George Halford Fellowes Prynne (1853–1927) was a Victorian and Edwardian English church architect. Part of the

High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

school of

Gothic Revival Architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, Prynne's work can be found across

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes G ...

Biography

Early life

George Halford Fellowes Prynne was born on 2 April 1853 at Wyndham Square,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. He was the second son of the Rev. George Rundle Prynne and Emily Fellowes (daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Fellowes KCB DCL). His elder brother was the painter

Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne (1854–1921) was a leading British late Pre-Raphaelite painter of portraits and subject pictures, who in later life became one of the country's best known creators of decorative art for churches. Family and Early ...

. George Fellowes Prynne studied at St Mary’s College,

Harlow Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...

. He went on to Chardstock College, and thence to Eastman’s Royal Naval Academy at

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

Career

In 1871, aged 18, Prynne he sailed America to work with a cousin who had taken land, and was farming in the Western states of America. But finding the work "trying and severe", after almost two years he travelled to Toronto was appointed to the role of Junior Assistant in the office architect Richard Cunningham Windyer. Four years later, Prynne had gained a senior position in the office, and offer of employment from the architect

George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccl ...

. He was employed by Street for a year, later working with architects Swinfen Harris, R.J. Withers,

Alfred Waterhouse Alfred Waterhouse (19 July 1830 – 22 August 1905) was an English architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture, although he designed using other architectural styles as well. He is perhaps best known f ...

, and at the London School Board offices. He was a student at the Royal Academy between 1876 and 78. He commenced independent practice in 1879. Prynne became Architect to the Diocese of Oxford from 1913. Prynne designed many parish churches in England, mostly in the southeast and southwest, and almost always on a grand scale of

high church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

. He also undertook significant

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

work, and in all is said to have been designed or restored over 200 buildings. Examples include All Saints Church, West Dulwich and St Peter’s, Budleigh Salterton. Prynne collaborated extensively with his brother

who provided artwork for a number of the architect's churches. This includes St Peter’s Church Staines, which possesses Edward Arthur Fellowes Prynne windows of remarkable quality and beauty. Other examples include altar panels at Holy Trinity, Roehampton, and St Mary, East Grinstead, and a reredos at St Mary the Virgin Church, Hayes, where both brothers Prynne are now buried.

Family and personal life

George Fellowes Prynne married Bertha Geraldine Bradbury in June 1882 in Wandsworth, London. Prynne was a profoundly religious man with Anglo-Catholic convictions, and family prayers were said daily for the whole household. George and Geraldine Prynne latterly lived at number 3 Grange Road, Ealing. He designed St Saviour's Church, Ealing nearby on Grove Road, Ealing (consecrated in 1899), and was heavily involved in the life of its Parish. St Saviour's was demolished in 1940 following bomb damage, although the Clergy House designed by Prynne survives. Prynne also designed an extension to

Ealing Town Hall Ealing Town hall is a municipal building in New Broadway, Ealing, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace a mid-19th century town hall in The Mall designed by Charles Jones in the Gothic Revi ...

, including a new octagonally towered entrance, built in 1930. Prynne had seven children. Four of his five sons were in active service, two were killed in active service, which had a profound effect on Prynne's later years.

Works

File:All Saints Dulwich (16129644576).jpg, All Saints Church, West Dulwich, South London, completed in 1897 File:Staines.png, Window and glass at St Peter's Church Staines by George and Edward Fellowes Prynne File:Staines StPeter west.jpg, St Peter's parish church, Staines, Middlesex, completed in 1894 File:St Alban's Church, Linwood Road, Bournemouth - geograph.org.uk - 346343.jpg, St Alban's Church, Bournemouth. completed in 1909

External links

George Fellowes Prynne, a brief biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prynne, George Fellowes 1853 births 1927 deaths Architects from Devon Gothic Revival architects People from Plymouth, Devon People educated at Eastman's Royal Naval Academy