McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Alexander Tilloch Galt Durnford
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
CA CAC 11
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
2206 architectural drawings
102 photographs
78 cm of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
(1898-1973)
Biographical history
Alexander Tilloch Galt Durnford (1898-1973) was born in Montreal. In 1922 he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in architecture from McGill University. After working for a few years in New York, initially with the architectural firm of G. B. Post and Sons, later for Delano and Aldrich, Durnford returned to Montreal where he practised architecture from 1924 onwards. From 1924 to 1934 Durnford practised architecture alone. In 1934 he merged his practice with that of Harold Lea Fetherstonhaugh (1887-1971). In 1946 their practice was joined by Richard E. Bolton (b. 1907) and R.V. Chadwick (b. 1916). Fetherstonaugh retired in 1955. Durnford served in the Second World War and lived in Ottawa during the war. He was a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1964 Durnford retired from the firm of Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick and Ellwood.
Alexander Tilloch Galt Durnford (1898-1973) est né à Montréal. En 1922, il a obtenu un baccalauréat en architecture de l'Université McGill. Après avoir travaillé quelques années à New York, d'abord au cabinet de G. B. Post and Sons puis pour Delano et Aldrich, Durnford est revenu à Montréal où il a exercé l'architecture à compter de l'année 1924. De 1924 à 19
34, il a exercé seul. En 1934, il s'est associé avec Harold Lea Fetherstonhaugh (1887-1971). En 1946, Richard E. Bolton (né en 1907) et R.V. Chadwick (né en 1916) se sont joints à leur cabinet. Fetherstonhaugh prend sa retraite en 1955. Durnford a participé à la Deuxième Guerre mondiale et a vécu à Ottawa pendant la guerre. Il a été membre de l'Institut royal d'architecture du Canada et du Royal Institute of British Architects. En 1964, Durnford se retire du cabinet Durnford, Bolton, Chadwick et Ellwood.
Custodial history
Lucy Durnford Lewis, Alexander Tilloch Galt Durnford's daughter, gave the CAC the materials that Durnford kept at home, such as his early commissions and his later small commissions for private houses. In 1986 Michael G. C. Ellwood donated a box of materials, including thirty-five file folders, documenting different projects through photographs, drawings, clippings and correspondence, as well as a publication on the Saguenay Inn containing photographs and publicity pamphlets. The Ellwood donation has not been accessioned or processed.
Lucy Durnford Lewis, la fille d'Alexander Galt Durnford, a remis à la CAC le matériel que Durnford conservait chez lui, soit ses premières commandes et certains petits projets de maisons privées réalisés vers la fin de sa carrière. En 1986, Michael G. C. Ellwood a remis à la CAC une boîte de documents et notamment trente-cinq chemises témoignant de divers projets au moyen de photos, de dessins, de coupures de presse et de correspondance de même qu'une publication portant sur l'Auberge du Saguenay et contenant des photos et des dépliants publicitaires. Ce don de M. Ellwood n'a pas encore été traité.
Scope and content
Ninety-four projects are documented by 2206 architectural drawings. Projects range in date from Durnford's student drawings to alterations to the St. George Parish House in Richmond Square, Montreal in the early 1970s. The majority of the projects are for urban and rural domestic architecture in Montreal, primarily in Westmount and the surrounding regions. The Zeta Psi Fraternity Chapter House on University Street in Montreal is one of the few public commissions that is documented in the archive in great detail. Fonds also includes 102 photographs (1926-1969), primarily designs, additions, and alterations to houses in Westmount and Montreal, as well as country houses in Grand Metis, Ste. Agathe and other Quebec sites are documented in photographs. Twenty-seven of Durnford's projects are documented by photographs. Correspondence, specifications, notes and clippings relating to seventy-four of Durnford's projects are also found in the fonds. The majority of the papers (1922-1972) concern additions and alterations to residential dwellings in Westmount and Montreal and country houses in the surrounding regions.
"Dessins architecturaux, 1916-1972, 2206 dessins." Quatre-vingt-quatorze projets sont documentés par des dessins architecturaux, allant des dessins d'étudiant de Durnford aux modifications apportées à l'église paroissiale St. Georges de Richmond Square, à Montréal, au début des années 70. La plupart des projets sont des résidences urbaines ou rurales construites à Montréal, surtout à Westmount et dans les régions environnantes. La maison de la Fraternité Zeta Psi, rue University, à Montréal, fait partie des rares immeubles publics représentés en détail dans le fonds.
"Photographies, 1926-1969, 102 photos." Il s'agit surtout de plans, d'annexes et de modifications à des maisons de Westmount et de Montréal de même quà des résidences d'été à Grand-Métis, Sainte-Agathe et ailleurs au Québec. Vingt-sept des projets de Durnford sont documentés par des photos.
"Documents, 1922-1972, 78 cm." De la correspondance, des cahiers des charges, des notes et des coupures de presse se rapportant à soixante-quatorze des projets de Durnford. La plupart de ces documents ont trait à des annexes et modifications à des résidences de Westmount et de Montréal ainsi qu'à des résidences d'été dans les régions environnantes.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Associated materials
McGill University Archives, M.G. 3035, contains materials created by Durnford including two of his sketchbooks of Glasgow architecture and scenery as well as medieval and domestic architecture in France and Britain, approximately 1920; postcards of Wells Cathedral in England from approximately 1920; and a mimeographed notebook for a piloting course, dated 1951.
Accruals
Alternative identifier(s)
CAC Database ID
9
Wikidata Q identifier
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q71844063