John Douglas (architect)

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John Douglas was an English architect, born at Sandiway, Cheshire on 11 April 1830, the son of John Douglas and his wife Mary Swindley. His father began life as a labourer but was a joiner by 1830, then a builder, and finally a surveyor, and was able to bequeath substantial property to his son.

Douglas was articled to Edmund Sharpe & Edward Graham Paley of Lancaster c.1846 and remained with Paley as his chief assistant after completing his articles. It seems likely he also began to practise independently by about 1855, when he was still in Paley's office, but in 1860 he set up on his own at 6 Abbey Square, Chester. It was initially both house and office and on 25 January of that year he married Elizabeth Edmunds of Bangor Is-coed, Flintshire. They had five children of whom only two lived to be adults; of these, the elder surviving son, Charles Edmunds Douglas, born in 1864, joined his father's practice but died of consumption in 1887, and younger, Sholto, became an alcoholic.

Douglas was an accomplished designer in the Victorian Gothic tradition, initially preferring the Decorated style for churches and Old English half-timbering for domestic work. He is known now chiefly for his mastery of the traditional methods and patterns of half-timbering, based on a profound study of old work in the neighbourhood of Cheshire by Douglas and his staff. In 1872, their measured drawings and sketches of English and Welsh buildings were published as the Abbey Square Sketch Book. Over time, the practice became rather more eclectic, and from the mid-1860s Italian Gothic and Romanesque designs began to appear in the practice's output, and after he became architect to the Eaton Hall estate of the Dukes of Westminster in 1869, some of his work showed marked French, German and Dutch influences, typified by the chateau-like The Paddocks at Eccleston (1882). By the later 1880s and 1890s he had returned to a refined English neo-Tudor and neo-Jacobean. Douglas's best work invites comparison with the houses of his contemporaries, Richard Norman Shaw, William Eden Nesfield, George Devey and Sir Ernest George, and it attracted the attention of Hermann Muthesius in Das Englische Haus.

In January 1884, when it became apparent that his son was unlikely to be able to continue the practice, Douglas took Daniel Porter Fordham (1845/6-1899) into partnership. Fordham had been in his office since at least 1872 and was an excellent draughtsman, but he too became consumptive and had to retire in 1898, moving to Bournemouth. Charles Howard Minshall, (1858-1934), the son of a Chester bookseller, replaced Fordham as partner in 1898. He had been articled to Douglas in 1874 and had remained with him as an assistant. The partnership of Douglas and Minshall was dissolved in 1909 and Minshall then established his own practice in Chester in partnership with E.J. Muspratt. Douglas died on 23 May 1911 at Walmoor Hill, Dee Banks, Chester, a large neo-Tudor house which he had built for himself in the 1890s. His remaining practice was then absorbed by Minshall & Muspratt under the title of Douglas, Minshall & Muspratt.

The Gravestone of John Douglas in Overleigh Cemetery, Chester.

1 List of major works
- 1.1 1860s
- 1.2 1870s
- 1.3 1880s
- 1.4 1890s
- 1.5 1900s
- 1.6 Undated
2 References
3 External links

[edit] List of major works

This list excludes the many farms, schools, lodges and other estate buildings designed for the Eaton estate and similar work for other patrons, as well as numerous church restorations.

[edit] 1860s

Vale Royal (Cheshire): Addition of south wing for 2nd Lord Delamere 1860-61
St. John The Evangelist Church (Over, Cheshire): For 2nd Lord Delamere 1860-63
Boteler Grammer School, School Brow (Warrington, Lancs): New building, demolished 2003, 1862-64
Congregational Chapel (Over, Cheshire): 1865
St. John The Baptist Church (Aldford, Cheshire): For 2nd Marquess Of Westminster, 1865-66
St. Bartholomew’s Church (Sealand, Flints): 1865-67
St. Ann’s Church (Warrington, (Lancs): 1866-69
Witton Grammar School (Northwich, Cheshire): Altered; now Local Authority Offices, 1866-71
Oakmere Hall (Cheshire): Interior altered for John Higson, 1867
Soughton Hall (Northop, Flints), Attributed, remodelling for John Scott Bankes, 1867-69; Lower Lodge and alterations to Stables, 1868
St. Paul’s Church (Helsby, Cheshire): 1868-70
St. Mary’s Church (Dodleston, Cheshire): Rebuilding, retaining portions of the previous building, lychgate and boundary wall for 3rd Marquess Of Westminster, 1869-70
St. Alban’s Church (Tattenhall Cheshire): Rebuilding, retaining portions of the previous building, 1869-70

