Theatre, Church Street, Leatherhead - geograph

Roderick Thomas Mathieson Ham (September 1925 – 19 January 2017) was a British architect, principally of theatres, who often worked with George Finch. He designed the

New Wolsey Theatre The New Wolsey Theatre is an award-winning producing theatre with a café & bar in Ipswich, Suffolk. It is a midsized regional theatre, having a seating capacity of 400. History It replaced The Arts Theatre, the town's much loved and respecte ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

, and the

Thorndike Theatre The Thorndike Theatre is a Grade II listed building in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. Roderick Ham designed the theatre within the shell of the disused 1930s Crescent Cinema. Named after Dame Sybil Thorndike, the theatre was opened on 17 Septemb ...

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

Early life

Ham was born in

Balham Balham () is an area in south London, England, mostly within the London Borough of Wandsworth with small parts within the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. The area has been settled since Saxon times and appears in the Domesday Book as B ...

, South London. He was the son of Bob Ham, a salesman, and Rea (nee Mathieson-Macbeth). In World War II, he served in the British Army, joining straight from school and rising to second lieutenant.

Career

When he was demobbed in 1947, Ham joined the

Architectural Association The Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, commonly referred to as the AA, is the oldest independent school of architecture in the UK and one of the most prestigious and competitive in the world. Its wide-ranging programme ...

to start his studies as an architect, where he would return later in his career to teach. In 1954 he set up his own practice, and due to his love of amateur dramatics, decided to concentrate on theatre design. His early work included alterations to the Festival theatre in Battersea Park and additions to the Royal Court. His first major project was designing, with George Finch, the

within the shell of the disused 1930s Crescent Cinema, which opened in 1969. The building is now Grade II listed and won both a

RIBA Award 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 ...

and a building for the disabled award in 1970. Ham designed the

Derby Playhouse Derby Playhouse was a theatre production company based in Derby, England and the former name of the theatre which it owned and operated from its opening in 1975 until 2008, when the company ceased operating after a period in administration. The th ...

with George Finch, which opened in 1975, and the

, which was built from 1977 to 1979, followed by the Sackville theatre at Sevenoaks school in Kent, in 1981. In 1961, Ham was one of the founding members of the

Association of British Theatre Technicians The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) is a British charitable organisation representing technical staff working within theatre. Overview The ABTT was founded in 1961 by group of theatre producers, technicians and architects. The ...

and was elected a Fellow in 2012. With Peter Moro, he produced a series of information sheets on aspects of theatre design that were published by the ''Architects' Journal''. Ham developed this work into his 1972 book ''Theatre Planning'', and his 1987 publication ''Theatres: Planning Guidance for Design and Adaptation''. 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 1989.

Personal life

In 1955, he married Cara P. Aldridge. He died on 19 January 2017 at the age of 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ham, Roderick 1925 births 2017 deaths 20th-century English architects British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers officers Masters of the Art Worker's Guild