Scotland: Edith Mary Wardlaw Burnet Hughes

Born in 1888 in Edinburgh, Scotland, Edith Mary Wardlaw Burnet Hughes is considered the first woman to practice architecture in Scotland (1920). She studied art and architecture at the Sorbonne in Paris, France (c. 1906) then relocated to Dresden, Germany (1909), and to Florence, Italy (1911), to continue her art education. When Hughes returned to Scotland (c. 1912), she enrolled in Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, earning a diploma in architecture (1914). Hughes worked for various architectural firms in Aberdeen (1914–1915) and gained academic experience working as a lecturer at Gray’s School of Art and at the Normal School (1915–1918). Her initial academic appointment focused on the history of art and architecture (1915); this evolved to the role of assistant lecturer in design (c. 1915–1918). Hughes established an independent architectural firm in Glasglow, Scotland (1920), and in the same year began to teach at the Glasgow School of Art (1920). She was selected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS, 1968), and was nominated as an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA, 1927). She died in 1971 in Stirling, Scotland.