John Adam (architect)

John Adam (5 March 1721 – 25 June 1792) 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 and his wife Mary Robertson (1699-1761). His younger brothers Robert and James Adam also became architects.

The Adam family moved to Edinburgh in 1728, as William Adam's career as a designer of country houses began to take off. John attended Dalkeith Grammar School, outside the city, although he did not proceed to university as he was already being involved in the family businesses. However, the family home became a hub of the Scottish Enlightenment, with numerous Edinburgh virtuosi visiting.

During the 1740s, William was gradually handing over control to his eldest son. Upon William's death in June 1748, John took over the family businesses, which besides designing and building houses, included interests in quarrying, mining and other industries. John also became Laird of Blair Adam, the estate in Kinross-shire which his father had built up. Finally, John inherited his father's position as Master Mason to the Board of Ordnance in North Britain.

John took his younger brother Robert into partnership, and the two profited greatly from the lucrative Board of Ordnance contracts which were had been initiated following the Jacobite Rising of 1745. These included the building of Fort George near Inverness, to the designs of military engineer Colonel Skinner.

The brothers also continued to execute their late father's designs, including the pavilions and interiors of Hopetoun House. Their first major new commission came in 1754 from William Dalrymple, Earl of Dumfries. The new Dumfries House in Ayrshire was probably mostly to the design of Robert Adam, the more talented architect of the two. Robert oversaw the construction of the house until late summer 1754, when he left on his Grand Tour to Italy. Even when abroad, Robert continued to send home designs. John concentrated on the business side of the practice, although he was a competent, if formulaic, architect.

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