Architect and artist. Born in Glasgow, into a family noted as master-masons in Aberdeenshire in the 17th C., Leiper was educated at the High School of Glasgow and trained as an architect in Glasgow and London. He then worked with Andrew Heiton (1823-94) on a church in Dublin. In 1864, he was responsible for Dowanhill Church in Glasgow, with its prominent 59.4m / 195 foot steeple, which made his reputation. Thereafter he gained several important commissions, including Dumbarton Burgh Halls (1883), Templeton's Carpet Factory (1889), the Sun Life Building on West George Street (also 1889) and Black's Memorial Lighthouse on Mull (1901), together with interiors such as the banqueting hall of Glasgow City Chambers and the Russian Imperial yacht Livadia (1880). His other work included domestic and ecclesiastical architecture in and around Glasgow and Helensburgh, where he lived for much of his life. His work was in the Arts and Crafts, Scots Baronial and Gothic Revival styles. Leiper was also a skilled artist and experimented with photography. He died in Helensburgh.