[edit] 1870s

The Elms (Pulford, Cheshire): Remodelling for Capt. Scotland and Eaton Estate, 1871
Eaton Hall (Cheshire): Dutch Tea House, 1872
Plas Tan-Y-Bwlch (Maentwrog, Merionethshire): Additions for W.E. Oakeley, 1872
Shotwick Park (Great Saughall, Cheshire): For H.D. Trelawny, 1872
Colwyn Bay Hotel (Colwyn Bay, Denbighs): Now demolished, c.1872
Manor House, (Great Barrow, Cheshire): Attributed, alterations and additions for George Okell, 1873
St. John’s Church (Hartford, Cheshire): 1873-75
Broxton Higher Hall (Cheshire): Remodelling for Sir Philip De M. Grey Egerton, c.1873; Remodelled again, 1961
St. Paul’s Church (Marston, Cheshire): Now demolished, 1874
Market House (Northwich, Cheshire): Now demolished, 1874
St. Mary’s Church (Whitegate, Cheshire): Remodelling for 2nd Lord Delamere, 1874-75
Overdale, Tarporley Rd (Cuddington, Cheshire): Attributed for G.F. Wilbraham, 1875
Presbyterian Chapel (Rossett, Denbighs): 1875
Cilcain Hall (Flints): New house and entrance lodge for W.R. Buddicom, 1875-77
Dunsdale (Frodsham, Cheshire): For Charles Broadbent, 1876
St. Stephen’s Church (Moulton, Cheshire): 1876-77
St. Peter’s Church (Northop, Flints): Restoration, 1876-77
Sessions House (Northop, Flints): For John Scott Bankes, 1877
Tallarn Green (Flints): The Gelli, For The Hon. Georgiana and Henrietta Kenyon, 1877
Vale Royal (Cheshire), Oriel window and porch, and (attributed) remodelling of the library for 2nd Lord Delamere, 1877
Church Of St. Mary The Virgin (Halkyn, Flints): 1877-78
Cottage Hospital, Gwernaffield Road (Mold, Flints): 1877-78
Tai Cochion (Nannerch, Flints): For W.R. Buddicom, 1877-78
St. Michael’s Church (Great Altcar, Lancs): For 4th Earl Of Sefton, 1878-79
Welsh Church Of St. John The Evangelist (Mold, Flints): 1878-79
Llannerch Panna (now Tudor Court) (Penley, Flints): For The Hon. George T. Kenyon, uncompleted, 1878-79
Grosvenor Park Baptist Chapel (Chester, Cheshire): Spirelet Removed, 1879-80

