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John Douglas (architect)
Encyclopedia
John Douglas was an English
architect
who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire
, North Wales
, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall
. He was trained in Lancaster
and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester
, Cheshire
. Initially he ran the practice on his own, but from 1884 until two years before his death he worked in partnerships with two of his former assistants.
Douglas's output included new churches, restoring
and renovating existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic
. Douglas worked during the period of the Gothic Revival
, and many of his works incorporate elements of the English Gothic
style. He was also influenced by architectural styles from the mainland of Europe and included elements of French, German and Dutch architecture. However he is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular
elements in his buildings, in particular half-timbering
, influenced by the black-and-white revival
in Chester. Other vernacular elements he incorporated include tile-hanging, pargeting
, and the use of decorative brick in diapering and the design of tall chimney stacks. Of particular importance is Douglas's use of joiner
y and highly detailed wood carving.
Throughout his career he attracted commissions from wealthy landowners and industrialists, especially the Grosvenor
family of Eaton Hall. Most of his works have survived, particularly his churches. The city of Chester contains a number of his structures, the most admired of which are his half-timbered black-and-white buildings and Eastgate Clock. The highest concentration of his work is found in the Eaton Hall estate and the surrounding villages of Eccleston
, Aldford
and Pulford
.
, Cheshire
, on 11 April 1830 and baptised on 16 May 1830 at St Mary's Church, Weaverham
. He was the second of the four children, and the only son, of John Douglas and his wife Mary née Swindley (17921863). John Douglas senior was born in Northampton
about 17981800 and his wife was born in Aldford
, a village on the Eaton estate in Cheshire; her father was the village blacksmith
at Eccleston
, another village in the Eaton estate. John Douglas senior was by trade a builder and joiner
, and also described himself as a surveyor
and a timber merchant. In 1835 he acted as architect for a house at Hartford
, a village between Sandiway and Northwich
. At the time of the 1851 census
he was employing 48 men. He owned land in Sandiway, and a house and land in the neighbouring village of Cuddington
.
Nothing is known of John Douglas junior's school education. He gained knowledge and experience in his father's building yard and workshop which were attached to the family house. In the mid or late 1840s he was articled
to E. G. Paley
, of Sharpe and Paley, architects in Lancaster
, Lancashire
. When his articles were completed, Douglas became Paley's chief assistant. In either 1855 or 1860 he established his own office at No. 6 Abbey Square, Chester.
Douglas's elder sister, Elizabeth, was born in 1827. His younger sisters were Mary Hannah and Emma, who were born in 1832 and 1834 respectively. Mary Hannah died five months before Emma's birth, and Emma herself died in 1848. Douglas married Elizabeth Edmunds, a farmer's daughter from Bangor-is-y-Coed
, Flintshire
, on 25 January 1860 in St Dunawd's Church
in the village, a church he was later to restore. Initially the couple lived over the office at 6 Abbey Square, and later they moved next door to No. 4. Their five children were born in these houses, John Percy in 1861, Colin Edmunds in 1864, Mary Elizabeth in 1866, Sholto Theodore the following year, and Jerome in 1869. Only two of the children survived to adulthood; Mary Elizabeth died from scarlet fever
in 1868, Jerome lived for only a few days, and John Percy died aged 12 in 1873.
About 1876 the family moved to live at 31 and 33 Dee Banks
, Chester, one of a pair of semi-detached houses overlooking the River Dee
, which were built by Douglas. His wife died in 1878 from laryngitis
after a year's illness. Douglas did not remarry. His son Colin trained as an architect and worked in Douglas's office but died in 1887 at the age of 23 from consumption
. His other son Sholto is not known to have had any profession but he was a heavy drinker of alcohol. During the 1890s Douglas built a large house for himself, Walmoor Hill
, also at Dee Banks overlooking the river. Here he lived until his death on 23 May 1911 at the age of 81. His funeral was held at Overleigh old cemetery, Chester, where he was buried. The following Sunday a memorial service was held at St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway
. His estate
amounted to a little over £32,000 (£ as of ). Apart from his surviving buildings, only two memorials remain to his memory. One is a tablet in St Paul's Church, Boughton
, the church in which he worshipped and which he had rebuilt. The other is a plaque placed on one of his buildings in St Werburgh Street
, Chester, in 1923 by his pupils and assistants.
where he died the following year. He was replaced as partner by Charles Howard Minshull, who had been born in Chester in 1858 and who became articled to Douglas in 1874; the practice became Douglas & Minshull. During the first decade of the 20th century, Douglas became less active but, for reasons which are unknown, the partnership was dissolved in 1909. The practice returned to the title of John Douglas, Architect. Minshull went into partnership with E. J. Muspratt in Foregate Street, Chester. When Douglas died, this partnership worked from the Abbey Square address as Douglas, Minshull & Muspratt.
Little is known about Douglas's private life and personality. Only two images of him are known to survive. One is a photograph taken in later middle age. The other is a caricature sketch made by an assistant in his office. This shows him in old age, bowed, bent and bespectacled, carrying a portfolio
and an ear trumpet
. According to architectural historian Edward Hubbard
, Douglas's life "seems to have been one of thorough devotion to architecture ... which may well have been intensified by the death of his wife and other domestic worries". His obituary in the Chester Chronicle
stated that he "lived heart and soul in his profession".
Douglas was a dedicated Christian who regularly attended his local church, St Paul's Church, Boughton
, a church he rebuilt. His house, Walmoor Hill, included an oratory
. He also had a "strong sense of national loyalty", incorporating statues of Queen Victoria
in niches
at Walmoor Hill and in his buildings in St Werburgh Street, Chester. Douglas was not good at handling the financial matters of his practice. The Duke of Westminster's
secretary wrote of him in 1884, "A good architect but a poor hand at accounts!". Delay in presenting his accounts often led to difficulties and confusion; such delay sometimes amounted to as much as ten years. Otherwise very little is known about his personal life. No family papers have survived and none of the documents from the office at 6 Abbey Square has been found.
, altered or made additions to many other churches, and designed fittings and furniture for the interiors of churches. He designed new houses, altered or made additions to others, and built various structures associated with those houses. Douglas's works also included farms, shops, offices, hotels, a hospital, drinking fountains, clocks, schools, public baths, a library, a bridge, an obelisk
, cheese factories, and public conveniences. As his office was in Chester, most of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales, although some were further afield, in Lancashire
, Staffordshire
, Warwickshire
and Scotland.
Throughout his career Douglas attracted commissions from wealthy and important patrons. His first-known independent work was an ornament, which is no longer in existence, for the garden of the Honourable Mrs Cholmondeley. She was the sister-in-law of Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere
, and it was from the 2nd Baron that Douglas received his first major commission, a considerable rebuilding of the south wing of his seat at Vale Royal Abbey
in 1860. Around the same time, Lord Delamere commissioned him to build the church of St John the Evangelist
at Over
, Winsford
, as a memorial to his first wife.
Douglas's most important patrons were the Grosvenor
family of Eaton Hall, Cheshire. In 1865 he was commissioned to design the entrance lodge and other structures for Grosvenor Park
in Chester, and St John's Church
in the village of Aldford in the Eaton Hall estate for Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster
. When the marquess died in 1869 he was succeeded by his son Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
. Douglas received a large number of commissions from the 1st Duke and from his son, the 2nd Duke
, throughout his career. It is estimated that for the 1st Duke alone he designed four churches and chapels, eight parsonages and large houses, about 15 schools, around 50 farms (in whole or in part), about 300 cottages, lodges and smithies
, two factories, two inns and about 12 commercial buildings on the Eaton Hall estate alone. He also designed buildings on the duke's Halkyn
estate in Flintshire
, including another church.
Other wealthy landowners who commissioned work from Douglas included William Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton
, Francis Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere
, George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley
, Rowland Egerton-Warburton
of Arley Hall
, Cheshire, and in Wales, the family of Lord Kenyon
, and the Gladstone family, including W. E Gladstone
. He also received commissions from industrialists, including John & Thomas Johnson
, soap and alkali
manufacturers from Runcorn
, Richard Muspratt, a chemical industrialist from Flint
, Flintshire, and W. H. Lever
, soap manufacturer and creator of the village of Port Sunlight
.
Although the firm where Douglas received his training was in a provincial city in the north of England, it was at the forefront of the Gothic Revival
in the country. The Gothic Revival was a reaction against the neoclassical
style, which had been popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and it incorporated features of the Gothic
style of the Middle Ages
. Both Edmund Sharpe
and E. G. Paley had been influenced by the Cambridge Camden Society
and, more specifically, by A. W. N Pugin who believed that "Gothic was the only correct and Christian way to build". Sharpe had also been influenced by Thomas Rickman
, and he had written papers on medieval scholarship himself. Paley had been influenced by his brother, Frederick Apthorp Paley
, who was enthusiastic about Gothic architecture, and who had also been influenced by Rickman. During the time Douglas was working in Lancaster the firm was responsible for building and restoring churches in Gothic Revival style, one of which was St Wilfrid's Church
in the Cheshire village of Davenham
, some 3 miles (5 km) from Sandiway. Douglas's first church, that of St John the Evangelist
at Over
, Winsford
, was entirely English Gothic
in style, more specifically Early Decorated.
Douglas's influences were not from England alone. Although he never travelled abroad, he incorporated Gothic styles from continental countries, especially Germany and France. This combination of Gothic styles contributed to what has come to be known as the High Victorian style. Its features include a sense of massiveness, steep roofs which are frequently hipped
, round turret
s with conical roofs, pinnacle
s, heavy corbel tables, and the use of polychromism
. Many of Douglas's works, especially his earlier ones, are High Victorian in style, or incorporate High Victorian features. One characteristic feature of Douglas's work is the inclusion of dormer windows
rising through the eaves
and surmounted by hipped roofs.
