Thomas Worthington (11 April 1826 – 9 November 1909) was a 19th-century 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 ...

, particularly associated with public buildings in and around

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 ...

. Worthington's preferred style was the

Gothic Revival 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 ...

Early life

Worthington was born in Crescent Parade,

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

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 Lancas ...

, on 11 April 1826. He was the fourth of six sons of a

Unitarian cotton merchant, also called Thomas, and his second wife Susanna (1792–1869). He left school, aged 14, and was articled to Henry Bowman, architect (Bowman & Crowther). Before he was twenty he had won two medals: one for a church design (Royal Society of Arts) and one for an essay on "Brick" (Royal Institute of British Architects).Stewart (1956); pp. 80-87 After completing his articles in 1847, he assisted

William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...

who was building

Carlisle railway station Carlisle railway station, or Carlisle Citadel, is a Grade II* listed railway station serving the city of Carlisle, Cumbria, England. It is on the West Coast Main Line, south-east of and north north-west of . It is the northern terminus of ...

. On the suspension of this work in 1848, he went on an eight-month study tour to France, Italy and Switzerland accompanied by a friend, Henry A. Darbishire. Their journey took them through Tuscany, Latium and Campania; Worthington's notes and sketches from the trip provided him with a first-hand knowledge of Italian Gothic and Renaissance architecture, which give him inspiration for his own later work. After returning to Manchester in October 1848, Worthington spent a short time gaining experience of

quantity surveying A quantity surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors (Members and Fellows of RICS) in the UK and C ...

, before opening his own architectural practice in King Street the following year.

Social concerns

Worthington was strongly influenced by his Unitarian upbringing, becoming committed to social reform and joining numerous learned societies, including the

Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, popularly known as the Lit. & Phil., is one of the oldest learned societies in the United Kingdom and second oldest provincial learned society (after the Spalding Gentlemen's Society). Promine ...

, the Portico Library and the

Royal Manchester Institution The Royal Manchester Institution (RMI) was an English learned society founded on 1 October 1823 at a public meeting held in the Exchange Room by Manchester merchants, local artists and others keen to dispel the image of Manchester as a city lack ...

. Partly as a result of his social concerns, Worthington was often commissioned to design public buildings, ranging from

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

and

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

s to

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

s and Unitarian churches. These were often designed in a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style, not dissimilar to that of his contemporary and rival

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 ...

Projects in Manchester and district

Estate Exchange The Estate Exchange at 46 Fountain Street, Manchester, England, is a Victorian office block by Thomas Worthington. It was built as Overseers' and Churchwardens' Offices in 1852, with the top two floors being added in 1858. It is a Grade II* lis ...

, Overseers and

Churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' members of the parish b ...

s Office, 46 Fountain Street (1852–1859); listed Grade II* * Greengate Baths, Collier Street (1856) *

Mayfield Baths Mayfield Baths was a Victorian washhouse and laundry in Manchester, England that opened in 1857 to serve workers in the surrounding print and textile factories. The building, behind Manchester Piccadilly station in the Cottonopolis district, ...

(1857–1940) *

Albert Memorial The Albert Memorial, directly north of the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington Gardens, London, was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic R ...

(1862–1867) *The

Memorial Hall A memorial hall is a hall built to commemorate an individual or group; most commonly those who have died in war. Most are intended for public use and are sometimes described as ''utilitarian memorials''. History of the Memorial Hall In the aft ...

Albert Square Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. It is the primary setting for the soap. ''EastEnders'' is filmed at Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, towards the north-west of London. Much of the location ...

(1863–1866)The Memorial Hall does not commemorate Prince Albert but the constitutional changes of 1662 when the reform of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

under the Commonwealth was undone. For most of its existence it was a base for many local organizations and a venue for meetings. * City Police Courts, Manchester (1867–1873). *Chorlton Union Workhouse, afterwards

Withington Hospital Withington Community Hospital is a hospital in south Manchester, England, managed by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. History Originally known as the Chorlton Barlow Moor Work House, the hospital was purpose-built in 1854–55 ...

