Bertrand James Waterhouse OBE, FRAIA,

FRIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(8 February 1876 – 2 December 1965) was an English-born Australian architect and artist.

Early life

B. J. Waterhouse, as he was commonly known, was born in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, Yorkshire, England, and was the son of James Waterhouse, a grocer, and his wife Sarah, née Turner. Waterhouse reached Sydney from the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

with his mother and two sisters in March 1885 and was educated in Burwood. He studied architecture at

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education i ...

while articled to John Spencer and on 6 July 1898 married 19-year-old Lilian Woodcock (d.1955) at

Christ Church St Laurence Christ Church St Laurence is an Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican church (building), church located at 814 George Street, Sydney, George Street, near Central railway station, Sydney, Central railway station and Haymarket, in City of Sydney, S ...

. Joining the professional relieving staff of the

Department of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in NSW in March 1900, he worked in the Harbours and Rivers branch and became a relieving architectural

draftsman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for m ...

Architect

He was in partnership with John Hamilton William Lake Lake from 1908. Waterhouse built up a substantial practice, particularly in the Cremorne-

Neutral Bay Neutral Bay is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Neutral Bay is around 1.5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Neutral Bay takes ...

area. Until the mid-1920s his

domestic architecture Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

drew on the

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

Movement, with steeply gabled roofs, extensive use of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

in the basements, shingle tiles and

roughcast Roughcast or pebbledash is a coarse plaster surface used on outside walls that consists of lime and sometimes cement mixed with sand, small gravel and often pebbles or shells. The materials are mixed into a slurry and are then thrown at the wor ...

exterior wall surfaces. Thereafter his style showed a strong

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

influence, a notable example being

May Gibbs Cecilia May Gibbs MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969) was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies (also known as "bush babies" or "bush fairies"), and the book '' Snugglepot ...

's house,

Nutcote ''Nutcote'' is a heritage-listed former artist studio, dwelling, and author's study and now education centre and house museum located at 5 Wallaringa Avenue, Kurraba Point, Sydney, in the North Sydney Council local government area of New ...

, with textured

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

walls and symmetrical, twelve-paned, shuttered windows. 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 Charles Voysey,

Baillie Scott Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (23 October 1865 – 10 February 1945) was a British architect and artist. Through his long career, he designed in a variety of styles, including a style derived from the Tudor, an Arts and Crafts style reminisc ...

and

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdo ...

. A typical Waterhouse residence featured asymmetrical, picturesque massing, strongly expressed roofs, usually with dominant

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s; porches, balconies and verandahs; and at least one facetted oriel or bay external wall finish, together with areas of timber

shingling {{about, the industrial steel manufacturing process, the text mining technique, w-shingling Shingling was a stage in the production of bar iron or steel, in the finery and puddling processes. As with many ironmaking terms, this is derived from ...

or tile-hanging. Inside, the main rooms displayed timber

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

on the walls and heavy timber beams below the

ceilings A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...

. He continued to design in this manner until the early 1920s. In his later years Waterhouse designed residences in the

Spanish Mission Style The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

Artist

An excellent pencil draughtsman, Waterhouse exhibited drawings at annual exhibitions of the (Royal) Art Society of New South Wales from 1902. He travelled through Europe in 1926 with

Lionel Lindsay Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay (17 October 187422 May 1961) was an Australian artist, known for his paintings and etchings. Early life Lindsay was born in the Victorian town of Creswick, into a creative family – he was the brother of artist Norm ...

and

Will Ashton Sir John William Ashton, OBE, ROI (20 September 1881 – 1 September 1963) was a prolific Australian Impressionist artist and director of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1937 to 1943. Early life Ashton was born in Clifton, ...

, and in 1932 exhibited his drawings at the

Macquarie Galleries Macquarie Galleries was a Sydney private art gallery established in 1925 by John Henry Young and Basil Burdett. It was located at "Strathkyle", 19 Bligh Street Sydney then moved to 40 King Street in 1945. From 1991 to 1993 it was located at ...

, Sydney. A trustee of the

National Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

from 1922, Waterhouse was president in 1939–58; he was also State president of the Society of Arts and Crafts. Twenty one pencil drawings by B. J. Waterhouse are held in the collection at the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

Employment

New South Wales Government Architect The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...

's Office (1900–08) * Waterhouse and Lake (1908–1924) * Worked in association wit
Leslie Wilkinson
* Director, and later chairman,

National Capital Planning and Development Committee The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of the ...

