John Bryan Nisbet [also known as John Nisbet] was born in Kilmaurs, Ayr, Scotland, in 1863 [or 1862 - sources differ]. He trained as an architect with
John Russell Walker (1847-1891) of Sutherland & Walker in Edinburgh from 1876 to 1881 and studied at Herriott Watt College and Edinburgh School of Art. He worked as an assistant to Charles George Hodd Kinnear (1830-1894) and John More Dick Peddie (1853-1921) of Kinnear & Peddie; William Clarke (1809-1889), George Bell (1814-1887), and George Bell (1854-1915) of Clarke & Bell in Glasgow for three years; to John McLachlan (1843-1893) in Edinburgh for three years; and to Robert Morham (1839-1912) for five years.
Nisbet set up his own independent practice in Edinburgh in 1905. Photographs of the entrance hall, dining room and drawing room of a house designed by Nisbet are featured in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1906 (pp.7, 11, 31). He was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1911. He lived for throughout his career as an architect in Edinburgh. He died on 18 January 1930.
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
'Obituary'. RIBA Journal vol. 37, 24 May 1930 p. 525