Biography

Peddie was the son of the architect and politician John Dick Peddie

John Dick Peddie

John Dick Peddie was a Scottish architect, businessman and a Liberal Party politician.-Biography:John Dick Peddie and his twin brother William were the second and third sons of James Peddie WS and Margaret Dick...

 (1824–1891) and his wife Euphemia Lockhart More. Born in Edinburgh, he attended Edinburgh Academy

Edinburgh Academy

The Edinburgh Academy is an independent school which was opened in 1824. The original building, in Henderson Row on the northern fringe of the New Town of Edinburgh, Scotland, is now part of the Senior School...

, followed by two years at a school in Elberfeld

Elberfeld

Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...

, Germany. He enrolled at Edinburgh University, and was also articled to his father's office. He then worked in the office of George Gilbert Scott

George Gilbert Scott

Sir George Gilbert Scott was an English architect of the Victorian Age, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches, cathedrals and workhouses...

, and later made a Grand Tour

Grand Tour

The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...

 in Europe.

In 1875 he joined his father's firm, Peddie and Kinnear, and in 1878 became a partner. Peddie senior retired in 1879 and entered Parliament as Liberal MP for Kilmarnock Burghs

Kilmarnock Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)

Kilmarnock Burghs was a district of burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post voting system....

. The practice became known as Kinnear and Peddie, with Charles Kinnear as senior partner. The Peddie family incurred substantial debts following the failure of some of John Dick Peddie's business interests, and fraud committed by his uncle. In 1878, the City of Glasgow Bank

City of Glasgow Bank

The City of Glasgow Bank is now largely known for its spectacular collapse in October 1878, ruining all but 254 of its 1,200 shareholders, whose liability was not limited. It was the last case of a British Bank run until that of Northern Rock in 2007.-General:...

 also collapsed, leading to recession

Recession

In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...

 in Scotland. However, the practice continued to find work, with J M Dick Peddie's designs including the Bank of Scotland

Bank of Scotland

The Bank of Scotland plc is a commercial and clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. With a history dating to the 17th century, it is the second oldest surviving bank in what is now the United Kingdom, and is the only commercial institution created by the Parliament of Scotland to...

's George Street branch (1883–1884). Kinnear worked on the practice's major schemes during the early 1880s, including Longmore Hospital and Craiglockhart Hydropathic

Craiglockhart Hydropathic

Craiglockhart Hydropathic, now a part of Edinburgh Napier University and known as Craiglockhart Campus, is a building with surrounding grounds in Craiglockhart, Edinburgh, Scotland.-Origins:...

, but in 1884 he became Colonel of the Midlothian Coast Artillery Volunteers, and his role in the firm reduced. He died suddenly in 1894, and within a year or two Peddie had taken on George Washington Browne

George Washington Browne

Sir George Washington Browne FRIBA was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London...

 (1853–1939), with whom he had worked informally for some time, as a partner. Further work on bank branches included several outlets of the British Linen Bank

British Linen Bank

The British Linen Bank was a commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was acquired by the Bank of Scotland in 1969 and served as the Bank's merchant bank arm from 1977 until 1999.-Foundation:...

. The practice was very successful, and lasted formally to 1907. Peddie adopted a more Beaux-Arts style in his works over these years.

As much a businessman and office manager as an architect, Peddie held directorships with the Edinburgh Tramway Company

Edinburgh Corporation Tramways

Edinburgh Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. The city used four-wheeled double-decked trams painted dark red and white - a livery still used by Lothian Buses.-Origins:...

, Scottish Equitable Life and the Scottish Investment Trust

Scottish Investment Trust

Scottish Investment Trust is a large British investment trust dedicated to international equities. Established in 1887, the company is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Chairman is Douglas McDougall....

, but never sought membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects

Royal Institute of British Architects

The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...

 or the Royal Scottish Academy

Royal Scottish Academy

The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...

. His contribution to the design work of his practices is increasingly obscure after this point, with greater reliance placed on carefully selected junior designers, often recruited from the Edinburgh School of Applied Art, which became part of Edinburgh College of Art

Edinburgh College of Art

Edinburgh College of Art is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students....

 in 1907. These included his assistant James Forbes Smith, who Peddie took on as junior partner in 1909, an association which lasted until 1917, by which time the practice had limited work. In 1920, Peddie merged his practice with that of his former assistant William James Walker Todd and Sydney Houghton Miller, the new firm being named J M Dick Peddie & W J Walker Todd. Peddie retired towards the end of that year and died the following March. He was buried at Dean Cemetery

Dean Cemetery

The Dean Cemetery is a prominent cemetery in the Dean Village, in Edinburgh, Scotland.-Dean House:It stands on the site of Dean House , part of Dean Estate which had been purchased in 1609 by Sir William Nisbet, who became in 1616 Lord Provost of Edinburgh. The Nisbets of Dean held the office of...

in Edinburgh, his wife Catherine Jemima Stewart having predeceased him in 1915.