Ethel Mary Charles (25 March 1871 – 8 April 1962) was a British architect, the first woman to be 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 ...
(RIBA) in 1898.
Early life
Ethel Charles, her sister
Bessie Ada Charles (1869–1932) and brother
Ronald Charles
Lieutenant General Sir James Ronald Edmondston Charles, (26 June 1875 – 24 December 1955) was a senior British Army officer in the Royal Engineers.
Family
Charles was born in Calcutta, British India, the son of Thomas Edmondston Charles, la ...
(1875-1955) were born in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, Bengal India, to Thomas Edmonton Charles (1834–1906), a doctor in private practice (also later honorary physician to King
Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
), and Ada Henrietta Charles (1848–1931/2).
The family left India in 1877, settling at first in Cannes, then for twenty years spent their summers in Switzerland and winters in Rome, and visiting to England annually. Ethel and Bessie Charles were both educated privately and together read modern languages at
Somerville College
Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...
, Oxford for a year in 1891–2.
Despite being presented at court, their father encouraged both daughters to explore a profession.
Career
Between 1892 and 1895 Ethel and Bessie were articled to Sir Ernest George and Peto, the architectural practice of
Ernest George
Sir Ernest George (13 June 1839 – 8 December 1922) was a British architect, landscape and architectural watercolourist, and etcher.
Life and work
Born in London, Ernest George began his architectural training in 1856, under Samuel Hewitt, ...
and
Harold Peto
Harold Ainsworth Peto FRIBA (11 July 1854 – 16 April 1933) was a British architect, landscape architect and garden designer, who worked in Britain and in Provence, France. Among his best-known gardens are Iford Manor, Wiltshire; Buscot P ...
. In 1893, they both attempted to continue their training by attending the
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 ...
but were refused entry. Ethel completed part of the course offered by
the Bartlett School of Architecture, receiving distinctions.
Drawings in the RIBA Collection document her travels through England, France and Italy. After her apprenticeship with Ernest George, she became an assistant to
Walter Cave
Walter Frederick Cave (17 September 1863 – 7 January 1939) was an English architect, active in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who worked firstly in the Arts and Crafts style, and latterly in the Classical Revival. In a ...
, studying Gothic and domestic architecture.
In June 1898, she passed the RIBA examinations for associate membership. RIBA President at the time, Professor
George Aitchison
George Aitchison Jr. RA (London 7 November 1825 – 16 May 1910) was a British architect.
He was the son of George Aitchison (1792–1861) who was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and University College London and articled to archit ...
, welcomed Ethel
but her admission was opposed by a minority of members, including W. Hilton Nash who stated "it would be prejudicial to the interests of the Institute to elect a lady member".
["The Admission of Lady Associates", ''Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects'', 6, 78-81 (10 December 1898]
archived
Retrieved: 17 September 2021. Despite this initial opposition, she was finally granted membership with 51 voting in favor and 16 against.
[Lynne Walker, "Golden Age or False Dawn? Women Architects in the Early 20th century"](_blank)
''English-heritage.org''. Retrieved 17 September 2021.[ In 1902 she made a representation to the Architectural Association for women to be accepted as practicing architects. However, the Association would not admit any women until 1917.
In 1904, Ethel Charles was awarded the RIBA Silver Medal for her essay ''‘The development of architectural art from structural requirements and nature of materials’'', which examined relationships between design, materials, and construction methods in a range of architectural styles.]
From 1898 to 1905 Ethel and Bessie Charles lived and worked together in Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary.
An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
, London, which provided accommodation for single professional women. Both sisters lived from time to time in the family home in Camberley
Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Cambe ...
, Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, but later shifted the focus of their architectural practice to Clift Cottage in Flushing, Cornwall
Flushing ( kw, Nanskersys) is a coastal village in the civil parish of Mylor, west Cornwall, UK. It is east of Penryn and south of Truro. It faces Falmouth across the Penryn River, an arm of the Carrick Roads. The village is known for its ...
. Unable to obtain commissions for large-scale projects which continued to be reserved for men, Ethel Charles was forced to concentrate on modest housing projects such as labourers' cottages, often working with her sister, the second woman to become a member of RIBA. Their most notable work is a Bible Christian Chapel at Mylor Bridge
Mylor Bridge ( kw, Ponsnowyth) is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in Mylor civil parish at the head of Mylor Creek, about five miles north of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth''
Found ...
, near Falmouth (1907). They also designed houses on Gyllyngyvase Terrace in Falmouth (1907).
Ethel Charles' orthographic projection
Orthographic projection (also orthogonal projection and analemma) is a means of representing Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional objects in Two-dimensional space, two dimensions. Orthographic projection is a form of parallel projection in ...
s of labourers' cottages from 1895 are presented by RIBA as an example of how the Old English style began to evolve towards 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 ...
and Garden City movements. In 1905, she designed three labourers' cottages for Letchworth Garden City
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249.
Letchworth ...
.
Charles stated publicly that the best opportunities for architects were in commercial commissions but the only reference to her work on large-scale designs is an untraced prize-winning church in Germany in 1909.
Post World War One
After the First World War, Charles does not appear to have practiced but kept house for her younger brother, army officer Ronald, who was for a time commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich
The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...
(1924-1926).
Ethel Charles died on 8 April 1962 in Haverthwaite
Haverthwaite is a small village and civil parish in the Furness region of Cumbria, England. It is also within the boundaries of the Lake District National Park. It is located several miles east of Ulverston and is near the southern end of Winde ...
, Lancashire. She was cremated and her ashes were interred alongside her sister Bessie who had predeceased her in 1932.
Commemoration
Charles left her architectural drawings and sketchbooks to 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 ...
, which celebrated her as a pioneer woman architect in 2017.
See also
* Women in architecture
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Ethel
20th-century British architects
1871 births
1962 deaths
British women architects
Alumni of The Bartlett
Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford