William John Hale (March 1862 – 25 November 1929) was an architect based in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, England, who produced the city's most striking early 20th-century architecture.''"Pevsner Architectural Guides – Sheffield"'', Ruth Harman & John Minnis, Yale University Press, , Pages 277, gives quote and short biography. He practised between 1896 and 1929 and designed several schools and churches in Sheffield, using the

Arts and Crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

and

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

styles as a basis.

Biography

Hale was born in Sheffield in March 1862, the third of four children of Matthew Hale and Harriet Fordham. He was brought up as a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles W ...

and was educated at Wesley College on Glossop Road in Sheffield. Upon leaving school Hale was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to the well-known Sheffield architectural firm of Innocent and Brown. Amongst other work, the firm were responsible for designing 25 schools for the Sheffield School Board between 1873 and 1893 and the time spent by Hale as a trainee architect with the firm familiarised him with the requirements of school architecture. In 1887 Hale was a founder member of the Sheffield Society of Architects and Surveyors. On 3 September 1891 Hale married Edith Toothill (1867–1942), at Wesley Church Broomhill. The Toothills were an affluent Methodist family from Fulwood, headed by John Toothill, who had amassed considerable wealth from property development. The newly wed Hales became members of Fulwood Wesley Chapel, a high-status place of worship in an affluent suburb. Hale's Methodist social connections would ensure him a steady stream of work in the years to come. In 1892 the couple's only child, Doris Mary, was born and on 1 December of that year Hale, at the age of thirty, established his own business as an architect. In 1895 he set up the family home at Cedar House, an Italianate villa in Taptonville Road, Broomhill.

Architectural career begins

Hale's first public commission for his company was the designing of Stephen Hill Wesleyan Chapel at

Crosspool Crosspool is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, located west of the city centre. The suburb falls within the Crookes ward of the City of Sheffield. It is a middle class residential area''"Approach To Urban Sociology" ...

which opened in March 1896. It was a simple stone chapel with Arts and Crafts touches, which he would extend in 1899 by the addition of a lecture room. However his first really prestigious project was the planning of Bole Hill Board School at

Walkley Walkley is a suburb of Sheffield, England, west of Burngreave, south of Hillsborough and north-east of Crookes. The area consists mainly of Victorian stone-fronted terraced housing and has a relatively high student population. It also has a ...

. At that time Sheffield was in a flurry of school building as a result of Forster's

Education Act Education Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States that relates to education. The Bill for an Act with this short title wil ...

of 1870. Hale's experience with school design whilst training with Innocent and Brown was a big factor in winning the contract. The school, which opened in May 1896, is an impressive building set above the

Rivelin Valley The River Rivelin is a river in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It rises on the Hallam moors, in north west Sheffield, and joins the River Loxley (at Malin Bridge). The Rivelin Valley, through which the river flows, is a -mile-long woodlan ...

. Initially it had places for 815 pupils and today it is still in excellent condition despite its exposed position: a tribute to Hale's design and the quality of materials used. A further three Wesleyan chapels were built to his designs at Brightside,

Low Bradfield Low Bradfield is a village within the civil parish of Bradfield in South Yorkshire, England. It is situated within the boundary of the city of Sheffield in the upper part of the Loxley Valley, 6¼ miles west-northwest of the city centre and ...

and St Luke's at

Crookes Crookes is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, England, about west of the city centre. It borders Broomhill to the south, Walkley and Crookesmoor to the east and open countryside around the River Rivelin to the north. The population of the ...

in the years up to 1900. The Ibbotson family were generous benefactors to the Low Bradfied project, allowing Hale to indulge in detailing which a small village could not otherwise have afforded. A similar situation arose at St Luke's with Samuel Meggitt Johnson, owner of the

George Bassett George Bassett (1818–1886) was the founder in 1842 of Bassett's, a confectionery firm in Sheffield.Frank Tory.

