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David McLeod Craik

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David McLeod Craik FRIBA (1873-1 August 1938) was a Royal Engineers officer and architect noted for his works in the Straits Settlements. He was the oldest practising architect in the colony at the time of his death.[1]

David McLeod Craik
(D. McLeod Craik)
Born1873 (1873)
Neath, Glamorganshire, Wales
Died1 August 1938 (aged 65)
George Town, Penang, Straits Settlements
Burial placeWestern Road Cemetery, Penang, Malaysia
OccupationArchitect
SpouseGrace Black
Children4
PracticeSwan & Maclaren (1913-1923)
Swan, Maclaren & Craik (1923-1928)
Craik & Leicester (1928-1932)

Early life

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David McLeod Craik was born in 1873 at Neath, Glamorganshire, the second son of Robert Craik, a Scottish travelling draper and his Welsh wife Kate McLeod. He spent the early part of his childhood in the Stewartry and later removed with his parents to Swansea where he received his education.[1][2][3]

Architectural career

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United Kingdom

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After leaving school at the age of 16, Craik was articled to Bucknall & Jennings of Swansea between 1889 to 1893. Afterwards, he served as assistant to Clarke & Bell and Thomas Lennox Watson in Glasgow and to William Hamilton Beattie in Edinburgh from 1894 until 1896, when he passed his examination as Student RIBA. After that he moved to the office of Robert Graeme Watt and Frederick Henry Tullock in Belfast from which he found employment with John McKean Brydon in 1898, working on the Government Offices Great George Street at Whitehall. Craik remained with him until March 1900, when he passed the qualifying exam and was admitted ARIBA, his proposers being Brydon, Watson and Cole Alfred Adams. Thereafter he became a senior assistant with Edward Augustus Grunning until 1902.[1][4]

The George Town Chambers

Straits Settlements

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Craik obtained a post in 1902 as first architectural assistant to the Singapore municipality in the Straits Settlements. During his time as municipal architect he designed the Jinrikisha Station at Kreta Ayer and the entrance lodge, gate and chapel of the Bidadari Cemetery. He remained in the post for about five years, when he resigned and started his own practice in 1907. In the same year, he had secured the largest job of the period as designer of Alkaff Arcade at Collyer Quay for Alkaff & Co.. Other major buildings by him at that period were the Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church, St. Joseph's Cathedral and the Masonic Hall in Coleman Street.[1][4][5]

In 1 December 1912 he merged his practice with the Singaporean firm of Swan & Maclaren.[6] In 12 January 1914 he was admitted FRIBA, then at 26 May of the same year, he took his first ever home leave, but arrived in the UK just a month before World War I was declared. He served in the war as a Royal Engineers officer until he was demobilised in August 1919.[1][4][5]

Upon his return to the Straits, he was sent to Penang to open a branch office for Swan & Maclaren.[7][8] On the death of Philip Charles Russell, the firm's partner, the name of the Penang branch was changed to Swan, Maclaren & Craik.[9] His notable works while in the partnership were Eu Villa in Singapore, Loke Villa and George Town Dispensary in Penang, and the HSBC building in Sungai Petani.[1][5]

In 1929 Craik ceded from Swan, Maclaren & Craik and subsequently formed a partnership with Osborne Howard Leicester, formerly an architectural assistant with the Penang municipality.[10] Craik & Leicester took up office at the George Town Chambers, which is a part of the George Town Dispensary building. Works during this period were all in Penang, including The Cenotaph, Lim Lean Teng Mansions and The Windsor.[1][11] The firm included an assistant architect, Sidney Iverson Knowles, but his services were terminated during the building slump. He was found shot dead in 13 April 1932 and an inquest by a state coroner concluded that Knowles had committed suicide. He left behind three letters, one of them addressed to Craik[5][12]

Due to the recession, the partnership of Craik & Leicester ceased by 1932, Craik then went solo under the style of Craik, D. McLeod, Chartered Architect, meanwhile Leicester returned to London where he started a private practice. Craik passed away while still in practice in 1938, making him the longest practicing architect in the Straits Settlements before World War II.[5]

