| Administrative History | William Kelly was born in 1861 and served an apprenticeship under William Smith, one of the Aberdeen Smith family of architects and the man who designed Balmoral Castle for Queen Victoria. He worked in London for some years and on returning to Aberdeen he formed a partnership with Smith. After Smith’s retirement, he took on a junior partner, J.B. Nicol. In these partnerships he helped to design several churches, banks and hospital buildings, notably the new hospital sites at Foresterhill, Aberdeen. He was Aberdeen Corporation’s Director of Housing from 1918 to 1923, and also took an active role in the charitable and social pursuits in the city. His close involvement with and love of the university buildings earned him an honorary LL.D. in 1919, and he also wrote on the history of the university. He retired in 1928, and died in 1944. Glenbucket (or Glenbuchat) Castle is a Z-plan castle near Alford, Aberdeenshire. |