Harry Weedon
Encyclopedia
Harold William "Harry" Weedon (1887 – 17 June 1970) was an English
architect
. Although he designed a large number of buildings during a long career, he is best known for his role overseeing the Art Deco
designs of the Odeon Cinemas
for Oscar Deutsch
in the 1930s. Influenced by the work of Erich Mendelsohn
and Hans Poelzig
- the Odeons "taught Britain to love modern architecture" and form "a body of work which, with London Underground stations, denotes the Thirties like nothing else".
, Birmingham
, the son of a commercial traveller, and educated at King Edward's School
in the city. He studied architecture
at the Birmingham School of Art
from 1904, before being articled to the architectural practice of Robert Atkinson
. In 1912 at the age of 24 he was made an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects
and went into partnership with Harold S. Scott, with whom he designed a cinema in Birchfield
, completed in 1913, and several upmarket houses in Warwickshire
.
The outbreak of World War I
saw building work dry up, however, and in 1914 he volunteered as a pilot
in the Royal Flying Corps
, serving until 1917. On his demobilisation he set about re-establishing his architectural practice, but an affair with the wife of a neighbour resulted in a scandalous double divorce that destroyed his reputation, and he spent the following years in Leamington Spa
working as a manager in the catering
industry.
for the firm of Deutsch and Brenner that brought him to the attention of Oscar Deutsch
- the factory's owner's son - who was in the process of building up his Odeon
chain of cinemas and was dissatisfied with the interior proposed for his cinema under construction in Warley
near Birmingham. Weedon was approached by Deutsch to complete the design, but at the time his office numbered only six staff and had nobody other than Weedon himself with any cinema experience, so the young Cecil Clavering
was recruited to complete the work.
It was Clavering's next cinema design, built in Birmingham's expanding Kingstanding
suburb in 1935, that cemented the relationship between Deutsch and Weedon. Originally designed for another chain and to be called the "Beacon", Deutsch saw in Clavering's simple and original Art Deco
design the making of the house style he sought to distinguish the Odeon chain from his rivals. The cinema was quickly bought for the Odeon group and Weedon was appointed to oversee all of the group's designs.
Between Weedon's appointment in 1934 and the outbreak of World War II
in 1939 the Weedon office was to design or act as consultant architect to over 250 of Deutsch's cinemas. Not all of these were designed by the practice itself: of the thirty-six Odeons that opened in 1936 only eight were Weedon designs. Even those that were designed by the Weedon practice were not designed by Weedon himself - Weedon's role has been likened to that of an executive producer
, creating the house style and maintaining consistent quality. The practice's other major notable building of the era - the Villa Marina, an early British example of a house in the International Style
built in Llandudno
in 1936 - was designed by Weedon personally.
Clavering himself designed three more Odeons for Weedon after Kingstanding - in Sutton Coldfield
, Colwyn Bay
and Scarborough, "one masterpiece after the other" considered "the finest expressions of the Odeon circuit style". Later in 1935 however Clavering stunned Weedon by resigning to take up a job with the Office of Works
. Weedon approached Clavering's former tutor who recommended Robert Bullivant as Clavering's replacement.
later that year, and the take-over of the Odeon group by J. Arthur Rank
on the death of Deutsch in 1942, saw cinema design work evaporate, and Weedon spent most of the war overseeing the dispersal of Birmingham's wartime industries to protect them during the Birmingham Blitz
. This resulted in a wide range of contacts with the Midlands' engineering and industrial firms and the post-war era saw the Weedon Partnership focusing on the design of factories, including notable work at the British Motor Corporation
's Longbridge plant
and in Cowley, Oxford
, and a large factory for Typhoo Tea in Digbeth
, Birmingham
.
Weedon himself continued design work until his final illness. The Weedon Partnership is still in business and is based in Edgbaston
, Birmingham, employing 36 people. The partnership has been involved in a variety of projects including ones at Brindleyplace
(Birmingham), Piccadilly Place (Manchester
), The Mailbox
(Birmingham) and Hicking Pentecost (Nottingham
).
Weedon had a love of shooting and was involved in the Solihull Home Guard Rifle Club after the war. The club was formed in 1944 and Harry Weedon generously donated a three quarter acre disused sand pit to the club in 1952. This became the location for the club and it still operates today as the Solihull Rifle and Pistol Club.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. Although he designed a large number of buildings during a long career, he is best known for his role overseeing the Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
designs of the Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
for Oscar Deutsch
Oscar Deutsch
Oscar Deutsch was the founder of the Odeon Cinemas chain in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:Deutsch was born in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England, the son of Leopold Deutsch, a successful Hungarian Jewish scrap metal merchant. After attending King Edward VI Five Ways, he opened his first...
in the 1930s. Influenced by the work of Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn was a Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas.-Early life:...
and Hans Poelzig
Hans Poelzig
Hans Poelzig was a German architect, painter and set designer.-Life:Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to the countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman...
- the Odeons "taught Britain to love modern architecture" and form "a body of work which, with London Underground stations, denotes the Thirties like nothing else".
Education and early career
Weedon was born in HandsworthHandsworth, West Midlands
Handsworth is an inner city area of Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. The Local Government Act 1894 divided the ancient Staffordshire parish of Handsworth into two urban districts: Handsworth and Perry Barr. Handsworth was annexed to the county borough of Birmingham in Warwickshire in 1911...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, the son of a commercial traveller, and educated at King Edward's School
King Edward's School, Birmingham
King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...
in the city. He studied architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
at the Birmingham School of Art
Birmingham School of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
from 1904, before being articled to the architectural practice of Robert Atkinson
Robert Atkinson (architect)
Robert Atkinson, OBE was an English architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for C.E. Mallows from 1905...
. In 1912 at the age of 24 he was made an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
and went into partnership with Harold S. Scott, with whom he designed a cinema in Birchfield
Birchfield
Birchfield is an area of Birmingham, England. It gave its name to the Birchfield Harriers athletics club, now based at the nearby Alexander Stadium, also in Birmingham.- References :...
, completed in 1913, and several upmarket houses in Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
.
The outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
saw building work dry up, however, and in 1914 he volunteered as a pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
in the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
, serving until 1917. On his demobilisation he set about re-establishing his architectural practice, but an affair with the wife of a neighbour resulted in a scandalous double divorce that destroyed his reputation, and he spent the following years in Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
working as a manager in the catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
industry.
The Odeon era
Weedon returned to Birmingham and to architecture in 1925, quickly building up his practice designing housing estates and commercial and industrial premises. It was his work in 1932 designing the enlargement of a factory in Hockley, BirminghamHockley, Birmingham
Hockley is a central inner-city district in the city of Birmingham, England. It lies about one mile north-west of the city centre, and is served by the Jewellery Quarter station...
for the firm of Deutsch and Brenner that brought him to the attention of Oscar Deutsch
Oscar Deutsch
Oscar Deutsch was the founder of the Odeon Cinemas chain in the United Kingdom.-Life and career:Deutsch was born in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, England, the son of Leopold Deutsch, a successful Hungarian Jewish scrap metal merchant. After attending King Edward VI Five Ways, he opened his first...
- the factory's owner's son - who was in the process of building up his Odeon
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
chain of cinemas and was dissatisfied with the interior proposed for his cinema under construction in Warley
Warley
Warley is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:In the West Midlands:*County Borough of Warley*Warley, West Midlands*Warley *Warley High School*Warley WoodsIn Essex:*Great Warley*Little Warley...
near Birmingham. Weedon was approached by Deutsch to complete the design, but at the time his office numbered only six staff and had nobody other than Weedon himself with any cinema experience, so the young Cecil Clavering
Cecil Clavering
John Cecil Clavering OBE was an English architect, best known for his work designing Odeon Cinemas as part of Harry Weedon's architectural practice in the 1930s, and his later work as the architect of the Public Record Office in Kew, London.-Life:Clavering was born and educated in Sunderland, the...
was recruited to complete the work.
It was Clavering's next cinema design, built in Birmingham's expanding Kingstanding
Kingstanding
Kingstanding is an area in north Birmingham, England. It gives its name to a ward in the Erdington council constituency. Kingstanding ward includes the areas; Perry Common, St. Mary's College, Witton Lakes and parts of Kingstanding, Wyrley Birch and New Oscott...
suburb in 1935, that cemented the relationship between Deutsch and Weedon. Originally designed for another chain and to be called the "Beacon", Deutsch saw in Clavering's simple and original Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
design the making of the house style he sought to distinguish the Odeon chain from his rivals. The cinema was quickly bought for the Odeon group and Weedon was appointed to oversee all of the group's designs.
