Books on Scottish Architecture, Castles, Curches and Buildings

What springs to mind when you think of "Scottish Architecture"? Is the elegant lines of Charles Rennie MacIntosh's Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts buildings? Is it the over-due and over-priced "upside-down boats" of the Scottish Parliament? Or perhaps the turrets and crenellations of the Scottish Baronial style? Can there even said to be a "Scottish Architectural Style"?

With such a diversity of architecture in our small country it is little wonder that there are many books celebrating our buildings, castles, country houses and architects.

Early Days

Perhaps the most famous pre-historical site in Scotland is Orkney's Skara Brae, but there is a disappointing shortage of books on the village - Between the Wind and the Water and children's novel The Boy with the Bronze Axe being the notable exceptions. Other books on early Scottish building include archaeological titles such as The Archaeology of Scottish Islands, Neolithic Scotland and The Legacy of Rome.

Castle Country

Many come to visit Scotland specifically for her ancient castles. Some - like Edinburgh and Stirling - are still working buildings attracting tens of thousands of tourists each year. Others are mere ruins on isolated headlands. Regardless, there are numerous books on Scottish castles: a good place to start is Martin Coventry's factbook Castles of the Clans, his pictorial The Castles of Scotland, or Sampson Lloyd's Scottish Castles.

Handy pocket books include Colin Baxter's photographic Scottish Castles and Richard Dargie's Scottish Castles and Fortifications.

There are also specific guides, such as Graham Coe's Castles of Edinburgh and the Lothians, The Magnificent Castle of Culzean and Glamis Castle.

Churches

There are several guides to the churches of Scotland, from EUP's Scotland's Best Churches, Richard Fawcett's comparison of English and Scottish medieval architecture Scottish Medieval Churches and 1000 Churches to Visit in Scotland. Of course, the one church which draws the most attention is East Lothian's famous Rosslyn chapel, and we're have a separate feature on Rosslyn related books - coming soon.

Scotland's Architects

Robert Adam, born in 1728, was one of Scotland's first architectural leaders, famed for his role in the neoclassical revival in Scotland and England in the mid 18th century. His father William and brother John were also leading architects - Scottish projects he worked on include Hopetoun House and Fort George in Inverness. Two books which celebrate his live and work include Robert Adam by Richard Tames, and The Genius of Robert Adam.

Working around the same time as the Adams brothers was James Craig, the architect awarded the contract to design and build Edinburgh's New Town after a competition in 1766. Edinburgh's New Town is now regarded as a masterpiece of city planning and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of his work is featured in The Edinburgh New Town Gardens by Connie Byrom.

Alexander 'Greek' Thomson was a Glaswegian architect in the middle of the 19th century, and his inspiration from classical Ionic Greek forms earned him his nickname. Thomson was also considered a visionary for his ideas in social, sustainable and workers' housing.

Our best represented author is, perhaps unsurprisingly, Charles Rennie MacIntosh. Famed for his Art Nouveau and Arts & Crafts buildings, furniture, water-colours, his tea rooms and much more besides. His signature rose is recognised the world over. Books on MacIntosh and his work include:

Other architects and builders celebrated in print include lighthouse engineer Thomas Stevenson (father of RLS) (The Lighthouse Stevensons); stadium builder Archibald Leitch, town planner Patrick Geddes and engineer Thomas Telford.

Other Architecture Books

There are guides to the houses of Scotland, from the very grand - Scotland's Lost Houses, Scottish Houses and Gardens, Great Houses of Scotland, The Scottish Chateau - to the small - Little Houses. We can also recommend The Western Seaboard and Lordship and Architecture. Yale University Press publish a series of books on the Buildings of Scotland. And of course, there are books on the much maligned, and equally much loved, Scottish Parliament: Creating a Scottish Parliament, Scotland's Parliament and Jencks' The Scottish Parliament.

Last modified Monday 07 September 2009