Another major influence in his work was the rise of interest in vernacular architecture
. By the time Douglas moved to Chester, the black-and-white revival using half-timbering
was well under way, and Douglas came to incorporate this style in his buildings in Chester and elsewhere. The black-and-white revival did not start in Chester, but it did become Chester's speciality. The first Chester architect involved in the revival had been Thomas Mainwaring Penson
, whose first work in this genre was the restoration of a shop in Eastgate Street in the early 1850s. Other early Chester architects involved in the revival were T. A. Richardson and James Harrison
and it came to be developed mainly by T. M. Lockwood
and by Douglas. Part of Douglas's earliest work for the Grosvenor family, the entrance lodge to Grosvenor Park, used half-timbering in its upper storey; this is the first known use by Douglas of black-and-white. Other vernacular motifs were taken from earlier styles of English architecture, in particular, the Tudor
style. These include tile-hanging, pargetting
and massive brick ribbed chimney stacks. In this style, Douglas was influenced by the architects Nesfield
and Shaw
. Douglas also used vernacular elements from the continent, especially the late medieval brickwork of Germany and the Low Countries
.
A characteristic of Douglas's work is his attention to both external and internal detailing. Such detailing was not derived from any particular style and Douglas chose elements from whichever style suited his purpose for each specific project. His detailing applied particularly to his joiner
y, perhaps inspired by his experience in his father's workshop, and was applied both to wooden fittings and to the furniture he designed. A further Continental influence was his use of a Dutch gable
. The most important and consistently used element in Douglas's vernacular buildings was his use of half-timbering, which was usually used for parts of the building. However, in the cases of Rowden Abbey and St Michael and All Angels Church, Altcar
, the entire buildings were timber-framed.
Douglas's earliest significant commissions were for the 2nd Baron Delamere
and were very different in type and style from each another. The addition of a wing to Vale Royal Abbey (1860) was in Elizabethan
style while St John's Church
at Over
(1860–63) was of the Gothic Revival
in Early Decorated style. The Congregational Chapel
, also at Over (1865) was again different, being built in polychromic
brick in High Victorian style. Meanwhile Douglas had designed a shop at 19–21 Sankey Street
, Warrington
(1864) with Gothic
arcades
and detailed stone carving which Hubbard considers to be his "first building of real and outstanding quality...in its way one of the best things he ever did". Shortly after this came the first commissions for the Grosvenor
family, consisting of a lodge and other structures in Grosvenor Park, Chester
(1865–67), and St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford
(1865–66). His first commission for a large house was Oakmere Hall
(1867) for John & Thomas Johnson
, industrialists of Runcorn
. It is in High Victorian style and includes a main block and a service wing, a large tower on the south face, a small tower with turret
s, a porte-cochère
, steep roofs and dormer
windows. Another early church was St Ann's at Warrington (1868–69), again High Victorian in style, which is described as being "quite startlingly bold" and "a prodigy church in Douglas's output". By 1869–70 Douglas had started to design buildings on the Eaton Hall estate. Around this time he also re-modelled St Mary's Church, Dodleston
.
Many of the secular buildings in this period were smaller-scale structures. These include cottages in Great Budworth
, and cottages, houses, schools and farms in the Eaton Hall estate and its associated villages. In 1872 he designed Shotwick Park
, a large house in Great Saughall
, built in brick with some half-timbering; it has steep roofs, tall ribbed chimneys and turrets. About the same time he reconstructed Broxton Higher Hall
, incorporating much half-timbering. Commissions for more large houses came in the late 1870s and 1880s. The Gelli
(1877) is a house in three ranges
designed for the Kenyon sisters in the village of Tallarn Green, Flintshire
. Also built for the Kenyon family is Llannerch Panna
in Penley
, Flintshire (1878–79), which is "competent in its handling of timberwork". An entirely black-and-white house with jettying
is Rowden Abbey (1881) in Hertfordshire
. Back in North Wales, Plas Mynach
(1883) in Barmouth
includes much detailed woodwork internally.
In about 1879–81 Douglas built a terrace of houses on his own land in Chester, 6–11 Grosvenor Park Road
, the road leading to the main entrance to Grosvenor Park, in High Victorian style. About 1883 he designed Barrowmore Hall (or Barrow Court) at Great Barrow
(since demolished) which was one of his largest houses. Also around this time he designed buildings on the Eaton Hall estate, including Eccleston Hill
(1881–82), a large house for the Duke's secretary, the Stud Lodge
, a smaller building of the same dates, Eccleston Hill Lodge
(1881), a three-storey gatehouse at the main entrance to the park, with a high hipped roof and turrets, and The Paddocks
(1882–83), another large house, this time for the Duke's land agent. In Chester city centre his designs included the Grosvenor Club and North and South Wales Bank
(1881–83) in Eastgate Street, built in stone and brick, with a turret and a stepped gable, and 142 Foregate Street
for the Cheshire County Constabulary
(1884), with a shaped gable in Flemish style.
St Mary's Church, Whitegate
was restored in 1874–75 for the 2nd Baron Delamere
, retaining much of the medieval interior but rebuilding the exterior, adding a short chancel, and incorporating half-timbering. St Paul's Church, Boughton
in Chester was Douglas's own parish church which he rebuilt in 1876 incorporating parts of the pre-existing building. Douglas's only church built entirely in half-timbering is the small church of St Michael and All Angels
at Great Altcar
in Lancashire
. A church built in brick with half-timbering is St Chad's
(1881) at Hopwas
in Staffordshire
. During this period Douglas built or restored a series of churches entirely in stone, incorporating mainly Gothic features together with vernacular elements. These include St John the Baptist's Church, Hartford
(1873–75), St Paul's, Marston
(1874, now demolished), the Presbyterian Chapel (1875) at Rossett
, Denbighshire
, St Stephen's
, Moulton
(1876), the rebuilding of Christ Church
, Chester (also in 1876), the Church of St Mary the Virgin
(1877–78) at Halkyn
, Flintshire
, and the Welsh Church of St John the Evangelist
(1878) in Mold
, also in Flintshire. Later in this period he built St Mary's Church
, at Pulford
in 1881–84 for the Duke of Westminster and in 1882–85 St Werburgh's New Church at Warburton
for Rowland Egerton-Warburton
.
In 1885–87 the partnership designed Abbeystead House
for the 4th Earl of Sefton
in North Lancashire. Hubbard describes this as "the finest of Douglas's Elizabethan houses, and one of the largest which he ever designed". During this time additions were made to Jodrell Hall
in Cheshire and Halkyn Castle
in Flintshire. In 1885 the Castle Hotel at Conwy
, Caernarfonshire
, was remodelled, and in 1887–88 a strongroom was added to Hawarden Castle
, followed by a porch in 1890. During this period more buildings were added to the Eaton Hall estate, and these included houses and cottages, such as Eccleston Hill
, and Eccleston Ferry House
, and farms such as Saighton Lane Farm
. In 1890–91 an obelisk
was built in the Belgrave Avenue approach to Eaton Hall. The last house designed by Douglas on a large scale was Brocksford Hall
(1893) in Derbyshire. This was a country house in Elizabethan style using diapered brick and stone dressings with a clock tower. In Chester city centre, 38 Bridge Street
(1897) is a timber-framed shop that incorporates a section of Chester Rows
and contains heavily decorated carving. From 1892 the partnership designed houses and cottages in Port Sunlight
for Lever Brothers
. Also in the village they designed the Dell Bridge
(1894), and the school (1894–96), which is now called the Lyceum
. In 1896 Douglas designed a house for himself, Walmoor Hill
in Dee Banks, Chester, in Elizabethan style. Between 1895 and 1897 he designed a range of buildings on the east side of St Werburgh Street
in the centre of Chester. At its south end, on the corner of Eastgate Street, is a bank whose ground storey is built in stone, and behind this leading up St Werburgh Street, the ground storey consists of shop fronts. Above this the range consists of two storeys plus an attic, which are covered in highly ornamented timber-framing. On the first floor is a series of oriel window
s, the second floor is jettied
, and at the top are eleven gables. Pevsner
considers that this range of buildings is "Douglas at his best (though also at his showiest)". Hubbard expresses the opinion that "in this work, the city's half-timber revival reached its very apogee".
During the partnership, work continued on designing new churches and restoring older ones. In 1884–85 a chapel was built at Carlett Park at Eastham
in the Wirral
and in 1884–87 St Deiniol's Church was built in Criccieth
, Caernarfonshire
. Christ Church, Rossett
(1886–92), St Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay
(1887–88 with later additions), and St Andrew's Church, West Kirby
(1889–91) followed. St John's Church
in Barmouth
, Merionethshire
was built between 1889 and 1895. It is one of the largest of Douglas's churches, although in 1891, during its construction, the tower collapsed and had to be rebuilt. Other churches built in North Wales were Christ Church
in Bryn-y-Maen, Colwyn Bay, and All Saints
, Deganwy
(both 1897–99).
In about 1891–92 the Church of St James the Great
, Haydock
, was built. This was constructed in half-timber to give protection against possible mining subsidence. Other new churches built during this partnership were St Wenefrede's Church, Bickley
(1892), St David's Welsh Church
in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire
, All Saints Church, Higher Kinnerton
(1893), the Congregational Church in Great Crosby
(1897–98), and St John the Evangelist's Church, Weston
, Runcorn
(1897–1900). A spire was added to St Peter's Church, Chester
in 1886–87 and a tower was added to Holy Trinity Church, Capenhurst
in about 1889–90. In 1886–87 Douglas added a bell tower to St John the Baptist's Church, Chester
and this was followed by the rebuilding of its north aisle. Other restorations, embellishments, and additions of monuments and furniture were carried out in churches during this partnership.
In 1898 the firm designed St Oswald's Chambers
in St Werburgh Street, Chester, and this was followed by further buildings in the city. In 1902–03 Douglas built St John the Evangelist's Church
, in the village of his birth, Sandiway
. It was built on land owned by Douglas and he paid for the cost of the chancel and the lych gate. In 1899 the Diamond Jubilee Memorial Clock, constructed in open wrought iron
, was erected on the Eastgate in Chester to commemorate Queen Victoria's
Diamond Jubilee
in 1897. In 1898–1901 Chester's public baths
were built; this was an unusual work for Douglas as it involved specialist engineering work. During this period one of Douglas's most important secular buildings was designed, St Deiniol's Library
, at Hawarden
, Flintshire
, for W. E. Gladstone
and his family. The first phase was constructed between 1899 and 1902, and the library was completed in 1904–06. Around this time the practice was commissioned to work on two churches in association with Gladstone; St Ethelwold's
(1898–1902) was a new church at Shotton
in Flintshire, and additions were made to St Matthew's
at Buckley
, also in Flintshire, between 1897 and 1905. The other new churches built during this period were Douglas's only Scottish church, the Episcopal Church (1903) in Lockerbie
, Dumfriesshire
, and St Matthew's Church (1910–11) in Saltney
, Flintshire. Alterations were made and furniture was designed for other churches. Douglas's last major project was the addition of a tower to his church of St Paul's
at Colwyn Bay, but he died before this could be completed.
in Chester
.
, but his works featured frequently in national publications, including Building News, The Builder
, The Architect, and The British Architect, the last of which particularly praised many of his works. A number of Douglas's works were exhibited at the Royal Academy
and appeared in Academy Architecture. Douglas's obituary in The British Architect referred to him as having "achieved a reputation which has long placed him in the front rank of living architects". In the series The Buildings of England
, Nikolaus Pevsner
described him, without reservation, as "the best Cheshire architect". In the companion series The Buildings of Wales: Clwyd, Hubbard
expressed the opinion that he was "the most important and active local architect of the period". Critical praise was not confined to Britain; Douglas's works were acclaimed by the French architect Paul Sédille
, and the German architect and writer Hermann Muthesius
. Despite this, the only official recognition he received in his lifetime was a medal for Abbeystead House
, which was shown at an exhibition in Paris.
Many of the architects training and working in Douglas's office were influenced by him. Perhaps the best known of these were Edmund Kirby
and Edward Ould
. Kirby is best remembered for his Roman Catholic
churches. Ould went on to design a number of buildings in Chester and further afield in a Douglas-like style, including notably Wightwick Manor
and various buildings at Port Sunlight
. Other architects who did not work in his office were also influenced by him; these include Thomas Lockwood
, Richard Thomas Beckett, Howard Hignett, A. E. Powers, James Strong and the Cheshire County Architect, Henry Beswick.
A large proportion of Douglas's buildings still exist, many of them being listed buildings, in a wide variety of types and styles. Douglas is not remembered for any one building type; his churches and houses are considered to be of equal importance. He was not a pioneer of any particular new development, but instead followed national stylistic trends while still retaining his individuality. His buildings are "anything but copyist" and they "bear a highly individual and nearly always recognisable stamp". The major characteristics of his buildings are "sure proportions, imaginative massing and grouping ... immaculate detailing and a superb sense of craftsmanship and feeling for materials". His work is "architecture which can be enjoyed as well as admired".
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...
who designed about 500 buildings in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, and northwest England, in particular in the estate of Eaton Hall
Eaton Hall (Cheshire)
Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is set within a large estate south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England . The house is surrounded by formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers an area of about .The first substantial house was...
. He was trained in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
and practised throughout his career from an office in Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. Initially he ran the practice on his own, but from 1884 until two years before his death he worked in partnerships with two of his former assistants.
Douglas's output included new churches, restoring
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
and renovating existing churches, church furnishings, new houses and alterations to existing houses, and a variety of other buildings, including shops, banks, offices, schools, memorials and public buildings. His architectural styles were eclectic
Eclecticism in art
Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact that it was not a particular style...
. Douglas worked during the period of the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
, and many of his works incorporate elements of the English Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
style. He was also influenced by architectural styles from the mainland of Europe and included elements of French, German and Dutch architecture. However he is probably best remembered for his incorporation of vernacular
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
elements in his buildings, in particular half-timbering
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
, influenced by the black-and-white revival
Black-and-white Revival architecture
The Black-and-white Revival was an architectural movement from the middle of the 19th century which revived the vernacular elements of the past, using timber framing. The wooden framing is painted black and the panels between the frames are painted white...
in Chester. Other vernacular elements he incorporated include tile-hanging, pargeting
Pargeting
Pargeting is a decorative plastering applied to building walls.Pargeting derives from the word 'parget', a Middle English term that is probably derived from the Old French 'pargeter' / 'parjeter', to throw about, or 'porgeter', to roughcast a wall...
, and the use of decorative brick in diapering and the design of tall chimney stacks. Of particular importance is Douglas's use of joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
y and highly detailed wood carving.
Throughout his career he attracted commissions from wealthy landowners and industrialists, especially the Grosvenor
Duke of Westminster
The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. The current holder of the title is Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster....
family of Eaton Hall. Most of his works have survived, particularly his churches. The city of Chester contains a number of his structures, the most admired of which are his half-timbered black-and-white buildings and Eastgate Clock. The highest concentration of his work is found in the Eaton Hall estate and the surrounding villages of Eccleston
Eccleston, Cheshire
Eccleston is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, and close to Chester...
, Aldford
Aldford
Aldford is a village and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, England, south of Chester . It has a population of 213.The village lies on the east bank of the River Dee...
and Pulford
Pulford
Pulford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the B5445 road, to the south west of Chester and on the border with Wales. It is believed that the name of the village is derived from the...
.
Early life and training
John Douglas was born at Park Cottage, SandiwaySandiway
Sandiway is a village in the civil parish of Cuddington, Cheshire, England. It lies to the east of and is contiguous with the village of Cuddington....
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, on 11 April 1830 and baptised on 16 May 1830 at St Mary's Church, Weaverham
St Mary's Church, Weaverham
St Mary's Church, Weaverham is in the village of Weaverham, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
. He was the second of the four children, and the only son, of John Douglas and his wife Mary née Swindley (17921863). John Douglas senior was born in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
about 17981800 and his wife was born in Aldford
Aldford
Aldford is a village and civil parish in the county of Cheshire, England, south of Chester . It has a population of 213.The village lies on the east bank of the River Dee...
, a village on the Eaton estate in Cheshire; her father was the village blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
at Eccleston
Eccleston, Cheshire
Eccleston is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, and close to Chester...
, another village in the Eaton estate. John Douglas senior was by trade a builder and joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
, and also described himself as a surveyor
Construction surveying
Construction surveying is to stake out reference points and markers that will guide the construction of new structures such as roads or buildings...
and a timber merchant. In 1835 he acted as architect for a house at Hartford
Hartford, Cheshire
Hartford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies at the intersection of the A559 road and the West Coast Mainline and is less than south west of the town of Northwich...
, a village between Sandiway and Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
. At the time of the 1851 census
United Kingdom Census 1851
The United Kingdom Census of 1851 recorded the people residing in every household on the night of 30 March 1851, and was the second of the UK censuses to include details of household members...
he was employing 48 men. He owned land in Sandiway, and a house and land in the neighbouring village of Cuddington
Cuddington, Vale Royal
Cuddington is a civil parish and rural village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, about six miles west of Northwich and fourteen miles east of Chester....
.
Nothing is known of John Douglas junior's school education. He gained knowledge and experience in his father's building yard and workshop which were attached to the family house. In the mid or late 1840s he was articled
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
to E. G. Paley
Edward Graham Paley
Edward Graham Paley, usually known as E. G. Paley, , was an English architect who practised in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the second half of the 19th century.-Education and career:...
, of Sharpe and Paley, architects in Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. When his articles were completed, Douglas became Paley's chief assistant. In either 1855 or 1860 he established his own office at No. 6 Abbey Square, Chester.
Family and personal life
Bangor-on-Dee
Bangor-on-Dee is a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is a village in the ancient district of Maelor in Wales, situated on the banks of the River Dee...
, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, on 25 January 1860 in St Dunawd's Church
St Dunawd's Church, Bangor Is-coed
St Dunawd's Church, Bangor Is-coed, is in the village of Bangor is y Coed, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is a Grade II* listed building. The church is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Bangor is y Coed, the archdeaconry of Wrexham and the diocese of St Asaph.-History:The church is...
in the village, a church he was later to restore. Initially the couple lived over the office at 6 Abbey Square, and later they moved next door to No. 4. Their five children were born in these houses, John Percy in 1861, Colin Edmunds in 1864, Mary Elizabeth in 1866, Sholto Theodore the following year, and Jerome in 1869. Only two of the children survived to adulthood; Mary Elizabeth died from scarlet fever
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
in 1868, Jerome lived for only a few days, and John Percy died aged 12 in 1873.
About 1876 the family moved to live at 31 and 33 Dee Banks
31 and 33 Dee Banks, Chester
31 and 33 Dee Banks is a pair of semi-detached houses in Chester, Cheshire, England. The houses have been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
, Chester, one of a pair of semi-detached houses overlooking the River Dee
River Dee, Wales
The River Dee is a long river in the United Kingdom. It travels through Wales and England and also forms part of the border between the two countries....
, which were built by Douglas. His wife died in 1878 from laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
after a year's illness. Douglas did not remarry. His son Colin trained as an architect and worked in Douglas's office but died in 1887 at the age of 23 from consumption
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. His other son Sholto is not known to have had any profession but he was a heavy drinker of alcohol. During the 1890s Douglas built a large house for himself, Walmoor Hill
Walmoor Hill
Walmoor Hill is a large house in an elevated position overlooking the River Dee on the west side of Dee Banks, Chester, Cheshire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
, also at Dee Banks overlooking the river. Here he lived until his death on 23 May 1911 at the age of 81. His funeral was held at Overleigh old cemetery, Chester, where he was buried. The following Sunday a memorial service was held at St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway
St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway
St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway is in the village of Sandiway, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church of Sandiway and Cuddington in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich...
. His estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
amounted to a little over £32,000 (£ as of ). Apart from his surviving buildings, only two memorials remain to his memory. One is a tablet in St Paul's Church, Boughton
St Paul's Church, Boughton
St Paul's Church, Boughton, overlooks the River Dee in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
, the church in which he worshipped and which he had rebuilt. The other is a plaque placed on one of his buildings in St Werburgh Street
2–18 St Werburgh Street, Chester
2–18 St Werburgh Street is a terrace consisting of a bank, shops and offices on the east side of St Werburgh Street and the north side of Eastgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England...
, Chester, in 1923 by his pupils and assistants.
Practice and personality
Douglas practised on his own until 1884, when his son, Colin, became ill. He then took Daniel Porter Fordham into partnership and practised as Douglas & Fordham. Fordham was born around 1846 and had been an assistant in Douglas's office since at least 1872. In 1898, having developed consumption, Fordham retired from the practice and went to live in BournemouthBournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
where he died the following year. He was replaced as partner by Charles Howard Minshull, who had been born in Chester in 1858 and who became articled to Douglas in 1874; the practice became Douglas & Minshull. During the first decade of the 20th century, Douglas became less active but, for reasons which are unknown, the partnership was dissolved in 1909. The practice returned to the title of John Douglas, Architect. Minshull went into partnership with E. J. Muspratt in Foregate Street, Chester. When Douglas died, this partnership worked from the Abbey Square address as Douglas, Minshull & Muspratt.
Little is known about Douglas's private life and personality. Only two images of him are known to survive. One is a photograph taken in later middle age. The other is a caricature sketch made by an assistant in his office. This shows him in old age, bowed, bent and bespectacled, carrying a portfolio
Briefcase
A briefcase is a narrow box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and other documents and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name...
and an ear trumpet
Hearing aid
A hearing aid is an electroacoustic device which typically fits in or behind the wearer's ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer. Earlier devices, known as "ear trumpets" or "ear horns", were passive funnel-like amplification cones designed to gather sound energy and...
. According to architectural historian Edward Hubbard
Edward Hubbard
Edward Horton Hubbard was an English architectural historian who worked with Nikolaus Pevsner in compiling volumes of the Buildings of England...
, Douglas's life "seems to have been one of thorough devotion to architecture ... which may well have been intensified by the death of his wife and other domestic worries". His obituary in the Chester Chronicle
Chester Chronicle
The Chester Chronicle is a UK local weekly newspaper for the Chester and Cheshire area, first established in the 18th century. It is one of the UK's best-selling newspapers, published every Thursday.-Structure:It has a number of different editions:...
stated that he "lived heart and soul in his profession".
Douglas was a dedicated Christian who regularly attended his local church, St Paul's Church, Boughton
St Paul's Church, Boughton
St Paul's Church, Boughton, overlooks the River Dee in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
, a church he rebuilt. His house, Walmoor Hill, included an oratory
Oratory (worship)
An oratory is a Christian room for prayer, from the Latin orare, to pray.-Catholic church:In the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass...
. He also had a "strong sense of national loyalty", incorporating statues of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
in niches
Niche (architecture)
A niche in classical architecture is an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size, retaining the half-dome heading usual for an apse. Nero's Domus Aurea was the first semi-private dwelling that possessed rooms that were given richly varied floor plans, shaped with niches and exedras;...
at Walmoor Hill and in his buildings in St Werburgh Street, Chester. Douglas was not good at handling the financial matters of his practice. The Duke of Westminster's
Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster KG, PC, JP , styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845 and Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869 and known as the 3rd Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an English landowner, politician and racehorse owner.He inherited the estate of...
secretary wrote of him in 1884, "A good architect but a poor hand at accounts!". Delay in presenting his accounts often led to difficulties and confusion; such delay sometimes amounted to as much as ten years. Otherwise very little is known about his personal life. No family papers have survived and none of the documents from the office at 6 Abbey Square has been found.
Output and patronage
Douglas designed some 500 buildings. He built at least 40 new churches or chapels, restoredVictorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
, altered or made additions to many other churches, and designed fittings and furniture for the interiors of churches. He designed new houses, altered or made additions to others, and built various structures associated with those houses. Douglas's works also included farms, shops, offices, hotels, a hospital, drinking fountains, clocks, schools, public baths, a library, a bridge, an obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
, cheese factories, and public conveniences. As his office was in Chester, most of his works were in Cheshire and North Wales, although some were further afield, in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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...
and Scotland.
Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere
Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere , styled The Honourable from 1821 until 1855, was a British peer and politician.-Personal:...
, and it was from the 2nd Baron that Douglas received his first major commission, a considerable rebuilding of the south wing of his seat at Vale Royal Abbey
Vale Royal Abbey
Vale Royal Abbey is a medieval abbey, and later country house, located in Whitegate, between Northwich and Winsford in Cheshire, England.The abbey was founded in 1270 by Edward I for monks of the austere Cistercian order...
in 1860. Around the same time, Lord Delamere commissioned him to build the church of St John the Evangelist
St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford
St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford, is in Over, Winsford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
at Over
Over, Cheshire
Over is a former borough and market town that forms the western part of the town of Winsford in the English county of Cheshire. Wharton forms the eastern part, the boundary being the River Weaver.-Ancient Origins:...
, Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
, as a memorial to his first wife.
Douglas's most important patrons were the Grosvenor
Duke of Westminster
The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. The current holder of the title is Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster....
family of Eaton Hall, Cheshire. In 1865 he was commissioned to design the entrance lodge and other structures for Grosvenor Park
Grosvenor Park, Chester
Grosvenor Park is a public park in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England . It consists of of land overlooking the River Dee. It is regarded as one of the finest and most complete examples of Victorian parks in the North West of England, if not nationally...
in Chester, and St John's Church
St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford
St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford is located in the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
in the village of Aldford in the Eaton Hall estate for Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster
Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster KG, PC , styled Viscount Belgrave from 1802 to 1831 and Earl Belgrave from 1831 to 1845, was an English politician, landowner, property developer and benefactor....
. When the marquess died in 1869 he was succeeded by his son Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster KG, PC, JP , styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845 and Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869 and known as the 3rd Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an English landowner, politician and racehorse owner.He inherited the estate of...
. Douglas received a large number of commissions from the 1st Duke and from his son, the 2nd Duke
Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster GCVO DSO was the son of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor and Lady Sibell Mary Lumley, the daughter of the 9th Earl of Scarborough...
, throughout his career. It is estimated that for the 1st Duke alone he designed four churches and chapels, eight parsonages and large houses, about 15 schools, around 50 farms (in whole or in part), about 300 cottages, lodges and smithies
Forge
A forge is a hearth used for forging. The term "forge" can also refer to the workplace of a smith or a blacksmith, although the term smithy is then more commonly used.The basic smithy contains a forge, also known as a hearth, for heating metals...
, two factories, two inns and about 12 commercial buildings on the Eaton Hall estate alone. He also designed buildings on the duke's Halkyn
Halkyn
Halkyn is a village in Flintshire, north-east Wales and situated between Pentre Halkyn, Northop and Rhosesmor. At the 2001 Census the population of the community was 2,876.- History :...
estate in Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, including another church.
Other wealthy landowners who commissioned work from Douglas included William Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton
William Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton
William Philip Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton, KG was a British peer.Born Viscount Molyneux, he was the eldest son of Charles Molyneux, 3rd Earl of Sefton and his wife, Mary. He was educated at Eton College, Berks. In 1854, Molyneux became an ensign in the Grenadier Guards and inherited his father's...
, Francis Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere
Francis Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere
Francis Charles Granville Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere VD, DL, JP , styled Viscount Brackley between 1857 and 1862, was a British peer, soldier and author...
, George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley
George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley
George Horatio Charles Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley GCVO , styled Earl of Rocksavage from birth until 1923, was a British peer. He was the Lord Great Chamberlain of England in 1936 and also between 1952 and 1966.-Personal:...
, Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton was a landowner in Cheshire, England. He was a devout Anglican in the high church tradition and a local benefactor. He paid for the restoration of his parish church and for the building of two new churches in villages on his estates...
of Arley Hall
Arley Hall
Arley Hall is a country house in the village of Arley, Cheshire, England, about south of Lymm and north of Northwich. It is home to the owner, Viscount Ashbrook and his family. The house is a Grade II* listed building, as is its adjacent chapel. Formal gardens to the southwest of the hall...
, Cheshire, and in Wales, the family of Lord Kenyon
Baron Kenyon
Lord Kenyon, Baron of Gredington, in the County of Flint, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1788 for the lawyer and judge Sir Lloyd Kenyon, 1st Baronet. He served as Master of the Rolls and as Lord Chief Justice of England. Kenyon had already been created a Baronet, of...
, and the Gladstone family, including W. E Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
. He also received commissions from industrialists, including John & Thomas Johnson
John & Thomas Johnson
John & Thomas Johnson was a soap and alkali manufacturing business in Runcorn, Cheshire, England during the 19th century.John and Thomas Johnson were brothers after whom the business was named. Their father, also named John Johnson, had established a soapery on the south bank of the Bridgewater...
, soap and alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Some authors also define an alkali as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base,...
manufacturers from Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
, Richard Muspratt, a chemical industrialist from Flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, Flintshire, and W. H. Lever
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician....
, soap manufacturer and creator of the village of Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
.
