Austin Woodeson (3 May 1873 - 24 November 1935) was a British architect, who served as the Chief Architect in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Austin Woodeson was born on 3 May 1873 in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, the son, and the fifth of six children, to Thomas Henry Woodeson (1838-1916) and his second wife Eliza née Pike (1857-1936). In 1892 he was articled to Cooper and Howell, after completing his apprenticeship he remained with the firm as an assistant for a number of months. Whilst at Cooper and Howell he attended classes at University of Reading Extension College. In August 1895 he took up a position as an architectural assistant at Davy and Salter, in

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

, before moving to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

as an assistant with Stark and Rowntree in 1896. Woodeson emigrated to Ceylon in November 1898 to take on the role of chief architectural draughtsman at the Public Works Department. In October 1905 in married Clara Grace Tringham in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, England. He passed the architectural qualifying examinations in October 1906 and was admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects on 3 December that year and was elected as a fellow to the Institute in 1914. Woodeson served as the Secretary of the Engineering Association of Ceylon for twenty years, from 1912 to 1931. As the Public Works Department in Ceylon expanded, his role was combined with that of the quantity surveyor to become chief architect. By 1925 Woodeson was supervising a large number of qualified architects, draughtsmen and quantity surveyors. In the same year he travelled to India, for a month, studying architectural styles in relation to a recent commission for Ceylon University. Three years later he spent some of his annual leave working in London on Sir Herbert Baker's plans for the new Queen's House, and in the following year he was sent again to India for two months in connection with the Government's housing and town planning schemes. His most notable work was designing the Parliament Building, which housed the State Council (1931-1947); the House of Representatives (1947-1972); the National State Assembly (1972-1978); the Parliament of Sri Lanka (1978-1982) and from September 1983 the Presidential Secretariat. He was also responsible for designing the

General Treasury Building The General Treasury Building (also known as the ''Treasury'' or the ''Treasury Building'') is the building that houses the Treasury of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies along with several of its de ...

, formerly known as the Secretariat Building, which housed the council and the civil administration services of Ceylon. Both buildings were designed in Neo-Baroque architectural style, with highly modelled façades embodying a continuous double-height ionic order above a rusticated podium. Woodeson established a number of evening classes in building construction, drawing and quantity surveying, and was himself a popular lecturer. From 1912 to 1931 he served as the honorary secretary of the

Engineering Association of Ceylon The Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL) is a multidisciplinary professional engineering institution in Sri Lanka. History It was the Director of Public Works at the time F A Cooper, who while attending a meeting while on circuit, who plan ...

. He was an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and was elected Deputy Grand Master in Ceylon in 1928 and District Grand Master in 1930. Woodeson was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

for his services in Ceylon. He retired back to England and died at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

on 24 November 1935.

Notable works

* Ceylon University College (1921-27) *

Old Parliament Building, Colombo The Old Parliament Building, is the building that houses the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka. Situated in the Colombo fort area facing the sea, it is in close proximity to the President's House, Colombo and adjacent to the General Treasur ...

(1929) *

(1930)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodeson, Austin 1873 births 1935 deaths British architects Sri Lankan people of English descent People of British Ceylon

Notable works

Further reading

References