[edit] 1880s

Town Hall (Bootle, Lancs): Competition designs, 1880
St. Oswald’s Vicarage (Chester, Cheshire): 1880
St. Chad’s Church (Hopwas, Staffs): 1881
Exchange Station (Liverpool, Lancs): Competition designs with C.F. Findlay, 1881
Rowden Abbey, (Bromyard, Herefordshire), New house for H.J. Bailey, 1881
Eccleston Hill, (Eccleston, Cheshire): New House, Stables And Cottage For Eaton Estate, 1881-82
Grosvenor Club and North & South Wales Bank, Eastgate St, (Chester, Cheshire): 1881-83; Additions, 1908
St. Mary’s Church (Pulford, Cheshire): Rebuilding, 1881-84
Barrowmore Hall (Barrow Court) (Great Barrow, Cheshire): New house for H. Lyle Smith, now demolished, c.1881
Forest Hey, (Sandiway, Cheshire): Attributed, remodelling of house, stables and cottage, the house was probably designed originally by Douglas, N.D., 1882
Wigfair, (Cefn Meiriadog, Denbighshire): Rebuilding for Rev. R.H. Howard, 1882-84
St. Werburgh’s New Church Warburton (Cheshire): For R.E. Egerton-Warburton, 1882-85
Danefield, (Largs, Ayrshire), New house for W.G. Crum, 1883
Plas-Yn-Balls (now Plas Y Mynydd) (Flint, Flints): Attributed, new house, 1883
Plas Mynach, (Barmouth, Merionethshire): New house for W.H. Jones, 1883
Peers Memorial Fountain And Clocktower, (Ruthin, Denbighshire): 1883
Holywell Workhouse (Flints), Chapel and vagrants’ wards, 1883-84
Cornist Hall (Flints), Remodelling or rebuilding for Richard Muspratt, unfinished, 1884
St. Deiniol’s Church (Hawarden, Flints): Improvements to Whitley Chancel, 1884
Chapel, Carlett Park, (Eastham, Cheshire): For Rev. W.E. Torr, 1884-85
St. Deiniol’s Church, (Criccieth, Caernarvonshire): 1884-87; Closed, 1988
Bronwylfa (St. Asaph, Flints): Reconstruction after a fire for T.B. Watts, c.1884
Jodrell Hall (Now Terra Nova School) (Cheshire), Additions To House, 1885
Abbeystead (Lancs), New Mansion and two lodges for 4th Earl of Sefton, 1885-87
Institute and Baths, (Tamworth, Staffs): For Rev. William Macgregor, c.1885-86; Demolished
Halkyn Castle (Flints): Additions, 1886
Baptist Church, Bridge Lane (Frodsham, Cheshire): 1886-87; Enlarged, 1912-15
Christ Church, (Rossett, Denbighshire): 1886-92
Coetmor, Bryn Goodman, (Ruthin, Denbighshire), New House for Col. Cornwallis West, c.1886
Dedwyddfa, Bryn Goodman, (Ruthin, Denbighshire), Attributed, new house, C.1886
Friars School (Bangor, Caernarvonshire): Winning competition design, 1888; Executed, 1898-1900
Home Farm (Abberley, Worcestershire): New buildings for John Joseph Jones, converted into housing, c.1888
Gloddaeth (now St. David’S College), Caernarvonshire), West wing for Lady Augusta Mostyn, 1889
Hawarden Castle (Flints): Porch for W.E. Gladstone, 1889-90
Grammar School (Ruthin Denbighshire): 1889-92
Church Of St. John The Divine (Barmouth, Merionethshire): 1889-95

