David Rhind

Who was David Rhind?

David Rhind was a Scottish architect.

Rhind was born in Edinburgh in 1808, the son of John Rhind and his wife Marion Anderson. David Rhind was married twice: firstly to Emily Shoubridge in 1840; then to Mary Jane Sackville-Pearson in 1845. He lived until 1883 and was survived by eight of his children.

He is believed to have trained in the London drawing office of Augustus Charles Pugin and was a friend of Charles Barry. His practice began in Edinburgh, but examples of his work were constructed all over Scotland.

David Rhind's work included many branches of the Commercial Bank of Scotland, including their headquarters on George Street, Edinburgh, which is now The Dome bar and restaurant. Other buildings for the Commercial Bank, now part of the Royal Bank of Scotland, were constructed as far apart as Thurso and Jedburgh. He also designed a number of churches, local government buildings, schools, offices and houses. One of his grandest schemes was Daniel Stewart's Hospital, now Stewart's Melville College, Edinburgh. He employed Neo-Classical and Baronial styles during his work.

In 1849, Rhind was commissioned by Sir John Maxwell, 8th Baronet, to design the lay-out of the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, in what until then had been farmland 2 miles south of the city centre.