Robert Mylne (mason)
Robert Mylne (1633 – 10 December 1710) was a
Biography
Robert was a member of the Mylne family of masons and architects. His grandfather,
After his apprenticeship, Mylne undertook his first known building project at John Wood's Hospital, Upper Largo, Fife, in 1665. In 1668 he was engaged to build a new mercat cross at Perth, to replace one destroyed by Oliver Cromwell's army in 1652. After his uncle's death, he completed Leslie House, for the Earl of Rothes, and extended Wemyss Castle for the Earl of Wemyss. He also worked at Drumlanrig Castle, for the Earl of Queensberry. As Royal master mason, Mylne was responsible for works to the Royal castles, and repaired Edinburgh Castle in 1662, 1677, and 1685. The Mylne Battery at the castle was named after him.
In 1671, work began on
Between 1674 and 1681, again working to Bruce's designs, Mylne constructed a series of cisterns in Edinburgh, as part of a new drinking water supply to the capital. 1678 saw Mylne's first speculative building project. He bought a block of land on the Shore at Leith, the port of Edinburgh, and constructed ten dwellings. In 1684–86, he built a larger development, Mylne's Square, opposite the Tron Kirk in the heart of Edinburgh. This square was the first home of the Bank of Scotland when it was founded in 1695, although the square was demolished in the 19th century to make way for the widened North Bridge. This was followed, in 1690, by Milne's Court, further up the Royal Mile, now occupied by student accommodation. Mylne also built numerous tenement blocks for others. The profits of these projects allowed him to purchase the estates of Balfargie in Fife, and Inveresk, east of Edinburgh, where he died aged 77. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, under the monument which he erected to his uncle.
Robert Mylne had eight sons and six daughters by his wife, Elizabeth Meikle, whom he had married in 1661. His eldest daughter Janet married the architect James Smith, who had worked for Mylne at Holyrood. His eldest son William (1662–1728) continued the Mylne family business of building, and his great-grandson Robert Mylne (1733–1811) became an architect and engineer in London.
References
- Colvin, Howard (1978) A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840, John Murray
- "Robert Mylne". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 3 July 2008.