James Marjoribanks MacLaren [also known as James M. MacLaren and as James MacLaren] was born in Kincardine, Perthshire, Scotland [1] on 12 January 1853 and was articled to James Salmon (1805-1888) of Salmon, Son & Ritchie in Glasgow from c.1868 to 1872. After working briefly as an assistant in the office of James Salmon & Son in Glasgow he moved to London, where he worked as an assistant to Campbell Douglas (1828-1910) and James Sellars (1843-1888) of Campbell Douglas & Sellars from 1873 to 1875; to John James Stevenson (1831-1908) and Edward Robert Robson (1835-1917) of Stevenson & Robson in 1875; to Charles Henry Howell (1823?-1905) from 1875 to c.1881; to Richard Coad (1825-1900) from c.1875 to c.1883; and to William Young (1843-1900) from c.1881 to c.1883.
In 1883 MacLaren formed a partnership with Coad as Coad & MacLaren. The practice had an office at 3, Duke Street, Adelphi, London. The partnership was dissolved in 1887 and MacLaren set up his own independent practice nearby at 21 King William Street. During his years in London, MacLaren attended the Royal Academy Schools and in 1886 was elected a member of the Art Workers Guild.
Maclaren's buildings crystallised the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s and he is acknowledged as "the pathfinder for Charles Rennie Mackintosh's uniquely personal interpretation and development of Scottish traditional architecture" [2]
MacLaren died in Hampstead, London on 20 October 1890.
A biographical file on James Marjoribanks MacLaren is available on request from the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects Library, London
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[1] Source: 1861 Scotland Census
[2] Calder, Alan. 'Masters of building. James MacLaren. Making a modern architecture inspired by history'. The Architects' Journal vol. 191, no. 3, 17 January 1990 p. 36
Avondhu House, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire (1877); Avon Hall, Grangemouth, Stirlingshire (1877); Presbyterian Church Schools and Lecture Hall, Longsight, Manchester (1881); St Hydren's Church, Lansallos, Cornwall (1884); Lanhydrock House in Lanhydrock, Cornwall, with Coad (1885); Cottages, Eastnor, Hertfordshire (c.1886); Police housing, Fortingale, Perthshire (1886-89); Hotel Santa Catalina, Gran Canaria (1887-89); Aberfeldy Town Hall, Aberfeldy, Perthshire (1888-90); House and studio, Avonmore Road, London (1888); Kirkton Cottages, Fortingall, Perthshire (1889); Farmhouse and farm buildings, Glenlyon, Perthshire (1889); Presbyterian Church of St James, Dulwich, London, with Dunn & Watson (1889); and 10 and 12 Palace Court, Bayswater, London (1889-91). Other projects by MacLaren included Bowringsleigh, Kingsbridge, Devon; new wing, Ledbury Park, Ledbury, Herefordshire; new wing, High School of Stirling; and Ripple Court, Kent; Wembley Tower, London.
See also Dictionary of Scottish Architects
Source of Images
Calder, Alan. James MacLaren 1853-1890 : Arts and Crafts architect. RIBA Heinz Gallery, 1990 [Exhibition catalogue]
Calder, Alan. James MacLaren: Arts and Crafts Pioneer. Donnington: Shaun Tyas, 2003
Calder, Alan. ‘Masters of building. James MacLaren. Making a modern architecture inspired by history’. Architects’ Journal vol. 191, no. 3, 17 January 1990 pp. 34-53
Calder, Alan. ‘Re-evaluating MacLaren’. RIBA Journal vol. 97, no. 2, February 1990 pp. 46-48.
Carruthers, Annette. The Arts and Crafts Movement in Scotland: a history. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Goodhart-Rendal, H. S. ‘Rogue architects of the Victorian era’. RIBA Journal vol. 54, 1949 pp. 257-259
Hamilton, Alec. Arts & Crafts Churches. London: Lund Humphries, 2020
McAra, Duncan. ‘James MacLaren (1853-90): an architect for connoisseurs’. Scottish Art Review no. 4, 1970 pp.28-33
Powers, Alan. ‘Magic moments’. [Review of of James MacLaren: Arts and Crafts Pioneer (2003)] Building Design 30 January 2004 p.18
Service, Alastair. ‘James MacLaren and the Godwin legacy’ in Edwardian Architecture and its Origins. Edited by Alastair Service. London: The Architectural Press Ltd., 1975 pp. 100-118
Service, Alastair. ‘James MacLaren and the Godwin legacy’. Architectural Review vol. 154, no. 918, August 1973 pp. 111-118.
Stamp, Gavin. The English House 1860-1914. Catalogue of an exhibition of photographs and drawings. London: InternationalArchitect and the Building Centre Trust, 1980 p. 33
Stamp, Gavin. ‘Hidden talents’. [Review of of James MacLaren: Arts and Crafts Pioneer (2003)] Architects’ Journal 29 January 2004 p. 28
Walker, David M. ‘Review’ [Review of of James MacLaren: Arts and Crafts Pioneer (2003)] Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society Journal no. 86, Spring 2004 pp.18-20
Walker, David. ‘Mackintosh’s Scottish antecedents’ in Mackintosh and his Contemporaries in Europe and America, edited by Patrick Nuttgens. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1988 pp. 32-38
Walker, David. ‘The early work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’. Architectural Review vol. 144, 1968 pp. 355-363
‘Obituary’. Building News vol. 59 p. 672
‘Obituary’. British Architect vol. 34. 7 November 1890 pp. 340-341, 361
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 59, 1890 p. 348