Military service

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Volunteer service

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Craik was one of the original members of the Singapore Royal Engineers (Volunteers) or SRE (V) and designed badges and buttons for that unit in which he served from 1902 to 1921 when the Volunteer force was reconstructed. He retired from SRE (V) with the rank of lieutenant and joined the Volunteer Corps in Penang as a private. He retired from military service altogether in 1925 with the Long Service Medal.[1][13]

War service

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When World War I broke out, Craik reported for duty as lieutenant of the Royal Engineers in 9 September 1914 at Brompton Barracks. He then trained and took the 145th Army Troops Company, R.E. to France in September 1915 and commanded the company until he was badly wounded at the end of November 1917, losing 2 fingers of his right hand in the process. After leaving hospital he took up command of the 566th Wiltshire Territorial Company, R.E. at Worgret Camp, Wareham until after the Armistice. He retired with the rank of Captain, R.E. and was demobilised in August 1919 in Singapore.[1][14]

Personal life

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Family

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Craik married Grace Black, a nurse and veteran of the South African War at St. George's Church in 12 December 1908.[3] They had 4 children, three daughters and a son. Their second daughter, Catherine McLeod Craik, died at the age of 7½ months while she was at sea enroute from Penang to Singapore in 26 August 1911.[15][16] She was memorialised by a stained glass depicting St. Catherine of Alexandria at St. Joseph's Cathedral. [17]

In 20 May 1938 Grace died after a long illness at a nursing home in London.[18] Their only son, Donald McLeod RAF VR ARIBA was killed in action during World War II in 24 March 1942.[19]

Death

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Before his death, Craik had not been in the best of his health for about a month. Some days later he developed a chill and then was admitted to the General Hospital. He died at the hospital in 1 August 1938, at the age of 65. His funeral and burial was commenced at the Western Road Cemetery in Penang.[15]

Works

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Craik worked on the following buildings:

Name Location Date constructed Status Notes References
Government Offices Great George Street Westminster, London 1908–1917 Extant Designed by J. M. Brydon, assisted by Craik from 1898 to 1900. [4]
Jinrikisha Station Tanjong Pagar, Singapore 1903 Extant [20]
Entrance lodge, gate and chapel for Bidadari Cemetery Toa Payoh, Singapore 1908 Demolished All graves were exhumed in 2006 to make way for the Bidadari housing estate, the entrance gates were relocated to Bidadari Garden. [20][21]
Wesley Methodist Church Fort Canning Hill, Singapore 1908 Extant [22]
Alkaff Arcade Collyer Quay, Singapore 1909 Demolished Demolished in 1978 for a new 20-storey retail-cum-office building. [23][24]
Masonic Hall Civic District, Singapore 1912 Extant Designed by Thomas A. Cargill, Craik rebuilt the building's frontage facing Coleman Street. [20][25]
St. Joseph's Church Rochor, Singapore 1912 Extant Initial design by G. A. Fernandez, alterations by Craik. [26]
2 Cable Road Tanglin, Singapore 1913 Extant [27]
Seri Teratai George Town, Penang 1919 Extant credited to Henry Alfred Neubronner, design signed by Craik. [5]
Bungalow for HSBC George Town, Penang 1920 Demolished [5]
Three bungalows for Mark Kingsley Whitlock George Town, Penang 1920s Demolished [5]
Bungalow for Mansfield & Co. George Town, Penang 1920s Demolished [5]
United Engineers building George Town, Penang 1922 Extant Currently occupied by Public Bank. [11]
HSBC building Sungai Petani, Kedah 1922 Extant [28]
George Town Dispensary building George Town, Penang 1923 Extant [11]
Claremont Penang Hill, Penang 1921–1923 Extant [5]
Loke Villa George Town, Penang 1923 Extant [5]
New clubhouse for Penang Swimming Club George Town, Penang 1924 Unknown Designed by R.M. Love, assisted by Craik. [29]
St. Joseph's Novitiate and baroque chapel George Town, Penang 1925 Extant Now a part of Gurney Paragon. [20][30]
Moycraik Penang Hill, Penang 1926 Extant Craik's residence in Penang. [5]
Fairmont Penang Hill, Penang 1926 Extant [5]
Grace Dieu Penang Hill, Penang 1927 Extant [5]
The Cenotaph George Town, Penang 1929 Destroyed, reconstructed Destroyed during World War II in 1941, rebuilt by Charles Geoffery Boutcher in 1948. [11]
Godowns for Henry Waugh & Co. and Paterson, Simons & Co. George Town, Penang 1930s Extant Now a part of the Rice Miller residential-cum-retail complex. [11][31][32]
Lim Lean Teng Mansions George Town, Penang 1931 Extant [11]
Renovations of Suffolk House for the Anglo-Chinese High School George Town, Penang 1931 Extant [33]
The Windsor George Town, Penang 1934 Demolished Redesigned with an Art Deco facade when occupied by Capitol Theatre, Demolished in 1992 to make way for Komtar. [34][35]
French Bank at Raffles Place Raffles Place, Singapore Unknown Unknown [20]
Crosby Hall George Town, Penang Unknown Extant Currently occupied by DISTED College. [5][36]
Rebuilding of Chatsworth for Alan Loke Wan Wye George Town, Penang Unknown Unknown [20]
New extension for the Anglo-Chinese Girls' School George Town, Penang Unknown Unknown [20]
K.K.S. Bank Penang Unknown Unknown [20]
Tamil Methodist Church Penang Unknown Unknown [20]

