William Mylne
Encyclopedia
William Mylne was a Scottish
architect
and engineer
. He is best known as the builder of the North Bridge
, which links the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
, Scotland
. He was the younger brother of Robert Mylne
, architect and designer of Blackfriars Bridge in London.
to designs by William Adam. Like his elder brother Robert
, William attended the Royal High School
. He then served time as an apprentice stonemason.
under the architect Jacques-François Blondel
. As well as part-time study, he also undertook paid work, learning the art of marble
carving, to supplement the minimal allowance from his father. The following year, at the suggestion of James Nevay, a fellow Scot in France, Mylne proposed to his father that he be allowed to go on to Rome
to study architecture, with a view to eventually setting up practice in London. The result was that his elder brother Robert
joined him in Paris, and they travelled to Rome together. Robert had recently completed his apprenticeship, and was preparing to take over the family business. He arrived in France by the end of November 1754, and the brothers set off a few days later. Travelling mostly by foot, due to lack of funds, they visited Avignon
and Marseilles, where they took a boat to Civitavecchia
, and arrived at Rome in early 1755.
The brothers lodged on the Via del Condotti, although they were continually short of funds. They encountered Robert Adam
, a fellow Scot also studying architecture, although Adam was disdainful of the Mylnes' poor situation; the Mylnes had a joint allowance of just £45 a year, compared to Adam's annual expenditure of around £800. They visited Naples
in May 1756, but William was planning to leave by September, on account of his dislike of the hot weather. Leaving Robert at Rome the following spring, William travelled north, spending several months visiting Pisa
, Florence
, and Venice
. Here he met Robert Adam again, also travelling home, although the latter did not offer him a lift in his coach. William also visited several of Palladio's villas in the area, making measured drawings and sketches.
His journey home during the winter of 1757-1758 was fraught with difficulty due to the weather, politics, and his own finances. The Seven Years' War
had broken out between England and France, and their respective allies, forcing a journey through Germany. Mylne was obliged to burn all his papers to hide his British identity, and posed as an Italian to avoid being either arrested or press
ed into military service. He travelled across the Alps
by sledge, and through Germany by post coach, as the rivers were frozen and boat travel was impossible. He arrived in Rotterdam in February, suffering from cold and hunger. He described the experience, in a letter to Robert, as "one continuous ague of fears and fatigues".
He was appointed Surveyor to the city in 1759. In 1759, he designed the Yair Bridge, over the River Tweed
at Fairnilee, which he built between 1760 and 1764, and which still stands. Between 1768 and 1772, William and Robert were jointly responsible for designing and supervising construction, of the New Bridge over the River Clyde
in Glasgow
. This bridge, carrying Jamaica Street, was replaced by a larger structure in 1836.
In February 1763 Thomas Mylne died. Robert by this time was an established architect and engineer in London, and had won the competition to build a new bridge at Blackfriars
. William therefore took on the family business, while Robert inherited the family's mansion at Powderhall
, where their mother continued to live.
In 1765, Mylne submitted his plans for a new bridge to link Edinburgh's Old Town with the area to the north, which was to become the New Town
. The bridge was the subject of a competition, and other designs were prepared by James Craig
and David Henderson. Mylne's design was selected, and he was contracted to build the bridge, for £10,140, within four years. The North Bridge comprised three stone arches, and was 1134 feet (345.6 m) long, and 70 feet (21.3 m) high, although much of the length was solid abutment. Robert Mylne acted as financial surety
to the scheme. By the summer of 1769 the bridge was approaching completion, and although not officially open, was regularly used by pedestrians. However, on 3 August, one of the arches collapsed, causing the deaths of five people. Poor foundations, resting on accumulated rubbish at the bottom of the valley, were blamed. Robert came up from London to offer his assistance, and the Town Council commissioned a report on the collapse from John Smeaton
and John Adam
. William's payments were stopped until the matter was resolved. William repaired the damage, and completed the bridge in 1772, but the collapse led him into financial difficulties.
, setting himself up as a planter. In 1774 he moved to New York
, and once again tried to make his way as an architect, but was not successful, and Mylne decided to return to Britain.
presented him with a silver plate in 1786, with an inscription praising his contribution to the city. William Mylne died in March 1790, at the age of 56. Robert Mylne erected a plaque in St. Catherine's Church
, Dublin, "to inform Posterity of the uncommon Zeal, Integrity and Skill with which he formed, enlarged, and established on a perfect system, the Water Works of Dublin."
