornoway (1877-78) Dunoon Infants' School (1880) Broughton Parish Church (rebuilding; 1886) Seafield Children's Hospital (rebuilding; 1888) Lanarkshire Regimental Drill Hall, Glasgow (1894)Lanarkshire Regimental Drill Hall, 21 Jardine Street, Glasgow - Historic Environment Scotland Dunoon Pier and offices (rebuilding; 1896) Sir Charles Cameron Memorial Fountain, Glasgow (1896) – the clocktower dome of the fountain
Personal life Bryden married Elizabeth Robertson, daughter of Alexander Robertson. They had at least one child, a son named Andrew Francis Stewart Bryden (1876–1917), who also became a noted architect and a Fellow of RIBA.Andrew Francis Stewart Bryden at ScottishArchitects.org.ukPage 872 of The Edinburgh Gazette, 17 August 1906 For the final few years of his father's life, the two worked as partners.
Death Bryden died in Glasgow in 1906, aged 64.RIBA Journal, Volume 13 (1906) He is interred in Dunoon Cemetery,Hooray - Dunoon Burgh Hall, June 2017 half a mile to the north of Dunoon Burgh Hall, one of his designs. He is believed to be the subject of the building's stained-glass window.Stained Glass – Dunoon Burgh Hall
References Specific
General Acknowledgment of Bryden as the architect of the former Pearl Association Building (now the Radisson Glasgow) Quarriers Homes CAA Draft Report - Inverclyde Council