Morris, James Archibald, RSA
1857 – 1942
James Archibald Morris was educated at Ayr Academy and was apprenticed to a Glasgow architect Leslie Miller whilst attending classes at the Haldane Academy and the Andersonian Institute in Glasgow. He studied further in London at the Slade School and also at the Royal Academy Architecture School. In 1880 he set up his own practice in Ayr. He worked for a time in London from 1881 before returning in 1886 to his native Ayr where he spent the rest of his life and career. He had entered into partnership with the Ayrshire architect James Kennedy Hunter in 1885, this practice ceased in 1896. In addition to his work as an architect he also wrote a number of books on Ayr, most notably on the Auld Brig of Ayr which he had managed to save from demolition and had been involved in its restoration. He exhibited at the RSA from 1898 until 1936. He became an Associate Member of the RSA in 1916 and an Academician in 1931.