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. He is best known as the builder of the North Bridge
North Bridge, Edinburgh
North Bridge is a road bridge and street in Edinburgh linking the High Street with Princes Street, and the New Town with the Old. The current bridge was built between 1894–97. A previous North Bridge, built from 1763–72, stood until 1896....
, which links the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was the younger brother of Robert Mylne
Robert Mylne
Robert Mylne was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, particularly remembered for his design for Blackfriars Bridge in London. Born and raised in Edinburgh, he travelled to Europe as a young man, studying architecture in Rome under Piranesi...
, architect and designer of Blackfriars Bridge in London.
Early life
William was descended from the Mylne family of stonemasons and architects. He was the second son of Thomas Mylne, Deacon of the mason's guild, who built the original Edinburgh Royal InfirmaryEdinburgh Royal Infirmary
The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh or RIE, sometimes mistakenly referred to as Edinburgh Royal Infirmary or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on...
to designs by William Adam. Like his elder brother Robert
Robert Mylne
Robert Mylne was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, particularly remembered for his design for Blackfriars Bridge in London. Born and raised in Edinburgh, he travelled to Europe as a young man, studying architecture in Rome under Piranesi...
, William attended the Royal High School
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
. He then served time as an apprentice stonemason.
Grand tour
In autumn 1753 he left Edinburgh for Paris, where he studied at the École des ArtsÉcole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts
The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...
under the architect Jacques-François Blondel
Jacques-François Blondel
Jacques-François Blondel was a French architect. He was the grandson of François Blondel , whose course of architecture had appeared in four volumes in 1683 -Biography:...
. As well as part-time study, he also undertook paid work, learning the art of marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
carving, to supplement the minimal allowance from his father. The following year, at the suggestion of James Nevay, a fellow Scot in France, Mylne proposed to his father that he be allowed to go on to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
to study architecture, with a view to eventually setting up practice in London. The result was that his elder brother Robert
Robert Mylne
Robert Mylne was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, particularly remembered for his design for Blackfriars Bridge in London. Born and raised in Edinburgh, he travelled to Europe as a young man, studying architecture in Rome under Piranesi...
joined him in Paris, and they travelled to Rome together. Robert had recently completed his apprenticeship, and was preparing to take over the family business. He arrived in France by the end of November 1754, and the brothers set off a few days later. Travelling mostly by foot, due to lack of funds, they visited Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
and Marseilles, where they took a boat to Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
, and arrived at Rome in early 1755.
The brothers lodged on the Via del Condotti, although they were continually short of funds. They encountered Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
, a fellow Scot also studying architecture, although Adam was disdainful of the Mylnes' poor situation; the Mylnes had a joint allowance of just £45 a year, compared to Adam's annual expenditure of around £800. They visited Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in May 1756, but William was planning to leave by September, on account of his dislike of the hot weather. Leaving Robert at Rome the following spring, William travelled north, spending several months visiting Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Here he met Robert Adam again, also travelling home, although the latter did not offer him a lift in his coach. William also visited several of Palladio's villas in the area, making measured drawings and sketches.
His journey home during the winter of 1757-1758 was fraught with difficulty due to the weather, politics, and his own finances. The Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
had broken out between England and France, and their respective allies, forcing a journey through Germany. Mylne was obliged to burn all his papers to hide his British identity, and posed as an Italian to avoid being either arrested or press
Impressment
Impressment, colloquially, "the Press", was the act of taking men into a navy by force and without notice. It was used by the Royal Navy, beginning in 1664 and during the 18th and early 19th centuries, in wartime, as a means of crewing warships, although legal sanction for the practice goes back to...
ed into military service. He travelled across the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
by sledge, and through Germany by post coach, as the rivers were frozen and boat travel was impossible. He arrived in Rotterdam in February, suffering from cold and hunger. He described the experience, in a letter to Robert, as "one continuous ague of fears and fatigues".
