J. M. Brydon

John McKean Brydon (1840 – 25 May 1901) was a Scottish architect who developed a practice in designing public buildings, particularly hospitals, in London. He designed the St Peter's Hospital in Henrietta Street, Covent Garden (1880–84), the Hospital for Women in Euston Road (renamed the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital after the death of its founder), Chelsea Public Library (1890), and the London School of Medicine for Women in Huntley Street (1896).[1] He also designed the Old Vestry Hall at the rear of the Chelsea Town Hall on King's Road, as well as the Government Offices Great George Street, which today house the Treasury, HM Revenues and Customs and part of the Cabinet Office.[2]

Grave of John Brydon in Highgate Cemetery

From 1871 he employed Agnes Garrett and Rhoda Garrett as apprentices, giving them an entry into training that no other practice was willing to allow, as architecture was not considered suitable for women. The two cousins became the first British women to open an interior design business.[3]

Brydon was the author of the entry on William Eden Nesfield in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.[citation needed]

He died at his Hampstead home, 31 Steeles Road, NW3 on 25 May 1901[4] and was buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery (plot no.24272).

  1. ^ John McKean Brydon. Dictionary of Scottish Architects, 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Old Vestry Hall (Part of Chelsea Town Hall), Kensington and Chelsea". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Garrett, Agnes (1845–1935), interior designer and suffragist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/53628. Retrieved 11 July 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ "John McKean Brydon, deceased". London Gazette: 6670. 11 October 1901. Retrieved 30 September 2021.