Charles William Hutton

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 ...

(28 July 1905 - 11 September 1995) was an architect and former master of the

Art Workers' Guild The Art Workers' Guild is an organisation established in 1884 by a group of British painters, sculptors, architects, and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. The guild promoted the 'unity of a ...

, who was known best for his work with

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

Arnos Grove tube station Arnos Grove is a London Underground station located in Arnos Grove in the London Borough of Enfield, London. It is on the Piccadilly line between Bounds Green tube station, Bounds Green and Southgate tube station, Southgate stations and is in L ...

and the former

Murphy Radio Murphy Radio was a British manufacturer of radios and televisions based in Welwyn Garden City, England. Murphy Radio was founded in 1929 by Frank Murphy and E.J. Power as a volume manufacturer of home radio sets. Its factories were in the He ...

factory in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

are regarded as some of his best work.

Early years

Hutton was born in

Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Annan ( ; gd, Inbhir Anainn) is a town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Historically part of Dumfriesshire, its public buildings include Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil, and ...

on the 28 July 1905. His father was an engineer and his early life saw him live in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

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 ...

and

Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...

. Hutton attended

Bellahouston Academy Bellahouston Academy is a non-denominational state-run secondary school in Bellahouston, south-west Glasgow, Scotland. History Bellahouston Academy first opened in 1876 as a private school run by Alexander Sim. It was taken over by the Govan ...

, before gaining employment at Richard Herman Crook's architecture practice in

. During his time at Crook's practice, Hutton won a scholarship with the School of Architecture at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

under the tutorial of Sir Charles Reilly. While still at University, Hutton won a competition in 1926 to design a First World War memorial at

Rawmarsh Rawmarsh (locally ) is a large village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, England. Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-northeast from Rotherham town centre and south-southwest of Swinton. ...

in Yorkshire, which showed influences of both his tutor Reilly and his future boss,

. Hutton graduated from his Batchelor of Architecture in 1928. Hutton's first job after university was at the practice of C. H. Mewes in France. While there he started the design for the home of

François Coty François Coty (born Joseph Marie François Spoturno in Corsica ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty perfume company, today a ...

but had returned to England before the building was completed. Upon his return to England in 1929, Hutton joined the practice of Adams, Holden & Pearson, becoming chief assistant to

which he remained until 1936. During his time with Holden, he worked on many of the London Underground station designs. Due to Holden's workload, he would do a rough sketch and pass it to Hutton to do the practical detail. Hutton did most of the detailing at

and

Osterley tube station Osterley () is a London Underground station in Osterley in west London. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Boston Manor and Hounslow East. The station is located on Great West Road ( A4) close to the National ...

, including changing the construction method at Arnos Grove due to issues with the roof that had arisen at

Sudbury Town tube station Sudbury Town () is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line. The station is between Alperton and Sudbury Hill, and is in Travelcard Zone 4. It is located on the border between the London Boroughs of Brent and ...

. Hutton was also responsible for the detailing and perspective drawings of

Senate House, London Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London, immediately to the north of the British Museum. The Art Deco building was constructed between 1932 and 1937 as the first phase ...

that Holden designed. In 1936, Hutton returned to teach at the School of Architecture at the

as well as at the renowned

Architectural Association School of Architecture The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in t ...

. However, during the war he became deputy to

William Holford, Baron Holford William Graham Holford, Baron Holford, (22 March 1907 – 17 October 1975) was a British architect and town planner. Biography Holford was educated at Diocesan College, Cape Town and returned to Johannesburg. From 1925–30 he studied archite ...

designing ordnance factories at

Kirkby Kirkby ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. The town, historically in Lancashire, has a size of is north of Huyton and north-east of Liverpool. The population in 2016 was 41,495 making it the largest ...

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...

and

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

Later career

In 1944 Hutton opened his own practice in

, which would eventually move to

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

in 1946. Hutton would retire from his practice in 1986 at the age of 81. He would still continue to teach at the

until 1989. At his own practice he designed buildings for

; buildings for the Danish Bacon Company; the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

farm (now John Krebs Field Station) at

Wytham Wytham ( ) is a village and civil parish on the Seacourt Stream, a branch of the River Thames, about northwest of the centre of Oxford. It is just west of the Western By-Pass Road, part of the Oxford Ring Road ( A34). The nearest village is G ...

; buildings for the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glaxo ...

, the Social Club at the

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

Brewery at

Alperton Alperton () is an area of north west London, England, within the London Borough of Brent. It forms the southern part of the town of Wembley and is west north-west of Charing Cross. It includes a handful of high-rise and many mid-rise buildings ...

and schools for

Berkshire County Council The Council of the Royal County of Berkshire, also known as the Berkshire County Council, was the top-tier local government administrative body for Berkshire from 1889 to 1998. The local authority had responsibilities for education, social servi ...

. In 1951, Hutton was elected to the

, and held the roles of treasurer, trustee and secretary, even continuing till 1988 as Honorary Architect. He was honoured by his fellow members by being selected to be the Master of the Guild in 1968. Hutton also shared his knowledge and experience by serving on BSI committees, acting as a

RIBA 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 ...

representative on the boards of

Wimbledon College of Arts Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London. H ...

and

Kingston School of Art The Kingston School of Art (KSA) is an art school in Kingston upon Thames, part of Kingston University London. It was first established in 1899 as the Kingston School of Science and Art. In 1930 it was established as a separate school and has be ...

, and as an adviser to the

National Council for Voluntary Organisations The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in England. It is a registered charity (no 225922). NCVO works to support the voluntary and community sector and to create an ...

on designs for village halls.

Personal life

Hutton was married twice. His first marriage was in 1932 to Nora Maxwell, to whom he had a daughter with, but this was dissolved in 1950. In 1951 he married Fairlie Bruce, to whom they had three daughters. When he retired, he moved to Somerset. His drawings and writings were donated to the

and are held there on behalf of the National Archive. He was a skilled cabinet maker and metal worker, and kept active right into later life, still running up stairs three at a time when 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Charles 1905 births 1995 deaths 20th-century English architects 20th-century Scottish architects Alumni of the University of Liverpool Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects History of the London Underground Masters of the Art Worker's Guild Modernist architects from England People associated with transport in London People educated at Bellahouston Academy British railway architects Transport design in London