Francis Houlton Wrench Explained

Francis Houlton Wrench LRIBA AMICE (29 August 1869 - 17 November 1939) was an architect based in Sheffield.^[1]

History

He was born in 1869 in Baslow, Derbyshire, the son of Lieut-Colonel Edward Mason Wrench MVO, VD, FRCS (1833-1912) and Anne Eliza Kirk (1831-1920). He was educated at Drapers’ College, High Road, Tottenham and then University College, Sheffield from 1886 to 1889. He was then articled to Messrs. T. Meik & Sons from 1889 to 1890, then the Eyemouth Railway & Harbour company 1891–93. In 1895 he joined Sheffield Corporation Architects’ Department at a salary of £150 per annum.^[2]

He commenced independent practice in Sheffield in 1901 and was appointed LRIBA in 1910.

He married Georginia Charlotte Curll on 30 December 1892 in Edinburgh.^[3] They had two children:

• Georgina Annie Wrench (1894-1985)
• Francis Anthony Wrench (1897-1984)

He lived in Sheffield for many years.

He was junior engineer in the City Engineers’ Department. He lived at Upperthorpe until 1935 and was churchwarden at St Stephen's Church.^[4]

He was a member of the Sheffield Architects’ Society, a Freeman of the City of London, and a member of the Worshipful Company of Drapers of London.

He died at The Hall Cottage, East Markham in November 1939 and left an estate valued at £7,815.^[5]

Works

• Abbeydale Road main sewer, Sheffield 1896^[6]
• Lock up shop, junction of St Philip’s Road and Netherthorpe Place, Sheffield 1902^[7]
• Baslow Hall 1907
• Memorial to Henry Bull, St Bartholomew's Church, Sheffield 1915^[8]

Notes and References

1. Book: Brodie, Antonia . 20 December 2001 . Directory of British Architects 1834–1914: Vol 2 (L-Z) . Royal Institute of British Architects . 1069 . 082645514X .
2. News: . The City Surveyor’s Department . Sheffield Evening Telegraph . England . 8 June 1895 . 12 February 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
3. News: . Wrench-Curll . London Evening Standard . England . 3 January 1893 . 12 February 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
4. News: . Cremation of Mr. F.H. Wrench . Sheffield Daily Telegraph . England . 22 November 1939 . 12 February 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
5. News: . East Markham Will . Newark Herald . England . 27 July 1940 . 12 February 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
6. News: . Completion of the Abbeydale Road Main Sewer . Sheffield Daily Telegraph . England . 11 February 1896 . 12 February 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
7. News: . Portmahon . Sheffield Daily Telegraph . England . 17 January 1903 . 8 July 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .
8. News: . A Churchwarden’s Memory . Sheffield Daily Telegraph . England . 1 June 1915 . 12 February 2023 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription .