Mottistone Manor and Garden, Isle of Wight - geograph

Henry John Alexander Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone, (1 May 1899 – 18 January 1963) was an architect whose work in the partnership of

Seely & Paget Seely & Paget was the architectural partnership of John Seely, 2nd Baron Mottistone (1899–1963) and Paul Edward Paget (1901–1985). Their work included the construction of Eltham Palace in the Art Deco style, and the post-World War II restorati ...

included the interior of

Eltham Palace Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 1930s. ...

in the Art Deco style, and the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

restoration of a number of bomb-damaged buildings, such as houses in the Little Cloister (

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

), the

London Charterhouse The London Charterhouse is a historic complex of buildings in Farringdon, London, dating back to the 14th century. It occupies land to the north of Charterhouse Square, and lies within the London Borough of Islington. It was originally built ( ...

and the church of

St John Clerkenwell St John Clerkenwell is a former parish church in Clerkenwell, London, its original priory church site retains a crypt and has been given over to the London chapel of the modern Order of Saint John (chartered 1888), Order of St John. It is a squar ...

Biography

Henry John Alexander Seely was born on 1 May 1899, the son of John Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, a British Army general and politician, and Emily Florence, daughter of Colonel Honourable Sir Henry George Louis Crichton. He attended

West Downs School West Downs School, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, was an English independent preparatory school, which was established in 1897 and closed in 1988. History Founding The school was founded by Lionel Helbert (1870–1919), with help from hi ...

, Winchester, an independent preparatory school, and then went to

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

where he read Architecture and met his future business partner, and life partner,

Paul Edward Paget Paul Edward Paget CVO (24 January 1901 – 13 August 1985) was the son of Henry Luke Paget, Bishop of Chester and Elmer Katie Hoare (sister of Sir Samuel Hoare). He became business partner - and life partner - of John Seely (later Lord Motti ...

, the son of the Bishop of Chester. He served during

World War I 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 ...

. His elder brother, 2Lt Frank Reginald Seely of the

Royal Hampshire Regiment The Hampshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot and the 67th (South Hampshire) Regiment of Foot. The reg ...

, was killed in action at the Battle of Arras. After the War, he co-founded the architect firm of

. According to Paget, "it was just the marriage of two minds... we became virtually one person". They were inseparable in business and life, and referred to each other as "the partner". They lived and worked at 41 Cloth Fair, London, where the firm remained until 1986. Eltham Palace (25098625346)

The partnership's works included the remodelling of

Mottistone Manor Mottistone Manor is a National Trust property in the village of Mottistone on the Isle of Wight, England. It has popular gardens and is a listed building. It was first mentioned in documents related to the Domesday Book of 1086. History The old ...

, and the transformation of the medieval

, into an Art Deco mansion. John Seely served in the

Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

and at the Ministry of Works during

. He succeeded to the Mottistone barony in 1947. After WWII Seely & Paget designed new churches including St Andrew and St George Stevenage, the largest parish church built in England since 1945, and restored many buildings after war damage including

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...

and

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

, and many London churches. In 1947 John Seely was

Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral The post of Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral was established in 1675. The role is an architectural one, with the current holder being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the cathedral and its buildings. In the past, the rol ...

and designed the Chapel of the

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

, at the eastern end of the crypt. He was also appointed architect to St George's chapel,

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

and Lay Canon and architect at

Portsmouth Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, commonly known as Portsmouth Cathedral, is an Anglican cathedral church in the centre of Old Portsmouth in Portsmouth, England. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Portsmouth and the seat of ...

. He was awarded

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 ...

in the

1961 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1961 were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 31 December 1960 in the U ...

. The

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

holds six portraits of him in its collection, by photographers

Walter Stoneman Walter Ernest Stoneman (6 April 1876 – 14 May 1958) was an English portrait photographer who took many photographs for the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London. Career as a photographer Stoneman was born in Plymouth, Devon, on 6 ...

and

Elliott & Fry Elliott & Fry was a Victorian era, Victorian photography studio founded in 1863 by Joseph John Elliott (14 October 1835 – 30 March 1903) and Clarence Edmund Fry (1840 – 12 April 1897). For a century, the firm's core business was taking and pu ...

. He died without issue on 18 January 1963 and was accordingly succeeded by his brother, Arthur Patrick William Seely, 3rd Baron Mottistone. He is buried in St Catherine's chapel garden at

. In a niche in the wall of one of the houses in the Little Cloister, which Lord Mottistone restored, there is a statue of St Catherine by Edwin Russell that is a memorial to him. The inscription reads "John Mottistone. This is a sign of love and sadness. P.E.P. 1966 A.C.D." P.E.P stands for Paul Edward Paget, Lord Mottistone's partner. A.C.D. is

Alan Campbell Don Alan Campbell Don (3 January 1885 – 3 May 1966) was a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, editor of the Scottish Episcopal Church's 1929 '' Scottish Prayer Book'', chaplain and secretary to Cosmo Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1 ...

, the Dean of Westminster at the time of Lord Mottistone's death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottistone, John Seely, Lord 1899 births 1963 deaths People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 20th-century English architects Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Officers of the Order of the British Empire