Billings, Robert William

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Billings, Robert William (1813–74). English architect, better known for his fine illustrations and draughtsmanship, as in History and Description of St Paul's Cathedral (1837), Churches of London (1839), and Durham Cathedral (1843). His most celebrated work was Baronial and Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Scotland (1845–52), an important book for Scots antiquarianism, and a major source-book of the Scottish Baronial style. He also published several works on Gothic architecture. He had an extensive practice, specializing in restoration. He designed Castle Wemyss, Renfrewshire, various works at Dalziell Castle, Motherwell, Lanarkshire (1859), the Church of St. John, Crosby-on-Eden, Cumb. (1854), and a fine monument in Carlisle Cemetery consisting of two interpenetrating obelisks in memory of Peter Nicholson (1856).

Bibliography

Billings (1845–52);
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (2004)