Henry Alexander Nesbitt Medd
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
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 ...
(21 September 1892 – 26 October 1977), was a British-born architect, whose career was made in India. He is most known for being in the team of architects, team led by
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 memori ...
and
Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...
, which designed the new capital of India,
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
(1911–1931).Post inauguration of New Delhi, when most of architects left, he stayed on, designed many more buildings and eventually remained, Chief Architect to the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
(1939–47).
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Early life and education
Son of the Reverend Canon Peter Medd
Peter Goldsmith Medd (1829 – 25 July 1908) was an English Anglican priest and scholar.
Life
Medd was educated at King's College London and at University College, Oxford (although he matriculated at the University of Oxford, aged 18 on 1 March 18 ...
of North Cerney, Cirencester, a founder of Keble College, Oxford
Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to th ...
, Henry Medd was a Young and Summers Scholar at 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 ...
, from 1906-1910. He was a keen sportsman at Abingdon, rowing bow for the first IV, for which he received Colours. He was a 2nd XI footballer, was a competent gymnast and enjoyed debating.
Career
He was articled to F. C. Eden (1911) and entered the office of 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 ...
(1915). The team included, apart from him, architects like Robert Tor Russell
Robert Tor Russell (1888–1972) was a British architect. In his position as Chief Architect to the Public Works Department of the Government of India, he is primarily associated with the development of the city of New Delhi in the early 1930s. ...
, William Henry Nicholls, C. G. Blomfield, Walter Sykes George
Walter Sykes George Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal Institute of British Architects, FRIBA, ARCA, FIIA, FIFA (1881–1962) was an English architect active in India during the first half of the 20th century, most known for being part of ...
, F. B. Blomfield and Arthur Gordon Shoosmith, which designed numerous buildings in Lutyens' Delhi
Lutyens' Delhi is an area in New Delhi, India, named after the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), who was responsible for much of the architectural design and building during the period of the British Raj, when India was part o ...
.
He was Sir Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...
's representative in New Delhi (1919–31) and designed the Cathedral Church of the Redemption
Cathedral Church of the Redemption, also known as the Viceroy Church, is a church in New Delhi, India, that was built between 1927 and 1931. The church is located east of Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan, formerly Viceroy House, which ...
and the Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi
The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic cathedral belonging to the Latin Rite and one of the oldest church buildings in New Delhi, India. Together with St. Columba's School, and the Convent of Jesus and Mary school, it occupies ...
(1927–28). He designed law courts at Nagpur
Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
(1937) and was Chief Architect to the Government of India (1939–47).
He was elected 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 1959.
See also
* List of Old Abingdonians
Old Abingdonians are former pupils of Abingdon School or, in some cases, Honorary Old Abingdonians who have been awarded the status based on service to the School. The Old Abingdonians also run the Old Abingdonian Club (OA club) which is an organ ...
References
External links
The Lutyens Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medd, Henry
1892 births
1977 deaths
20th-century English architects
People educated at Abingdon School
British people in colonial India
Architects from Gloucestershire
Masters of the Art Worker's Guild
Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects