William Henry Knowles RIBA, FSA, FSAScot (14th May 1857 – 18th January 1943) was an architect, antiquarian and archaeologist. He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne[1], Northumberland and died in Malvern, Worcestershire. He designed many buildings in Newcastle upon Tyne and directed several archaeological excavations, most notably the excavations at Corstopium (Corbridge).
Architectural Practice
editKnowles was articled to the architect William Lister Newcombe of Newcastle from 1872 to 1876 and after he completed his training he practised in Newcastle for 38 years[1]. The history of Knowles’s architectural work is complicated as he worked both on his own and in partnership with other architects. After leaving Newcombe he became an assistant to M G Cornell and Joseph Hall Morton before re-joining Newcombe as an assistant. He then had an independent practice in Gateshead in 1884; and then became a partner with Newcombe from 1885 to 1886. He formed a partnership with John Lamb and Charles F Armstrong from 1889 to 1893. The firm continued as Armstrong and Knowles from 1894 to 1889. In 1914 he was joined by N E Leeson and George Dale Oliver, to form Knowles, Oliver and Leeson[2]. He became a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1891[1].
His most important work was his appointment in 1903 to complete Armstrong College Newcastle, after the death of the original architect R J Johnson. Armstrong College later became King's College, part of Durham University, and later Newcastle University. Pevsner[3] says, “The front [of the college] was added in 1904 by W H Knowles in the typical Tudor-cum-Baroque of that moment”. Knowles with his partners also designed buildings in the neo-Tudor style for the college - Fine Arts in 1911 and Agriculture in 1913 both by W H Knowles, and Architecture in1922 by Knowles, Oliver and Leeson[3].
He designed the plinth and laid out the sited on which the statue of Lord Armstrong stands in front of the Hancock Museum in Newcastle.
The shipping magnate and property developer William Milburn commissioned Armstrong and Knowles to design Guyzance, a Tudor-style mansion near Acklington, Northumberland[2].
Other notable buildings include[2]:
- The Mawson, Swan and Morgan building in Grey Street designed by W.H. Knowles and T.R. Milburn in 1904, now (2024) a Waterstones’ bookshop.
- Mosley Chambers at 28 and 30 Moseley Street, Newcastle by Armstrong and Knowles built as offices and shops in the Baroque style and 8 Mosley Street in the Arts and Crafts style. Knowles briefly occupied an office in this building
- The shop front for Fenwick’s department store expansion in 1885, later destroyed by further expansion.
- Welbeck Road School (1905-6) in Walker, Newcastle.
- The School Board Offices in Northumberland Road, Newcastle built in 1900.
Archaeological Interests
editKnowles was a keen antiquarian and archaeologist who wrote many papers for local and national journals, served on many committees and supervised excavations.
Knowles was elected a member of The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne on 29th of October 1884 and became a member of the council in 1891 and vice president in January 1913[1]. At his suggestion the upper room in the Black Gate of Newcastle castle was used as the Society’s library and he provided the cases and furniture at his own expense. At the time of his death he was called the “father‟ of the society[2].
He was also a member of the Architectural and Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland[1]. As a member of the History of Northumberland committee from 1900 he contributed plans and drawings of buildings to many of the volumes it published.
He was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1899[4] and served as a member of the council of the society for 1915 -1916. He was elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1906. He was also a member of the Royal Archaeological Institute.[5]
After his retirement and move to Gloucestershire, he became a member of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, the vice chairman of its council in 1928 and its president in 1930[5]. He was also the chairman of the Gloucester Roman Research Committee which he founded, as well as a member of the bishop of Worcester’s Advisory Committee for the care of churches, and the chairman of the Cheltenham Civic Society. He also served as a member of the executive of the Worcestershire branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, a member of the councils of the Friends of Gloucester cathedral and of the friends Tewkesbury Abbey[4].
He published many papers on buildings, especially ecclesiastical architecture and on archaeology.
Excavations
editW G Knowles supervised may archaeological excavations including:
The excavations at Corbridge, the Roman town of Corstopium between1907 and 1914, with R H Forster
The barbican of Alnwick Castle 1902
The castle at Newcastle
Tynemouth Priory church
The old church at Sockburn
Castle Rushen, Isle of Man
After he retired and left Newcastle he continued archaeological work. In 1922 he excavated the Roman Baths in Bath for the Chief inspector of Ancient Monuments. The results were published in Archaeologia in 1924[5]. He also excavated the Saxon priory church at Deerhurst in Gloucestershire[5]. He supervised excavations of sites in Gloucester for the Gloucester Roman Research Committee which were published in the Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society[4].
Personal Life
editKnowles married Jessie Benson, daughter of Councillor John Benson of Newcastle[1], in 1890. After Knowles retired in 1922 he left Newcastle, first moving to Cheltenham in Gloucestershire and then to Malvern in Worcestershire[4]. Knowles was a freemason and served as the master of the Northumberland Lodge and as the Provincial Grand Warden in 1913[1].
Knowles served as an officer in the 1st Northumbrian Volunteer Artillery and during the First World War he was an officer in the 1st Northumberland Brigade of the Royal Artillery from 1915 until 1916[1].
Selected publications
editForster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'The Corbridge excavations 1907', Archaeological Journal, vol.65, 1908-9, pp53-61.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'The Corbridge excavations 1908', Archaeological Journal, vol.65, 1908-9, pp121-3.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1908', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.5, 1909, pp305-424.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1909', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.6, 1910, pp205-72.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1910', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.7, 1911, pp143-267.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1911', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.8, 1912, pp137-263.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1912', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.10, 1913, pp230-80.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1913', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.11, 1914, pp279-310.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. 'Corstopitum. Report on the excavations in 1914', Archaeologia Aeliana, series 3, vol.12, 1915, pp227-86.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. (1909) The Romano-British Site of Corstopitum. An Account of the Excavations During 1907-8. Newcastle: Andrew Reid & Co.
Forster, R. H. and Knowles, W.H. (1910) The Romano-British Site of Corstopitum. An Account of the Excavations During 1909. Newcastle: Andrew Reid & Co.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Hunter Blair, C H (1943). "William Henry Knowles". Archaeologia Aeliana. 21: 248–253 – via ADS.
- ^ a b c d Johnson, Michael Andrew (2009). "Architectural Taste and Patronage". Northumbria Research Link. Retrieved 27/10/2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Pevsner, Niklaus (1957). The buildings of England Northumberland (1st ed.). London: Penguin books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ a b c d Anon (1942). "W H Knowles Obituary". Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. 63: 271–274.
- ^ a b c d The Archaeological Journal (1942). "Obituary: William Henry Knowles" (PDF). The Archaeological Journal. 99: 127–128 – via ADS.