Howard Joseland (1860–1930) was an English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued a successful and influential career there.
Early life
Richard George Howard Joseland was born on 14 January 1860 at Claines, Worcestershire, England, the son of a wine merchant. In the early days of his career, he was articled to the Haddon Brothers at Hereford, but moved to London in 1881. There, he obtained a position as assistant to George Robinson in the architectural company George Trollope and Sons. In time, his health suffered as a result of overwork, and he was advised to migrate to a more temperate clime. He went to New Zealand, where he worked on the railways for six months. He then moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1888, where he married Alice Taylor.
Career in Australia
In Sydney, Joseland met
Walter Liberty Vernon
Colonel Walter Liberty Vernon (11 August 184617 January 1914) was an English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney, New South Wales. In his role as the New South Wales Government Architect he is ...
, another English architect who had migrated to Australia for health reasons. The two architects joined forces and entered a competition to design a model suburb. It was the first of several projects they would work on together. In 1890, Vernon became
New South Wales Government Architect
The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principle ...
, as a result of which he handed his private practice over to Joseland.
Joseland had relatively little work during the Depression of the 1890s; to make things even worse, his wife Alice died in 1891. In 1897 Joseland married Blanche Hay. His practice also began to recover with commissions in 1898. In 1903, he took on Hugh Vernon—a son of Walter Vernon—who had been Joseland's pupil. The practice took on a variety of commissions, including commercial buildings, but Joseland's clientele was predominantly well-off people who required comfortable homes. Many of them were moving into the new residential areas in Sydney's north, where suburbs like Wahroonga and Warrawee developed. Joseland is credited with designing something like nineteen homes in these areas. His output included his own home, Malvern, which he built in 1900 in Burns Road, Wahroonga. He designed it in the
Federation Bungalow
Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of ...
style, featuring a prominent veranda to create shade.
From 1914 to 1919, Joseland conducted a solo practice before joining forces with Glynn Gilling, another young English architect who had migrated to Australia. Joseland retired in 1929, selling the business to Gilling, who retained the business name Joseland and Gilling. Joseland was active in various community activities and musical societies, as well as being a keen fisherman and author of the book ''Angling in Australia and Elsewhere'', which was published in 1921. He also found time to visit England twice with his wife Blanche. He died of cancer in the eastern Sydney suburb of
Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...
on 20 July 1930, and was buried at South Head Cemetery in another eastern Sydney suburb,
Vaucluse
Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Queen Anne style, which ultimately became the most popular residential style in Australia in the first decade of the 20th century. This latter style had arrived in Australia in 1885 with the construction of
Caerleon, Bellevue Hill
Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a historic house in the Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate as well as having a New South Wales heritage listing. It was named after Caerleon, a small town in Wales.
...
; its influence can be seen strongly in the homes Joseland designed for his clientele, along with the Arts and Crafts style that was also popular.
Image:(1)Paterson_Reid_Bruce_building_Sydney.jpg, Paterson, Bruce and Reid building, 83 York Street, Sydney
Image:Craignairn.JPG, Craignairn, Burns Road, Wahroonga
Image:StEdmundsSchool.JPG, Midhope (St Edmund's School), Burns Road, Wahroonga
Image:RipponGrange.JPG, Rippon Grange, Water Street, Wahroonga
Image:HowardJoseland.JPG, Joseland's grave at South Head Cemetery
Sample of Joseland buildings
* Craignairn, Burns Road, Wahroonga. Built for Walter Strang
* Eldinhope, Burns Road, Wahroonga. Designed for Florence Hooke circa 1900, became Eldinhope School for Girls in 1901
* Malvern, Burns Road. Joseland's own home.
* Midhope, Burns Road, Wahroonga. Built 1896 for Sir James Murdoch, then became St Edmund's School for Children with Special Needs
* Mount Alverna, Burns Road, Wahroonga. Built circa 1891 for ophthalmic surgeon Dr. Francis Antill Pockley, became Franciscan Order retreat 1950s–1980s
* Redleaf, Redleaf Avenue, Wahroonga. Built in 1899 for W.G. Parish in Queen Anne style, considered an important example of Joseland's work. Has Local Government Heritage listing
* Rippon Grange, Water Street, Wahroonga. Designed with
John Sulman
Sir John Sulman (29 August 1849 – 18 August 1934) was an Australian architect. Born in Greenwich, England, he emigrated to Sydney in 1885. From 1921 to 1924 he was chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee and influenced the develop ...
circa 1898 in the Arts and Crafts style, for Frederick Sargood. Joseland and Vernon were commissioned to design the garden of one hectare.
* Westholme, Water Street, Wahroonga. Designed in Arts and Crafts style for John Bennett, built 1894.
* Paterson, Reid and Bruce Building, York Street, Sydney. Impressive commercial building in brick and sandstone, designed with Vernon, listed on Register of the National Estate.The Heritage of Australia, Macmillan Company, 1981, p. 2/111
* David Berry Hospital
* Lynburn Princes Highway Bomaderry. Built 1895 by George Muller for the widow of Henry Morton, manager of the David Berry Estate near Nowra, and Mayor of Numbaa 1868 to 1895. Still lived in by the Morton Family and coming up fo 'auction 1 February 2014' * Illowra Princes Highway Bomaderry NSW, Built in 1906 for Mark F Morton. member for Willondilly in the NSW legislative assembly 1901 till 1938
* Mananga (believed to have been designed by Joseland),Princes Highway Berry NSW. Built 1894 for the Stuart Family by Hohn Hay who was the manager of Alexander Berrys Coolngatta estate.