The banking hall is octagonal and domed the centre of which is glazed, the walls and columns have faience decoration the floor is of mosaic. The builder was William Sindall; the structural steel work was by A. Hanyside & Co.; the stone carving, mainly around the doorway, on the clock tower and in the gables was by Farmer & Brindley; the ceramic tiles were made by Craven Dunnill & Co.; the faience was by Burmantofts; the mosaic flooring was by J.F. Ebner and J. Rust; the decorative iron work and light fittings were made by Hart Son Peard & Co.; the lighting was by Belshaw & Co.; the clock in the tower was made by John Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell.
Commercial buildings
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse | Commercial buildings
He has designed the former Bassett and Harris Bank, National Provincial Bank and a few others. Manchester Town Hall, University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. Manchester Town Hall, Natural History Museum, Eaton Hall, National Liberal Club, etc. Manchester Town Hall, the Manchester Assize buildings and Strangeways Prison
who designed the ceilings of the natural history museum in london?
user
Alfred Waterhouse
assistant
what drawings do those depict?
user
The central hall depicts plants considered significant to the history of the museum, o the British Empire and the smaller North Hall depicts plants growing in the British Isles.
assistant
what special antique pieces will you find under that roof?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
are they any room sections in the museum that come that ceiling?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
are they any room sections in the museum that come under that specific ceiling?
user
The Central Hall and the North Hall
assistant
could you tell me the date of birth of that designer you had mentioned?
user
19 July 1830
assistant
where was he born?
user
Stone Hill, Liverpool
assistant
name a few educational institutions that he attended.
user
Quaker Grove House School
assistant
when was it established?
user
1828
assistant
who established it that year?
user
Thomas Binns
assistant
can you name a few of that designer's other works?
user
Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) was a prolific English architect who worked in the second half of the 19th century. His buildings were largely in Victorian Gothic Revival style. Waterhouse's biographer, Colin Cunningham, states that between about 1865 and about 1885 he was "the most widely employed British architect". He worked in many fields, designing commercial, public, educational, domestic, and ecclesiastical buildings. Waterhouse was born in Liverpool of Quaker parents. After being articled to Richard Lane in Manchester, he took a ten-month tour of the Continent, then established his own practice in Manchester. Many of his early commissions came from Quakers and other nonconformist patrons.
List of commercial buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
He came to national recognition when he won a competition for the design of Manchester assize courts. His next major public commissions in Manchester were for Strangeways Gaol and Manchester Town Hall. In 1865 he opened an office in London, which was followed by his first major commission in London, the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile, he was also designing country houses. Here his major work was the rebuilding of Eaton Hall in Cheshire for the 1st Duke of Westminster, which was "the most expensive country house of the [19th] century". He also designed educational buildings including schools and works for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, and Liverpool.
List of commercial buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
In addition to his design work as an architect, Waterhouse was an assessor for about 60 architectural competitions. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878 for his design for Manchester Town Hall, and was president of that institution from 1888 to 1891. He was gained international diplomas, and in 1895 was awarded an honorary LL.D by Manchester University. Waterhouse was also a painter, exhibiting 80 watercolours at the Royal Academy. He suffered a stroke in 1901, and died in his home at Yattendon, Berkshire, in 1905. His practice was continued by his son Paul, followed by his grandson, Michael, and his great-grandson.
List of commercial buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
In the commercial field, he designed banks, and offices for insurance and assurance companies, especially the Prudential Assurance Company, for whom he built 27 buildings. Waterhouse's success came from "a thoroughly professional approach rather than on brilliance or innovation as a stylist". He paid particular attention to detail and, although he designed many major buildings, he still accepted smaller commissions. Although most of his work was in the Gothic Revival style, he also employed other styles, including Romanesque and French Renaissance. He used many building materials, but is noted for his use of red brick and terracotta. The use of these materials for many university buildings in the north of England is a major factor in their being termed "red brick universities".
List of commercial buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
In London he designed 1a Old Bond Street (1880), Westminster, for Wakefield Christy, a shop with offices above, at a cost of £11,310 (approx £1,350,000 in 2019). He also designed offices for the National Provincial Bank in Piccadilly, London (1892–96), four floors high with a stone facade. The distinctive Foster's Bank (1891–94), Sidney Street, Cambridge, built on an irregular site. In style it is Jacobethan. The exterior has a stone ground floor with banded stone and red brick covering the two upper floors and the gables. There is a clock tower on the right of the facade above the main entrance.
Alfred Waterhouse | Commercial buildings
His estate at death amounted to over £215,000 (equivalent to £ as of ).
List of commercial buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
In the commercial field, he designed banks, and offices for insurance and assurance companies, especially the Prudential Assurance Company, for whom he built 27 buildings. Waterhouse's success came from "a thoroughly professional approach rather than on brilliance or innovation as a stylist". He paid particular attention to detail and, although he designed many major buildings, he still accepted smaller commissions. Although most of his work was in the Gothic Revival style, he also employed other styles, including Romanesque and French Renaissance. He used many building materials, but is noted for his use of red brick and terracotta. The use of these materials for many university buildings in the north of England is a major factor in their being termed "red brick universities".
List of domestic works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Burke & Co. and the oak chimneypieces used in other rooms were by W. Farmer; decoration was by J. Hankins; decorative iron work was by Hart Son Peard & Co. and F.A. Skidmore & Co.; the decorative plasterwork was executed by J.W. Hindshaw. The clerk of works was Alexander Gray.
Alfred Waterhouse | Domestic buildings
The names of the buildings and the names of the county they are located in, both in the lists and gallery, are those in use when Waterhouse designed the buildings.
Alfred Waterhouse | List of architectural work
In the commercial field, he designed banks, and offices for insurance and assurance companies, especially the Prudential Assurance Company, for whom he built 27 buildings. Waterhouse's success came from "a thoroughly professional approach rather than on brilliance or innovation as a stylist". He paid particular attention to detail and, although he designed many major buildings, he still accepted smaller commissions. Although most of his work was in the Gothic Revival style, he also employed other styles, including Romanesque and French Renaissance. He used many building materials, but is noted for his use of red brick and terracotta. The use of these materials for many university buildings in the north of England is a major factor in their being termed "red brick universities".
List of public and civic buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Waterhouse became a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1861, and was president from 1888 to 1891. Waterhouse's presidential address included the following: He was awarded a rappel to the grand prix for architecture at the Paris Exposition of 1867. In 1878 he received the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Waterhouse first exhibited one of his designs at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1857, and then from 1868 to 1901 with the exception of 1873 he exhibited mainly designs of his own buildings annually. But in later years he sometimes exhibited topographical views from both his British and European travels.