Styles
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
in the country. The Gothic Revival was a reaction against the neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style, which had been popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries, and it incorporated features of the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Both Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe
Edmund Sharpe was an English architect and engineer. He started his career as an architect, initially on his own, then in partnership with Edward Paley, designing mainly churches but also some secular buildings...
and E. G. Paley had been influenced by the Cambridge Camden Society
Cambridge Camden Society
The Cambridge Camden Society, later known as the Ecclesiological Society from 1845 when it moved to London, was a learned architectural society founded in 1839 by undergraduates at Cambridge University to promote "the study of Gothic Architecture, and of Ecclesiastical Antiques." Its activities...
and, more specifically, by A. W. N Pugin who believed that "Gothic was the only correct and Christian way to build". Sharpe had also been influenced by Thomas Rickman
Thomas Rickman
Thomas Rickman , was an English architect who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival.He was born at Maidenhead, Berkshire, into a large Quaker family, and avoided the medical career envisaged for him by his father, a grocer and druggist; he went into business for himself and married his first...
, and he had written papers on medieval scholarship himself. Paley had been influenced by his brother, Frederick Apthorp Paley
Frederick Apthorp Paley
Frederick Apthorp Paley , was an English classical scholar.Born at Easingwold in Yorkshire, he was the grandson of William Paley, and was educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Cambridge...
, who was enthusiastic about Gothic architecture, and who had also been influenced by Rickman. During the time Douglas was working in Lancaster the firm was responsible for building and restoring churches in Gothic Revival style, one of which was St Wilfrid's Church
St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham
St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham is in the village of Davenham, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
in the Cheshire village of Davenham
Davenham
Davenham is a rural village and civil parish approximately south of the town of Northwich, part of the Borough of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 5,655. The village is close to the A556 and A533 roads and both the River Dane and...
, some 3 miles (5 km) from Sandiway. Douglas's first church, that of St John the Evangelist
St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford
St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford, is in Over, Winsford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
at Over
Over, Cheshire
Over is a former borough and market town that forms the western part of the town of Winsford in the English county of Cheshire. Wharton forms the eastern part, the boundary being the River Weaver.-Ancient Origins:...
, Winsford
Winsford
Winsford is a town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies on the River Weaver south of Northwich and west of Middlewich, and grew around the salt mining industry after the river was canalised in the...
, was entirely English Gothic
English Gothic architecture
English Gothic is the name of the architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520.-Introduction:As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its pointed arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows, and spires...
in style, more specifically Early Decorated.
Douglas's influences were not from England alone. Although he never travelled abroad, he incorporated Gothic styles from continental countries, especially Germany and France. This combination of Gothic styles contributed to what has come to be known as the High Victorian style. Its features include a sense of massiveness, steep roofs which are frequently hipped
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
, round turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s with conical roofs, pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
s, heavy corbel tables, and the use of polychromism
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
. Many of Douglas's works, especially his earlier ones, are High Victorian in style, or incorporate High Victorian features. One characteristic feature of Douglas's work is the inclusion of dormer windows
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
rising through the eaves
Eaves
The eaves of a roof are its lower edges. They usually project beyond the walls of the building to carry rain water away.-Etymology:"Eaves" is derived from Old English and is both the singular and plural form of the word.- Function :...
and surmounted by hipped roofs.
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
. By the time Douglas moved to Chester, the black-and-white revival using half-timbering
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
was well under way, and Douglas came to incorporate this style in his buildings in Chester and elsewhere. The black-and-white revival did not start in Chester, but it did become Chester's speciality. The first Chester architect involved in the revival had been Thomas Mainwaring Penson
Thomas Mainwaring Penson
Thomas Mainwaring Penson was an English surveyor and architect who is credited with pioneering the revival of half-timbered architecture in Chester in the 1850s....
, whose first work in this genre was the restoration of a shop in Eastgate Street in the early 1850s. Other early Chester architects involved in the revival were T. A. Richardson and James Harrison
James Harrison (architect)
James Harrison was an English architect who worked mainly in Chester, Cheshire. His works were mainly on churches — building new churches, rebuilding old churches, and making amendments and alterations to existing churches....
and it came to be developed mainly by T. M. Lockwood
Thomas Lockwood
Thomas Meakin Lockwood was an English architect whose main works are in Chester, Cheshire, England. Lockwood, together with Thomas Penson and John Douglas, were the architects mainly responsible for the black-and-white revival buildings in the city centre. Lockwood designed a number of buildings...
and by Douglas. Part of Douglas's earliest work for the Grosvenor family, the entrance lodge to Grosvenor Park, used half-timbering in its upper storey; this is the first known use by Douglas of black-and-white. Other vernacular motifs were taken from earlier styles of English architecture, in particular, the Tudor
Tudor style architecture
The Tudor architectural style is the final development of medieval architecture during the Tudor period and even beyond, for conservative college patrons...
style. These include tile-hanging, pargetting
Pargeting
Pargeting is a decorative plastering applied to building walls.Pargeting derives from the word 'parget', a Middle English term that is probably derived from the Old French 'pargeter' / 'parjeter', to throw about, or 'porgeter', to roughcast a wall...
and massive brick ribbed chimney stacks. In this style, Douglas was influenced by the architects Nesfield
William Eden Nesfield
William Eden Nesfield was an English architect, designer and painter.W. E. Nesfield was the eldest son of the landscape architect and painter William Andrews Nesfield. He was educated at Eton and then articled to the architect William Burn in 1850, transferring after two years to his uncle by...
and Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw
Richard Norman Shaw RA , was an influential Scottish architect from the 1870s to the 1900s, known for his country houses and for commercial buildings.-Life:...
. Douglas also used vernacular elements from the continent, especially the late medieval brickwork of Germany and the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
.
A characteristic of Douglas's work is his attention to both external and internal detailing. Such detailing was not derived from any particular style and Douglas chose elements from whichever style suited his purpose for each specific project. His detailing applied particularly to his joiner
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
y, perhaps inspired by his experience in his father's workshop, and was applied both to wooden fittings and to the furniture he designed. A further Continental influence was his use of a Dutch gable
Dutch gable
A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a gable whose sides have a shape made up of one or more curves and has a pediment at the top. The gable may be an entirely decorative projection above a flat section of roof line, or may be the termination of a roof, like a normal gable...
. The most important and consistently used element in Douglas's vernacular buildings was his use of half-timbering, which was usually used for parts of the building. However, in the cases of Rowden Abbey and St Michael and All Angels Church, Altcar
St Michael and All Angels Church, Altcar
St Michael and All Angels Church, Altcar, is to the west of the village of Great Altcar, West Lancashire, England. The church is timber-framed and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the...
, the entire buildings were timber-framed.
Early works (1860–70)
Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere
Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere , styled The Honourable from 1821 until 1855, was a British peer and politician.-Personal:...
and were very different in type and style from each another. The addition of a wing to Vale Royal Abbey (1860) was in Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
style while St John's Church
St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford
St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford, is in Over, Winsford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
at Over
Over, Cheshire
Over is a former borough and market town that forms the western part of the town of Winsford in the English county of Cheshire. Wharton forms the eastern part, the boundary being the River Weaver.-Ancient Origins:...
(1860–63) was of the Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
in Early Decorated style. The Congregational Chapel
Over United Reformed Church
Over United Reformed Church is in Swanlow Lane, Over, Winsford, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and continues to be an active congregation within the United Reformed Church....
, also at Over (1865) was again different, being built in polychromic
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
brick in High Victorian style. Meanwhile Douglas had designed a shop at 19–21 Sankey Street
19–21 Sankey Street, Warrington
19–21 Sankey Street is a shop in Warrington, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:The building was designed by the Chester architect John Douglas and was one of his earliest works...
, Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
(1864) with Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
arcades
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
and detailed stone carving which Hubbard considers to be his "first building of real and outstanding quality...in its way one of the best things he ever did". Shortly after this came the first commissions for the Grosvenor
Duke of Westminster
The title Duke of Westminster was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. The current holder of the title is Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster....
family, consisting of a lodge and other structures in Grosvenor Park, Chester
Grosvenor Park, Chester
Grosvenor Park is a public park in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England . It consists of of land overlooking the River Dee. It is regarded as one of the finest and most complete examples of Victorian parks in the North West of England, if not nationally...
(1865–67), and St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford
St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford
St John the Baptist's Church, Aldford is located in the village of Aldford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
(1865–66). His first commission for a large house was Oakmere Hall
Oakmere Hall
Oakmere Hall is a large house to the southwest of the villages of Cuddington and Sandiway, Cheshire, England, near the junction of the A49 and A556 roads. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. It was originally a private house and later became a...
(1867) for John & Thomas Johnson
John & Thomas Johnson
John & Thomas Johnson was a soap and alkali manufacturing business in Runcorn, Cheshire, England during the 19th century.John and Thomas Johnson were brothers after whom the business was named. Their father, also named John Johnson, had established a soapery on the south bank of the Bridgewater...
, industrialists of Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
. It is in High Victorian style and includes a main block and a service wing, a large tower on the south face, a small tower with turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s, a porte-cochère
Porte-cochere
A porte-cochère is the architectural term for a porch- or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which a horse and carriage can pass in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather.The porte-cochère was a feature of many late 18th...
, steep roofs and dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
windows. Another early church was St Ann's at Warrington (1868–69), again High Victorian in style, which is described as being "quite startlingly bold" and "a prodigy church in Douglas's output". By 1869–70 Douglas had started to design buildings on the Eaton Hall estate. Around this time he also re-modelled St Mary's Church, Dodleston
St Mary's Church, Dodleston
St Mary's Church, Dodleston is in the village of Dodleston, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building...
.
