William Smith (architect)

William Smith (16 September 1817 – 22 December 1891) was a Scottish architect. He was a son of John Smith, also an architect, and his mother was Margaret Grant. A partner in the Aberdonian firms J & W Smith (1845–1879), W & J Smith (1879–1887) and W & J Smith and Kelly (1887–1891), and employed as Aberdeen's superintendent of works (1852–1891), he designed a large number of buildings in north east Scotland.

Smith was the fourth child of the Aberdeen architect John Smith and the grandson of builder/architect William (Sink 'em) Smith. He attended Aberdeen Grammar School and James Giles tutored him in watercolouring and sketching. He worked with his father and Robert Kerr before spending 18 months in London assisting and receiving further training from Thomas Donaldson. Between the summer of 1842 and early 1845 Smith spent almost two years travelling around Greece and Italy.

Smith entered his father's firm as a Senior Assistant, becoming a partner in 1845. His first principal commission in Aberdeen was Trinity Hall on Union Street for the Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen. The foundation of this Tudor Gothic style building – the first of this style built on Union Street – was laid on 9 June 1846.

A prolific designer of manses, including those at Peterhead, Tarland, Methlick, St Fergus and Woodside, some of his other major commissions include Fraserburgh Prison (1845), King Street Iron Works, Aberdeen (1847), Badentoy House (1849), Drumside House (before 1852), Balmoral Castle (1852), Alexander Scott's Hospital, Huntly (1853), Miller's Institution, Thurso (1859) and the Anderson Institute, Lerwick (1860).

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