Alfred Waterhouse | Recognition and professional life
In addition to his extensive work for the Prudential Assurance Company (see section below), Waterhouse designed banks, offices, the occasional shop and warehouse buildings. Manchester even after he had moved to London proved a particularly fruitful source of commissions. Including 16 Nicholas Street (1872–75) a warehouse, built for Bryce Smith & Co. cotton manufacturers, in a Jacobethan style, five floors plus a basement and attic. Stylistically there are some Renaissance details but with Gothic as well. It is of red brick with stone dressings and a slate roof. It cost £8,625. There are a couple of building by Waterhouse in Spring Gardens, Manchester, no.
Alfred Waterhouse | Commercial buildings
Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) was a prolific English architect who worked in the second half of the 19th century. His buildings were largely in Victorian Gothic Revival style. Waterhouse's biographer, Colin Cunningham, states that between about 1865 and about 1885 he was "the most widely employed British architect". He worked in many fields, designing commercial, public, educational, domestic, and ecclesiastical buildings. Waterhouse was born in Liverpool of Quaker parents. After being articled to Richard Lane in Manchester, he took a ten-month tour of the Continent, then established his own practice in Manchester. Many of his early commissions came from Quakers and other nonconformist patrons.
List of public and civic buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
In the commercial field, he designed banks, and offices for insurance and assurance companies, especially the Prudential Assurance Company, for whom he built 27 buildings. Waterhouse's success came from "a thoroughly professional approach rather than on brilliance or innovation as a stylist". He paid particular attention to detail and, although he designed many major buildings, he still accepted smaller commissions. Although most of his work was in the Gothic Revival style, he also employed other styles, including Romanesque and French Renaissance. He used many building materials, but is noted for his use of red brick and terracotta. The use of these materials for many university buildings in the north of England is a major factor in their being termed "red brick universities".
List of educational buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) was a prolific English architect who worked in the second half of the 19th century. His buildings were largely in Victorian Gothic Revival style. Waterhouse's biographer, Colin Cunningham, states that between about 1865 and about 1885 he was "the most widely employed British architect". He worked in many fields, designing commercial, public, educational, domestic, and ecclesiastical buildings. Waterhouse was born in Liverpool of Quaker parents. After being articled to Richard Lane in Manchester, he took a ten-month tour of the Continent, then established his own practice in Manchester. Many of his early commissions came from Quakers and other nonconformist patrons.
List of educational buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
He was particularly active in designing buildings for universities, including both Oxford and Cambridge but also what became Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds universities. He designed many country houses, the most important being Eaton Hall in Cheshire, largely demolished in 1961-63. He designed several bank buildings and offices for insurance companies, most notably the Prudential Assurance Company. Although not a major church designer he produced several notable churches and chapels. He was both a member of The Royal Institute of British Architects, of which he served a term as President, and a Royal Academician, acting as Treasurer for the Royal Academy.
Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
The builders were John Wood; heating and ventilation was by G.N. Haden and D.O. Boyd; the modelling of the terracotta was by Farmer & Brindley; the ceramic tiles were made Craven Dunnill & Co. and W. Godwin; glass was provided by F.T. Odell; chimney-pieces were by the Hopton Wood Stone Co.; furniture was made by Wells & Co. of Bedford; decorative iron work was executed by Hart Son Peard & Co. and R. Jones; locks and door furniture was made by J. Gibbons.
Alfred Waterhouse | Public buildings
In the commercial field, he designed banks, and offices for insurance and assurance companies, especially the Prudential Assurance Company, for whom he built 27 buildings. Waterhouse's success came from "a thoroughly professional approach rather than on brilliance or innovation as a stylist". He paid particular attention to detail and, although he designed many major buildings, he still accepted smaller commissions. Although most of his work was in the Gothic Revival style, he also employed other styles, including Romanesque and French Renaissance. He used many building materials, but is noted for his use of red brick and terracotta. The use of these materials for many university buildings in the north of England is a major factor in their being termed "red brick universities".
List of ecclesiastical works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
41 (1888–90) was built for the National Provincial Bank, built on a curving corner, five floors high, stone-faced, in a German Renaissance style, it cost £36,495. No 60-62 (1881–83) was built as a warehouse built for the company of J.H. Gartside & Co. who were cotton weavers, in a Renaissance revival style. It is stone-faced with rusticated arches on the ground floor, and with octagonal domed turrets at the corners. Three storeys tall with basement and attics with dormer windows with pediments, it cost £22,965. Other commercial buildings by Waterhouse are the former Bassett and Harris Bank (1865–67) in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, is a solid two-story stone building, in a Gothic style.
Alfred Waterhouse | Commercial buildings
Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) was a prolific English architect who worked in the second half of the 19th century. His buildings were largely in Victorian Gothic Revival style. Waterhouse's biographer, Colin Cunningham, states that between about 1865 and about 1885 he was "the most widely employed British architect". He worked in many fields, designing commercial, public, educational, domestic, and ecclesiastical buildings. Waterhouse was born in Liverpool of Quaker parents. After being articled to Richard Lane in Manchester, he took a ten-month tour of the Continent, then established his own practice in Manchester. Many of his early commissions came from Quakers and other nonconformist patrons.
List of domestic works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known for his design for Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum in London, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the country. Besides his most famous public buildings he designed other town halls, the Manchester Assize buildings—bombed in World War II, and the adjacent Strangeways Prison. He also designed several hospitals, the most architecturally interesting being the Royal Infirmary Liverpool and University College Hospital London.
Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Many of Waterhouse's commissions for educational buildings involved multi-phase development, sometimes over several decades. This is so of both the Northern universities and Oxford and Cambridge colleges. His school buildings, smaller and usually new-built were more usually built in a single phase.
Alfred Waterhouse | Educational buildings
Waterhouse has a lasting reputation as a planner of efficient buildings, he was adept at using awkward sites to advantage, and with his public buildings combining large and small rooms and circulation spaces in a coherent manner. Part of Waterhouse's presidential address at the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1890 addresses the subject of planning buildings:
Alfred Waterhouse | Waterhouse as a planner of buildings
In addition to his design work as an architect, Waterhouse was an assessor for about 60 architectural competitions. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878 for his design for Manchester Town Hall, and was president of that institution from 1888 to 1891. He was gained international diplomas, and in 1895 was awarded an honorary LL.D by Manchester University. Waterhouse was also a painter, exhibiting 80 watercolours at the Royal Academy. He suffered a stroke in 1901, and died in his home at Yattendon, Berkshire, in 1905. His practice was continued by his son Paul, followed by his grandson, Michael, and his great-grandson.
List of public and civic buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Burks; internal decoration was by L. Liberty & Co.; furniture and fittings were manufactured by H, Capel, Glouster Wagon Company, and Maple & Co.; decorative ironwork was manufactured by Hart Son Peard & Co. "The Building News" of 8 April 1878 described the new building: Between 1876 and 1901 he would go onto design buildings for the Prudential not just their headquarters but a further twenty-one offices at towns and cities throughout Britain, Paul Waterhouse would design further buildings for the company after his father retired. The sites for the buildings were often awkward and hemmed in, but had to include a large public office, space for the clerks and separate offices for the managers.
