1864-1960

Ninian Comper was a Scottish architect, best known for his church designs.

Ninian Comper was born on the 10th of June, 1864, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Being the first born, with four siblings to a Reverend father it is understandable that in his future career Ninian Comper worked largely with churches. Growing up, Ninian Comper studied at the Gelnalmond School in Perthshire, he then studied at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford. Eventually he moved to London and worked under Charles Eamer Kempe, George Frederick Bodley and Thomas Garner.

Ninian Comper is considered to be one of the last practising Gothic Revival architects. One element of this was the proficiency and artfulness that Ninian Comper held with stained glass windows. He is also noted for reintroducing English Alters into his designs. His use of alter screens is also a celebrated element.

Ninian Comper has a number of historically and aesthetically significant designs. His creation of the northern windows at Westminster Abbey is one of them. He also designed the ciborium at St. Peters parish Church, Society of St. John the Evangelist in Oxford and St Cyprian's, Clarence Gate in London.

1611-1667

John Mylne was a Scottish architect who served as the Master Mason to the Scottish Crown and was one of the last masters of the Scottish Renaissance style of architecture.

John Mylne (sometimes refereed to as John Mylne Junior, or John Mylne the Younger) was born in Perth, Scotland, in 1611. His father, also named John Mylne, and was also a mason, and it is no long stretch of the imagination to assume that this would have influenced John Mylne the Younger to this career. In fact both men worked on the sundial in Hollyrood Palace, with the John Mylne the Younger acting as an assistant.

Unlike his father, John Mylne, was both an architect and mason, so he not only designed but also built his projects. In 1636, John Mylne was appointed to the Edinburgh town council and the position of Master Mason to the Crown. These were undoubtedly to do with his father's not-ignorable influence, and previous holding of these positions.

John Mylne has a number of significant buildings, the majority are concentrated around Edinburgh. Tron Kirk, a church parish on the High Street of Edinburgh, is probably the most significant. This building took over ten years of work by Jon Mylne. The building was executed with a mix of renaissance and contemporary Dutch styles.

John Mylne also worked on Cowane's Hospital in Stirling and Panmure House in Angus. He died on the 24th of December 1667 in Edinburgh and was buried in Greyfriars Graveyard, Edinburgh.

1787-1879

Edward Blore was a Scottish architect, well known for his involvement in the Scottish Baronial style.

Edward Blore was born in 1787 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His career began when his father, Thomas Blore, employed him to illustrate for his book “History of Rutland”. This lead to further commissions in regards to drawing of buildings, specifically in “The Cathedral Antiquities” and “The Architectural Antiquities” by John Britton. It is believed that the close observation of the Gothic styles of these buildings could have had a very large influence in his future use of the Scottish Baronial style of architecture.

Arguably, the best known work of Edward Blore is the Buckingham Palace. While he did not create the original design, he did complete it after John Nash (its original designer) was dismissed. Edward Blore contributed especially to the side of the building facing The Mall. But his work is hard to see now, as the building was resurfaced and reworked in 1913. Edward Blore also worked on the Salisbury Tower at Windsor Castle.

Edward Blore was said to be a close personal friend of Sir Walter Scott, with whom he shared an interest in architectural styles. This relationship and the connections of Sir Walter Scott led eventually to Edward Blore being commissioned to work on the Vorontsov's Palace in Alupka, in what is now Ukraine. This led to an amalgamation of Middle Eastern and Scottish Baronial styles. Further, as a respected and established architect, Edward Blore was commissioned to design a number of British interests around the world, including the Government House, in Sydney

1835-1919

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish born industrialist and renowned philanthropist.

Andrew Carnegie is best known for his creation of the Carnegie Steel Company. He has also at the same time been referred to as the perfect “rags to riches story”, the second richest man in history and an outstanding philanthropist.

Andrew Carnegie was born on the 25th of November, 1835, in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. His parents were both labour workers. Andrew Carnegie began his career in a similar manner, with his firs job consisting of changing spools of thread and firing a kiln, he was 13 at the time. In 1848 his family emigrated to the United States of America. He eventually began to work around telegraphs, and by the age of eighteen had increased his skills to such a point that he was hired by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. His wealth and ranks rose, until he was able to begin investing his money. Seemingly his decision were correct as by 1855 he was investing in Adams Express, and subsequently, the Pullman Company.

Andrew Carnegie gained significant wealth by the time the American Civil War in 1860 began. In the ensuing 5 years he increased his profits even more so and then turned his attention to iron ore mining. At this point Andrew Carnegie had already began significant philanthropy work, and publishing writings testifying to that sort of lifestyle.

Andrew Carnegie finished his career being hailed as a captain of industry, for his excellent success in Iron. He also donated an approximate $4.3 billion in 2005 adjusted dollars to charities and other causes.

Newark Castle is a Scottish Baronial style castle in Scotland.

Newark Castle is located on the shores of the estuary leading to the River Clyde near the narrowing of the firth to the Firth of Clyde, in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, Scotland. The basis of the original Newark Castle was built in 1478 b George Maxwell. This consisted of a tower house with outer wall. While the tower house still stands, the outer defenses have been reduced to merely one of the corner towers (although it was later converted to a dove house, or doocot). Archaeological speculation has it that a bakehouse and brew house could have existed within the walled enclosure also, as would have been common for a house of this significance. The buildings, walls and the majority of other aspects of Newark Castle were rebuilt or expanded in 1597, to the way they stand today. This included the construction of a three-story Scottish Baronial tower.

Newark Castle is currently under the care of Historic Scotland, and has been since 1909, and as such is open to the public.

The location of Newark Castle verges onto hard to navigate waters and numerous shifting sandbars. Newark Castle subsequently became an ideal offload point for ships and their cargo. Advances in technology made the Clyde a navigatable body of water, which lead to a decline in the need for Newark Castle to serve as a drop point, it subsequently became a center point for the shipbuilding industry. By the 1980s even this industry had died down in the area, leaving Newark Castle as just a scenic point.