Alexander Black

Who was Alexander Black?

Alexander Black was a Scottish architect, born in Edinburgh around 1790, and who rose to fame principally due to his association with George Heriot’s School where he acted as Superintendent of Works for most of his active life.

He operated as an architect for the school and is particularly noteworthy for his Heriot Trust Schools, built by the school to serve the poorer children of Edinburgh. His work is identifiable in its reuse of detailing from the main school particularly on the corner “quoins”. Two of the schools were notable for including their playground under the buildings behind an arcaded front, their being sited on tight urban plots with no space for conventional playgrounds. This device was later copied by Edward Robert Robson for some of his London School Board buildings, where land was equally tight.

He also feued many large areas of the city under Heriot Trust ownership notably the Henderson Row area, West Coates and Leith Walk. He was succeeded in his role by John Chesser (architect).

He died on 19 February 1858 and is buried under a huge but simple stone sarcophagus on the edge of the south path in Dean Cemetery.