Holland William Hobbiss, (8 February 1880 – 22 July 1970) was an English architect in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

area. He traded under the names ''Holland W. Hobbiss and Partners'' and ''Holland W. Hobbiss and M. A. H. Hobbiss''.

Life

Hobbiss was born in Birmingham on 8 February 1880, the eldest son of Henry Hobbiss, a school master and later a lecturer in a teaching college, and his wife, Alice. In 1914 Hobbiss won a national competition (and 25 guinea prize) for his design of agricultural workers cottages in Essex. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as a second lieutenant in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA) ...

. Between 1956 and 1958 Hobbiss was elected and sat as president of the

Royal Birmingham Society of Artists The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is an art society, based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England, where it owns and operates an art gallery, the RBSA Gallery, on Brook Street, just off St Paul's Square. It is both a ...

. His signature brick pattern was

English garden wall bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...

with three rows of stretchers between each row of headers. A number of his buildings were decorated by the sculptor

William Bloye William James Bloye (8 July 1890 – 6 June 1975) was an English sculptor, active in Birmingham either side of World War II. Life Bloye studied, and later, taught at the Birmingham School of Art (his training was interrupted by World War ...

. He died in Birmingham in 1970.

Works

He designed: * St Mark's Church House, Washwood Heath, 1909–10 * Fox and Goose pub, Washwood Heath, 1913 * The Bear Public House, Stratford Road,

Sparkhill Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook. Historically part of Worcestershire, Sparkhill once existed as a rural area with its main industry being agriculture until the 1 ...

* The Antelope, Birmingham, Stratford Road, Sparkhill 1922

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Grade II in 1991 (with Bloye sculptures) *

St Giles Saint Giles (, la, Aegidius, french: Gilles), also known as Giles the Hermit, was a hermit or monk active in the lower Rhône most likely in the 6th century. Revered as a saint, his cult became widely diffused but his hagiography is mostly lege ...

, Church Road,

Rowley Regis Rowley Regis ( ) is a town and former municipal borough in Sandwell in the county of the West Midlands, England. It encompasses the three Sandwell council wards of Blackheath, Cradley Heath and Old Hill, and Rowley. At the 2011 census, the com ...

, 1923 with A. S. Dixon. * The Guild of Students,

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, 1928-30. Extended 1948-51 and 1960. (with Bloye sculptures) * Queens College, Somerset Road, Edgbaston. Residential block and lodge 1929-30, chapel 1938-47 * Pitmaston, formerly the Ideal Benefit Society Building, Goodby Road, Edgbaston, 1930-1.

Grade II in 2002 * Christ Church, Burney Lane, Ward End, 1935 (with Bloye sculptures)

Grade II in 2009 * St Mary and St John, Alum Rock Road, 1934-5 * 53 Church Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham (now the Westbourne Centre), 1935 * Crematorium and chapel at Lodge Hill Cemetery in

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harborn ...

, 1936–37 * Three Tuns Hotel, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, opened 1937 * Holy Cross church, Brigfield Road, Billesley Common, 1937 * King Edward's School, 1937-47. He rebuilt and clad with brick the upper corridor of the New Street (

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respons ...

) King Edward's school as the current chapel, 1952-3. Chapel listed Grade II listed *

King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls ''(KEHS)'' () is an independent secondary school in Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest o ...

, 1937-47. * St Edmund, Reddings Lane, Tyseley, 1939-40 *

Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI The King Edward VI Foundation, Birmingham is a charitable institution that operates two independent schools, six selective academy state schools and four non-selective academy schools in Birmingham, England. It was registered under the name Th ...

, Foundation Offices. * The Copcut Elm, Salwarpe, 1937 * Chemical Engineering Building, University of Birmingham, 1960 (''Holland W. Hobbiss and Partners'')''The Buildings of England: Warwickshire'', Nikolaus Pevsner and Alexandra Wedgwood, 1966, 2003, * Edgbaston High School for Girls, 1960 (''Holland W. Hobbiss and Partners'') * St Francis' Hall, University of Birmingham, 1936. Extended 1968-9. He also designed a number of unnamed houses in Amesbury Road and Russell Road in Moseley. He completed the west end of St Gregory the Great's Church, Small Heath in 1926-1928 Listed Grade II listed in 1994

References

Sources

*''Pevsner Architectural Guides - Birmingham'', Andy Foster, 2005, {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbiss, Holland W. 1880 births 1970 deaths 20th-century English architects Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects