LYON, John

Architect

CPIA (1927); ISAA (1927).

Was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and educated at Robert Gordon's College and Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen. He was apprenticed to Ellis & Wilson in Aberdeen and to Niven & Wigglesworth in London and in 1896 came to South Africa. He joined Sydney STENT'S office in the Cape and in 1898 opened his own practice in Cape Town, living at Sidbury, Chartley Road, Rondebosch. He designed the synagogue in Roeland Street (n.d.) and the first Southern Life Assurance Building, St George's Street, with CH SMITH (1905-1907), which commission Lyon won in competition with over forty-six other designs: George RANSOME was placed second and William HAWKE, third (SAB Nov 1935:39). In 1912 he entered into partnership with WAR FALLON which partnership ended in November 1923 (cf LYON & FALLON). In about 1927 he entered into partnership with JZ SCHUURMANS-STEKHOVEN in Cape Town (cf LYON & STEKHOVEN); the partnership lasted until Lyon's death which occured suddenly in Cape Town in 1938. Lyon's obituary (SAB Oct 1938:68) mentioned his responsibility for the Huguenot Memorial Hall, South-West House and the Jan van Riebeeck Hoërskool, all in Cape Town.

(ISAA mem list; Picton-Seymour 1977; Radford 1979; SAB Oct 1938:68 obit; SAWW 1909, 1910, 1935)

Publ: Reinforced concrete: in relation to colonial building, SAAE&S Jnl Aug 1906:162-3.

All truncated references not fully cited in 'References' are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.

List of projects

With photographs
With notes

Carnegie Library - now Police Museum: 1910. Muizenberg, Western Cape - Architect

Hoffman Bldg: pre-1910. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect

Huguenot Memorial Hall: c1938. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect

Jan van Riebeeck High School: 1931. Cape Town, Western Cape - Design Architect *

Roeland Street Synagogue: c1907. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect

Shops for I Asherson: 1800s : 1901. Zonnebloem, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect *

South-West Building - Leadership House: pre-1938. Central, Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect

Southern Life Assurance Building - First: 1905. Cape Town, Western Cape - Architect 1905 *

Books citing LYON

ISAA. 1927. Register of Members the Institute of South African Architects. Johannesburg: ISAA (Unpublished Record). pp L20

Martin, Desmond. 2007. Walking Long Street. Cape Town: Struik. pp 43

Walker, Michael. 2010. A Statement In Stone. Cape Town: Privately published by Michael Walker. pp 85-87

Walker, Michael. 2015. Old hotels of Cape Town (1890-1911), The : A history long forgotten, seldom told. St James: Published Privately. pp 20, 72