Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905) was a prolific English architect who worked in the second half of the 19th century. His buildings were largely in Victorian Gothic Revival style. Waterhouse's biographer, Colin Cunningham, states that between about 1865 and about 1885 he was "the most widely employed British architect".[1] He worked in many fields, designing commercial, public, educational, domestic, and ecclesiastical buildings.[1]
Waterhouse was born in Liverpool of Quaker parents. After being articled to Richard Lane in Manchester, he took a ten-month tour of the Continent, then established his own practice in Manchester. Many of his early commissions came from Quakers and other nonconformist patrons. He came to national recognition when he won success in a competition for the design of Manchester assize courts. His next major public commissions in Manchester were for Strangeways Gaol and Manchester Town Hall. In 1865 he opened an office in London, which was followed by his first major commission in London, the Natural History Museum. Meanwhile he was also designing country houses. Here his major work was the rebuilding of Eaton Hall in Cheshire for the 1st Duke of Westminster, which was "the most expensive country house of the [19th] century".[1] He also designed educational buildings including schools and works for the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Manchester, and Liverpool. In the commercial field, he designed banks, and offices for insurance and assurance companies, especially the Prudential Assurance Company, for whom he built 27 buildings.[1]
Waterhouse's success came from "a thoroughly professional approach rather than on brilliance or innovation as a stylist".[1] He paid particular attention to detail and, although he designed many major buildings, he still accepted smaller commissions.[1] Although most of his work was in the Gothic Revival style, he also employed other styles, including Romanesque and French Renaissance. He used many building materials, but is noted for his use of red brick and terracotta. The use of these materials for many university buildings in the north of England is a major factor in their being termed "red brick universities".[1] In addition to his design work as an architect, Waterhouse was an assessor for about 60 architectural competitions. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1878 for his design for Manchester Town Hall, and was president of that institution from 1888 to 1891. He was gained international diplomas, and in 1895 was awarded an honorary LL.D by Manchester University. Waterhouse was also a painter, exhibiting 80 watercolours at the Royal Academy. He suffered a stroke in 1901, and died in his home at Yattendon, Berkshire, in 1905. His practice was continued by his son Paul, followed by his grandson, Michael, and his great-grandson. His estate at death amounted to over £215,000 (equivalent to £ as of).[1]
This is a list of the more notable civic and public buildings designed by Waterhouse, and includes such structures as town halls, clock towers, hospitals, a prison, hotels, a market hall, a museum, and a library.
| Grade (England and Wales) | Criteria | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade I | Buildings of exceptional interest, sometimes considered to be internationally important. | |||||||||||||
| Grade II* | Particularly important buildings of more than special interest. | |||||||||||||
| Grade II | Buildings of national importance and special interest. | |||||||||||||
| Category (Scotland) | Criteria | |||||||||||||
| Category A | Buildings of special architectural or historical interest which are outstanding examples of a particular period, style or building type. | |||||||||||||
| Category B | Buildings of special architectural or historic interest which are major examples of a particular period, style or building type. | |||||||||||||
| Category C(S) | Buildings of special architectural or historic interest which are representative examples of a period, style or building type. | |||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a work that is not graded. | ||||||||||||||
| Name | Location | Photograph | Date | Notes | Grade | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assize Courts | Manchester | 1859–65 | Won in a competition, this was Waterhouse's first major commission, It was praised by Ruskin, and it was the stepping stone to further work, but has since been demolished. | |||
| Market Hall | Darlington, County Durham 54.5246°N -1.555°W | 1863 | A two-storey five bay building with a cast iron framework. | |||
| Old Town Hall | Darlington, County Durham 54.5244°N -1.5552°W | 1863–64 | A two-storey building in brick with a slate roof. The frontage is in five bays, the projecting central bay being canted with a balcony between the storeys. | |||
| Clock Tower | Darlington, County Durham 54.5249°N -1.5551°W | 1864 | A seven-stage tower in brick with stone bands. The top stage contains clock faces with turrets at the corners, surmounted by a slate spire with lucarnes. | |||
| Boys' Prison Block, Strangeways Gaol | Manchester 53.4935°N -2.2449°W | 1866–68 | Built as a women's prison. Cruciform plan with a central concourse and radiating wings. | |||
| Gatehouse, Strangeways Gaol | Manchester 53.4922°N -2.2457°W | 1866–68 | Built in brick with sandstone dressings and a slate roof in French Gothic style. It has a central archway flanked by semi-octagonal turrets. | |||
| Main Block, Strangeways Gaol | Manchester 53.4935°N -2.2449°W | 1866–68 | Built in brick with stone dressings in Romanesque style. Consists of a central concourse with six radiating wings. | |||
