Ian Begg (architect)

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Ian Begg
Headshot of Ian Begg
Ian Begg (2013)
Born
Ian McKerron Begg

(1925-06-23)23 June 1925
Kirkcaldy, Scotland
Died26 November 2017(2017-11-26) (aged 92)
Plockton, Scotland
Resting placeBalmacara Cemetery
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materEdinburgh College of Art
OccupationArchitect
Spouses
  • Agnes
  • Ruth née Fisken
PartnerLennox Savage
Children5
AwardsNigel Tranter Memorial Award
PracticeIan Begg Architect

Ian McKerron Begg (23 June 1925 – 26 November 2017) was a Scottish architect, known for his work with Scottish castles and their restoration. He attended the Edinburgh College of Art and he served in World War II; he trained with the United States Navy to become a pilot in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.

Begg led the restoration of many castles including Muckrach Castle. He also built his own tower house castle which was completed in 1992. He named the tower house "Ravens' Craig" and it is four storeys tall. He has served as an adviser for the National Trust for Scotland and vice president of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland.

Early life[edit]

Begg was born in Kirkcaldy, Scotland on 23 June 1925. He went to Kirkcaldy High School and then Edinburgh College of Art. He served in the Second World War, having spent one year at Glasgow University Naval Division, before training with the United States Navy to become a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. When he was 22, he completed a 135-mile (217 km) trek around Scotland.[1][2] In 1951, Begg apprenticed with Harry Hubbard in Kirkcaldy before joining Neil and Hurd Architects firm in Edinburgh.[3]

Career[edit]

He became the sole partner of Neil and Hurd Architects in 1963 when Robert Hurd died. The firm merged with another company in 1965, and Begg stayed until 1983.[3]: 43  In the early 1970s, Begg also presented programmes on BBC Television on "The Scottish House".[1] In 1984, he set up the Ian Begg Architect company with Raymond Muszynski as a partner because he felt that his previous company had become too large.[3] He left the company in 2000, which was then renamed Né Begg and it became Morris and Steedman Associates in 2002.[4]

Begg was interim director of the Edinburgh New Town Conservation Committee when it was formed in 1971, interim director of the Edinburgh Old Town Committee for Conservation and Renewal in 1984–1985, and an Adviser on Architecture for the Edinburgh Old Town Charitable Trust. He also taught architectural design, was an adviser for the National Trust for Scotland, and was vice president of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland.[3] He retired in 2009.[1]

Awards and honours[edit]

Begg was a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (FRIAS), member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (FSAScot), Honorary Member of the Saltire Society, a Fellow of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, and resigned from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1984. In 2013, he won the Nigel Tranter Memorial Award.[5]

Castles and other buildings[edit]

The restored Muckrach Castle
Scandic Crown Hotel, High Street, Edinburgh

Begg led the restoration of Muckrach Castle in 1978–1985.[3][6] He said, "it was one of the high points in my life, as an architect".[3]: 44  He has worked on the restoration of many other Scottish castles, such as Tillycairn Castle,[7] Lauriston Castle,[8] Aboyne Castle,[9] and Dairsie Castle.[10] He also designed and built other buildings, such as the St Mungo Museum of Comparative Religion at Glasgow Cathedral.[11]: 309–310 [12][13]

Begg designed the Scandic Crown Hotel, Edinburgh in 1988–1989.[11]: 311 [14][15][16] He later designed a faux-Scottish castle luxury hotel in China, complete with a winery and a great hall to sit 100 people.[11]: 311–315 [17]

Ravens' Craig[edit]