Style

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Finial on George Town Dispensary.
The seaward gate of Loke Villa with Scottish thistle motifs.

David Craik's signature style is openly Romantic, a cottage orné with strong overtones of the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement. His bungalows are topped with a pyramidal or hipped roof with terracotta finials. Through his roof forms and detailing, he developed a tropical expression of the Arts and Crafts sensibility. Craik embellished his homes with a cornucopia of naturalistic Arts and Crafts, Tudor, and Art Nouveau motifs. His architectural creations often feature his insignia, the Scottish thistle.

The houses he designed are organic, ethereal, and idyllic. Based more on precedents set by Neubronner than by Stark & McNeill, Craik's bungalows are suited to the humid monsoon climate. They are often monumental, but they always take full advantage of their natural setting. His houses feature light, wooden upper stories that rise above their solid masonry bases. Airy, cantilevered verandas provide ventilation upstairs while creating shade below. They employ a rich palette of materials and textures, from rough stone to terracotta, and are detailed with finesse. In his houses on Penang Hill, and in seaside residences such as Loke Villa, Craik displayed a sensitivity to the natural environment. The results are elegant, modern bungalows that pay subtle homage to a Romantic historicism. In the Straits Settlements, Craik gave the European Arts and Crafts tradition its tropical apotheosis.[5]