[edit] 1890s

Abbotsford, Warrington Rd (Cuddington, Cheshire): New house for Jabez Thompson, 1890
Cottage Hospital now St. John’s Hospital For Rheumatic Diseases (Droitwich, Worcs): For Dyson Perrins, 1891
Abbeystead, (Wyresdale, Lancs), Stables and adjoining cottages for 4th Earl of Sefton, 1891-92
Bolehall Manor (Tamworth, Staffs): Remodelling for Rev. William Macgregor, c.1891
St. James’ Church (Haydock, Lancs): c.1889-92
St. Wenefrede’s Church (Bickley, (Cheshire): For the Marquess of Cholmondeley, 1892
Port Sunlight (Cheshire): Cottages for Lever Bros. Ltd., 1892-99
The Wern (Tremadoc, Caernarvons): Remodelling for R.M. Greaves, 1892
Glangwna (Caernarvons): New house for J.E. Greaves, 1892-93
St. David’s Welsh Church (Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire): 1892-93
Over Wyresdale Church (Lancs), Remodelling for 4th Earl of Sefton, 1892-94
Brocksford Hall (Derbyshire): New house for C.W. Jervis-Smith, 1893
Llety Dryw Hall (Colwyn Bay, (Denbighshire), New house and remodelling of earlier building to form stables; stables now altered, 1893
All Saints Church (Higher Kinnerton, Cheshire): 1893
St. Werburgh’s Street (Chester, (Cheshire): Rebuilding of East side of street, for himself, c.1895-97
Walmoor Hill, Dee Banks (Chester, Cheshire): New house for himself, 1896
Maentwrog Church (Merionethshire): Remodelling, 1896
Christ Church, Bryn-Y-Maen, (Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire): For Mrs. Eleanor Frost, 1896-99
Thornton Manor (Thornton Hough, Cheshire), Additions For W.H. Lever, partly obscured and demolished by later alterations, c.1896
Congregational Church, (Great Crosby, Lancs): 1897-98
Church Of St. John The Evangelist, Weston, (Runcorn, Cheshire): New church and school, and restoration of village cross, 1897-98
All Saints Church (Deganwy,Caernarvons): For Lady Augusta Mostyn, 1897-99
Christ Church (Chester, Cheshire): Rebuilding, 1897-1900
Nurses’ Home, Grosvenor St. (Chester, Cheshire): For 2nd Duke of Westminster, 1898; and additions, 1902
Bryn-Y-Maen Vicarage, (Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire): For Mrs. Eleanor Frost, 1898
Henllys Hall, (Manafon, Montgomeryshire): For Rev. & Mrs. T.J. Williams, 1898
St. Ethelwold’s Church (Shotton, Flints): 1898-1902
St Deiniol's Library (Hawarden, Flints): For Gladstone family, first stage including library and wardens’ rooms, as part of Gladstone National Memorial, 1899-1902; Completion, 1904-06
St. John The Baptist Church (Old Colwyn, Denbighshire): 1899-1903

[edit] 1900s

All Saints Episcopal Church (Lockerbie, Dumfries): 1901-03
St. Matthew’s Church (Buckley, Flints): Remodelling and partial rebuilding, c.1901-04
St. Deiniol’s Church (Hawarden, Flints): Restoration and addition of Gladstone Memorial Chapel and South African War Memorial Cross, c.1901-05; Further minor alterations and additions, 1905-06; Addition of vestries, 1908-09
Rayner Memorial Clock Tower (Llangefni, Anglesey): 1902
Bridgewater Hotel (Worsley, Lancs): For Earl of Ellesmere, 1902
St. David’s Welsh Church, (Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire): 1902-03
Church Of St. John The Evangelist, (Sandiway, Cheshire): Partly at his own expense; tower added to his design after his death, N.D., '1902-03
Prudential Assurance Building, Foregate St./Bath St. (Chester, Cheshire): 1903
Colshaw Hall (Over Peover, Cheshire): 1903
Congregational Church (Hoylake, Cheshire): Fleche since removed, 1905-06;
Longden Manor (Salop): Alterations and additions, and new stables for William Swire, now demolished 1905-07
The Homestead (now Red Walls Childrens Home) (Sandiway, Cheshire): Attributed, house and stables for B.J. Sanby , 1906-07
All Saints Episcopal Church, (St. Andrews, Fife): Chancel and belltower, 1906-07; Nave added by Paul Waterhouse, 1923
Shotwick Park (Great Saughall, Cheshire): Rebuilding after fire and enlargement, for Thorneycroft Vernon, 1907
St. Matthew’s Church (Saltney Ferry, Flints): Possibly to a Douglas & Minshull design of 1905, 1910-11

[edit] Undated

Abberley Hall (Worcs): Attributed, estate buildings including the Corner House, North Lodge, and a pair of cottages, for John Joseph Jones And William Jones, N.D.
Appleton Hall (Cheshire): Remodelling for Thomas Henry Lyon, now demolished, perhaps c.1860
The Hollins, Darcy Lever (Bolton, Lancs): For The Fletcher Family, N.D.
Glossop Hall, (Derbyshire): Additions, N.D.