Charles Cowles-Voysey
Encyclopedia
Charles Cowles-Voysey was born in London, UK on 24 June 1889 and died there on 10 April 1981. He was the son of Charles Voysey and was responsible for the design of Kingsley Hall
which included a main hall also used for worship, and five rooftop cells for community volunteers.
John Brandon-Jones
worked for Charles Cowles-Voysey, became a partner in the business and finally took over the firm.
Charles Voysey was one of the first to use concrete as concrete rather than disguised as a traditional building material. The style of the father passed to the son who was asked to design Children's House and Kingsley Hall
. This came after many hours soulful discussions with Muriel Lester
about how to bring the very best to the poor of the East End. Indeed Kingsley Hall was built to bring Heaven to Earth and originally had six small monastic type cells on the top floor where volunteers would stay and dedicate their days to community work. Both buildings use employed a large amount of concrete, which is openly on display.
Kingsley Hall
Kingsley Hall is a community centre in the East End of London. It dates back to the work of Doris Lester and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, Kingsley Lester, died aged 26 in 1914, leaving money for work in the local area for "educational, social and...
which included a main hall also used for worship, and five rooftop cells for community volunteers.
John Brandon-Jones
John Brandon-Jones
John Brandon-Jones was a British architect. His work was heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, of which he was a noted architectural historian.-Life and career:...
worked for Charles Cowles-Voysey, became a partner in the business and finally took over the firm.
Charles Voysey was one of the first to use concrete as concrete rather than disguised as a traditional building material. The style of the father passed to the son who was asked to design Children's House and Kingsley Hall
Kingsley Hall
Kingsley Hall is a community centre in the East End of London. It dates back to the work of Doris Lester and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, Kingsley Lester, died aged 26 in 1914, leaving money for work in the local area for "educational, social and...
. This came after many hours soulful discussions with Muriel Lester
Muriel Lester
Muriel Lester was born in Leytonstone in east London and grew up at Loughton, where she was a member of the Union Church. She was a social reformer, pacifist and nonconformist. As a Baptist, she was baptized in 1898, at 15...
about how to bring the very best to the poor of the East End. Indeed Kingsley Hall was built to bring Heaven to Earth and originally had six small monastic type cells on the top floor where volunteers would stay and dedicate their days to community work. Both buildings use employed a large amount of concrete, which is openly on display.
Architectural works
- Bridgeton Public Halls (1924), GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
- Kingsley HallKingsley HallKingsley Hall is a community centre in the East End of London. It dates back to the work of Doris Lester and Muriel Lester, who had a nursery school in nearby Bruce Road. Their brother, Kingsley Lester, died aged 26 in 1914, leaving money for work in the local area for "educational, social and...
(1927), LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Wildwood Road (1929), Hampstead Garden SuburbHampstead Garden Suburb-Notable Residents :*Theo Adams*Martin Bell*Sir Victor Blank*Katie Boyle*Constantine, the last King of Greece*Greg Davies*Richard & Judy Finnigan*David Matthews*Michael Ridpath*Claudia Roden*Jonathan Ross*Sir Donald Sinden*Marc Sinden...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - Chance Wood (1929), Sevenoaks, Kent
- Worthing Town Hall (1933), WorthingWorthingWorthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West SussexWest SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming... - Watford Town Hall (1937-1939), WatfordWatfordWatford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
, HertfordshireHertfordshireHertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and... - Peas Hill GuildhallCambridge GuildhallCambridge Guildhall is a listed building designed in 1939 by Charles Cowles-Voysey in the centre of the historic city of Cambridge, England. It includes two halls, The Large Hall and The Small Hall, and is used for many disparate events such as comedy acts, conferences, craft fairs, live music,...
(1939), CambridgeCambridgeThe city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the... - Magistrates' Court (1939), BromleyBromleyBromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...
, KentKentKent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of... - Maybridge Estate (1940s), WorthingWorthingWorthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West SussexWest SussexWest Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...