Andrew Taylor (Architect)

Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor
Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor, c. 1900
Born	October 1850 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	5 December 1937 London, England
Nationality	Scottish
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Taylor, Gordon and Bousfield, and Taylor and Gordon
Buildings	Osler Library, Redpath Library

Sir Andrew Thomas Taylor J.P., R.C.A., F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A. (13 October 1850 – 5 December 1937) was a British architect and Conservative Party municipal councillor. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and practised architecture in Scotland and London before immigrating to Montreal, Quebec, in 1883, where he designed many of the buildings of McGill University. He retired from architecture in 1904 and returned to London, where he served on London County Council from 1908 to 1926. He was knighted for his political services in 1926.

Taylor was the son of James Taylor, a publisher, and Agnes Drummond, the sister of Sir George Drummond, of Montreal. In 1864 he began his architectural training as an articled apprentice to Pilkington & Bell in Edinburgh, staying for five years. He worked for a year as architect in the Duke of Roxburghe's estate office, and then moved to Aberdeen where he worked in the office of William Smith.

He left Scotland for London in 1872, taking a position at the office of Joseph Clarke, and studying at the Royal Academy Schools and University College London. His essay on London's 16th-century architecture won a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) silver medal in 1874. In 1877 he travelled to Italy and France. He joined the RIBA in 1878. An essay on the work of Sir Christopher Wren gained him a second RIBA medal in 1881. He subsequently published a book on the subject: The Towers and Steeples designed by Sir Christopher Wren, a descriptive, historical and critical essay.