Ravens' Craig tower house castle in Plockton, Lochalsh was designed by Begg and built from the ground up and completed in 1992.[18] It was so named in part because Begg was in Ravenscraig House when he was at school.[11]: 308  It took 6 years to build and its layout is based on his experience working with other castles, but with some modern features like underfloor heating and a lift shaft to aid in bringing logs to the main hall.[2][18] The main hall is 5 m (16 ft) by 7.27 m (23.9 ft), with the size dictated by a triangular pattern on the ceiling. The ground floor, where the dining room is located, is vaulted.[11]: 308  It has living space on four storeys, with a circular staircase leading to bedrooms on the upper levels, said to be based on a Francesco Borromini church in Rome (San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane).[18][11]: 307  The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland organised a tour of the tower house for about 50 people in 2010.[11]: 308 [19] The tower house was eventually listed for sale at over £725,000.[20] and it was said to be one of his finest works.[21] When asked why he decided to sell his home he told The Sunday Post,[2]

I'm 90 now and can no longer walk as well as I could. So we are moving into Plockton itself, two-and-a-half miles away. Then I will be able to walk to the pub and the shop. I'm sorry, up to a point, to leave but I have come to accept change is necessary."

Personal life[edit]

He was married to his first wife Agnes and they had two children. They had a daughter and a son; their son died in 1990. Ian had two daughters with a partner named Lennox Savage. He then married Ruth née Fisken and became a stepfather to her daughter Lisa. In his 2017 obituary, it was noted that he had two grandchildren.[22]

Begg retired from architectural work in December 2009.[1] After retirement, he continued to write about historical subjects. In 2015, he wrote about Scottish neolithic carved stone balls.[12][23] Begg died on 26 November 2017 and is buried in Balmacara Cemetery.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Ian Begg Architect Retired. Plockton North West Highlands". Ian Begg Architect. 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2017.
  2. ^ a b c McDonald, Sally (11 October 2015). "A towering achievement". The Sunday Post. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Clow, Robert, ed. (2000). Restoring Scotland's Castles. Glasgow: John Smith & Son. pp. 42–53. ISBN 978-0-900673-26-9.
  4. ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects – Robert Russell Steedman". www.scottisharchitects.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. ^ "The Nigel Tranter Memorial Award 2013". The Scottish Castles Association. 2013. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Muckrach Castle: History". muckrachcastle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Tillycairn Castle | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Historic Environment Scotland. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. ^ Deeside and the Mearns, An Illustrated Architectural Guide, Jane Geddes, 2001, Rutland Press (Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland).
  9. ^ "Aboyne Castle". British Listed Buildings. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. ^ Ruffle, Chris (April 1996). "The Fall and Rise of Dairsie Castle". www.dairsiecastle.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Begg, Ian (2011). "Chapter 16: Castles in the Modern Age". In Audrey Dakin; Miles Glendinning; Aonghus MacKechnie (eds.). Scotland's Castle Culture. Edinburgh: John Donald. pp. 307–316. ISBN 978-1-906566-33-3.
  12. ^ a b Ross, Shan (31 December 2015). "Highlands to get 'Neolithic' inspired planetarium". The Scotsman. National World Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023.
  13. ^ "St Mungo Museum of Religious Life & Art". What's On Glasgow. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Edinburgh, 80 High Street, Scandic Crown Hotel". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  15. ^ Begg, Ian (1990). "Filling the gap: the Scandic Crown Hotel". Prospect. No. 39. pp. 23–4.
  16. ^ "Radisson SAS". Urban Realm. 6 April 2006. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  17. ^ Williams, Martin (20 May 2012). "The fund manager, the scandal and a life of luxury at Scots castle built in China". The Herald. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  18. ^ a b c Walsh, Susan (24 September 2015). "There's more to this distinctive Highland home than meets the eye. Can you see it?". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  19. ^ Parnell, Tom (2010). "Autumn Magazine 2010". AHSS Magazine. Vol. 28. Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  20. ^ "Craig – Plockton, IV52". Strutt & Parker. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  21. ^ Jack, Malcolm. "Ravenscraig Tower in Wester Ross is on the market for offers over £725,000". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022.
  22. ^ "Obituary: Ian Begg". The Times. 2 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  23. ^ Begg, Ian (2017). "Scottish Neolithic carved stone balls". Ian Begg Architect. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Ian BEGG Obituary (2017)". The Scotsman. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2024 – via Legacy.com.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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