(1938–58)

Notable works

* Ailsa, 33 Shellcove Road, Neutral Bay (1908) * Holme Building –

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

(The), Science Road,

(1910–1912) * St Anne's, 37 Shellcove Road,

(1912) * Rowerdennan House, built for Beresford Grant in Warrawee Avenue, Warrawee. (1913) * ''

Tulkiyan ''Tulkiyan'' is a heritage-listed former suburban residence and former house museum at 707 Pacific Highway, in the Sydney suburb of Gordon in the Ku-ring-gai Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Bert ...

'', 707 Pacific Highway,

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

(1913) * Brent Knowle, 31 Shellcove Road,

(1914) * St. Ange/St. Agnes, 13 Shellcove Road,

(1917) * The Gables, 16 Spruson Street Cremorne (1920)
Somerset
The Boulevarde

Strathfield Strathfield is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the Municipality of Strathfield. A ...

(1923) now part of

Trinity Grammar School Preparatory School Trinity Grammar School is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Single-sex education, single-sex Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary day scho ...

Strathfield Heritage — Somerset
/ref> * Silvermere and the Chauffeur's Cottage, 38 Blaxland Road,

Wentworth Falls Wentworth Falls (Postcodes in Australia, postcode: 2782) is a town in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales), Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, situated approximately west of the Sydney central business district, and about east of Katoo ...

(1923) *

Refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

Building, Science Road,

(1924) *

's House, 5 Wallaringa Avenue

Kurraba Point Kurraba Point is a harbourside suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kurraba Point is located 4 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council. ...

(previously classified as Neutral Bay) (1925)

Listed buildings

(Either designed by B J Waterhouse himself, or by Waterhouse & Lake Partnership, or as Government Architect) * Bundabulla, 10 Guthrie Avenue, Cremorne, North Sydney, * Bundarra – House and Grounds, 7 Bundarra Road, Bellevue Hill,

Woollahra Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. W ...

, * House, 64 Dalton Road,

Mosman Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governm ...

* House, 35 (now 33A) Bangalla Street,

Warrawee Warrawee is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warrawee is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. Wa ...

Ku-ring-gai Kuringgai (also spelled Ku-ring-gai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) (,) is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilar ...

, * House, 6 Claude Avenue, Cremorne, North Sydney * House, 8 Claude Avenue, Cremorne, North Sydney * House, 14 Cremorne Road, Cremorne, North Sydney * House, 35 Milson Road, Cremorne, North Sydney * House 13 Shellcove Road,

, North Sydney * House 29 Bogota Avenue, Cremorne, North Sydney * Kew Place, House, 10 Buena Vista Avenue,

* Manning Building –

(The), Manning Road,

(The), Sydney * Mowll Memorial Village: Lober House, 284 Castle Hill Road, Castle Hill, Hornsby * Mowll Memorial Village: Tower House, 284 Castle Hill Road, Castle Hill, Hornsby * Murong – House and Grounds, 633

New South Head Road New South Head Road, is a major road in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, linking the inner-eastern suburb of Rushcutters Bay to the southern reaches of the South Head peninsula. Route New South Head Road runs north-east from Rushcutters Bay th ...

, Rose Bay,

* Pair of houses, Airlie (No. 12), 12 and 14 Buena Vista Avenue,

* Shellcove Road Group,

, No>rth Sydney * St. Claire – House, 25–27 Cranbrook Road, Bellevue Hill,

* House, 43 Robertson Road, Centennial Park, Sydney * Werribree – House, Gardens, Retaining Walls, Fences, Covered Gateways, Trees: 37

, Vaucluse,

* Yeomerry – Building, 1 St. Marks Road (188

Darling Point Darling Point is a harbourside eastern suburb of Sydney, Australia. It is 4 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of Woollahra Council. Darling Point is bounded by Sydney Harbour to ...

References

External links

Architect BJ Waterhouse

From Nutcote to Elwatan: the art and architecture of B. J. Waterhouse

, NSW :

Art Gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

,24 pages
Bertrand J. Waterhouse OBE, FRIBA, LFRAIA Portrait
by

William Dargie Captain (armed forces), Captain Sir William Alexander Dargie (4 June 1912 – 26 July 2003) was a renowned Australian painter, known especially for his portrait paintings. He won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait ...

"ELLERSLIE" Circa 1922-Architect Designed By B. J. Waterhouse

Retrospective Exhibition
From

to Elwatan: The Art & Architecture of B. J. Waterhouse
Manning House former Women's Union
(includes images) {{DEFAULTSORT:Waterhouse, B. J. 1965 deaths English emigrants to Australia New South Wales architects Arts and Crafts architects Federation architects 1876 births Directors and Presidents of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire