Background
Born at Kincaple, Fife, he was the son of J. Ogilvy Fairlie of Myers (1848-1916) and Jane Mary Fairlie. With the death of his father on 28 September 1916 Reginald fell heir to the family estate of Myers.
Born at Kincaple, Fife, he was the son of J. Ogilvy Fairlie of Myers (1848-1916) and Jane Mary Fairlie. With the death of his father on 28 September 1916 Reginald fell heir to the family estate of Myers.
He was educated in Birmingham. He was apprenticed to Robert Lorimer in 1901 and much of his style echoes that of Lorimer.
He served as a commissioner of RCAHMS and on the Ancient Monuments Board for Scotland. Ian Gordon Lindsay trained under him (1927-1930). A faithful Roman Catholic, Fairlie designed many war memorials, churches and restorations of castles.
From a long list of commissions only a handful fall outside the borders of Scotland.
He set up office at 14 Randolph Place in 1908. In the early 1920s he designed a series of war memorials, largely working with the sculptor Alexander Carrick.
After the war (around 1920) he joined forces briefly with the architects Reid and Forbes and worked on some award winning housing schemes including Northfield in Edinburgh. He set up his own office at 7 Ainslie Place (which was also his home) in 1925 but remained linked with Reid and Forbes until 1926.
His neighbour at 7 Ainslie Place was Francis Cadell the artist and they became friends and remained so even after Cadell moved house.
He pulled Hew into some of his projects including the prestigious National Library project where Hew provided the figurative sculpture on the frontage. Fairlie lived the life of a bachelor with a personal servant, Robertson, serving him faithfully until death in 1938. He leased Inchrye Abbey from 1931 to 1939 for shooting parties and falconry.
Work ceased on most projects during World World War II, including his major commission for the National Library.
The work on the library did not resume until 1950. lieutenant lies on the eastern wall, towards the south-east corner.
Memorials he designed include: Kinclaven War Memorial, 1919 Moffat War Memorial, 1919 Peebles War Memorial, 1919 Auchtermuchty War Memorial, 1920 Blairgowrie War Memorial, 1920 Monzievaird and Strachan War Memorial, 1920 Tomb of Canon Lyle, Street Joseph"s Remote Control Church, Peebles, 1920.
In 1933 he became elected a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy. He was also a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission and the Forestry Commission.