James M MacLaren, a farmer’s son from Boquhapple near Thornhill, was educated at Stirling High School (for which he later built a striking extension) and trained in Glasgow, London and Paris.
James Marjoribanks MacLaren
He worked on the restoration of Lanhydrock House in Cornwall before setting up in practice in London. His innovation in Fortingall was to combine the newly fashionable arts and crafts ideas with his own interpretation of Scottish vernacular architecture.