Charles Webb (born 26 November 1821,

Sudbury, Suffolk Sudbury (, ) is a market town in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, north-east of London. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 13,063. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

– 23 January 1898) was an architect working in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

during the 19th century. Notable Webb designs include the iconic Windsor Hotel,

Royal Arcade Royal Arcade can refer to a number of structures: * Royal Arcade, Boscombe * Royal Arcade, Cardiff * Royal Arcade, Charters Towers * Royal Arcade, London * Royal Arcade, Melbourne The Royal Arcade is a historic shopping arcade in the centra ...

South Melbourne Town Hall South Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building located on Bank Street in South Melbourne, Victoria, South Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. It is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed o ...

and Tasma Terrace, all listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. H ...

Biography

Charles Webb was born in

, England on 26 November 1821, as the youngest of nine children. After being apprentice at an architect in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, in 1847 he became the secretary of the London Architectural Students' Society. Following his brother James who earlier migrated to Australia, Charles arrived in Melbourne on 2 June 1849. He set up an architecture and surveyor partnership with his brother at Brighton. Their first important commission was for the St Paul's Church on Swanston Street in 1850. After 1858 Webb practised on his own, until two of his sons joined him in 1888. In this period he designed several public buildings, including the Wesley College (1864), Alfred Hospital (1869),

(1869),

(1878), Melbourne Orphan Asylum (1878) and the Grand Hotel later renamed Hotel Windsor (1884). In 1856 he was a founding member of the Victorian Institute of Architects, and between 1882-83 the organisation's president.Bridges-Webb, Charles
"Webb, Charles (1821–1898)"
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 3 November 2012.

Significant works

* 1856 -

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

(main buildings), Melbourne * 1857 - St Andrew's Anglican Church, Brighton, Melbourne * 1863 - Church of Christ,

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically ...

, Melbourne * 1864 - Wesley College,

Prahran Prahran (), also pronounced colloquially as Pran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City ...

, Melbourne * 1869 -

, Bourke Street, Melbourne * 1872 - The Beehive Building, Pall Mall,

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

* 1875 - Congregational Church, Black St., Brighton, Melbourne * 1876 - Mandeville Hall, Toorak, Melbourne * 1876 - John Knox Presbyterian Church,

Gardenvale Gardenvale is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Glen Eira local government area. Gardenvale recorded a population of 1,019 at the 2021 census. Histor ...

, Melbourne * 1878 - Tasma Terrace, Parliament Place,

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ...

* 1879 -

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

* 1880 - Primary School No. 1253, South Melbourne * 1882 - Mosspennoch, East Melbourne * 1883 - Grand Hotel (Windsor),

Spring Street, Melbourne Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. It runs roughly north-south and is the easternmost street in the original 1837 Hoddle Grid. Spring Street is famous as the traditional seat of the Govern ...

* 1884 - Banks & Co Warehouse, 96 Pelham Street, Carlton, Melbourne * 1889 - Charsfield Hotel,

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda Road begins at Flinders Street, in ...

, Melbourne

Gallery of works

File:MGS Witherby Tower.jpg, Melbourne Grammar School, Witherby Tower, South Facade File:Church of christ swanston street.jpg, Church of Christ, Swanston St, Melbourne File:Bourke street mall facade of royal arcade melbourne.jpg, Royal Arcade File:John Knox Church in Brighton.jpg,

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

Church (built 1876) on the corner of New Street and North Road, Brighton, Victoria File:Tasma terrace parliament place.jpg, Tasma Terrace File:South Melbourne Townhall.jpg, South Melbourne Town Hall File:Windsor hotel in 2010.jpg, Melbourne Windsor Hotel (Built 1887) File:New and old buildings in Carlton.jpg, Banks & Co Warehouse (right) File:A Boutique Hotel (Charsfield Hotel) in St Kilda Rd.jpg, Charsfield Hotel, St Kilda Road File:Beehive Building on Pall Mall, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.jpg, Beehive Building, Bendigo, Victoria

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Charles 1821 births 1898 deaths People from Sudbury, Suffolk 19th-century Australian architects English emigrants to colonial Australia Architects from Melbourne