Alfred Waterhouse | Prudential Assurance Company
During his career Waterhouse built or made major alterations to around ninety houses for clients of varying wealth. The clients were largely upper middle class rather than aristocrats. The houses ranged from country cottages, parsonages, suburban houses mainly in the expanding cities of the Victorian age to large country houses. In the 1860s and 1870s Waterhouse received an increasing number of commissions for larger country mansions from bankers and industrialists. Later in his career from around 1880, Waterhouse received fewer commissions for houses, fashions were changing. Late Victorian taste was turning to houses in the Queen Anne Style and in the Arts and Crafts style, both of which were at odds with Waterhouse's robust style.
Alfred Waterhouse | Domestic buildings
and the North of England School Furniture Co.; ironwork was by Hart Son Peard & Co. and R. Jones; the main clock was by Gillett & Bland. the clerk of works was T.M. Rickman
Alfred Waterhouse | School buildings
The bank cost £32,190.
Alfred Waterhouse | Commercial buildings
His first commission for a commercial building was for the now demolished Binyon & Fryer warehouse and sugar refinery in Chester Street, Manchester (1855). The building was of two floors made of brick with stone dressings and Italianate in style, there was an intention to build upper floors based on the Doges Palace that remained unbuilt. Also he designed the Droylesden Institute (1858, demolished) in the Manchester suburb of Droylsden, it contained a reading room and other educational facilities, it had some Gothic details. A similar building was the Bingley Mechanics' Institute built (1862–65), located in Bingley, with a hall and reading room in a Gothic style.
Alfred Waterhouse | Manchester practice (1854–1865)
In addition to his design work as an architect, Waterhouse was an assessor for about 60 architectural competitions. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878 for his design for Manchester Town Hall, and was president of that institution from 1888 to 1891. He was gained international diplomas, and in 1895 was awarded an honorary LL.D by Manchester University. Waterhouse was also a painter, exhibiting 80 watercolours at the Royal Academy. He suffered a stroke in 1901, and died in his home at Yattendon, Berkshire, in 1905. His practice was continued by his son Paul, followed by his grandson, Michael, and his great-grandson.
List of educational buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
He came to national recognition when he won a competition for the design of Manchester assize courts. His next major public commissions in Manchester were for Strangeways Gaol and Manchester Town Hall. In 1865 he opened an office in London, which was followed by his first major commission in London, the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile he was also designing country houses. Here his major work was the rebuilding of Eaton Hall in Cheshire for the 1st Duke of Westminster, which was "the most expensive country house of the [19th] century". He also designed educational buildings including schools and works for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, and Liverpool.
List of educational buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Financially speaking, Waterhouse was probably the most successful of all Victorian architects. He designed some of the most expensive buildings of the Victorian age. The three most expensive were Manchester Town Hall, Eaton Hall and the Natural History Museum all under construction during the 1870s. They were also among the largest buildings of their type built during the period. He also attracted loyal clients, often across decades. For example, the Mistresses of Girton College, who from the initial commission in 1871, kept returning to him for new phases in the building's construction until he retired. The same was true of the Prudential Assurance Company, from the first phase of their headquarters Holborn Bars in 1876.
Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
He came to national recognition when he won success in a competition for the design of Manchester assize courts. His next major public commissions in Manchester were for Strangeways Gaol and Manchester Town Hall. In 1865 he opened an office in London, which was followed by his first major commission in London, the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile he was also designing country houses. Here his major work was the rebuilding of Eaton Hall in Cheshire for the 1st Duke of Westminster, which was "the most expensive country house of the [19th] century". He also designed educational buildings including schools and works for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, and Liverpool.
List of public and civic buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
As with the architectural styles he used when designing his buildings, the materials and decoration also show the use of diverse materials. Waterhouse is known for the use of terracotta on the exterior of his buildings, most famously at the Natural History Museum. He also used faience, once its mass production was possible, on the interiors of his buildings. Such as the Victoria Building, University of Liverpool. But he also used brick, often a combination of different colours, or with other materials such as terracotta and stone. This was especially the case with his buildings for the Prudential Assurance Company, educational, hospital and domestic buildings.
Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Also of importance to the success of Waterhouse's architectural practice were good quality subcontractors, for example for stained-glass in his early career he favoured Lavers, Barraud and Westlake, whereas the more famous Clayton and Bell only received two orders from Waterhouse, later he preferred Heaton, Butler and Bayne. Frederic Shields designed the sixteen stained-glass windows in the Chapel at Eaton Hall as well as the accompanying mosaic decoration. Hardman & Co. was used occasionally for metalwork. In the 1860s he used Mintons or Maw & Co for ceramic tiles. Later he preferred Craven Dunnill or William Godwin. For furniture Maple & Co.
Alfred Waterhouse | Artists, suppliers and sub-contractors
The banking hall is octagonal and domed the centre of which is glazed, the walls and columns have faience decoration the floor is of mosaic. The builder was William Sindall; the structural steel work was by A. Hanyside & Co.; the stone carving, mainly around the doorway, on the clock tower and in the gables was by Farmer & Brindley; the ceramic tiles were made by Craven Dunnill & Co.; the faience was by Burmantofts; the mosaic flooring was by J.F. Ebner and J. Rust; the decorative iron work and light fittings were made by Hart Son Peard & Co.; the lighting was by Belshaw & Co.; the clock in the tower was made by John Moore & Sons of Clerkenwell.
Alfred Waterhouse | Commercial buildings
of Faith, Hope and Charity (1877). He also designed the stables, the walled garden, a lodge, and cottages. The builders were William Cubitt and Company; the heating and ventilation was by D.O. Boyd; stone carving internally and externally was by Farmer & Brindly; decorative ceramic tiles were designed by J.M. Akllen, W. Godwin and William De Morgan; apart from Morris & Co., stained glass was also made by Edmundson & Sons and F.T. Odell; the chimneypieces were made by W.H. Burke & Co.; decorative iron work was by Hart Son Peard & Co. and R. Jones; plaster-work was executed by G.
Alfred Waterhouse | Building restoration
Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) was a prolific English architect who worked in the second half of the 19th century. His buildings were largely in Victorian Gothic Revival style. Waterhouse's biographer, Colin Cunningham, states that between about 1865 and about 1885 he was "the most widely employed British architect". He worked in many fields, designing commercial, public, educational, domestic, and ecclesiastical buildings. Waterhouse was born in Liverpool of Quaker parents. After being articled to Richard Lane in Manchester, he took a ten-month tour of the Continent, then established his own practice in Manchester. Many of his early commissions came from Quakers and other nonconformist patrons.
