Aston Webb

Sir Aston Webb, 1906

Sir Aston Webb GCVO CB PRA (born May 22, 1849 in London ; † August 21, 1930 ibid) was the most successful English architect of public buildings around 1900. Best known are the London Victoria and Albert Museum , the Law Courts and the University of Birmingham, as well as the entire London procession route, from the facade of Buckingham Palace , along The Mall , to Admiralty Arch . From 1919 to 1924, Webb was President of the Royal Academy of Arts .

Career

Aston Webb was the son of the painter Edward Webb (1779-1839; student of the landscape painter David Cox ). He completed his first training from 1866 to 1871 in the firm of Banks and Barry. He then spent a year traveling in Europe and Asia and opened his own office in London in 1874.

In the early 1880s he joined the Royal Institute of British Architects and partnered with Ingress Bell . The first major commission they received came from an architectural competition for the Victoria Law Courts in Birmingham in 1886 . It was the first of numerous public buildings that the team designed over the next 23 years. Towards the end of his career, Webb was supported by his sons Maurice and Philip. Ralph Knott , who would later build London's County Hall , was trained by Webb and made the drawings for his competition entries during this time.

Buildings

Admiralty Arch, London

One of Aston Webb's earliest projects was the Royal Grammar School Worcester in 1877 . In contrast to his later work, he designed this retirement home in the Arts and Crafts style .

His first really big job was to restore the medieval church of St Bartholomew-the-Great in Smithfield . His brother Edward Alfred Webb was the church governor at the time, and this connection certainly helped the young architect win the contract. Webb's best-known works in London include the Queen Victoria Memorial and The Mall, as well as the main facade of Buckingham Palace , which he redesigned in 1912.

As early as 1891, Webb had redesigned the entrance facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum . He also drafted the plans for the Royal United Services Institute and Whitehall between 1893 and 1895 and created - as part of the mall project - the Admiralty Arch (1908/09). The Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth / Devon also fell during this period . In 1886 he enlarged the perpendicular-style church of St John Baptist , Claines / Worcester , and carefully repaired it. He was also responsible for the rebuilding (1895) of the nearby St. George Church , Barbourne / Worcester.

Webb designed many educational establishments in the school and university sector, for example King's College in Cambridge (1908) and the Royal College of Science for Ireland , which now serves as the government building. There were also a number of residential complexes such as Blackheath Park in Blackheath in south-east London. In 1895/96 he created a library wing for The Hendre mansion in Monmouthshire .

As part of the More London urban development project , the 1901 headquarters of a brewery at 115 Tooley Street was recently converted into the Aston Webb House with 14 apartments. The main building of Chancellor's Court at the University of Birmingham, designed by Webb together with Ingress Bell, was also named after him. The building has a large dome; the complex also includes the Great Hall .

Honors

Aston Webb was RIBA President from 1902 to 1904 and was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1903, of which he was acting President from 1919 to 1924. In 1904 he was knighted as a Knight Bachelor and received the Royal Gold Medal in 1905 ; He was also the first to be awarded the "Gold Medal" of the American Institute of Architects in 1907 . 1919 Aston Webb in New York as an honorary member ( Honorary NA selected).

In 1909 he was made Companion of the Order of the Bath and in 1911 Commander of the Royal Victorian Order . In 1914 he was promoted to Knight Commander and in 1925 to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

literature

• Bamber Gascoigne: Encyclopedia of Britain . BCA, London, New York, Sydney, Toronto 1993, ISBN 0-333-54764-0 , p. 682.

Web links

Commons : Aston Webb  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Extensive information on Aston Webb, with emphasis on its work for the Church of St. Bartholomew (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Dungavell: The architectural career of Sir Aston Webb . University of London, Royal Holloway and New Bedford College, London 1999.
2. ↑ nationalacademy.org: Past Academicians "W" / Webb, Sir T. Aston Honorary 1919 ( Memento of the original from August 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on July 20, 2015)