Alick Horsnell
Encyclopedia
Alick Horsnell was an architect
, draughtsmen and artist working in London
during the early years of the 20th Century.
Whilst working in Chelmsford he won a travelling studentship from the Architectural Association. He visited France and Italy and the sketches from these visits were well regarded. Many of them were displayed at the RIBA in the summer of 1915 and published in the Building News and Engineering Journal in 1915 and 1916. He won both the Royal Institute of British Architects
(RIBA) Tite Prize in 1906 (for Italianate Designs) and the Soane Medallion in 1910. The Soane medallion was awarded by the RIBA for his 1910 design of a Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Moving to London he worked at 2 South Square, Gray's Inn
alongside Charles Gascoyne, George Nott, and Robert Atkinson
. During these pre-war years, he worked as an assistant to Ernest Newton
and produced perspectives for notable houses in Cheltenham
(Greenway, Shurdington) and Lingfield (Ardenrun Place). One of his last great perspectives was the pencil and watercolour of County Hall, London
. This perspective bought to life the designs of Ralph Knott
who had won the competition for the new headquarters of the London County Council. His artistic skills were also seen in collections of etchings, engravings and watercolours. A member of the Royal Society of Painter Etchers, two of his etchings, Rue de Barres, Paris and The Green, Bosham were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1910 http://www.archive.org/details/exhibitionofroy142londuoft and one of his watercolours, The Borghese Gardens, was exhibited in 1911. http://www.archive.org/stream/exhibitionofroy143londuoft/exhibitionofroy143londuoft_djvu.txt.
He commenced private practice in April 1914. He was second in the competition to design the Board of Trade
Building in Whitehall, a brief won by E. Vincent Harris. His drawings were selected for the scheme to build a town hall for Middleton near Manchester but this scheme was postponed due to the outbreak of war.
At the outbreak of war he served with the 28th London Regiment before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 7th Suffolk Regiment
. He died in on 1st of July 1916 on the first day of the battle of the Somme; his name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial.http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=793474
Writing in the Essex County Chronicle and Essex Weekly News on the 4th of August 1916 Arthur Bartlett FRCA said he was
In 1922, collections of his work were given to a number of museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum
, the British Museum and the RIBA British Architectural Library Drawings and Archives Collection by his sister.
Works in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Works in the British Museum
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, draughtsmen and artist working in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during the early years of the 20th Century.
Life
Alick Horsnell trained as an architect in the office of Frederick Chancellor FRIBA in Chelmsford. In 1899 he designed a house for Charles Baskett, then assistant master at Chelmsford School of Art, in Maldon Road, Colchester. It is distinctive design in the manner of Voysey, with white walls, green slate roof, and a canopy over the front door on curly iron brackets, and is one of Horsnell's few surviving buildingsWhilst working in Chelmsford he won a travelling studentship from the Architectural Association. He visited France and Italy and the sketches from these visits were well regarded. Many of them were displayed at the RIBA in the summer of 1915 and published in the Building News and Engineering Journal in 1915 and 1916. He won both the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
(RIBA) Tite Prize in 1906 (for Italianate Designs) and the Soane Medallion in 1910. The Soane medallion was awarded by the RIBA for his 1910 design of a Shakespeare Memorial Theatre.
Moving to London he worked at 2 South Square, Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
alongside Charles Gascoyne, George Nott, and Robert Atkinson
Robert Atkinson (architect)
Robert Atkinson, OBE was an English architect primarily working in the Art Deco style.Atkinson was born in Wigton, Cumberland and studied at University College, Nottingham before studying abroad in Paris, Italy and America. He was a talented draughtsman and worked for C.E. Mallows from 1905...
. During these pre-war years, he worked as an assistant to Ernest Newton
Ernest Newton
Ernest Newton, FRIBA, ARA was an English architect and President of Royal Institute of British Architects.-Life:Newton was the son of an estate manager of Bickley, Kent. He was educated at Uppingham School. He married, in 1881, Antoinette Johanna Hoyack, of Rotterdam, and had three sons...
and produced perspectives for notable houses in Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
(Greenway, Shurdington) and Lingfield (Ardenrun Place). One of his last great perspectives was the pencil and watercolour of County Hall, London
County Hall, London
County Hall is a building in Lambeth, London, which was the headquarters of London County Council and later the Greater London Council . The building is on the bank of the River Thames, just north of Westminster Bridge, facing west toward the City of Westminster, and close to the Palace of...
. This perspective bought to life the designs of Ralph Knott
Ralph Knott
Ralph Knott FRIBA was a British architect responsible for building the massive 6-storey "Edwardian Baroque" style County Hall building for the London County Council....
who had won the competition for the new headquarters of the London County Council. His artistic skills were also seen in collections of etchings, engravings and watercolours. A member of the Royal Society of Painter Etchers, two of his etchings, Rue de Barres, Paris and The Green, Bosham were exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1910 http://www.archive.org/details/exhibitionofroy142londuoft and one of his watercolours, The Borghese Gardens, was exhibited in 1911. http://www.archive.org/stream/exhibitionofroy143londuoft/exhibitionofroy143londuoft_djvu.txt.
He commenced private practice in April 1914. He was second in the competition to design the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
Building in Whitehall, a brief won by E. Vincent Harris. His drawings were selected for the scheme to build a town hall for Middleton near Manchester but this scheme was postponed due to the outbreak of war.
At the outbreak of war he served with the 28th London Regiment before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 7th Suffolk Regiment
Suffolk Regiment
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment as the 1st East Anglian Regiment in 1959...
. He died in on 1st of July 1916 on the first day of the battle of the Somme; his name is recorded on the Thiepval Memorial.http://www.cwgc.org/search/casualty_details.aspx?casualty=793474
Writing in the Essex County Chronicle and Essex Weekly News on the 4th of August 1916 Arthur Bartlett FRCA said he was
undoubtedly well ahead of any of his contemporaries in the architectural profession, both in his mastery of design and his powers of execution.He was the happy bearer of the spark of genius which lighted his path and allowed him to step out confidently ahead of his fellows. His unerring instinct in matters of taste enabled him to design in the manner of tomorrow rather than follow on the lines of yesterday, while his gift of brilliant draughtsmanship gave him the power of presenting his ideas in the most attractive form. Had he lived till the end of the war to take up his work where he left it, there seems little doubt but that he would have won his way to a foremost place among the architects of the day.
In 1922, collections of his work were given to a number of museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, the British Museum and the RIBA British Architectural Library Drawings and Archives Collection by his sister.
External Links
Works in the archives of the RIBAWorks in the Victoria and Albert Museum
Works in the British Museum