List of ecclesiastical works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
He came to national recognition when he won a competition for the design of Manchester assize courts. His next major public commissions in Manchester were for Strangeways Gaol and Manchester Town Hall. In 1865 he opened an office in London, which was followed by his first major commission in London, the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile he was also designing country houses. Here his major work was the rebuilding of Eaton Hall in Cheshire for the 1st Duke of Westminster, which was "the most expensive country house of the [19th] century". He also designed educational buildings including schools and works for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, and Liverpool.
List of domestic works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
All the buildings had elaborate roofs with gables and many have towers or turrets. The interiors have typical faience clad walls and columns in the public offices and managers offices. The statue of Prudence above the main entrance to the Nottingham building was modelled by F.W. Pomeroy. The bright red terracotta used on many of the regional buildings was manufactured by J.C. Edwards of Ruabon.
Alfred Waterhouse | Prudential Assurance Company
Waterhouse designed furniture but only for his own buildings, and only for a specific commission, ensuring stylistic harmony. His first known design being a desk in the 1850s for his father. Buildings that have Waterhouse designed furniture include Manchester Town Hall, both the grand rooms and the office areas; classroom desks at Reading Grammar School; office furniture for the Prudential Assurance offices and the National Liberal Club. He preferred simple sturdy designs for his furniture. For eighteen of his buildings including Manchester Town Hall, he used the contractor Robert Pollitt to execute the painted decoration. Extensive correspondence survives between Waterhouse and Minton's and Maw's about patterns and colours that their tiles came in, both for floors and walls.
Alfred Waterhouse | Interior design, furniture and fittings
There are other examples, especially universities and colleges. Waterhouse had a reputation for being able to plan logically laid out buildings, often on awkward or cramped sites. He also built soundly constructed buildings, having built up a well structured and organised architectural office. He also used reliable sub-contractors and suppliers. His versatility in stylistic matters also attracted clients. Though expert within Neo-Gothic, Renaissance revival and Romanesque revival styles, Waterhouse never limited himself to a single architectural style. He often used eclecticism in his buildings. Styles that he used occasionally include Tudor revival, Jacobethan, Italianate, and some only one or two times such as, Scottish baronial architecture, Baroque Revival, Queen Anne style architecture and Neoclassical architecture.
Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
It is a suburban house, but with large gardens. It is in Italianate style one rarely used by Waterhouse, he refaced the existing eighteenth-century house in Bath stone, adding the tower with its belvedere, also entrance cloister and new main staircase, plus a new kitchen wing in brick. The cost was £12,850. The builders were J. & J. Foster; ceramic tiles were provided by W. Godwin; the stained glass was made by Heaton Butler & Bayne; the panelling in the drawing room was executed by Howard & Son; chimneypieces in the hall were by Benham & Co., in the staircase hall by W.H.
Alfred Waterhouse | Domestic buildings
He came to national recognition when he won a competition for the design of Manchester assize courts. His next major public commissions in Manchester were for Strangeways Gaol and Manchester Town Hall. In 1865 he opened an office in London, which was followed by his first major commission in London, the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile, he was also designing country houses. Here his major work was the rebuilding of Eaton Hall in Cheshire for the 1st Duke of Westminster, which was "the most expensive country house of the [19th] century". He also designed educational buildings including schools and works for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, and Liverpool.
List of ecclesiastical works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
His estate at death amounted to over £215,000 (equivalent to £ as of ).
List of public and civic buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
Under the supervision of one of the seniors a team would be assembled for each job, for example forty draughtsmen were involved at Manchester Town Hall, although it was usually below twenty at any given time. The drawings from 1858 were consistent in style throughout Waterhouses's career, it was a crisp style with strong lines with colour coding, buff red for brick, yellow for stone, brown for timber, blue for metal. Blueprints were introduced into the office in c.1890.
Alfred Waterhouse | Organisation of Waterhouse's architectural office
In addition to his design work as an architect, Waterhouse was an assessor for about 60 architectural competitions. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878 for his design for Manchester Town Hall, and was president of that institution from 1888 to 1891. He was gained international diplomas, and in 1895 was awarded an honorary LL.D by Manchester University. Waterhouse was also a painter, exhibiting 80 watercolours at the Royal Academy. He suffered a stroke in 1901, and died in his home at Yattendon, Berkshire, in 1905. His practice was continued by his son Paul, followed by his grandson, Michael, and his great-grandson.
List of domestic works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
But John Gibson dropped out leaving eleven: Waterhouse, William Burges, George Gilbert Scott, John Pollard Seddon, Edward Middleton Barry, the little known Henry Robert Abrahms, the also obscure Henry B. Garling, John Raphael Rodrigues Brandon, Henry Francis Lockwood, Thomas Deane and the eventual winner George Edmund Street. All the competitors chose to produce Gothic designs .Waterhouse's design was based around two large halls that formed a cruciform design. The lower level of the north-south hall was for the general public with short corridors linked to staircases leading to public galleries in the courtrooms. The east-west hall 478 by 60 feet, crossed the lower one at upper level reserved for the use by lawyers.
Alfred Waterhouse | London practice (1865–1902)
The most famous artworks to adorn one of Waterhouse's buildings are The Manchester Murals, painted by Ford Madox Brown in the Great Hall at Manchester Town Hall.
Alfred Waterhouse | Artists, suppliers and sub-contractors
Alfred Waterhouse was educated at the Quaker Grove House School in Tottenham. He began his architectural studies in 1848 under Richard Lane in Manchester. He was taught to produce architectural drawings with crisp lines and pale tints, very different from the style he would develop later. He was taught theory by copying extracts from books, including Henry William Inwood's "Of the Resources of Design in the Architecture of Greece, Egypt, and other Countries, obtained by the Studies of the Architects of those Countries from Nature" (1834) and William Chamber's "A treatise on civil architecture" (1759), he also traced the designs in Frederick Apthorp Paley's "Manual of Gothic Mouldings" (1845).
Alfred Waterhouse | Early life and education (1830–1854)
The general contractor for the building work was William Southern; marble work was by J. & H. Patterson; fixtures, fittings and furnishings were made by Doveston, Davey and Hull & Co.; decorative iron work was made by Hart Son Peard & Co. The cost was £3,100 with further work in 1896 at £445 and in 1901 at £205.
Alfred Waterhouse | Building restoration
Waterhouse's move to London, was at a fortuitous time, London was undergoing major expansion and rebuilding in the 1860s. Both his brothers Edwin and Theodore were already living there. Before his move he had already been commissioned to design the Quaker run Alexander and Cunliffe's Bank (1864–67) in Lombard Street, City of London, (demolished), Italianate with Gothic features, four-storied of stone. The competition to design the Royal Courts of Justice was by invitation only. It was decided in late 1865 to limit it to six competitors, of which Waterhouse was one. The instructions were drafted in 1866. Due to objections the number of invited architects was increased to twelve.
