Bertie Crewe

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Bertie Crewe (* around 1860 in Essex ; † January 10, 1937 in London ) was an English architect. Alongside Frank Matcham , WGR Sprague and Thomas Verity, he was one of the leading theater and cinema architects in England during the late Victorian and Edwardian building boom from 1885 to 1915.

Life

Crewe was trained in Paris and London. As a young man in London, he was often the guest of the theater architect Frank Matcham and was also trained by him. Crewe worked with WGR Sprague until the mid-1890s; The construction of the Theater Royal in Lincoln and a few theaters in the London suburbs fall during this period . After starting his own business, Crewe found a characteristic neo-baroque style with expansive decor. In addition to numerous theaters in the United Kingdom, he also designed the Alhambra in Paris, which the theater entrepreneur Tom Barrasford opened in 1904. Crewe's last project, the shelf on Kennington Road, was built together with Henry G. Kay for the cinema operator Arthur O'Connor. Crewe did not live to see the opening, the theater did not open until November 17, 1937.

reception

After World War II, the architecture of Victorian and Edwardian theaters was considered kitschy and inferior. Many theaters were demolished or destroyed by renovations. A reassessment began in the 1970s, and today many of the surviving Theater Crewes and his contemporaries are listed buildings. In 2004, for example, Crewes Palace Theater in Redditch was renovated from 1913 for 3.7 million pounds. It is counted among the only six surviving theaters entirely attributable to Bertie Crewe.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. z. B. Victor Glasstone: Victorian and Edwardian theaters. An architectural and social survey . Thames, Hudson, London 1975, ISBN 0-500-01135-4
  2. ↑ Rare theater revamped to its best , BBC News, January 23, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/4639830.stm (accessed August 10, 2008)

literature

  • Edwin Heathcote: Theater London. An Architectural Guide . ISBN 1-84166-047-7
  • John Earl: The Theaters Trust guide to British theaters. 1750-1950. A gazetteer . A & C Black, London 2000, ISBN 0-7136-5688-3

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Crewe, Bertie
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English architect
DATE OF BIRTH around 1860
PLACE OF BIRTH Essex
DATE OF DEATH January 10, 1937
Place of death London