Secular
Great Budworth
Great Budworth is a civil parish and village, approximately north of Northwich, England, within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It lies off the A559 road, east of Comberbach, northwest of Higher Marston and southeast of Budworth Heath...
, and cottages, houses, schools and farms in the Eaton Hall estate and its associated villages. In 1872 he designed Shotwick Park
Shotwick House
Shotwick House is a large house in Great Saughall, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
, a large house in Great Saughall
Saughall
Saughall is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated approximately north west of Chester and close to the Welsh border....
, built in brick with some half-timbering; it has steep roofs, tall ribbed chimneys and turrets. About the same time he reconstructed Broxton Higher Hall
Broxton Old Hall
Broxton Old Hall is in Old Coach Road west of the village of Brown Knowl, in the civil parish of Broxton, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
, incorporating much half-timbering. Commissions for more large houses came in the late 1870s and 1880s. The Gelli
The Gelli
The Gelli is a small country house situated between Tallarn Green and Tybroughton in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is a Grade II* listed building standing in a prominent position on the edge of a hill.-History:...
(1877) is a house in three ranges
Ell (architecture)
In architecture, an ell is a wing of a building that lies perpendicular to the length of the main portion.In connected farm architecture, the ell is often extended to attach the main house to another building, usually a barn. It takes its name from the shape of the letter L.-External links:*...
designed for the Kenyon sisters in the village of Tallarn Green, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
. Also built for the Kenyon family is Llannerch Panna
Tudor Court, Penley
Tudor Court, Penley is a house south of the village of Penley, Wrexham, Wales. It was originally called Llannerch Panna.-History:The house was built in 1878–79 for Hon. George T. Kenyon, the younger son of the 3rd Baron Kenyon. It was designed by the Chester architect John...
in Penley
Penley
Penley is a village in the County Borough of Wrexham, in Wales close to the border with Shropshire, EnglandThe village was, until 1974, in an exclave of the ancient county of Flintshire known as Maelor Saesneg. , sometimes called "Flintshire Detached", which was administered from Overton-on-Dee...
, Flintshire (1878–79), which is "competent in its handling of timberwork". An entirely black-and-white house with jettying
Jettying
Jettying is a building technique used in medieval timber frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the available space in the building without obstructing the street...
is Rowden Abbey (1881) in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire 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...
. Back in North Wales, Plas Mynach
Plas Mynach
Plas Mynach is a large country house in Barmouth, Gwynedd, Wales. It is a Grade II* listed building standing in a prominent position overlooking the sea.-History:...
(1883) in Barmouth
Barmouth
Barmouth ; Y Bermo ) is a town in the county of Gwynedd, north-western Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Mawddach and Cardigan Bay.The town is served by Barmouth railway station.- History :...
includes much detailed woodwork internally.
6–11 Grosvenor Park Road, Chester
6–11 Grosvenor Park Road is a terrace of houses in Chester, Cheshire, England. The building is listed at Grade II* by English Heritage. It was designed by the Chester architect John Douglas, and the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner describes it as "a brilliant group of brick...
, the road leading to the main entrance to Grosvenor Park, in High Victorian style. About 1883 he designed Barrowmore Hall (or Barrow Court) at Great Barrow
Barrow, Cheshire
Barrow is a civil parish containing the villages of Great Barrow, Little Barrow and Stamford Bridge. It is situated about east-north-east of Chester, north-west of Tarporley, and south of Frodsham.-See also:*St Bartholomew's Church, Barrow...
(since demolished) which was one of his largest houses. Also around this time he designed buildings on the Eaton Hall estate, including Eccleston Hill
Eccleston Hill
Eccleston Hill is a house in the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, England. The house, with its attached conservatory, wall, and service wing, has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
(1881–82), a large house for the Duke's secretary, the Stud Lodge
Stud Lodge, Eaton Hall
Stud Lodge is a building in the grounds of Eaton Hall, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building....
, a smaller building of the same dates, Eccleston Hill Lodge
Eccleston Hill Lodge
Eccleston Hill Lodge is a gateway and lodge near the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, England. It stands at the entrance of the Chester Approach to the estate of Eaton Hall. The structure has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building.-History and critique:The building...
(1881), a three-storey gatehouse at the main entrance to the park, with a high hipped roof and turrets, and The Paddocks
Eccleston Paddocks
Eccleston Paddocks is a large house in the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
(1882–83), another large house, this time for the Duke's land agent. In Chester city centre his designs included the Grosvenor Club and North and South Wales Bank
Grosvenor Club and North and South Wales Bank
The Grosvenor Club and North and South Wales Bank is a building at 47–57 Eastgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It is a Grade II listed building and continues to be used as a bank.-History:...
(1881–83) in Eastgate Street, built in stone and brick, with a turret and a stepped gable, and 142 Foregate Street
142 Foregate Street, Chester
142 Foregate Street is a building on the south side of Foregate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
for the Cheshire County Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the English unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton and Warrington. The force is responsible for policing an area of with a population of roughly 1 million.The Chief Constable of the...
(1884), with a shaped gable in Flemish style.
Churches
St Mary's Church, Whitegate
St Mary's Church, Whitegate, is located in the village of Whitegate, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich. Its benefice is combined with that of St Peter, Little Budworth. The church...
was restored in 1874–75 for the 2nd Baron Delamere
Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere
Hugh Cholmondeley, 2nd Baron Delamere , styled The Honourable from 1821 until 1855, was a British peer and politician.-Personal:...
, retaining much of the medieval interior but rebuilding the exterior, adding a short chancel, and incorporating half-timbering. St Paul's Church, Boughton
St Paul's Church, Boughton
St Paul's Church, Boughton, overlooks the River Dee in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
in Chester was Douglas's own parish church which he rebuilt in 1876 incorporating parts of the pre-existing building. Douglas's only church built entirely in half-timbering is the small church of St Michael and All Angels
St Michael and All Angels Church, Altcar
St Michael and All Angels Church, Altcar, is to the west of the village of Great Altcar, West Lancashire, England. The church is timber-framed and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Liverpool, the...
at Great Altcar
Great Altcar
Great Altcar is a village and civil parish in West Lancashire, close to Formby on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The name Altcar is Norse meaning "marsh by the Alt". The church of St Michael and All Angels is a timber framed structure dating from 1879....
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. A church built in brick with half-timbering is St Chad's
St Chad's Church, Hopwas
St Chad's Church, Hopwas is in the village of Hopwas, Staffordshire, England, and in the parish of Tamworth. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is an active Anglican church. The church is in the deanery of Tamworth, the archdeaconry of Lichfield and...
(1881) at Hopwas
Hopwas
Hopwas is a village in Staffordshire, England. It lies just over west of Tamworth and east of Lichfield. It is situated where the A51 road crosses both the River Tame and the Coventry Canal...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
. During this period Douglas built or restored a series of churches entirely in stone, incorporating mainly Gothic features together with vernacular elements. These include St John the Baptist's Church, Hartford
St John the Baptist's Church, Hartford
St John the Baptist Church, Hartford is in the village of Hartford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is the Anglican parish church of Hartford and Greenbank...
(1873–75), St Paul's, Marston
Marston, Cheshire
thumb|right|200px|Map of civil parish of Marston within the former borough of Vale RoyalMarston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in the north west of England, on the River Weaver, close to Anderton and the...
(1874, now demolished), the Presbyterian Chapel (1875) at Rossett
Rossett
Rossett is a village and a local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales.At the time of the 2001 Census, Rossett community had a total population of 3,336 people.-Geography:Rossett is geographically located near to the Welsh and English...
, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
, St Stephen's
St Stephen's Church, Moulton
St Stephen's Church, Moulton, is located in the village of Moulton, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of...
, Moulton
Moulton, Cheshire
thumb|right|200px|Map of civil parish of Moulton within the former borough of Vale RoyalMoulton is a civil parish and village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and near the centre of the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, situated south of Northwich and north of...
(1876), the rebuilding of Christ Church
Christ Church, Chester
Christ Church, Chester, is in Somerset Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and continues to be an active Anglican church in the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester...
, Chester (also in 1876), the Church of St Mary the Virgin
Church of St Mary the Virgin, Halkyn
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Halkyn is to the north of the village of Halkyn, Flintshire, Wales. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of St Asaph. The church is a Grade I listed building.-History:...
(1877–78) at Halkyn
Halkyn
Halkyn is a village in Flintshire, north-east Wales and situated between Pentre Halkyn, Northop and Rhosesmor. At the 2001 Census the population of the community was 2,876.- History :...
, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, and the Welsh Church of St John the Evangelist
St John the Evangelist's Church, Mold
St John the Evangelist's Church, Mold, was a Welsh church in King Street, Mold, Flintshire, North Wales . It is now redundant as a church; it has been divided and is used as a church hall. It is a Grade II listed building....
(1878) in Mold
Mold, Flintshire
Mold is a town in Flintshire, North Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, and was also the county town of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996...
, also in Flintshire. Later in this period he built St Mary's Church
St Mary's Church, Pulford
St Mary's Church, Pulford is in the village of Pulford, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Chester...
, at Pulford
Pulford
Pulford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is situated on the B5445 road, to the south west of Chester and on the border with Wales. It is believed that the name of the village is derived from the...
in 1881–84 for the Duke of Westminster and in 1882–85 St Werburgh's New Church at Warburton
Warburton, Greater Manchester
Warburton is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Cheshire, Warburton lies on the south bank of the River Mersey between the borough of Warrington and Greater Manchester. Today, the village remains...
for Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Egerton-Warburton
Rowland Eyles Egerton-Warburton was a landowner in Cheshire, England. He was a devout Anglican in the high church tradition and a local benefactor. He paid for the restoration of his parish church and for the building of two new churches in villages on his estates...
.
