Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton FRIBAThe Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects in the United Kingdom.Originally named the Institute of British Architects in London, it was formed in 1834 by several prominent architects, including Philip Hardwick, Thomas Allom, William Donthorne, Thomas Leverton...
(1874 – 18 February 1960), known as
Maxwell Ayrton, was a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
. He spent most of his adult life working in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and designed houses, public buildings, and bridges.
Ayrton began his career in 1890 as an articled apprentice to Harry Beswick of
ChesterChester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, remaining with him until 1897. He then moved to London, where from 1897 to 1899 he was an assistant first to Richard Creed, then to William Alfred Pite, and finally to Edwin Landseer Lutyens.
Ormrod Maxwell Ayrton FRIBAThe Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects in the United Kingdom.Originally named the Institute of British Architects in London, it was formed in 1834 by several prominent architects, including Philip Hardwick, Thomas Allom, William Donthorne, Thomas Leverton...
(1874 – 18 February 1960), known as
Maxwell Ayrton, was a
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
architectAn architect is trained and licensed in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e. chief builder...
. He spent most of his adult life working in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
and designed houses, public buildings, and bridges.
Career
Ayrton began his career in 1890 as an articled apprentice to Harry Beswick of
ChesterChester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
, remaining with him until 1897. He then moved to London, where from 1897 to 1899 he was an assistant first to Richard Creed, then to William Alfred Pite, and finally to Edwin Landseer Lutyens. During these years he studied at the South Kensington Schools of the
Royal College of ArtThe Royal College of Art is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD...
. He passed the
Royal Institute of British ArchitectsThe Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects in the United Kingdom.Originally named the Institute of British Architects in London, it was formed in 1834 by several prominent architects, including Philip Hardwick, Thomas Allom, William Donthorne, Thomas Leverton...
qualifying examination and was admitted an Associate on 30 November 1903, having been proposed by Pite, John William Simpson and Lacy William Ridge.
Ayrton was in practice on his own from 1899, and in 1903 was at 14, Belsize Park Gardens, London. One of his early buildings was a house called Hall Ingle, at Heath End,
CheckendonCheckendon is a village and civil parish about west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, England.-Parish church:The Church of England parish church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a 12th century Norman building. There is an early 13th century wall painting of Christ in Majesty above a...
(1902), "...by Mr. O. Maxwell Ayrton, for, and decorated by,
Arthur HackerArthur Hacker was an English classicist painter.Born in London in 1858, Hacker was the son of Edward Hacker, a line engraver specialising in animal and sporting prints...
, Esq.,
ARAThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London, England. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment...
". Hacker painted Ayrton's wife and exhibited the portrait at the
Royal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London, England. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment...
in 1902.
In 1905, Ayrton joined John William Simpson's practice, and from then on he carried out most of the firm's design work. He became a partner in the firm in 1910 and was elected a
FellowA fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes...
of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1920, having been proposed by his old master Lutyens and by
Sir Aston WebbSir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century...
, who at the time was President of the
Royal AcademyThe Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London, England. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment...
.
Simpson's practice included much work for schools, and Ayrton was the architect of a new
chapelA chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large church, a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds...
for
Gresham's SchoolGresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school at Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
,
HoltHolt is a market town and parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is north of the city of Norwich, west of Cromer and east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road. The nearest railway station is in the town of Sheringham where access to the...
, constructed in knapped
flintFlint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in color, and...
and
limestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the mineral calcite . The deposition of limestone strata is often a by-product and indicator of biological activity in the geologic record...
(
flushworkIn architecture, flushwork is the decorative combination on the same flat plane of flint and ashlar stone. It is characteristic of the external walls of medieval buildings, most of the survivors being churches, in parts of Southern England, but especially East Anglia...
), with two angle turrets and an
embattledA battlement in defensive architecture such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet , in which portions have been cut out at intervals to allow the discharge of arrows or other missiles. These cut-out portions form crenels...
parapetA parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
, between 1912 and 1916, which is now a
listed building.