(1865) *

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester city centre, north of Salford and south of Bury. Historically part of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ancient pari ...

Union Infirmary, afterwards Delaunays Hospital (1866–1870) * The Towers,

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

(1868–1872), home to Manchester industrialist Daniel Adamson from 1874, this building was later (from 1920) used by the

British Cotton Industry Research Association The Shirley Institute was established in 1920 as the British Cotton Industry Research Association at The Towers in Didsbury, Manchester, as a research centre dedicated to cotton production technologies. It was funded by the Cotton Board throug ...

, later called the

Shirley Institute The Shirley Institute was established in 1920 as the British Cotton Industry Research Association at The Towers in Didsbury, Manchester, as a research centre dedicated to cotton production technologies. It was funded by the Cotton Board through ...

* Brookfield Unitarian Church, Gorton (1870) * Monton Green Unitarian Church, Monton, Eccles (1875) *Flowery Field Church, Newton Street, Hyde (1876–1878) *

Ellen Wilkinson High School Ellen Wilkinson High School was housed, until it closed in 2000, in a Grade II* listed building in Ardwick, Manchester, England, designed in 1879–80 by the prolific Manchester architect Thomas Worthington. Formerly known as Nicholls Hospita ...

Ardwick Ardwick is a district of Manchester in North West England, one mile south east of the city centre. The population of the Ardwick Ward at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown f ...

, formerly Nicholl's Hospital (1879–1880) *Dovecote, Sale Old Hall (1880) *Arlington House, Salford, home to Kenworthy's Chambers (1880) * Peacock Mausoleum, Gorton (1890) *Diamond Jubilee Memorial Fountain, Albert Square (1896–1897) *Dunham Road Unitarian Chapel,

Altrincham Altrincham ( , locally ) is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, south of the River Mersey. It is southwest of Manchester city centre, southwest of Sale and east of Warrington. At the 2011 Census, it had a population o ...

*Bloom

Other projects

Unitarian Chapel, Liverpool Ullet Road Church is a Unitarian church at 57 Ullet Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool. Both the church and its attached hall are separately recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated Grade I listed buildings. It was the fir ...

* Garlands Hospital,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

(originally the

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

Lunatic Asylum, 1862) *

Royal Albert Edward Infirmary The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, also known as the Wigan Infirmary, is a health facility in Wigan Lane, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is managed by the Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. History The facility has its ...

(1870) *Sutton Oaks (a country house), London Road,

Macclesfield Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

(1875) *

Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel The Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel is a place of worship in Hampstead, London. It is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, the umbrella organisation for British Unitarians. It is also a Grade II Listed building ...

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

, added north aisle and chancel (1885) *

Manchester College Manchester College might refer to: England * Manchester College, a former name of Harris Manchester College, Oxford *Manchester Metropolitan University, formerly Manchester Polytechnic, formed in 1977 by a merger between Manchester College of Art ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

(1889–1893) *Royal Bath Hospital,

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa ...

*Royal Infirmary, Halifax

Legacy

His sons also trained as architects and worked in the family firm, Thomas Worthington & Sons. Hubert, later Sir

Hubert Worthington Sir John Hubert Worthington (4 July 1886 – 26 July 1963) was an English architect. Early life Worthington was born at Alderley Edge, near Stockport, the youngest son of architect Thomas Worthington. He was educated at Sedbergh School from ...

(1886–1963) trained with Sir

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memor ...

and was professor of architecture at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It ...

before becoming Slade lecturer in architecture at Oxford University. Percy Worthington (1864–1939), also worked for the firm. Thomas Worthington lies buried at the churchyard of the Victorian gothic Brookfield Unitarian Church, Gorton,

References

;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, Thomas 1826 births 1909 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects from Greater Manchester English ecclesiastical architects Gothic Revival architects People from Salford