Douglas & Fordham (1884–98)
Abbeystead House
Abbeystead House is a large country house to the east of the village of Abbeystead, Lancashire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
for the 4th Earl of Sefton
William Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton
William Philip Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton, KG was a British peer.Born Viscount Molyneux, he was the eldest son of Charles Molyneux, 3rd Earl of Sefton and his wife, Mary. He was educated at Eton College, Berks. In 1854, Molyneux became an ensign in the Grenadier Guards and inherited his father's...
in North Lancashire. Hubbard describes this as "the finest of Douglas's Elizabethan houses, and one of the largest which he ever designed". During this time additions were made to Jodrell Hall
Jodrell Hall
Jodrell Hall is a mansion in Jodrell Bank in the parish of Twemlow, Cheshire, England, and is now used as a school, Terra Nova School. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
in Cheshire and Halkyn Castle
Halkyn Castle
Halkyn Castle is a mansion house in the village of Halkyn, Flintshire, Wales. The house, with its associated stable block, is a Grade II* listed building.-History:...
in Flintshire. In 1885 the Castle Hotel at Conwy
Conwy
Conwy is a walled market town and community in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales. The town, which faces Deganwy across the River Conwy, formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. Conwy has a population of 14,208...
, Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
, was remodelled, and in 1887–88 a strongroom was added to Hawarden Castle
Hawarden Castle (18th century)
New Hawarden Castle, in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales was the estate of former British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, which previously belonged to the family of his wife, Catherine Glynne. It was built in 1752...
, followed by a porch in 1890. During this period more buildings were added to the Eaton Hall estate, and these included houses and cottages, such as Eccleston Hill
Eccleston Hill
Eccleston Hill is a house in the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, England. The house, with its attached conservatory, wall, and service wing, has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
, and Eccleston Ferry House
Eccleston Ferry House
Eccleston Ferry House is a farmhouse to the southeast of the village of Eccleston, Cheshire, England. It is situated on the east bank of the River Dee near the site of an ancient ferry crossing of the river; it is a Grade II listed building....
, and farms such as Saighton Lane Farm
Saighton Lane Farm
Saighton Lane Farm is a historical farm in Saighton Lane, to the north-northeast of the village of Saighton, Cheshire, England. The farmhouse and the farm buildings are recognised separately as Grade II listed buildings by English Heritage.-History:...
. In 1890–91 an obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
was built in the Belgrave Avenue approach to Eaton Hall. The last house designed by Douglas on a large scale was Brocksford Hall
Brocksford Hall
Brocksford Hall is a country house about one mile east of Doveridge village, in the south west corner of Derbyshire county, England. It is a Grade II listed building.-History:...
(1893) in Derbyshire. This was a country house in Elizabethan style using diapered brick and stone dressings with a clock tower. In Chester city centre, 38 Bridge Street
38 Bridge Street, Chester
38 Bridge Street is a commercial property in Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building. The building was constructed in 1897 and was designed by the local architects Douglas & Fordham...
(1897) is a timber-framed shop that incorporates a section of Chester Rows
Chester Rows
Chester Rows consist of covered walkways at the first floor behind which are entrances to shops and other premises. At street level is another set of shops and other premises, many of which are entered by going down a few steps...
and contains heavily decorated carving. From 1892 the partnership designed houses and cottages in Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
for Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers
Lever Brothers was a British manufacturer founded in 1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother, James Darcy Lever . The brothers had invested in and promoted a new soap making process invented by chemist William Hough Watson, it was a huge success...
. Also in the village they designed the Dell Bridge
Dell Bridge, Port Sunlight
Dell Bridge is a footbridge in Port Sunlight, Wirral, England. It is a Grade II listed building.The bridge was built in sandstone in 1894 for Lever Brothers in their model village of Port Sunlight and was designed by the Chester architects' firm of Douglas & Fordham. It carries a pedestrian...
(1894), and the school (1894–96), which is now called the Lyceum
Lyceum, Port Sunlight
The Lyceum is a building in Bridge Street, Port Sunlight, Merseyside, England. Originally built as a school, it is now used for a variety of purposes, including housing a social club...
. In 1896 Douglas designed a house for himself, Walmoor Hill
Walmoor Hill
Walmoor Hill is a large house in an elevated position overlooking the River Dee on the west side of Dee Banks, Chester, Cheshire, England . It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building...
in Dee Banks, Chester, in Elizabethan style. Between 1895 and 1897 he designed a range of buildings on the east side of St Werburgh Street
2–18 St Werburgh Street, Chester
2–18 St Werburgh Street is a terrace consisting of a bank, shops and offices on the east side of St Werburgh Street and the north side of Eastgate Street, Chester, Cheshire, England...
in the centre of Chester. At its south end, on the corner of Eastgate Street, is a bank whose ground storey is built in stone, and behind this leading up St Werburgh Street, the ground storey consists of shop fronts. Above this the range consists of two storeys plus an attic, which are covered in highly ornamented timber-framing. On the first floor is a series of oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
s, the second floor is jettied
Jettying
Jettying is a building technique used in medieval timber frame buildings in which an upper floor projects beyond the dimensions of the floor below. This has the advantage of increasing the available space in the building without obstructing the street...
, and at the top are eleven gables. Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
considers that this range of buildings is "Douglas at his best (though also at his showiest)". Hubbard expresses the opinion that "in this work, the city's half-timber revival reached its very apogee".
Eastham, Merseyside
Eastham is a village and an electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the Wirral Peninsula, to the south of Bromborough...
in the Wirral
Wirral Peninsula
Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...
and in 1884–87 St Deiniol's Church was built in Criccieth
Criccieth
Criccieth is a town and community on Cardigan Bay, in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies west of Porthmadog, east of Pwllheli and south of Caernarfon. It has a population of 1,826....
, Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire
Caernarfonshire , historically spelled as Caernarvonshire or Carnarvonshire in English during its existence, was one of the thirteen historic counties, a vice-county and a former administrative county of Wales....
. Christ Church, Rossett
Christ Church, Rossett
Christ Church, Rossett, is in Chester Road, Rossett, Wrexham County Borough, Wales . It is a Grade II listed building. Christ Church is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Gresford, the archdeaconry of Wrexham and the diocese of St Asaph. It is the parish church of the parish of...
(1886–92), St Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay
St Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay
St Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay is the parish church of the town of Colwyn Bay, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Rhos, the archdeaconry of St Asaph, and the Diocese of St Asaph...
(1887–88 with later additions), and St Andrew's Church, West Kirby
St Andrew's Church, West Kirby
St Andrew's Church, West Kirby, is located in Meols Drive, West Kirby, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Wirral North...
(1889–91) followed. St John's Church
St John's Church Barmouth
St John's Church, Barmouth, Gwynedd, Wales was built between 1889 and 1895 and designed by the Chester architects Douglas & Fordham. The foundation stone was laid by Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom...
in Barmouth
Barmouth
Barmouth ; Y Bermo ) is a town in the county of Gwynedd, north-western Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Mawddach and Cardigan Bay.The town is served by Barmouth railway station.- History :...
, Merionethshire
Merionethshire
Merionethshire is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, a vice county and a former administrative county.The administrative county of Merioneth, created under the Local Government Act 1888, was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on April 1, 1974...
was built between 1889 and 1895. It is one of the largest of Douglas's churches, although in 1891, during its construction, the tower collapsed and had to be rebuilt. Other churches built in North Wales were Christ Church
Christ Church, Bryn-y-Maen
Christ Church, Bryn-y-Maen is in the small village of Bryn-y-Maen on the B5113 road some 3km to the south of Colwyn Bay in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Rhos, the archdeaconry of St Asaph and the diocese of St Asaph. The church is known...
in Bryn-y-Maen, Colwyn Bay, and All Saints
All Saints Church, Deganwy
All Saints Church, Deganwy, is in the town of Deganwy, Conwy County Borough, Wales, on a site overlooking the Conwy estuary . It is an active Anglican church in the benefice of Eglwysrhos , the deanery of Llanrwst, the archdeaconry of St Asaph, and the diocese of St Asaph. It is a...
, Deganwy
Deganwy
Deganwy is a village in Conwy County Borough in Wales with a population of 3,700. It is in a more English-speaking region of North Wales, with only 1 in 4 residents speaking Welsh as a first language...
(both 1897–99).
In about 1891–92 the Church of St James the Great
Church of St James the Great, Haydock
The Church of St James the Great, Haydock, is in Church Road in the former mining community of Haydock, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of St. Helens, Merseyside, in the North-west of England...
, Haydock
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
, was built. This was constructed in half-timber to give protection against possible mining subsidence. Other new churches built during this partnership were St Wenefrede's Church, Bickley
St Wenefrede's Church, Bickley
St Wenefrede's Church, Bickley is in the civil parish of Bickley, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building, and is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester, and the deanery of Malpas...
(1892), St David's Welsh Church
St David's Welsh Church, Rhosllannerchrugog
St David's Welsh Church, Rhosllannerchrugog, is in Broad Street, Rhosllannerchrugog, in Wrexham County Borough, Wales .The church was built in 1892 to a design by Douglas & Fordham. It consists of a nave and a north aisle. It was intended to have a chancel and a steeple at the northeast, but...
in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
, All Saints Church, Higher Kinnerton
All Saints Church, Higher Kinnerton
All Saints Church, Higher Kinnerton is in Main Road, Higher Kinnerton, Flintshire, Wales. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester, and the deanery of Chester....
(1893), the Congregational Church in Great Crosby
Great Crosby
Great Crosby is an area of the town of Crosby, in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England.-Location:In 1907, the Victoria County History described Great Crosby's location thus: 'The ancient township of Great Crosby, which includes Waterloo, lies on the northern shore of the estuary...
(1897–98), and St John the Evangelist's Church, Weston
St John the Evangelist's Church, Weston
St John the Evangelist's Church is in Weston, once a separate village and now part of the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. The church has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry...
, Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
(1897–1900). A spire was added to St Peter's Church, Chester
St Peter's Church, Chester
St Peter's Church, Chester is in Eastgate Street in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England, immediately to the north of Chester Cross. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the...
in 1886–87 and a tower was added to Holy Trinity Church, Capenhurst
Holy Trinity Church, Capenhurst
Holy Trinity Church, Capenhurst is in the village of Capenhurst, Cheshire, England. The church is a Grade II listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Wirral South...
in about 1889–90. In 1886–87 Douglas added a bell tower to St John the Baptist's Church, Chester
St John the Baptist's Church, Chester
St John the Baptist's Church, Chester is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It lies outside the city walls on a cliff above the north bank of the River Dee. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese...
and this was followed by the rebuilding of its north aisle. Other restorations, embellishments, and additions of monuments and furniture were carried out in churches during this partnership.
Douglas & Minshull (1898–1909) and Douglas alone (1909–11)
St Oswald's Chambers, Chester
St Oswald's Chambers consists of a commercial property at 20–22 St Werburgh Street, Chester, Cheshire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
in St Werburgh Street, Chester, and this was followed by further buildings in the city. In 1902–03 Douglas built St John the Evangelist's Church
St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway
St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway is in the village of Sandiway, Cheshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church of Sandiway and Cuddington in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Chester and the deanery of Middlewich...
, in the village of his birth, Sandiway
Sandiway
Sandiway is a village in the civil parish of Cuddington, Cheshire, England. It lies to the east of and is contiguous with the village of Cuddington....
. It was built on land owned by Douglas and he paid for the cost of the chancel and the lych gate. In 1899 the Diamond Jubilee Memorial Clock, constructed in open wrought iron
Wrought iron
thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
, was erected on the Eastgate in Chester to commemorate Queen Victoria's
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
Diamond Jubilee
Diamond Jubilee
A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...
in 1897. In 1898–1901 Chester's public baths
Public baths, Chester
The Public Baths are on the north side of Union Street at its junction with Bath Street in Chester, Cheshire, England. The structure has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
were built; this was an unusual work for Douglas as it involved specialist engineering work. During this period one of Douglas's most important secular buildings was designed, St Deiniol's Library
St Deiniol's Library
Gladstone's Library, known until 2010 as St Deiniol's Library , is a residential library in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales.The library was founded by the Victorian statesman and politician William Ewart Gladstone ....
, at Hawarden
Hawarden
Hawarden is a village in Flintshire, North Wales. Hawarden forms part of the Deeside conurbation on the Welsh/English border. At the 2001 Census, the population of Hawarden Ward was 1,858...
, Flintshire
Flintshire
Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders...
, for W. E. Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
and his family. The first phase was constructed between 1899 and 1902, and the library was completed in 1904–06. Around this time the practice was commissioned to work on two churches in association with Gladstone; St Ethelwold's
St Ethelwold's Church, Shotton
St Ethelwold's Church, Shotton, is in the town of Shotton, Flintshire, Wales . It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Hawarden, the archdeaconry of Wrexham and the diocese of St Asaph...
(1898–1902) was a new church at Shotton
Shotton, Flintshire
Shotton is a town in Flintshire, north Wales, lying on the River Dee. The name derives from the Old Norse words sjò and tùn . It is continuous with the towns of Connah's Quay and Queensferry in what is called Deeside...
in Flintshire, and additions were made to St Matthew's
St Matthew's Church, Buckley
St Matthew's Church, Buckley, is in the town of Buckley, Flintshire, Wales. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Hawarden, the archdeaconry of Wrexham and the diocese of St Asaph. The church is a Grade II* listed building.-History:...
at Buckley
Buckley
Buckley is a town and community in Flintshire, located in north-east Wales. It is situated 2 miles from the county town of Mold and is contiguous with the nearby villages of Ewloe, Alltami and Mynydd Isa...
, also in Flintshire, between 1897 and 1905. The other new churches built during this period were Douglas's only Scottish church, the Episcopal Church (1903) in Lockerbie
Lockerbie
Lockerbie is a town in the Dumfries and Galloway region of south-western Scotland. It lies approximately from Glasgow, and from the English border. It had a population of 4,009 at the 2001 census...
, Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries is a registration county of Scotland. The lieutenancy area of Dumfries has similar boundaries.Until 1975 it was a county. Its county town was Dumfries...
, and St Matthew's Church (1910–11) in Saltney
Saltney
Saltney is a small town in Flintshire, Wales. It is immediately to the west of the border with Cheshire in England and is contiguous with the Chester urban area.The name is derived from the former salt marshes on which it is built, lying on the River Dee...
, Flintshire. Alterations were made and furniture was designed for other churches. Douglas's last major project was the addition of a tower to his church of St Paul's
St Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay
St Paul's Church, Colwyn Bay is the parish church of the town of Colwyn Bay, in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is an active Anglican church in the deanery of Rhos, the archdeaconry of St Asaph, and the Diocese of St Asaph...
at Colwyn Bay, but he died before this could be completed.
Publication
Douglas published no writings of his own and left no records of his ideas and thoughts. The only publication with which he was associated was the Abbey Square Sketch Book, which he edited. The book appeared in three volumes, the first dated 1872 and the others undated; it consisted of sketches and drawings (with some photographs in the third volume) by many contributors. The pictures depicted buildings and furniture, mainly dating from the late medieval period and the 16th and 17th centuries, and mostly from Cheshire and northwest England. Douglas's only contribution was a jointly ascribed plate in the third volume. It is likely that he designed the title pages, or at least the drawing incorporated in it, of the Abbey GatewayAbbey Gateway, Chester
The Abbey Gateway is in Chester, Cheshire, England and leads from Northgate Street into Abbey Square. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.-History:...
in Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
.
Reputation, influences and legacy
Douglas practised for the whole of his career in a provincial county town, and most of his works were concentrated in Cheshire and North Wales, yet he "conducted a practice which achieved national renown". He was never a member of the Royal Institute of British ArchitectsRoyal 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:...
, but his works featured frequently in national publications, including Building News, The Builder
Building (magazine)
Building is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as The Builder in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed Building in 1966 as it is still known today. Building is the only UK...
, The Architect, and The British Architect, the last of which particularly praised many of his works. A number of Douglas's works were exhibited at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
and appeared in Academy Architecture. Douglas's obituary in The British Architect referred to him as having "achieved a reputation which has long placed him in the front rank of living architects". In the series The Buildings of England
Pevsner Architectural Guides
The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of the British Isles. Begun in the 1940s by art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the Buildings of England series were published between 1951 and 1975. The series was then extended to Scotland and...
, Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
described him, without reservation, as "the best Cheshire architect". In the companion series The Buildings of Wales: Clwyd, Hubbard
Edward Hubbard
Edward Horton Hubbard was an English architectural historian who worked with Nikolaus Pevsner in compiling volumes of the Buildings of England...
expressed the opinion that he was "the most important and active local architect of the period". Critical praise was not confined to Britain; Douglas's works were acclaimed by the French architect Paul Sédille
Paul Sédille
Paul Sédille was a French architect and theorist; and designed the 1880 reconstruction of the iconic Magasins du Printemps department store in Paris.- Life :...
, and the German architect and writer Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius
Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a German architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German architectural modernism...
. Despite this, the only official recognition he received in his lifetime was a medal for Abbeystead House
Abbeystead House
Abbeystead House is a large country house to the east of the village of Abbeystead, Lancashire, England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.-History:...
, which was shown at an exhibition in Paris.
Many of the architects training and working in Douglas's office were influenced by him. Perhaps the best known of these were Edmund Kirby
Edmund Kirby
Edmund Kirby was an English architect. He was born in Liverpool, educated at Sedgeley Park School and Oscott College. He was articled to E. W. Pugin, then worked for Hardman & Co., and for John Douglas in Chester. By 1863 he was practising in Birkenhead and by 1866 his office was in Derby...
and Edward Ould
Edward Ould
Edward Augustus Lyle Ould was an English architect.Ould was a son of the rector of Tattenhall, Cheshire. He became a pupil of the Chester architect John Douglas and in 1886 he joined in partnership with the Liverpool architect G. E. Grayson. His early work was influenced by Douglas,...
. Kirby is best remembered for his Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
churches. Ould went on to design a number of buildings in Chester and further afield in a Douglas-like style, including notably Wightwick Manor
Wightwick Manor
Wightwick Manor is a Victorian manor house located on Wightwick Bank, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, and one of only a few surviving examples of a house built and furnished under the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement...
and various buildings at Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
. Other architects who did not work in his office were also influenced by him; these include Thomas Lockwood
Thomas Lockwood
Thomas Meakin Lockwood was an English architect whose main works are in Chester, Cheshire, England. Lockwood, together with Thomas Penson and John Douglas, were the architects mainly responsible for the black-and-white revival buildings in the city centre. Lockwood designed a number of buildings...
, Richard Thomas Beckett, Howard Hignett, A. E. Powers, James Strong and the Cheshire County Architect, Henry Beswick.
A large proportion of Douglas's buildings still exist, many of them being listed buildings, in a wide variety of types and styles. Douglas is not remembered for any one building type; his churches and houses are considered to be of equal importance. He was not a pioneer of any particular new development, but instead followed national stylistic trends while still retaining his individuality. His buildings are "anything but copyist" and they "bear a highly individual and nearly always recognisable stamp". The major characteristics of his buildings are "sure proportions, imaginative massing and grouping ... immaculate detailing and a superb sense of craftsmanship and feeling for materials". His work is "architecture which can be enjoyed as well as admired".
See also
- List of new churches by John Douglas
- List of church restorations, amendments and furniture by John Douglas
- List of houses and associated buildings by John Douglas
- List of non-ecclesiastical and non-residential works by John Douglas