Donald Hanks McMorran
RA 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 ...
FSA (3 May 1904 – 6 August 1965)
was an English architect who is known today for his sensitive continuation of the
neo-Georgian and
classical tradition in the period after the Second World War. His buildings include halls of residence at the
University of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...
, Wood Street Police Station in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
, public housing schemes around London, the South Block extension to the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
and civic buildings in
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
and
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
.
Early life and education
Donald Hanks McMorran was born in 1904 in
Wallasey
Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...
, Cheshire. His parents, William Edwin McMorran and Edith McMorran (née Hanks) originally came from north London. The family moved back to London and Donald was educated at
Harrow County Grammar School. He studied under H. Farquharson in 1921.
Career
![1-12 Lammas Green, Sydenham, June 2018 (7)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/1-12_Lammas_Green%2C_Sydenham%2C_June_2018_%287%29.jpg)
In 1925 McMorran was admitted to the
Royal Institute of British Architects
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 ...
as the RIBA Pugin Student. From 1927 to 1935, McMorran worked as assistant to the architect
Vincent Harris
Emanuel Vincent Harris (26 June 1876 – 1 August 1971), often known as E. Vincent Harris, was an English architect who designed several important public buildings in traditional styles.
Early life
He was born in Devonport, Devon, Devonp ...
.
After 1935, McMorran went into private practice. Initially he set up with Horace Farquharson as Farquharson McMorran.
Subsequently, McMorran went into partnership with fellow architect
George Whitby. After World War II, the architectural firm McMorran & Whitby were responsible for some buildings of distinction which were influenced by the work of Harris and
Sir Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...
. Among their noted works are
Devon County Hall
Devon County Hall is a municipal building in Topsham Road, Exeter, Devon, England. The building, which is the headquarters of Devon County Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
History
Following the implementation of the Local Government Ac ...
in Exeter (1957-64); the extension to the Shire Hall in Bury St Edmunds (1968);
Cripps Hall, Lenton Hall and the social sciences block at the University of Nottingham; Wood Street Police Station in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
; and the South Block extension to the
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
.
In the early 1960s, McMorran & Whitby were commissioned to design a new library headquarters as part of a wider civic buildings estate on Raingate Street in
Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
, Suffolk. Due to the historic setting and proximity to the ancient
Bury St Edmunds Abbey
The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was ...
, a more conservative
historicist
Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
design was specified. The
New Classical
New classical macroeconomics, sometimes simply called new classical economics, is a school of thought in macroeconomics that builds its analysis entirely on a neoclassical framework. Specifically, it emphasizes the importance of rigorous foundat ...
-style Suffolk Record Office is today a Grade II listed building and is noted for its central
lantern
A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...
and original interior fittings.
McMorran was the architect of a number of
housing estates
A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country.
Popular throughout the United States a ...
around London, including the
Lammas Green housing estate at
Sydenham Hill
Sydenham Hill forms part of a longer ridge and is an affluent locality in southeast London. It is also the name of a road which runs along the northeastern part of the ridge, demarcating the London Boroughs of Southwark, Bromley, and Lewisham ...
, London (1957, now
Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
); estates in
Hampstead
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...
,
Poplar,
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
and
Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...
. His work on the Holloway Estate on Parkhurst Road Estate in
Islington, London
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
(1950s) is especially noted, and one of the apartment blocks there, McMorran House, bears his name.
McMorran was elected as an associate member of the
Royal Academy of Art in 1955, before being elected as a full member in 1962.
[
McMorran was a 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 ...
in 1956. His work is characterised by carefully chosen materials, well-detailed and handsomely proportioned facades with minimal classical detail, showing the influence in particular of the work of John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...
.
There is also a strong sense of aesthetic opposition to the bulk of the Modern Movement
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
work of the same period. McMorran was, however, not narrow-minded in his attitude to the Modern Movement, and as assessor in the City of London's Golden Lane housing competition he awarded first place to the young Modernists, Chamberlin, Powell and Bon
Chamberlin, Powell and Bon was a British firm of architects whose work involved designing the Barbican Estate. They are considered one of the most important modernist architectural firms in post-war England.
Formation
The practice was founde ...
.
Donald McMorran served as Treasurer at the Royal Academy from January 1965 until his death later that year at Dorking
Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp Br ...
, Surrey.[
]
Noted buildings
* Hammersmith Police Station (1939)
*Wood Field housing estate, Hampstead (1947-9)
*Barn Field housing estate, Hampstead (1947-9)
*Holloway Estate, Islington, London (1950s)
*Phoenix School, Tower Hamlets (1951-52)
*Great Arthur House, Golden Lane Estate
The Golden Lane Estate is a 1950s council housing complex in the City of London. It was built on the northern edge of the City, on a site devastated by bombing during the Second World War. Since 1997, the estate has been protected as a group of ...
, City of London (1953-7)
* Lammas Green housing estate, Sydenham Hill, London (1955-7)
*100 Pall Mall, London
Pall Mall is a street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, Central London. It connects St James's Street to Trafalgar Square and is a section of the regional A4 road. The street's name is derived from pall-mall, a ...
(with Duke & Simpson, 1956-58)
*Devon County Hall
Devon County Hall is a municipal building in Topsham Road, Exeter, Devon, England. The building, which is the headquarters of Devon County Council, is a Grade II* listed building.
History
Following the implementation of the Local Government Ac ...
, Exeter (1957-64)
*University of Nottingham
** Cripps Hall and Lenton Hall (halls of residence) (1957-9)
**Social sciences block
*Crescent House and the Shakespeare Public House, Golden Lane Estate, City of London (1958-62)
* Wood Street Police Station, City of London (1963-6)
*Suffolk Record Office
Suffolk Archives manage the historical archives for the county of Suffolk. These archives include a wide range of historical council and parish records, plus various commercial records, local historic book collections, local historic newspapers and ...
, Bury St Edmunds (1963-5)
* New Shire Hall, Bury St Edmunds (1965)
*South Block of the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
), City of London (1965)
Image:Cripps_Hall.jpg, Cripps Hall at Nottingham University (1957-9)
Image:Southblockoldbailey.jpg, Old Bailey extension, London (1965)
File:Clock tower, County Hall, Exeter.jpg, Devon County Hall, Exeter (1957-64)
File:Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds (geograph 6679007 by Michael Dibb).jpg, Suffolk Record Office, Bury St Edmunds (1963-5)
File:Crescent House Golden Lane Estate.jpg, Crescent House, Golden Lane Estate (1958-62)
File:Great Arthur House Golden Lane Estate City of London.jpg, Great Arthur House, Golden Lane Estate (1953-7)
File:Police station in Wood Street - geograph.org.uk - 886983.jpg, Wood Street Police Station, London (1963-6)
References
Sources
*
* A. Peter Fawcett & Neil Jackson, ''Campus critique: the architecture of the University of Nottingham'' Nottingham: University of Nottingham, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMorran, Donald
Royal Academicians
1904 births
1965 deaths
People educated at Harrow High School
20th-century English architects
Masters of the Art Worker's Guild
Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
British neoclassical architects
People from Wallasey
New Classical architects