William Henry Crossland (Huddersfield, England, 1835[1] – 14 November 1908, London, (stroke)[1][2]) was a nineteenth century architect and a pupil of George Gilbert Scott.
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Crossland's three most important commissions were:
The Holloway Sanatorium and Royal Holloway College were inspired by the Cloth Hall of Ypres in Belgium and the Château de Chambord in the Loire Valley, France, respectively and are considered by some to be among the most remarkable buildings in the south of England.
The work by Elliott[2] contains a full list based on work by Edward Law of Kilkenny, Ireland which are deposited at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in London. Amongst them are a large number of buildings in West Yorkshire including Huddersfield (Concert Hall, 1873, Longley Hall, 1871-5, Kirkgate Buildings, 1878–85) and Leeds, (Mechanics Institute, 1860). Crossland disappeared from RIBA records in 1894-5. He is not buried in Highgate cemetery at his specific request. His estate was worth just £29/2s/9d (£29.14p).
Crossland married Lavinia Cardwell (died 1879) in 1859.[2] They had one daughter, Maud, born 1860, and he also had an illegitimate son with an actress Eliza Ruth Hatt (died 1892) with whom he lived in a bungalow on the Royal Holloway site, producing two further sons. There is a memorial in Highgate Cemetery to his wife, mistress, daughter and eldest son.[2]
Rochdale Town Hall is still in use for its original function, as is the Founder's Building which is the main building of a major college of the University of London. The Sanatorium is preserved and restored, and is in use as luxury apartments.
The bar in the Founder's Building is named 'Crosslands' in his honour (this is the only bar on campus not owned by the students union) and is frequented by students, particularly in the summer months, who visit the bar and continue the old tradition of drinking Pimms in one of the quadrangles of the founders building.