William Fielding (1875 – 26 July 1946) was a New Zealand architect who practised in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

. He was also a bowls player, winning two medals at the

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what now is known as the Commonwealth Games, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The games were organized by ''Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

Early life and family

Born in 1875 at Lower Darwen,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, England, Fielding was the son of Mary (née Turnbull) and Robert Fielding, and was educated at Kilgrimol School in Lancashire. In 1900, Fielding married Lily Midgley, and the couple went on to have two children.

Architectural practice

Fielding trained as an architect under John Whitaker, and later became a junior partner with

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

architect, John Dent Harker. Fielding is known to have worked on the St Annes-on-the-Sea Carnegie Library designed by Harker. Moving to New Zealand around 1908, Fielding established his own practice in Wellington in 1909, and designed nearly 300 buildings in the city and elsewhere. SIgnificant examples of his work include: * Assembly Hall for the Vogeltown and Mornington Public Hall Society, Vennell Street,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. * Capitol Theatre, Miramar. * Congregational Church, 45 Cambridge Terrace,

Te Aro Te Aro (formerly also known as Te Aro Flat) is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly fla ...

. * Evening Post Building, 82 Willis Street, Te Aro. * Flats for Mrs Turner-Cottier, 83 Kent Terrace, Te Aro. * Kilbirnie Wesleyan Church, Waitoa Road,

Hataitai Hataitai is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, 3.5 kilometres southeast of the city centre. The suburb extends over the southeastern flank of Mount Victoria and down a valley between the Town Belt and a ridge al ...

. * Lampard Flats, 284–286 Cuba Street, Te Aro. * Plumbers Building, 122–124 Wakefield Street, Te Aro. * Rosco Tearooms, 2–6 Coleman Place,

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. * St Christopher's Church, 27 Ventnor Street,

Seatoun Seatoun, an eastern suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, lies on the east coast of the Miramar Peninsula, close to the entrance to Wellington Harbour ( Port Nicholson), some seven kilometres southeast of the CBD. The suburb s ...

. * Ward Memorial Methodist Church and Hall, 69 Northland Road, Northland. * Wellington Trades' Hall Building, 124–128 Vivian Street, Te Aro. He also supervised the restoration of

Antrim House Antrim House of Wellington, New Zealand, was completed in 1905 for Robert Hannah (1845–1930) and his wife Hannah Hannah (1852–1928). History This house was named after the original owner-builder's home county of Antrim in what is now Nor ...

in Wellington following a fire in 1940. Fielding was admitted LRIBA in 1913, and elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1915. He served as chairman of the Wellington branch of the

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

Lawn bowls

A member of the Hataitai Bowling Club, Fielding represented New Zealand at the 1930 British Empire Games in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

, and competed in the singles, pairs, and fours. He won the silver medal with his partner Peter McWhannell in the pairs event, and In the singles competition he won the bronze medal. The foursome of Fielding, McWhannell, Edward Leach, and

Harold Frost Harold M. Frost (1921 – 19 June 2004) was an American orthopedist and surgeon considered to be one of the most important researchers and theorists in the field of bone biology and bone medicine of his time.Turner C, Burr D, Jee WS, Smith S, Re ...

finished fifth.

Death

Fielding died on 26 July 1946, and his funeral was held at the Congregational Church in Cambridge Terrace, Wellington, which he had designed. He was buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first crema ...

, Wellington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielding, William 1875 births 1946 deaths People from Darwen English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand architects New Zealand male bowls players Bowls players at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for New Zealand Burials at Karori Cemetery Fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games