William Lethaby
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William Lethaby | |
---|---|
Born | Barnstaple, Devon, England | 18 January 1857
Died | 17 July 1931 | (aged 74)
Occupation | Architect |
Buildings | Avon Tyrell House; Melsetter House |
William Richard Lethaby (18 January 1857 – 17 July 1931) was an English
Life and career
Early life
Lethaby was born in Barnstaple, Devon, the son of a fiercely Liberal craftsman and lay preacher. After studies at Barnstaple Art School[2] and an early apprenticeship with a local architect he found work in London in 1879 as Chief Clerk to architect Richard Norman Shaw. Shaw quickly recognized Lethaby's talent as a designer and Lethaby was to contribute significant pieces of work to major Shaw-designed buildings such as Scotland Yard in London and Cragside in Northumberland.
While working for Shaw, Lethaby became involved in the
He was a lifelong socialist.The Guild was formed from a nucleus drawn from two separate groups, the St George's Art Society, a group of architects who had seen service in the offices of Norman Shaw, including Ernest Newton, Mervyn Macartney, Reginald Barratt, Edwin Hardy, Lethaby and Edward Schroeder Prior, and the Fifteen, founded by the designer and writer Lewis Foreman Day and the illustrator and designer Walter Crane. Prior wrote the prospectus for the Guild. It initially met in Newton's chambers by St George's Church, Bloomsbury.
Independent practice
Lethaby finally left Shaw's practice in 1892 after the completion of his first major independent architectural project—the country estate of
London County Council
In 1894 Lethaby was appointed Art Inspector to the Technical Education Board of the newly formed
Academic and pioneer of conservation
In 1901 Lethaby was appointed the first Professor of Design at the Royal College of Art.[5] This, coupled with his appointments as Principal of the Central School of Arts and Crafts in 1902 and as Surveyor of Westminster Abbey in 1906 meant that he was increasingly devoted to the academic study of the theory and history of architecture and design. He effectively ceased architectural practice around this time, though he remained an immensely influential figure through his writings and teaching. Lethaby's role as a guide and mentor to German Cultural Attaché Hermann Muthesius during his investigations into English architecture was to prove particularly significant in the light of Muthesius's later role as an influence on the early pioneers of the Bauhaus.
At Westminster Abbey, Lethaby was able to put into practice his belief in sympathetic and historically accurate restoration, conducting extensive research into the history of its structure and design and largely setting the template that the restoration and preservation of historic buildings was to follow for the rest of the century.
Lethaby died on 17 July 1931 at Bayswater in London. He was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Church at Hartley Wintney in Hampshire.
Awards
Lethaby was offered the Royal Institute of British Architects Gold Medal award but turned it down. He is the last person to have done so.[5]
Influence and reputation
Lethaby has traditionally been seen by figures such as
Major built works
- Avon Tyrrell House, near Burley, Hampshire (1892)
- The Hurst, Hartopp Road, Four Oaks, Birmingham(1894) - largely demolished
- 122–124 Colmore Row (Eagle Insurance Offices), Birmingham (1900)
- Melsetter House, Gatehouse, Lodge and Chapel, Hoy, Orkney (1900)
- High Coxlease House, Lyndhurst, Hampshire (1902)
- All Saints' Church, Brockhampton, Herefordshire (1902)
Major publications
- Architecture, Mysticism, and Myth (1891)
- With Swainson, Harold The Church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople : A Study of Byzantine Building (London: Macmillan, 1894).
- Mediaeval Art (1904)
- Architecture: An Introduction to the History and Theory of the Art of Building (1912)
- Form in Civilization: Collected Papers on Art and Labour (1922)
- Philip Webb and His Work (1935)
Further reading
- Pauline Brain (2010). "Some men who made Barnstaple..." Has some information and copies of his work.
- Vaughan Hart (1993). ‘William Richard Lethaby and the Holy Spirit’, Architectural History: Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, vol.36, pp.145-158.
- C. Reynolds (2019). Surveyors of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey 1906–1973. Reports and Letters. Boydell & Brewer. p. 415. ISBN 978-1-78327-420-8.</ref>"
- Godfrey Rubens (1986). William Richard Lethaby, London: The Architectural Press
References
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. .
- ^ A.R.N. Roberts, 'Life and Work of W.R. Lethaby' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 29 March 1957, p.357
- .
- ^ Watkinson, Ray. (Autumn 1986). "Godfrey Rubens's Lethaby" (well-informed book review). William Morris Journal. 7.1. pp. 25–35.
- ^ a b Ellis Woodman (26 February 2014). "Joseph Rykwert RIBA Royal Gold Medal lecture". Building Design. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
External links
- Works by William Lethaby at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about William Lethaby at Internet Archive
- Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection - The museum has a large collection of works by W.R. Lethaby, which are available to view on the VADS website.
- "First sketches (including initial plan and elevation drawings) for Liverpool Cathedral". Architecture. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 15 March 2011.