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London
Singapore
Penang

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "ARCHITECT'S 36 YEARS IN MALAYA". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 4 August 1938. p. 7. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  2. ^ "CENSUS OF ENGLAND AND WALES 1891". Ancestry.com (Census). Swansea, District no. 13. The National Archives. pp. 17, 18. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b "WEDDING AT ST. GEORGE'S". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 14 December 1908. p. 4. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  4. ^ a b c d "David McLeod Craik". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Historic Environment Scotland. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Lim, Jon (2015). The Penang house and the Straits architect, 1887-1941. [George Town], Penang, Malaysia: Areca Books. ISBN 978-967-5719-19-6.
  6. ^ "NOTICE". Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 25 November 1912. p. 2. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  7. ^ "SOCIAL AND PERSONAL". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 15 August 1919. p. 7. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  8. ^ "Capt. D. McLeod Craik's Return". The Straits Times. 12 August 1919. p. 7. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  9. ^ "Advertisements Column 1". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 5 March 1923. p. 2. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  10. ^ "SOCIAL AND PERSONAL". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 25 February 1929. p. 11. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Langdon, Marcus (2015). George Town's Historic Commercial & Civic Precincts. George Town World Heritage Incorporated. ISBN 978-967-12281-2-8.
  12. ^ "PENANG ARCHITECT'S SUICIDE". The Straits Times. 17 April 1932. p. 1. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  13. ^ a b Winsley, T. M. (1938). A history of the Singapore Volunteer Corps 1854-1937, being also an historical outline of volunteering in Malaya. Singapore: Government Printing Office. p. 173. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  14. ^ "SOCIAL AND PERSONAL". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 22 April 1918. p. 6. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  15. ^ a b "DEATH OF MR. D. McLEOD CRAIK". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 2 August 1938. p. 9. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  16. ^ "Deaths". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 18 September 1911. p. 4. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  17. ^ "St Joseph's Church". Roots.sg. National Heritage Board. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Death". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 23 May 1938. p. 16. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  19. ^ "DEATH". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. 28 March 1942. p. 13. Retrieved 9 May 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive. CRAIK. —On March 24th, Acting Flying Officer Donald McLeod Craik, R.A.F., V.R., A.R.I.B.A., aged 27, of 5, Lansdown Crescent, Bath, dearly loved husband of Ruth, and father of David and Brian, only son the late Mr. and Mrs. David McLeod Craik, of Penang.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i "MALAYAN ARCHITECTURAL PERSONALITIES". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 5 July 1935. p. 10. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  21. ^ Chow, Alex. "Bidadari Cemetery". National Library Board. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  22. ^ "WESLEY M. E. CHURCH". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 11 February 1909. p. 85. Retrieved 25 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  23. ^ "ALKAFF ARCADE". The Straits Times. 27 November 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 25 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  24. ^ Omar, Marsita. "Alkaff Arcade". National Library Board. Archived from the original on 25 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  25. ^ Soong, Alec; Cornelius-Takahama, V. "Masonic Hall". National Library Board. Archived from the original on 23 May 2025. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  26. ^ "St. JOSEPHS CHURCH". The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 26 June 1912. p. 12. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  27. ^ "2 CABLE ROAD" (PDF). ura.gov.sg. Urban Redevelopment Authority. 18 June 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  28. ^ "HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANK. NEW SUNGEI PATANI BRANCH BUILDING". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 6 February 1922. p. 4. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  29. ^ "PENANG SWIMMING CLUB. Opening of New Clubhouse". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 7 February 1924. p. 3. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  30. ^ "St Joseph Novitiate" (PDF). Architecture Malaysia. 24 (5). Malaysian Institute of Architects. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2025.
  31. ^ "Modern Godowns To Be Built In Penang". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 30 August 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 25 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  32. ^ The Rice Miller (PDF) (brochure), Asian Global Business Sdn. Bhd.
  33. ^ "SUFFOLK HOUSE REPAIR". The Straits Echo. 30 April 1930. p. 333. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  34. ^ "THE WINDSOR Opening On Chinese New Year's Day". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 12 February 1934. p. 16. Retrieved 25 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  35. ^ Mok, Opalyn (4 Feb 2023). "Could Penang lose another heritage building to developers? Spotlight on former Rex Cinema building with Art Deco architecture". Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  36. ^ "Tracing The Legacy: The Chronicles of DISTED" (PDF). Weekly DiScourse. 4 (5). DISTED College. 27 October 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2025.
  37. ^ a b Kalendar of the Royal Institute of British Architects. 1914-1915. Royal Institute of British Architects. p. 84. Retrieved 11 May 2025 – via Internet Archive.
  38. ^ a b "Untitled". Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser. 16 February 1914. p. 6. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
  39. ^ a b c "David McLeod Craik". Ancestry.com (British Army World War I Medal Rolls Index Card). The Western Front Association. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  40. ^ "PENANG ST. ANDREW SOCIETY". Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle. 29 November 1929. p. 7. Retrieved 25 May 2025 – via National Library Board.
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David McLeod Craik in the Dictionary of Scottish Architects

David McLeod Craik in The National Archives

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