Herbert George Simms (30 November 189828 September 1948) was an English architect who worked as an architect for

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

Early life and education

He was the eldest of six children of George William Simms, a train driver and former shepherd, originally of

Fawley, Buckinghamshire Fawley is a village and civil parish in Wycombe district in the south-western corner of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the boundary between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, about seven miles west of Great Marlow and north of Henley-on-Tham ...

and his wife Nellie (née Worster) originally of

Hemel Hempstead Hemel Hempstead () is a town in the Dacorum district in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of London, which is part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2011 census was 97,500. Developed after the Second World War as a ne ...

. His father had four older children from a previous marriage. He lived with the family on Prince of Wales Road,

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

and was educated at the Haverstock Industrial and Commercial School. By 1911 the family had moved to 33 Victoria Road, with Herbert the oldest of the children still at home.

Military career

During the First World War he served in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

. He was awarded an ex-service scholarship of £150 and tuition fees which allowed him to study architecture at

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

Architectural education

He began studies in October 1919 but had to abandon them for financial reasons when the three years ended. He had received the Certificate in Architecture in 1921 and passed the third and fourth years of the Diploma course. On grounds of previous office work and the standard of his studies he was permitted to sit the course for the Certificate in Civic Design which he was awarded in March 1923.

Architectural career

After university he moved to Dublin, where he worked for a while in the office of Aubrey Vincent O'Rourke. In February 1925 he was appointed temporary architect to Dublin Corporation , working under Horace Tennyson O'Rourke, a role that was gradually extended and lasted until December 1927. In 1926 he was authorised to visit London, Liverpool and Manchester to examine the latest developments in flats. In 1932 or 1933 a separate housing architect's department was formed to focus on the building of new houses and Simms was appointed to the new role of Corporation housing architect. He immediately recruited staff to work in the department. In the sixteen years he was in the post he was responsible for the construction of 17,000 residences, including both flats and houses. His work on flats showed influences by

Michel de Klerk Michel de Klerk (24 November 1884, Amsterdam – 24 November 1923, Amsterdam) was a Dutch architect. Born to a Dutch Jews, Jewish family, he was one of the founding architects of the movement Amsterdam School (Expressionist architecture) Earl ...

Jacobus Oud Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, commonly called J. J. P. Oud (9 February 1890 – 5 April 1963) was a Dutch architect. His fame began as a follower of the '' De Stijl'' movement. Oud was born in Purmerend, the son of a tobacco and wine merchant. A ...

and Johannes van Hardeveld.

Personal life

He married Eileen Clarke, daughter of Garda Superintendent Thomas Clarke on 30 September 1929.

Death

After Horace O'Rourke retired in 1945, the pressure on Simms increased. He had already suffered one nervous breakdown fifteen years before and on 28 September 1948 he took his own life by throwing himself under a train at

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

. A suicide note said that he felt overwork was threatening his sanity. He was buried in

Deans Grange Cemetery Deans Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown part of the former County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been burie ...

Notable works

*St Audoen's House, Cook Street * Chancery Place Flats, Chancery Place (1935) * Countess Markiewicz House, Townsend Street *Greek Street Flats, Greek Street *Henrietta House, Henrietta Place *

Oliver Bond flats Oliver Bond flats, also known as Oliver Bond House, is a group of blocks of flats in the Liberties area of Dublin, Ireland. They were designed by Herbert George Simms and built in 1936. They are named after Oliver Bond, a member of the Society o ...

, Oliver Bond Street (1936) - sometimes known as Oliver Bond House * Pearse House, Hanover Street East *Thorncastle Street Flats, Thorncastle Street,

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

References

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External links

Herbert Simms City
20th-century English architects