Alfred Waterhouse | London practice (1865–1902)
Each of the completed drawings is also dated, some surviving sheets are either unnumbered or damaged. A smaller commission may have needed as few as fifty drawings. Most of the drawings are anonymous and thanks to the uniform style of production it is not possible to distinguish individuals, though some of the seniors in the office like G.T. Redmayne were allowed to initial drawings. In the very early years of his practice the lettering used on the drawings was Gothic, but this was abandoned by the mid-1860s for a plain script. Waterhouse was known for his ability to paint watercolour perspectives, sometimes they were produced for architectural competitions such as the entry for The Royal Courts of Justice competition and Manchester Town Hall, but based on their dates sometimes they were produced towards the end of the building process, most likely for publication.
Alfred Waterhouse | The Waterhouse drawings collection
There were four towers the tallest 354 feet in height. Waterhouse explained the building's plan: The "Building News" magazine issue of February 1867 reviewed Waterhouse's drawings of the design: There were seven judges. After the first round of voting, the three designs that were in the running were, Barry's with two votes, Street's with two votes and Waterhouses's with three votes. Waterhouse's design was supported by the two lawyers Cockburn and Palmer on the jury. After the second round, Barry had four votes and Street three. After much political intrigue, Street was appointed the winner at the end of 1868.
Alfred Waterhouse | London practice (1865–1902)
The bells were cast by John Taylor & Co. The builders were for the foundation C.H. Normanton, the superstructure was built by William Southern. The stained glass in the clerestory was designed by Frederic Shields and made by Heaton Butler & Bayne, the rest of the stained glass was to Waterhouses's design and was executed by F.T. Odell. Internal decoration was executed by Watts & Co.. The polished granite for the monolithic nave columns was provided by G & J Jenning. The stone carving was by Thomas Earp that included the marble and alabaster rood screen that supports four marble statues of the Four Evangelists, reredos and sedilia.
Alfred Waterhouse | Ecclesiastical buildings
A senior draughtsman would typically be responsible for several projects, T. Cooper worked for Waterhouse from 1865-76 covered Backhouse's Bank, Strangeways Prison, Allerton Priory, Foxhill, The Natural History Museum and Eaton Hall. Supervision was entrusted to assistants such as Giles Redmayne who worked for Waterhouse 1859-64, occasionally they would take over jobs in their own right. However, there were never many in the office, Waterhouse would regularly check and correct drawings himself, often he worked alone in the office long after the staff had left for the day. The office had to produce vast numbers of drawings, up to 1875 there were 88 known employees of the office, 29 worked for less than a year some of whom lasted less than a month, 25 draughtsmen were employed for a year or two, of the remaining 33 only 5 lasted through 1865-75.
Alfred Waterhouse | Organisation of Waterhouse's architectural office
It was built by J. Parnell & Sons; heating was by G.N. Haden; the stone was carved by Farmer & Brindley; ceramic tiles were made by W. Godwin; the stained glass was by R.B. Edmundson and F.T. Odell; decorative iron work was by R. Jones and; the plaster ceiling roses were made by J.W. Hindshaw. Waterhouse designed the Shire Hall at Bedford in two phases (1878–81) and (1881–83), that acted as the town's assize courts. Gothic in style was built from dark red brick and red terracotta with a slate roof. The building cost for the first phase £14,495 and for the second £10,345.
Alfred Waterhouse | Public buildings
Some of the drawings were produced onsite with annotations by the clerk of works alerting the office staff to problems in the design, in a few cases the replies to these have survived. Some drawings were annotated by the client for example The Duke of Westminster queried the design of the screen in the Chapel at Eaton Hall. The collection allows a detailed picture of how the office functioned to be built up, although not unique for the period it is rare. None of the sets of drawings is complete and several of Waterhouse's commissions are no longer represented in the collection.
Alfred Waterhouse | The Waterhouse drawings collection
In addition to his design work as an architect, Waterhouse was an assessor for about 60 architectural competitions. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878 for his design for Manchester Town Hall, and was president of that institution from 1888 to 1891. He was gained international diplomas, and in 1895 was awarded an honorary LL.D by Manchester University. Waterhouse was also a painter, exhibiting 80 watercolours at the Royal Academy. He suffered a stroke in 1901, and died in his home at Yattendon, Berkshire, in 1905. His practice was continued by his son Paul, followed by his grandson, Michael, and his great-grandson.
List of ecclesiastical works by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
and Liberty's were favoured, though for Holborn Bars the Gloster Wagon Company provided the office furniture. He tried Francis Skidmore for decorative iron work at Eaton Hall, but finding him unreliable turned to Robert Jones of Manchester and Hart, Son, Peard and Co. for the rest of his career. Jesse Rust & Co. were responsible for executing many mosaic floors in Waterhouse's buildings and the wall mosaics in Eaton Hall Chapel. For heating systems he favoured Haden's of Trowbridge or W.W. Phipson. Other suppliers were Guynan's for blinds and Gibbons of Wolverhampton for locks. Many of Waterhouse's buildings include carving and sculpture, Thomas Earp was commissioned on about a dozen occasions most notably Harris's Bank Leighton Buzzard and St Elizabeth's Reddish.
Alfred Waterhouse | Artists, suppliers and sub-contractors
The following table presents an incomplete list of buildings designed by William Tubby, focusing on those that are extant or for which there is adequate documentation of their style. Note that most addresses link to Google Street View images of the buildings.
William Tubby | List of works
Other institutions have holdings of Waterhouse drawings: the Public Record Office have drawings for the Natural History Museum; the Victoria and Albert Museum holds several of his perspective drawings; Manchester School of Architecture have drawings and perspectives of Manchester Town Hall and some of his other buildings; Balliol College, Oxford, drawings for his work at the College; The Waterhouse family still own some of his drawings, sketches and watercolours.
Alfred Waterhouse | The Waterhouse drawings collection
On the opening day the floor gave way, pitching two prize bulls and a spectator into the basement. The problem was traced to a faulty casting and Waterhouse was exonerated of any blame. This left him distrustful of the material, though he did use it in his designs. When using the material he used either Andrew Handyside and Company or J.S. Bergheim, both of whom supplied the iron for Manchester Town Hall. He was more at home using decorative wrought iron, especially for balustrades, iron screens and gates, finials and other decorative uses of the material.
Alfred Waterhouse | Building materials and service technology
Starting in 1864 with Congleton Town Hall won by Edward William Godwin, he was constantly called upon to act as assessor in architectural competitions. By the time of the last competition he assessed in 1899 for Cartwright Hall, Bradford won by John William Simpson and E.J. Milner Allen, a total of sixty. The more notable include: Plymouth Guildhall selected 1869 the design by Edward William Godwin; Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall 1877, selected the design by William Henry Lynn; Victoria Law Courts, Birmingham 1886, selected the design by Ingress Bell and Aston Webb; He was a member of the international jury appointed to adjudicate on the designs for the west front of Milan Cathedral in 1887; Sheffield Town Hall 1889 design by Edward William Mountford; The Victoria and Albert Museum, then known as the South Kensington Museum 1891 selected the design by Aston Webb; Belfast City Hall 1896 design by Brumwell Thomas and City Hall, Cardiff 1897 by Lanchester, Rickards and Stewart.
Alfred Waterhouse | Recognition and professional life
Waterhouse designed the former North Western Hotel (1868–71), Lime Street, Liverpool, in the style of French Renaissance Revival architecture, it acted as the station hotel for Liverpool Lime Street railway station. Almost symmetrical in design, built from stone, five floors high plus dormer windows in the roof, there are towers with steep pavilion roofs at each corner and also two close together in the centre of the facade these have spire-like roofs with tourelles, the windows are mainly arched, there are double-storey oriel windows at the ends of the facade. Internally there is an impressive stone staircase with wrought-iron balustrade.
Alfred Waterhouse | Public buildings
Born Stone Hill, Liverpool 19 July 1830, but grew up in Aigburth, architect Alfred Waterhouse established his architectural practice first in Manchester in 1854 and from 1865 in London. He achieved national fame for a large number of mostly institutional, commercial and educational buildings throughout England, his best-known buildings being Manchester Town Hall and the Natural History Museum, London. He also designed several structures for his home city. Including the University of Liverpool's Victoria Building, completed in (1889–92). Waterhouse's use of striking red brick and Burmantofts terracotta as building materials for its exterior and tiles inside inspired Edgar Allison Peers, a Spanish professor at Liverpool, to coin the term "Red Brick University" and to then apply it collectively to six recently founded institutions of higher education in some of the major industrial cities of England.
Architecture of Liverpool | Alfred Waterhouse
His estate at death amounted to over £215,000 (equivalent to £ as of ).
List of educational buildings by Alfred Waterhouse | Introduction
The building cost £80,268. The main builders were Haigh & Co; heating and ventilation was by G.N. Haden and D.O. Boyd; the stone carving was by Farmer & Brindley; ceramic tiles were manufactured by Hargreaves & Craven; stained glass, notably the ceiling over the grand staircase was by Heaton, Butler & Baine; chimneypieces were provided by W.H. Burke; the iron work was manufactured by Lester & Hodkinson; and R. Jones; the plaster ceiling roses were made by J.W. Hindshaw. The other major hotel designed by Waterhouse is the Metropole Hotel (1888–89) in Brighton, a seafront hotel, six floors high (a seventh was added later not by Waterhouse).
Alfred Waterhouse | Public buildings
Waterhouse continued to practice in Manchester for 11 years, until moving his practice to London in 1865. At this stage of his career most of his commissions were either in the north-west or north-east of England. His earliest commissions were mainly for domestic buildings. Among Waterhouse's first commissions in 1854 were for his family, a set of stables at Sneyd Park, for his father, who had moved to Bristol and alterations to his uncle Rogers Waterhouse home at Mossley Bank in Liverpool. In executing the commission for the cemetery buildings at Warrington Road, Lower Ince (1855–56), he began his move towards designing public buildings in his developing Neo-Gothic style, building a lodge for the registrar, and two chapels, one Church of England in Gothic style, and one for Roman Catholic and Non-conformists in Norman style.
Alfred Waterhouse | Manchester practice (1854–1865)
Armson designed many buildings in New Zealand including banks, churches, houses, offices, schools, and shops. His commercial buildings were based on a Renaissance architectural style. The banks and offices designs were notable for their "scholarly treatment" and severely correct form, providing excellent examples of Palladian School architecture. In 1861, Armson developed an abstract for an advertising invention: "Application to street hoards of transparent sheets or panes for 'illuminated advertisements'. The invention consists of the whole or any portion of any enclosure made for the purpose of a hoard in any streets or roads during the erection of any building, or for any other purpose whatsoever, with panes or sheets of glass, or any other transparent substance, for the purpose of advertising on them by means of printing, writing, or any manner whatsoever; and also of illuminating such sheets or panes at any times by day or night by means of any kind of lamp or light whatsoever." No drawings were included with the abstract, and the patent was not granted.
William Armson | Career
Building restoration, though never a major part of his work, Waterhouse was occasionally commissioned to restore buildings. Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire, originally built (1706–13) designed by Thomas Archer, was gutted by fire in 1831. The restoration 1871-77 for Albert Brassey, left the exterior virtually as built, Waterhouse was freer with the reconstruction of the interiors of the house. Though using the original English Baroque style. The major interior is the saloon, in the style of John Vanbrugh, stone-walled, rising through two floors, with a stone staircase rising behind an arcade. Above the large stone chimneypiece are three stained glass windows by Morris & Co.
Alfred Waterhouse | Building restoration
The main building contractor was J. Parnell & Sons; heating and ventilation was by D.O. Boyd; stone carving was by Farmer & Brindley; ceramic tiles were provided by R.M. Taylor; stained galss was made by F.T. Odell; chimneypieces were made by Thomas Harrison; furniture and fittings were manufactured by H. Capel; iron work was made by R. Jones; plaster ceiling roses were by J.W. Hindshaw; the bells were cast by J. Warner & Co. St Paul's School in Hammersmith (1881–1884; demolished 1968), built for the Worshipful Company of Mercers, Gothic, in dark brick and terracotta, with slate roof. In consisted of a master's house, caretakers lodge and gazebo, surrounding walls matching school, this was Waterhouse's largest school, with 1000 pupils, the building of three floors plus dormers and basement, it had an E-plan layout.
Alfred Waterhouse | School buildings
When Burmantofts Pottery developed their process to produce faience in 1879 Waterhouse started using it for his interiors. Most notably at The Victoria Building, University of Liverpool; the Chapel, Royal Liverpool Infirmary; Yorkshire College; the National Liberal Club and the final phase of Holborn Bars. He especially liked to clad columns in faience, but walls and fireplaces as well. He also made much use of glazed tiles and terracotta within buildings, for example in the corridors at Manchester Town Hall. He was fairly cautious in the use of cast iron, a result of a problem with the market building at Darlington, his only known building failure.
Alfred Waterhouse | Building materials and service technology
Bergheim; heating and ventilation by W.W. Phipson & D.O. Boyd; the terracotta was manufactured by Gibbs & Canning; granite stonework was laid by Farmer & Brindley, who in conjunction with F. W. Pomeroy, also provided the models for the terracotta decoration, namely the frieze of cherubs that runs around the building below the first floor windows and the decoration and statue over the entrance arch; ceramic tiles by W.B. Simpson; the decorative faience tiles were by Burmantofts, used in the entrance halls, on the main staircase and in the offices used by members of the public; the chimney-pieces were provided by W.H.
Alfred Waterhouse | Prudential Assurance Company
Farmer & Brindley were favoured for sculpture, working on nearly one hundred of Waterhouses's buildings, including a tombstone in West Norwood Cemetery, the pulpit in Stanmore Church and the extensive carving on Eaton Hall, plus all the models for the terracotta decoration on the Prudential Assurance buildings. The ceiling of the Great Hall, at the Natural History Museum, is decorated with paintings of plants from across the world, the paintings are executed in a subdued palette and with gilding for highlights, the individual panels have the Latin name of the plant below. Designed by Waterhouse the ceiling was painted by Best & Lea of John Dalton Street, Manchester.
Alfred Waterhouse | Artists, suppliers and sub-contractors
He continued to design in this manner until the early 1920s. In his later years Waterhouse designed residences in the Spanish Mission Style.
B. J. Waterhouse | Architect
It is in an Italian Renaissance style. Built from red Rowlands Castle brick and terracotta, with a Ruabon tile and zinc roof, there are decorative iron balconies along much of the facade. The facilities included an attached ballroom, with garden court, and a Turkish baths. The builders were J.T. Chappel; structural steel-work was by A. Handyside & Co.; the terracotta was manufactured by Gibbs & Canning and Joseph Cliff & Son; faience tiling was by Burmantofts; clocks were by Gillett & Co.; with the lifts by Waygood. The clerk of works was T. Holloway. Built at the cost of £14,720 (approx £1,850,000 in 2019).
Alfred Waterhouse | Public buildings
His first designs were in Art Nouveau and eclectic style, later he turned to modernism and was influenced by Italian styles.
Alfréd Hajós | Buildings
His career in domestic architecture was to span some 50 years. Waterhouse had a gift for composing shapes, textures, solids and voids into seemingly casual, informal architecture; he was particularly aware of the needs to build in scale and sympathy with people. Thus his houses have a comfortable and warm character, without fuss or strain, free of unnecessary detail. Waterhouse in his early architecture followed the precepts of the English Arts and Crafts movement and his work has a close affinity to that of Voysey, Bailey Scott and Macintosh.
Tulkiyan | Bertrand James (B.J.) Waterhouse
Waterhouse is well known for his use of terracotta and faience as a building material, one of the driving factors being its resistance to air pollution, an increasing problem as the industrial age advanced. He relied on Gibbs and Canning Limited to supply the terracotta for the Natural History Museum, who he worked with to improve the quality of the material. He used Gibbs and Canning for Holborn Bars, though for the regional Prudential buildings terracotta from Ruabon was used. Waterhouse liked terracotta because of its versatility giving him control over the texture of his buildings. Waterhouse had this to say about irregularity in colouring found in terracotta: He used terracotta in buildings of all styles from the Romanesque of the Natural History Museum, the Early English Gothic at Girton College, or the Perpendicular Gothic at St Paul's School Hammersmith, even neoclassical at the Parrot House Eaton Hall.
Alfred Waterhouse | Building materials and service technology
Colleges at both the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge would commission buildings from Waterhouse, indeed from 1865 to his retirement he was almost at continual work at one or both Universities. In (1865–67) the Cambridge Union Society commissioned a new debating hall, smoking room and caretaker's house, he returned twenty years later to double the size of the building with a new wing. At Balliol College, Oxford, his first work was the new Master's Lodge facing Broad Street and the main range L-shaped with a tower above the entrance to the college with a lecture hall (1866–71), in style French thirteenth-century Gothic.
Alfred Waterhouse | Oxford and Cambridge universities
From the late 1860s, Waterhouse lived in Reading, Berkshire, and was responsible for several significant buildings there. These included, alterations to and a new stable block (1861–62) at his parents' home Whiteknights House, his own residences of Foxhill House (1867–68) both houses are now used by University of Reading. Waterhouse built a new country house for himself at Yattendon, called Yattendon Court (1877–78), demolished c.1926. Foxhill House was built with the main block containing the hall, morning room, drawing room and dining room, upstairs were five bedrooms, two dressing rooms and a night and day nursery. The servants wing projected to the east, it was hidden by a conservatory to its south.
Alfred Waterhouse | Domestic buildings
His first large new country house design was Hinderton Hall (1856–57), Cheshire, for Liverpool merchant Christopher Bushell, built of red sandstone, slate roofs, stables, gardener's cottage and boundary walls. Hinderton, Gothic in style, is very restrained and plain compared to his more mature works. Representative of the several suburban houses of his early career is New Heys (1861–65), Allerton, Liverpool, built for lawyer W.G. Benson at a cost of £6,700 (approx £800,000 in 2019), built of brick with stone dressing, with slate roof, it included stables, conservatory, garden layout and furniture. In Nantwich, Churchside, Waterhouse designed the former Manchester and Liverpool District Bank (1863–66), built of red brick, it included the manager's house.
Alfred Waterhouse | Manchester practice (1854–1865)
He is best known for monumental buildings such as the Pittsburgh Athletic Association (1911), the Masonic Temple (1915 - now Alumni Hall of the University of Pittsburgh), William Penn Hotel (1916 and again in 1928), Mellon Institute (1937), the Longue Vue Club (1923), Rolling Rock Club and Stables (1928 - near Ligonier, Pennsylvania), the T.W. Phillips Gas & Oil Company (Butler, Pennsylvania), the Keystone Athletic Club (1929 - now Lawrence Hall of Point Park University), and the Washington Crossing Bridge (Pittsburgh), also called the 40th Street Bridge (1924).
Benno Janssen | Architectural work - commercial
The main facade to the north was symmetrical, with the hall and two three-storey wings of classrooms projecting south in an asymmetrical composition. It cost £105,735 to build (approx £12,150,000 in 2019). The main building contractor was J. Parnell & Sons; structural steelwork was by W.H. Lindsay & Co. and J.S. Bergheim; heating and ventilation was provided by G.N. Haden and D.O. Boyd; modelling of terracotta was by Farmer & Brindley; granite stonework was provided by G. & J. Fenning; ceramic tiles were manufactured by Craven, Dunhill & Co.; window glass was provided by F.T. Odell; chimneypieces were by W,H, Burke and the Hopton Wood Stone Co.; furniture and fittings were provided by Maple & Co.
Alfred Waterhouse | School buildings
His credited designs include those for the Machesney Building (1905) (later known as the Benedum-Trees building), Wilkinsburg High School (1910), the Garden Theater (1915), the Standard Steel Car Company's offices, the McCance Building, and he was also the architect for the Denny estate.
Thomas H. Scott | Introduction
In 1901, Holman also designed a surviving classical Edwardian structure, known as the Commercial Building, at 55 Customs Street, a two-story brick building with an attractive façade topped by an arcaded parapet. Auckland City Council's heritage register notes that "the flamboyance of the building’s façade makes it a significant feature in the streetscape". Other examples of his successful practice still standing include the former W Lambourne Ltd furniture shop on Auckland's Ponsonby Road.
William Alfred Holman | Buildings
He is mainly remembered for his residential buildings, public buildings, schools, zoo designs, and for the Thorne rooms. He also designed some commercial buildings.
Edwin Hill Clark | Architectural work
To cope with the large number of architectural projects the office handled, efficient organisation of the office was vital. At its peak the office could be designing up to thirty different projects at a time. Over his 48-year career Waterhouse employed dozens of draughtsmen and assistants. On setting up the London Office Waterhouse's chief clerk, Willey sought the advice of Waterhouse's brother Edwin: The salaries Waterhouse paid ranged from 5 shillings per week (about £30 in 2019) for an office lad to £3 per week (about £363 in 2019) for senior draughtsman like C.H. Scott who worked for Waterhouse from 1859–75 and chief clerk John Willey worked for Waterhouse from 1859-65.
Alfred Waterhouse | Organisation of Waterhouse's architectural office
They later designed additions to Ernest Coxhead's 1893 Beta Theta Pi house they had lived in as undergraduates, now a listed Berkeley landmark. The firm went on to design a series of familiar San Francisco landmarks, and many buildings at Stanford University, before Brown dissolved the partnership in 1927. For contractual reasons many buildings at Stanford through the 1930s continued to be credited to both.
Arthur Brown Jr. | Career
One of the Waterhouse's significant public buildings in London is the National Liberal Club (1884–87) a Gentlemen's club, it is a study in Renaissance composition. He himself belonged to the Liberal Party and his brother Theodore was solicitor to the club. It was built on a key site overlooking Whitehall Gardens and Victoria Embankment. The budget was a generous £200,000 (about £23,000,000 in 2019) of which £169,950 was spent on the building. The club members had decided they wanted the building in an Italian Classic style. The Builder magazine trying to describe in issue xlvii of 1885 the style of the building had this to say: The site was on an awkward corner, being trapezoidal in shape.
Alfred Waterhouse | National Liberal Club
He also designed Prudential Assurance Building, Liverpool (1885–86), he designed several office buildings for The Prudential Assurance company throughout Britain in the same style. He also designed the Pearl Assurance building, now known as St John's House. A smaller commission was the Turner Home, Liverpool. Waterhouse also designed three large Gothic houses in the city: the first is New Heys (1861–65) for lawyer W.G. Bateson, Allerton Road; then Allerton Priory (1866–75) and its entrance Lodge for colliery owner John Grant Morris and Mossley Hill House (1869–72), Park Avenue, for general broker Lloyd Rayner, it is now part of Mossley Hill Hospital.
Architecture of Liverpool | Alfred Waterhouse
Waterhouse designed other buildings for the university including the Chemical Laboratories (1884–87); the Walker Engineering Block (1887–91), the Gossage Chemical Laboratories (1895–97), the Medical School (1895–97), the Thompson Yates Laboratories (1895–98) and one final work for the University was a joint work with his son Paul Waterhouse for the Medical School, the Whelan Building (1899–1904) that housed the Anatomy Department. Other important Waterhouse complexes are the Liverpool Royal Infirmary (1886–92) and Newsham Park Hospital (1870–75) built as The Liverpool Seamen's Orphan Institution. Waterhouse also designed the Great North Western Hotel (1871) in French renaissance style, that served Liverpool Lime Street railway station.
Architecture of Liverpool | Alfred Waterhouse
Paul Waterhouse was born on 29 October 1861 in Manchester, England. He was the son and business partner of Alfred Waterhouse, an architect who designed many well-known buildings in England and had been President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Waterhouse was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, obtaining his MA in 1887.
Paul Waterhouse | Early life
Waterhouse was never a major church designer, but throughout his career he received commissions for churches and chapels. In 1865 Waterhouse was commissioned to rebuild the ruinous medieval parish church of St. Martin's Brasted in Kent, only the original tower was kept, apart from a new north aisle the building was rebuilt on the old foundations, the south window in the tower was also new, Gothic in style, the windows are a mixture of geometrical and perpendicular tracery, it is built of stone with a tile roof. St. Seiriol's parish church (1867–68), Penmaenmawr, Wales, is in the Early English Period style built from local granite with sandstone dressings and slate roof, the tower was added in 1885.
Alfred Waterhouse | Ecclesiastical buildings
Wells' works include: The Villard Houses are sometimes misattributed to Wells, but they were in fact built more than 20 years after he died, and were actually designed by Joseph M. Wells (1853–1890) of the McKim, Mead & White firm.
Joseph C. Wells | Works
Shutt, whose office was at the Swan Hotel, Harrogate, worked in partnership with Alfred Hill Thompson of 14 Park Square, Leeds, from 1870 to 1871, and possibly before and after that.
Isaac Thomas Shutt | Architectural designs in partnership
They are of red brick with stone dressings. He went on to design the new Hall in (1875–79), fellows' sets and a new library (1877–78), with its bold clock tower. In (1878–80) the Oxford Union commissioned an extension from Waterhouse, consisting of a new debating hall. He was commissioned by Emily Davies to design his only new college at either of the ancient universities, the Women's college Girton College, Cambridge. Gothic of red brick and terracotta. Emily writing in a letter in 1866 to her friend Anna Richardson, in which she outlined her vision for the college:
Alfred Waterhouse | Oxford and Cambridge universities
Waterhouse was to design three northern English universities, Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, all would be in the Gothic style. All three would form The Victoria University. What is now Manchester University began as Owens College later Victoria University of Manchester, for which the first buildings by Waterhouse were erected between 1869 and 1875. This first phase of 1869 was E-shaped in plan. Extensions followed, first the medical school (1882–83). The main facade behind which was the Council Room approached by a dramatic curved staircase, the museum lined Oxford Road, this being stone, brick with stone dressings was used for the earlier stages (1884–88), then the extensions to the engineering laboratory (1886–88).
Alfred Waterhouse | Northern universities
The builder was Thomas Kemp; the heating system was by G.N. Haden; the stone carving was by Farmer & Brindley, ceramic floor tiles were by W. Godwin; the stained glass was made by Heaton Butler & Bayne and F.T. Odell; furnishings and fittings were manufactured by Christopher Prat and Heal & Sons; the decorative iron work was by Lester & Hodkinson and R. Jones; the grate in the vestry was by D.O. Boyd; the organ was manufactured by Bevington; the clock in the tower was made by E. White; the bells were cast by John Warner & Sons. The church cost £8,635.
Alfred Waterhouse | Ecclesiastical buildings