| Tower, Strangeways Gaol | Manchester 53.4935°N -2.2449°W | 1866–68 | This originally had the dual function of an observation and a water tower. It is built in brick with stone dressings and has an octagonal plan, in the style of a minaret. It is about 365feet high. | |||
| Great North Western Hotel | , Liverpool, Merseyside 53.4081°N -2.9789°W | 1868–71 | Originally the station hotel for Liverpool Lime Street Station, it was later used for offices, then converted into a student hall of residence. It is a stone building in French Renaissance style, with a frontage of 21 bays and is in five storeys plus basement and attic. There are towers on the corners and flanking the three projecting central bays. | |||
| Town Hall | , Manchester 53.4792°N -2.2442°W | 1868–78 | A large building with a triangular plan, containing a great hall and offices. Constructed in sandstone in Gothic Revival style. Contains murals by Ford Madox Brown. It cost £775,000. | |||
| Town Hall | Knutsford, Cheshire 53.3032°N -2.3741°W | 1871 | A brick building in two storeys plus an attic. The ground floor has a five-bay arcade. Later converted for commercial use. | |||
| Newsham Park Hospital | Liverpool, Merseyside 53.4213°N -2.9349°W | 1871–74 | Built as the Seamen's Orphanage, it is in brick with stone dressings, and has a slate roof. It has three storeys, and a symmetrical front of 19 bays. To the south is a five-story tower. | |||
| Building to the south of Newsham Park Hospital | Liverpool, Merseyside 53.4209°N -2.9337°W | 1871–74 | The building is connected to the hospital by a later corridor. It is constructed in brick with stone dressings and a slate roof. It is in three storeys with an attic, and incorporates dormer windows. | |||
| Town council chamber and offices | Reading, Berkshire 51.4567°N -0.9698°W | 1872–75 | The building is constructed in red and grey brick with decorations in terracotta. It is in two storeys with an attic and an attached five-storey tower. | |||
| Natural History Museum | , Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London 51.4962°N -0.1764°W | 1873–81 | This is the first building to be completely faced in terracotta. It is constructed with an iron frame and has slate roofs. The main front is in 27 bays, the central three of which protrude forward to form a centrepiece. The terracotta is decorated with features such as animals. | |||
| Gates to Natural History Museum | , Kensington and Chelsea, Greater London 51.4956°N -0.1763°W | 1873–81 | Gates, gatepiers and railings to museum. The railings are in wrought iron, gate piers in Portland stone, some of which are topped by lions. | |||
| Well house | Yattendon, Berkshire 51.4668°N -1.2064°W | 1876 | This was built as a well house, and is now used as a bus shelter. It is timber-framed with a tiled roof, and stands on a brick plinth. | |||
| Public library | Wigan, Greater Manchester 53.5442°N -2.6297°W | 1877 | Built as a free library, later a shop and office, and then a museum. It is constructed in red brick with sandstone dressings and a slate roof. It has a T-shaped plan in Elizabethan Revival style with some Gothic features. | |||
| Shire Hall | Bedford 52.1349°N -0.4676°W | 1879–81 | A red brick building with terracotta dressings. It was extended in 1910. | |||
| Town Hall | Hove, East Sussex 50.828°N -0.1704°W | 1880–83 | Destroyed by fire in 1966 and replaced by current building opened 1974. | |||
| Turner Memorial Home | Liverpool, Merseyside 53.3805°N -2.9565°W | 1881–83 | Built to care for men who were ill and disadvantaged. It is a large, irregular building in sandstone with a tiled roof, including a chapel. | |||
| National Liberal Club | , Westminster, Greater London 51.5062°N -0.1239°W | 1884–87 | Built as a Liberal club with five and six storeys, in Portland stone with slate roofs. | |||
| Rochdale Town Hall | Rochdale, Greater Manchester 53.6156°N -2.1594°W | 1885–87 | The town hall was built in 1867–71 to a design by William Henry Crossland. Its tower was destroyed by fire in 1883, and Waterhouse designed a new, smaller tower, linked to the main building by an arch. | |||
| Liverpool Royal Infirmary | Liverpool, Merseyside 53.4079°N -2.9678°W | 1887–90 | Built in brick with terracotta dressings and a slate roof, and incorporating a chapel. | |||
| Town Hall | Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland 56.1166°N -3.7952°W | 1888 | A building in three storeys with a large projecting centre gable and a round-arched entrance in early Renaissance style. | |||
| Metropole Hotel | Brighton, East Sussex 50.8215°N -0.1488°W | 1890 | ||||
| Town Hall | Colne, Lancashire 53.8566°N 2.1713°W | 1894 | Designed in the Gothic style and built with ashlar stone. Officially opened on 13 January 1894. | |||
| Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine | , Westminster, Greater London 51.4863°N -0.15°W | 1894–98 | Built in conjunction with his son, Paul, the building was extended in 1909–10. It has since been used as a private hospital named the Lister Hospital. | |||
| Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors | , Westminster, Greater London 51.501°N -0.128°W | 1896–98 | Additions were made by his son, Paul. It is in brick with stone dressings and slate roofs, and has three storeys. | |||
| University College Hospital | , Bloomsbury, Greater London 51.5241°N -0.1352°W | 1897–1906 | Built in conjunction with his son, Paul, this is a building with a cruciform plan in red brick with terracotta bands and dressings. | |||
Bibliography