Edwin Dolby was an English Victorian architect who practised in Abingdon. His works include the design of Abingdon School.

Career

According to census records Dolby was born in

Sutton Bonington Sutton Bonington () is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south-west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has a site just to the north of the village: Sutton Boni ...

, Nottinghamshire. By 1869 he working from 2 Bedwell Place, East St Helen Street, Abingdon, then in Berkshire. His known works span the period 1863–88. Dolby altered, rebuilt or restored a number of Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

es. Many of them were in the

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway Nat ...

(then part of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

) and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, but he also rebuilt two churches in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

. Drawings for one of the latter, at

Castlebythe Castlebythe ( cy, Cas-fuwch) is a village and parish in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the southern slopes of the Preseli Hills, 10 km south-east of Fishguard. The northern part of the parish is in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. Together w ...

, were published in the ''Church Builder'' in 1867. In 1869–70 he built

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

, described in ''The Builder'' as "of a simple character, the local material of red brick and tile being the chief material employed, relieved by bands of Bath stone". In 1877–78 Dolby worked with the architect H.J. Tollit of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, rebuilding the parish churches at Watlington and Crowell, both in

. After his partnership with Dolby, Tollit designed

Thame Town Hall Thame Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Thame Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History A moot hall, which was designed with arcading on t ...

in 1888, a building for

Littlemore Hospital Littlemore Hospital was a mental health facility on Sandford Road in Littlemore, Oxfordshire. History The hospital, which was designed by Robert Clarke using a Corridor Plan layout, opened as the Oxford County Pauper Lunatic Asylum in August 1846 ...

in 1902 and a factory for

Morris Motors Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same vehicles. By 1926 its production represent ...

Longwall Street View north along Longwall Street Longwall Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs for about 300 metres along the western flank of Magdalen College. A high, imposing 15th century stone wall separates the college from the street al ...

in 1910.

Work

*Eagles Close Almshouses,

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

, 1867. *Claydon House,

Claydon, Oxfordshire Claydon is a village in Claydon with Clattercot Civil parishes in England, civil parish, about north of Banbury in Oxfordshire. The village is about above sea level on a hill of Early Jurassic Lias Group, Middle Lias clay. The village is the ...

: alterations, 1867. *St Peter's parish church, Headley, Hampshire, 1867–68. *Abingdon Grammar School, Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), 1869–70. *St John the Baptist's church,

Lynmouth Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn and East Lyn rivers, in a gorge below Lynton, which was the only place to expand to once Lynmouth became as built ...

, Devon, 1871. *St Michael's parish Church, Castlebythe,

: rebuilding, 1875 (demolished). *St David's parish Church,

Llanychaer Llanychaer (English: church on the Aer, a tributary of the River Gwaun) is a small rural village and parish in the community of Cwm Gwaun, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is southeast of the port of Fishguard. History Llanychaer was in the anci ...

, Pembrokeshire: rebuilding, 1876 *St Giles' parish church, Medbourne, Leicestershire, chancel, 1876. *St Leonard's parish church, Watlington, Oxfordshire: rebuilding (with H.J. Tollit), 1877. *St Mary's parish church, Crowell, Oxfordshire: rebuilding (with H.J. Tollit), 1878. *St. Michael's parish church, Sutton Bonington, Nottinghamshire: restoration including complete rebuilding of the chancel and porch, 1878. *St Peter's parish church,

Drayton, Cherwell Drayton is a village and civil parish in the valley of the Sor Brook in Oxfordshire, about northwest of Banbury. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 242. Early history Tesselated tiles and Roman coins found near the parish ch ...

: restoration and new vestry, 1878. *St Peter's parish church,

Drayton, Vale of White Horse Drayton is a village and civil parish about south of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Sutton Wick. The 2011 Census recorded the ...

: south porch, 1879. *St Nicolas' parish church, Abingdon: restoration, 1880. *St Luke's parish church,

Garford Garford is a village and civil parish about west of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The parish is bounded by the River Ock to the north, by two tributaries of the Ock to the ...

, Oxfordshire: rebuilding, 1880. *Abingdon School, Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire): extension and bell turret, 1880. *St Edmund's parish church, Swanton Novers, Norfolk: north aisle and chancel, 1881. *St John the Baptist parish church,

Kingston Bagpuize Kingston Bagpuize () is a village in the civil parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, about west of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire, England, until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the ...

, Oxfordshire: added apse and made alterations, 1882. *Mortuary Chapel at Hatfield Cemetery,

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

, Yorkshire, 1883. Dolby was also one of the architects of the Albert Park housing estate in Abingdon, along with Dolby's pupil John George Timothy West (1860–1931) and his son Archibald Buller West (1885–1957).

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolby, Edwin 1838 births 1900 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects from Berkshire English ecclesiastical architects Gothic Revival architects People from Sutton Bonington