Chapel of St John the Baptist, Masson hillside - geograph

Sir Edward Guy Dawber, RA ( King's Lynn, 3 August 1861 –

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 24 April 1938) was an English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

working in the late Arts and Crafts style, whose work is particularly associated with the Cotswolds.

Biography

Reptile House entrance, London Zoo, England-1Jan2011

Edward Guy Dawber was born in Britain in 1861, at King's Lynn, Norfolk, the son of a merchant. He trained in the practice of Sir

Ernest George Sir Ernest George (13 June 1839 – 8 December 1922) was a British architect, landscape and architectural watercolourist, and etcher. Life and work Born in London, Ernest George began his architectural training in 1856, under Samuel Hewit ...

and

Harold Peto Harold Ainsworth Peto FRIBA (11 July 1854 – 16 April 1933) was a British architect, landscape architect and garden designer, who worked in Britain and in Provence, France. Among his best-known gardens are Iford Manor, Wiltshire; Buscot P ...

, supervising their work on Batsford Park (1887–93), near

Moreton-in-Marsh Moreton-in-Marsh is a market town in the Evenlode Valley, within the Cotswolds district and Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Gloucestershire, England. The town stands at the crossroads of the Fosse Way Roman road (now the A429) and the ...

, in the Cotswolds.In 1896 he married Mary Eccles in Lancashire. In 1897 Dawber designed St John the Baptist's Chapel, Matlock Bath in Matlock Dale,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, when he lived locally. It was the only church designed by him. Dawber designed the Old Post Office at 25 High Street,

Broadway, Worcestershire Broadway is a large village and civil parish in the Cotswolds, England, with a population of 2,540 at the 2011 census. It is in the far southeast of Worcestershire, close to the Gloucestershire border, midway between Evesham and Moreton-in-Mars ...

, which was built in Cotswold stone by Espley & Co of Evesham in 1899 and opened on Friday 1 December 1899. He also designed Bibsworth House, Broadway. Dawber sometimes also worked on the landscaping of the estates on which his houses were built, for example at Eyford Park in Gloucestershire. Working in the Cotswold vernacular tradition, Dawber became a respected and scholarly architect, designing and converting houses such as

Nether Swell Lower Swell is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Swell, Gloucestershire, Swell, in the Cotswold District, Cotswold district, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is located at the River Dikler, one mile from Stow-on ...

Manor (1903 and 1909) and Eyford Park (1911–12), both near

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was founde ...

. In 1905 Batsford published Dawber's ''Old Cottages, Farm-houses and other Stone Buildings in the Cotswold District''. From 1925 to 1927 Dawber was President of the

Royal Institute of British Architects 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 supp ...

. In 1928 he was awarded the RIBA

Royal Gold Medal The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture. It is gi ...

. In 1926 he played a prominent part in establishing the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, and became its first President. In that year he worked on the design of the Reptile House at London Zoo, Regent's Park, opened in 1927. About 1928 he designed many buildings of

Lord Wandsworth College Lord Wandsworth College (LWC) is a co-educational independent school in Long Sutton, Hampshire, England, for day and boarding pupils between the ages of 11–18, which occupies a 1,200 acre campus and is known for its charitable foundation. It ...

, Hampshire. He was knighted in 1936 and died in London on 24 April 1938. He is buried at St Giles's church with his parents and brother.

Works

* St John the Baptist's Chapel, Matlock Bath, Derbyshire (1897, Grade II*) *Nether Swell Manor Farm Cottages, Gloucestershire (1902-04, Grade II) *Nether Swell Manor, Gloucestershire (1903, Grade II) and its gatepiers (1906-09, Grade II) and lodge (1903, Grade II) *6 Linnell Drive,

Hampstead Garden Suburb Hampstead Garden Suburb is an elevated suburb of London, north of Hampstead, west of Highgate and east of Golders Green. It is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations. It is an example of early twentie ...

, Barnet, London NW11 (1908, Grade II) *Conkwell Grange, Wiltshire (1907, Grade II) War memorials * Moreton-in-Marsh and Batsford War Memorial, Cotswold, Gloucestershire (1908, Grade II) *Northiam War Memorial, East Sussex. (1920-21, Grade II) *Long Wittenham War Memorial, Oxfordshire. (1920, Grade II) *Wallingford War Memorial, Oxfordshire. (1921, Grade II)

Biography

Works

References

Further reading