Ayrton's most notable public building from his years with Simpson was the old Wembley Stadium, a simple structure in
reinforced concreteReinforced concrete is concrete in which steel reinforcement bars , plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be brittle.-History:...
which they designed together, built between 1921 and 1923 for the
British Empire ExhibitionThe British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925.It was opened by King George V on St George’s Day, 23 April. The British Empire contained 58 countries at that time, and only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part...
at
WembleyWembley is an area of north-west London, UK, and part of the London Borough of Brent.-Location:Wembley is bounded on the south and east by the River Brent and the A406 North Circular Road, separating it from Neasden, Willesden and Park Royal. To its west and northwest are Sudbury and Harrow...
of 1923 to 1925. It had echoes of the
Olympic stadiumWhite City Stadium was built in White City, London, for the 1908 Summer Olympics, often seen as the precursor to the modern seater stadium and noted for hosting the first modern distance marathon.-History:...
of 1908 at
White CityWhite City is a place in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to the north of Shepherd's Bush. Today, White City is home to the BBC Television Centre and BBC White City, and Loftus Road stadium, the home of football club Queens Park Rangers FC....
. Simpson received a knighthood for their Exhibition work, while as a result of it Ayrton came into an association with the project's civil engineer, Owen Williams, and this led to their working together on the design of Williams's bridges in Scotland.
In 1928 Ayrton's partnership with Simpson was dissolved. Although by then over seventy, Simpson continued his practice, taking into partnership Frank W. Knight and Henley Cornford, while Ayrton returned to private practice.
Ayrton's
National Institute for Medical ResearchThe National Institute For Medical Research, commonly abbreviated to NIMR, is a large medical research facility situated in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of London, England. It is mainly funded by the Medical Research Council, or MRC, and is its largest establishment and the only one designated as an...
at
Mill HillMill Hill is a place in the London Borough of Barnet It is a suburb situated 9 miles north west of Charing Cross, in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Middlesex...
, London, is an imposing copper-roofed building. Although construction began in 1937, it was delayed by the Second World War, and the
opening ceremonyAn opening ceremony is the official opening of a building or event. The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are huge events involving thousands of participants and watched by a massive worldwide audience. On a much smaller scale, some ceremonies mark the opening of a...
in the presence of
King George VIGeorge VI was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and
Queen ElizabethElizabeth Bowes-Lyon was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 1936 until 1952 as the wife of King George VI. After her husband's death, she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
did not take place until 5 May 1950.
Ayrton was still in practice when he died in 1960 at the age of eighty-five. The
Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects reported that "Mr R. Courtenay Theobald, following the death of his partner Mr Maxwell Ayrton in February 1960, will practise under his own name from 9 Church Row, Hampstead, London NW3 and 21A Heath Street, NW3."
Major works
- Chapel of Gresham's School
Gresham’s School is an independent coeducational boarding school at Holt in North Norfolk, England, a member of the HMC.The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a free grammar school for forty boys, following King Henry VIII's dissolution of the Augustinian priory at Beeston Regis...
(1912–1916)
- New Western Australian Offices, London (1915, with John William Simpson
Sir John William Simpson FRIBA was an English architect and was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1919 to 1921.- Background and early life :...
)
- Beach House, Worthing
Beach House in Worthing, England is a Regency beach-side villa, built in 1820 to designs by John Rebecca. It was originally known as Marino Mansion.-History:...
(refurbishment, 1918)
- Wembley Stadium, Palace of Industry, and Palace of Engineering (1921–1923, all now demolished) for the British Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925.It was opened by King George V on St George’s Day, 23 April. The British Empire contained 58 countries at that time, and only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part...
, WembleyWembley is an area of north-west London, UK, and part of the London Borough of Brent.-Location:Wembley is bounded on the south and east by the River Brent and the A406 North Circular Road, separating it from Neasden, Willesden and Park Royal. To its west and northwest are Sudbury and Harrow...
(1924–1925) (with John William Simpson)
- Twickenham Bridge
Twickenham Bridge crosses the River Thames in southwest London, England. Built in 1933 as part of the newly-constructed "Chertsey Arterial Road", the bridge connects the Old Deer Park district of Richmond on the south bank of the river to St. Margarets on the north bank, both within the London...
(1933)
- National Institute for Medical Research
The National Institute For Medical Research, commonly abbreviated to NIMR, is a large medical research facility situated in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of London, England. It is mainly funded by the Medical Research Council, or MRC, and is its largest establishment and the only one designated as an...
(1937)
Publications
- Some Modern Weather Vanes (1903)
- Wrought Iron and its Decorative Use (London: Country Life, 1929, with Arnold Silcock)
External links