William Macdonald Mackenzie
{{Short description|Scottish architect, 1797–1856}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox architect
|name = William Mackenzie
|birth_name = William Macdonald Mackenzie
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|birth_date = 20 July 1797
|birth_place = St Martins, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
|death_date = {{death date and age|1856|2|25|1797|7|20|df=yes}}
|death_place = Perth, Scotland
|alma_matter =
|practice =
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William Macdonald Mackenzie (20 July 1797 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the first half of the 19th century.[http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=201794 William Macdonald Mackenzie] - Dictionary of Scottish Architects He designed several notable buildings in Scotland, mostly manses and church buildings.
Early life
Mackenzie was born in 1797 in St Martins, a parish about {{convert|4.3|miles}} north-northeast of Perth, the second son of Alexander Mackenzie, an architect-builder, and his wife Janet Davidson. (In 1806, his father was listed as the owner of the land on which the Witches' Stone stands.{{Cite book |title=The Monthly Mirror: Reflecting Men and Manners : with Strictures on Their Epitome, the Stage · Volume 22 |year=1806 |pages=265}} The stone marks the location where Macbeth meets with two witches in William Shakespeare's tragedy.)Historic Scenes in Perthshire, William Marshall, 1880 (p. 250){{Cite web |title=Witches' Stone, St Martins {{!}} Canmore |url=https://canmore.org.uk/site/28628/witches-stone-st-martins |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=canmore.org.uk |language=en}}
His four younger brothers were John (born 1799), Alexander (born 1803), David (born 1805) and Thomas (born 1814). He also had a sister, Matilda. His father died in 1827.
Career
Mackenzie practiced out of 14 Charlotte Street in 1837 and 5 George Street in 1841. From 1848, however, he appears to have been based at his house on Byerswell (now Bowerswell) Road in Bridgend.
He was Perth's City Architect until his death, after which he was succeeded by Andrew Heiton and his father.[https://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst1693.html Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland], Francis Hindes Groome (1901)
=Selected notable works=
- St Leonard's Bank, Perth (plots laid out for feuing, 1828)
- 20 Charlotte Street, Perth (1830)
- St Leonard's Parish Church, Perth (1836)
- A. K. Bell Library (original central section and lodge), Perth (1836–1838)[https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB39323 York Place, A K Bell Library including Boundary Wall to York Place] – Historic Environment Scotland
- Binnhill Tower, Kinfauns (1839)A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis (1846), p. 73
- Manse of Kinfauns (1840)
- Clunie Church (1840)
File:2-4 Charlotte Place, Perth.jpg|20 Charlotte Street
File:AK Bell Library, Perth - Front view.jpg|A.K. Bell Library
File:Binnhill Tower (2) (geograph 5611335).jpg|Binnhill Tower
Personal life
Mackenzie married Jean Davidson, his cousin, around 1824. They had at five children: three sons and two daughters. Second son William (1826–1864), trained as a civil engineer. His other children were David, James and Alexander, and his daughters Jane Ann and Jessie.
He died on 25 February, 1856, aged 58, and was buried in Perth's Greyfriars Burial Ground. His family moved to Liverpool after his death, then returned to Scotland and lived in Dundee with Mackenzie's brother David.