Edinburgh
William returned to his home city, where he established himself as a mason and architect in the family tradition. By 1758 he was a member of the Incorporation of St Mary's Chapel, the guild of masons and carpenters in Edinburgh, and began to take on the running of his father's business. He lived at the family home in Halkerston's Wynd, off the Royal Mile, initially with his older sister Elizabeth as housekeeper, until she eloped in 1758, and then with his younger sister Anne.He was appointed Surveyor to the city in 1759. In 1759, he designed the Yair Bridge, over the River Tweed
River Tweed
The River Tweed, or Tweed Water, is long and flows primarily through the Borders region of Great Britain. It rises on Tweedsmuir at Tweed's Well near where the Clyde, draining northwest, and the Annan draining south also rise. "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise oot the ae hillside" as the Border saying...
at Fairnilee, which he built between 1760 and 1764, and which still stands. Between 1768 and 1772, William and Robert were jointly responsible for designing and supervising construction, of the New Bridge over the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
. This bridge, carrying Jamaica Street, was replaced by a larger structure in 1836.
In February 1763 Thomas Mylne died. Robert by this time was an established architect and engineer in London, and had won the competition to build a new bridge at Blackfriars
Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, between Waterloo Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge, carrying the A201 road. The north end is near the Inns of Court and Temple Church, along with Blackfriars station...
. William therefore took on the family business, while Robert inherited the family's mansion at Powderhall
Powderhall
Powderhall is an area in the north of Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. It is mainly centred around Broughton Road. Until recently it was best known for its greyhound racing track, which has now closed. The site has been redeveloped for housing and business purposes...
, where their mother continued to live.
In 1765, Mylne submitted his plans for a new bridge to link Edinburgh's Old Town with the area to the north, which was to become the New Town
New Town, Edinburgh
The New Town is a central area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is often considered to be a masterpiece of city planning, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
. The bridge was the subject of a competition, and other designs were prepared by James Craig
James Craig (architect)
James Craig was a Scottish architect. His brief career was concentrated almost entirely in Edinburgh, and he is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town.-Date of birth:...
and David Henderson. Mylne's design was selected, and he was contracted to build the bridge, for £10,140, within four years. The North Bridge comprised three stone arches, and was 1134 feet (345.6 m) long, and 70 feet (21.3 m) high, although much of the length was solid abutment. Robert Mylne acted as financial surety
Surety
A surety or guarantee, in finance, is a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults...
to the scheme. By the summer of 1769 the bridge was approaching completion, and although not officially open, was regularly used by pedestrians. However, on 3 August, one of the arches collapsed, causing the deaths of five people. Poor foundations, resting on accumulated rubbish at the bottom of the valley, were blamed. Robert came up from London to offer his assistance, and the Town Council commissioned a report on the collapse from John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
and John Adam
John Adam (architect)
John Adam was a Scottish architect. Born in Linktown of Abbotshall, now part of Kirkcaldy, Fife, he was the eldest son of architect and entrepreneur William Adam. His younger brothers Robert and James Adam also became architects.The Adam family moved to Edinburgh in 1728, as William Adam's career...
. William's payments were stopped until the matter was resolved. William repaired the damage, and completed the bridge in 1772, but the collapse led him into financial difficulties.
America
His financial problems aggravated William's poor health and sensitive nature. In May 1773 he fled Edinburgh, arriving in London three months later. Avoiding his brother, he sailed for America, with the aim of establishing himself anew. Once there, he corresponded regularly with his sister in Edinburgh and brother in London. He initially travelled to South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, setting himself up as a planter. In 1774 he moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and once again tried to make his way as an architect, but was not successful, and Mylne decided to return to Britain.
Dublin
On his return from America, Robert assisted him in obtaining the job of running the Dublin Water Works. He held this post until his death, improving and enlarging the water supply system. The Lord MayorLord Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin is the honorific title of the Chairman of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent is Labour Party Councillor Andrew Montague. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the...
presented him with a silver plate in 1786, with an inscription praising his contribution to the city. William Mylne died in March 1790, at the age of 56. Robert Mylne erected a plaque in St. Catherine's Church
St. Catherine's Church, Dublin
St. Catherine's Church, on Thomas Street, in Dublin, Ireland, was originally built in 1185. It is located on what was once termed the "Slí Mór" - a key route that ran westwards across Ireland from Dublin. The church was rebuilt in its present form in the 18th century by John Smyth .The church...
, Dublin, "to inform Posterity of the uncommon Zeal, Integrity and Skill with which he formed, enlarged, and established on a perfect system, the Water Works of Dublin."