Finest work

Hale did his finest and best-known works between 1904 and 1908. Hammerton Street Council School is widely regarded as a triumph, as is the arts and crafts school in Sheffield. It opened in October 1904 and cost £14,000. It features windows with elaborate lintels, ornate keystones over the doors and decorative drainpipes, as Hale introduced aspects of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

into his work. BBC Sheffield and South Yorkshire
Sheffield school named as endangered is renovated. Between 1906 and 1908 Hale constructed two large, octagonal churches in the

suburb in Sheffield. The Congregational Church at the top of Springvale Road had seating for 700, while the Wesley Hall in Crookes had seating for 900. Hale's decision to use an octagonal design was not an original idea, as there were 14 examples of eight-sided Methodist chapels in the 18th century. He may have been influenced by

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

's thinking, who believed the design offered better acoustics for the preacher, along with improved use of space for seating and a clear view for the congregation. In 1907 Hale completed another commission for the Sheffield Education Committee. Lydgate Lane Council School at Crosspool was a continuation of the Arts and Crafts style used successfully at Hammerton Street, but the school was no duplicate and has a distinctive design built in

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...

from the Bole Hill or Bell Hagg quarries.''"Building Schools for Sheffield"'', The Victorian Society, ALD Design and Print, . Gives details of Hale's school buildings. In 1908 Hale became involved in the design of Victoria Hall in central Sheffield. He had finished second in a competition to design the building to the firm of Waddington, Son and Dunkerley, but after the death of the original architect, William Angelo Waddington, in January 1907, Hale took over. The extent of Hale's alterations to the original plans is unclear, but the tower and its uppermost elevations were considerably changed. Looking At Buildings
gives details of Victoria Hall work.

Career break

In 1909 Hale and his family moved from Taptonville Road to the even more select district of

Ranmoor Ranmoor () is a suburb of the City of Sheffield, England. It is an affluent suburb in the Fulwood ward of the city. It mostly developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it features a number of large houses that were built for th ...

. Hale designed the new house on Snaithing Lane, calling it Tainby. It was solidly constructed in stone with the front facing south-west away from the road. It had careful Arts and Crafts detailing around the windows and doors, which lifted it above the design of the surrounding houses.Looking At Buildings
Gives details of Tainby. The move coincided with Hale taking a ten-year break from designing major projects. It is not known why Hale did this, but it is clear that from around 1914 he suffered from a heart condition, and that his daughter learnt to drive specifically so that she could chauffeur him around. Other possibilities are that he was involved in

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

work or that he wanted to relax and enjoy his new house. Hale was president of the Sheffield Society of Architects between 1909 and 1911 and at the same time was involved at the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

's Architectural Department.''"The Chapels Society – Miscellany 1- Sane if Unheroic: The Work of John William Hale"'', N.D. Wilson, The Chapels Society, , gives detailed biography.

Return to work

In 1919 Hale's near neighbour in Snaithing Lane, W. F. Osborn, owner of the Samuel Osborn Steel Company, asked him to design a new railway spring shop at the Rutland Works in

Neepsend Neepsend is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, it stands just north-west of the city centre. The main area of Neepsend covers the flood plain of the River Don from Lady's Bridge at the Wicker up to Hillfoot Bridge. The suburb falls within the ...

. This is Hale's only known industrial building. It has large segmental headed windows, subtle architectural detailing, and relief panels advertising the name and trademarks of the firm. Hale built his daughter Doris a new house in Snaithing Park Road, near to his own, upon her marriage in 1921 to Maurice Cole of the Cole Brothers department store. Hale's final career phase was between 1926 and his death in 1929, during which time he constructed five churches in a strong geometric modern style, with little historical detailing. It has been suggested that Hale's plain style to his work in this period reflects the sobriety that followed World War I. This is best illustrated at

Banner Cross Methodist Church Banner Cross Methodist Church is situated in the district of Banner Cross in the city of Sheffield, England. The church stands on Ecclesall Road South, south-west of the city centre. The church and attached schoolroom as well as the boundary wall ...

which resembles a huge war memorial not unlike a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

. Hale's final work, Bents Green Methodist Church, was completed after his death by his pupil G.R. Bower to Hale's plans. Looking At Buildings
gives Short Biography. On 25 November 1929, William John Hale died at his home Tainby in Ranmoor, Sheffield, aged 67. Obituaries noted his work for the Sheffield Society of Architects and Surveyors and his membership of Fulwood Wesley. He left an estate with a net value of £7,000, allowing his widow Edith to live comfortably in Sheffield until her death in 1942.

Known works by William John Hale

File:Southey Chapel.jpg, Southey Chapel. File:Wesleyan Chapel, Low Bradfield.jpg, Low Bradfield Wesleyan Chapel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, William John Wesleyan Methodists Architects from Yorkshire 1862 births 1929 deaths English ecclesiastical architects Art Nouveau architects People educated at Wesley College, Sheffield Architects from Sheffield