Between Weedon's appointment in 1934 and the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1939 the Weedon office was to design or act as consultant architect to over 250 of Deutsch's cinemas. Not all of these were designed by the practice itself: of the thirty-six Odeons that opened in 1936 only eight were Weedon designs. Even those that were designed by the Weedon practice were not designed by Weedon himself - Weedon's role has been likened to that of an executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
, creating the house style and maintaining consistent quality. The practice's other major notable building of the era - the Villa Marina, an early British example of a house in the International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
built in Llandudno
Llandudno
Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
in 1936 - was designed by Weedon personally.
Clavering himself designed three more Odeons for Weedon after Kingstanding - in Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
, Colwyn Bay
Colwyn Bay
- Demography :Prior to local government reorganisation on 1 April 1974 Colwyn Bay was a municipal borough with a population of c.25,000, but in 1974 this designation disappeared leaving five separate parishes, known as communities in Wales, of which the one bearing the name Colwyn Bay encompassed...
and Scarborough, "one masterpiece after the other" considered "the finest expressions of the Odeon circuit style". Later in 1935 however Clavering stunned Weedon by resigning to take up a job with the Office of Works
Office of Works
The Office of Works was established in the English Royal household in 1378 to oversee the building of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings...
. Weedon approached Clavering's former tutor who recommended Robert Bullivant as Clavering's replacement.
Post-war
In March 1939, Weedon brought four of his senior staff into partnership to form the Weedon Partnership. The outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
later that year, and the take-over of the Odeon group by J. Arthur Rank
J. Arthur Rank
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.- Family business :...
on the death of Deutsch in 1942, saw cinema design work evaporate, and Weedon spent most of the war overseeing the dispersal of Birmingham's wartime industries to protect them during the Birmingham Blitz
Birmingham Blitz
The Birmingham Blitz was the heavy bombing by the Nazi German Luftwaffe of the city of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, beginning on 9 August 1940 and ending on 23 April 1943...
. This resulted in a wide range of contacts with the Midlands' engineering and industrial firms and the post-war era saw the Weedon Partnership focusing on the design of factories, including notable work at the British Motor Corporation
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
's Longbridge plant
Longbridge plant
The Longbridge plant is an industrial complex situated in the Longbridge area of Birmingham, United Kingdom. It is currently owned by SAIC Group and is a manufacturing and research and development facility for its MG Motor subsidiary....
and in Cowley, Oxford
Cowley, Oxford
Cowley in Oxford, England, is a residential and industrial area that forms a small conurbation within greater Oxford. Cowley's neighbours are central Oxford to the northwest, Rose Hill and Blackbird Leys to the south, New Headington to the north and the villages of Horspath and Garsington across...
, and a large factory for Typhoo Tea in Digbeth
Digbeth
Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. Following the destruction of the Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is undergoing a large redevelopment scheme that will regenerate the old industrial buildings into...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
.
Weedon himself continued design work until his final illness. The Weedon Partnership is still in business and is based in Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
, Birmingham, employing 36 people. The partnership has been involved in a variety of projects including ones at Brindleyplace
Brindleyplace
Brindleyplace is a large mixed-use canalside development, in the Westside district of Birmingham, England. It is often written erroneously as Brindley Place, the name of the street around which it is built...
(Birmingham), Piccadilly Place (Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
), The Mailbox
The Mailbox
The Mailbox is an upmarket development of offices, designer shops, restaurants, bars and luxury city-centre apartments in the City Centre and on the boundary of the City Centre Core in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. It includes a mini supermarket and three art galleries: the Artlounge, Castle...
(Birmingham) and Hicking Pentecost (Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
).
Weedon had a love of shooting and was involved in the Solihull Home Guard Rifle Club after the war. The club was formed in 1944 and Harry Weedon generously donated a three quarter acre disused sand pit to the club in 1952. This became the location for the club and it still operates today as the Solihull Rifle and Pistol Club.