| Francis Rattenbury | |
|---|---|
Francis Mawson Rattenbury 1924 |
|
| Born | 1867 Leeds England |
| Died | 1935 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Work | |
| Buildings | British Columbia Parliament Buildings |
Francis Mawson Rattenbury (1867–1935) was an architect born in England, although most of his career was spent in British Columbia, Canada where he designed many notable buildings. Divorced amid scandal, he was murdered in England at the age of 68 by his second wife's lover.
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Rattenbury was born in 1867 in Leeds, England. He began his architectural career with an apprenticeship in 1884 to the "Lockwood and Mawson Company" in England, where he worked until he left for Canada. In 1891, he arrived in Vancouver, in the new Canadian province of British Columbia.
The province, anxious to show its growing economic, social and political status, was engaged in an architectural competition to build a new legislative building in Victoria. The new immigrant entered, signing his drawings with the pseudonym "A B.C. Architect," and won the competition. Despite many problems, including going over-budget by $400,000, the British Columbia Parliament Buildings were officially opened in 1898. [1] The grand scale of its 500-foot (150 m)-long facade, central dome and two end pavilions, the richness of its white marble, and its use of the currently-popular Romanesque style contributed to its being seen as an impressive monument for the new province. Rattenbury's success in the competition garnered him many commissions in Victoria and other parts of the province, including additions to the Legislative Buildings in 1913–1915. In 1900 he was commissioned to design the 18 bedroom, three story Burns Manor in Calgary for his close friend Pat Burns.
He designed Paardeburg Gate (1901), a memorial to South African soldiers opposite the Legislative Buildings, 1901. [2]
Rattenbury also worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway as their Western Division Architect. His most well-known work for the CPR was The Empress (hotel), a Chateau-style hotel built in 1904–1908 in Victoria, with two wings added in 1909–1914. The architect, however, fell out with the CPR and went to work for their competition, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. He designed many hotels and stations for the GTP, but they were never completed due to the death of the president, Charles Melville Hays, in the sinking of the RMS Titanic and the company's subsequent bankruptcy. The CPR allowed him to return, however, and he built the second CPR Steamship Terminal in Victoria in 1923–1924 in association with another architect, Percy James. Rattenbury and James also collaborated in the design of the Crystal Garden at the same time, although they later had a public conflict over Rattenbury's refusal to give James credit and payment for his work on the Garden.
Just as quickly as he became popular, Rattenbury and his architecture was out of favour. Perhaps a symptom of his waning popularity, he lost the competition to build the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, built 1908–1912 in Regina, to E. and W.S. Maxwell, two Montreal architects trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In contrast to the Maxwells, Rattenbury had no formal training in architecture and, with the increasing professionalism of the field, was soon outpaced by better-trained and better-educated architects.
Soon after winning the competition for the Legislative Buildings in Victoria, Rattenbury was involved in a series of financial ventures. Most notably, he planned to supply meat and cattle to prospectors during the Klondike Gold Rush and he ordered three steam trains to serve the Yukon Territory. These investments eventually became profitable. After World War I, however, his luck turned sour with the failure of some financial speculations, eventually leading to conflicts with his business partners.
His personal life also began to show strains at this time. In 1923, he left his wife Florence Nunn, whom he had married in 1898, and his children Frank and Mary for 27-year-old Alma Pakenham. His maltreatment of Florence, including having the heat and lights turned off in their home after he moved out, and his public flaunting of his affair led his former clients and associates to shun him, forcing him to leave Victoria. He married Alma in 1925 after Florence agreed to his request for divorce. He returned to Victoria in 1927 with Alma, and they had a son before deciding to move to Bournemouth, England in 1929, the same year that Florence died.
In England, his financial problems continued, causing his relationship with Alma to disintegrate. She began an affair with George Percy Stoner, her 18 year old chauffeur. Stoner had been recruited by Rattenbury through an advert in the Bournemouth Echo, and had been living at 104 Redhill Drive before moving into Rattenbury's home at 5 Manor Road, Bournemouth. In 1935, Rattenbury was murdered in his sitting room by blows to the head with a carpenter's mallet. His wife confessed, but Stoner admitted to the housekeeper that it was actually he who had carried out the deed.
She and Stoner were charged, although Alma Rattenbury later retracted her confession. Stoner was convicted and sentenced to death, although it was later commuted to a life sentence following protests by members of the public who felt that the young man had been manipulated into committing murder by the older woman. Stoner served seven years, being released early in order to join the Army in the Second World War. Mrs Rattenbury was acquitted of murder and being an accessory after the fact. She committed suicide a few days later on a riverbank in Christchurch, Dorset.[3] Stoner died, after "a quiet life", at the age of 83 in 2000, at Christchurch Hospital.[4]
The case report is studied by law students throughout the world where common law applies.
Despite Francis Rattenbury's outstanding career as an architect, he was buried in an unmarked grave, in a cemetery close to his home in Bournemouth. In 2007, 72 years later, a headstone was erected as a lasting memorial, paid for by a family friend.
In 1937, playwright and actor Emlyn Williams suggested to producer Alexander Korda the idea of making a film about "the Rattenbury murder case" with actors Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. Williams then joined Oberon in the cast of Korda's film I, Claudius instead. [5]
The case was the basis of the radio and stage play Cause Célèbre by Sir Terence Rattigan. A television play based on the case, "Killer In Close-Up: The Rattenbury Case", written by George F. Kerr, was produced by Melbourne television station ABV-2, airing on June 18, 1958.
| Building | Year Completed | Builder | Style | Location | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Columbia Parliament Buildings home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. | 1891–1898, additions 1913-1915 | Francis Rattenbury | Victoria, British Columbia | ||
| Empress Hotel | (1904–1908, additions in 1909 and 1914) | Francis Rattenbury | Victoria, British Columbia | ||
| Canadian Pacific Railway Steamship Terminal, Victoria formerly the Royal London Wax Museum | (1904–1908, additions in 1909 and 1914) | Francis Rattenbury | Victoria's Inner Harbour; Victoria, British Columbia | ||
| Burns Manor | 1903 | Francis Rattenbury | Calgary, Alberta | ||
| Vancouver Art Gallery formerly Court House | (1905–1913, remodelled in 1983) | Francis Rattenbury | Vancouver, British Columbia | ||
| Chateau Lake Louise | additions (1900–1912, burned down in 1924) | Francis Rattenbury | Lake Louise, Banff, Alberta |
