Edgar Wood (1860-1935)
Who was Edgar Wood?
By Steve Harrison, Edgar Wood Heritage Group member
Edgar Wood was born in Middleton, near Rochdale, on 17 May 1860, the sixth of eight children, of whom only three survived to adulthood. His father, Thomas, was a Unitarian, politically Liberal and successful cotton mill owner. His mother, Mary (nee Sykes), came from Lindley in Huddersfield and was a member of the family that owned the textile card manufacturing business at Acre Mills there; the Sykes family were subsequently to become important clients for Edgar. The young Edgar attended the local Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and would have liked to become an artist, whereas his father would have liked him to enter the family business. The compromise was architecture.
Wood undertook his architectural training with Mills and Murgatroyd, a prominent Manchester practice whose buildings included London Road railway station and the redesigned Royal Exchange. By his own account, however, he resented the more routine aspects of his work such as tracing plans and checking quantities. By 1885, Wood had successfully completed the RIBA's examinations and established his own practice, initially in Middleton. He designed not just buildings but also supervised aspects of design such as metalwork, stained glass, sculpture and furnishings, engaging the services of local craftsmen who could help him to achieve a high level of skilful workmanship in his projects. Wood thereby incorporated the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement - preserving and emphasising the quality of materials and an essential unity of art, architecture and design. Early examples of this approach include Redcroft, his own house in Middleton (1885). By 1892, Wood's practice was evidently flourishing and he moved to new premises in Cross Street in central Manchester. He saw his own appearance as a form of advertisement for the practice, habitually dressing in flamboyant fashion with cloak lined in red silk, broad-brimmed hat, and silver-topped cane. Wood subsequently became a leading member of the Northern Art Workers Guild, established in the 1890s. In 1892 he had married Annie Marie Jelly, daughter of the headmaster of Middleton Grammar School; the couple had no children and had separated before 1909.
Many of Wood's commissions were for houses, especially in Middleton, Rochdale, Oldham, Bramhall, Hale and (as a result of the Sykes family connection) Huddersfield, but he also designed small-scale commercial premises, schools, small churches, and a few larger buildings, most notably Long Street Methodist Church in Middleton (1899) and the First Church of Christ Scientist in Daisy Bank, Manchester (1903), as well as Lindley Clock Tower, Huddersfield (1902). He generally worked with only a single assistant, thereby enabling him to retain personal control of projects. His designs place windows and doors where required functionally, rather than seeking to create symmetrical elevations, and often aim to maximise sunlight in living spaces (Huddersfield's Briarcourt is an excellent example). A close friend from childhood and for much of Wood's life was the painter FW Jackson (1859-1918), also from Middleton. Jackson was a founder member of the Staithes Group of artists and painted Wood's portrait on a number of occasions as well as providing painted friezes for several of Wood's buildings, most notably Briarcourt (1895) and Birkby Lodge (extended 1900), both in Huddersfield.
Around 1903, Wood formed a working partnership with the architect and furniture designer James Henry Sellers (1859-1918). Amid the influence of many new strands of architectural thought, Wood's style developed rapidly towards Modernism, most obviously manifested in the pioneering use of flat ferro-concrete roofs, beginning in 1906 with 36 Mellalieu Street, Middleton. Around the same time, Wood submitted several plans for suburban Manchester; though these were not accepted, it is clear that his radial designs influenced subsequent housing estates in the city.
Wood's father died in 1909, freeing Edgar from the need to accept large architectural commissions and allowing him to devote time to painting. He seems to have travelled extensively (leaving much of the architectural work to Sellers) before retiring and, in 1922, settling in Italy, where he designed and built himself a house and garden at Porto Maurizio, Liguria, living there until his death on 12 October 1935. He is buried not far away.
By Steve Harrison, Edgar Wood Heritage Group member
Edgar Wood was born in Middleton, near Rochdale, on 17 May 1860, the sixth of eight children, of whom only three survived to adulthood. His father, Thomas, was a Unitarian, politically Liberal and successful cotton mill owner. His mother, Mary (nee Sykes), came from Lindley in Huddersfield and was a member of the family that owned the textile card manufacturing business at Acre Mills there; the Sykes family were subsequently to become important clients for Edgar. The young Edgar attended the local Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and would have liked to become an artist, whereas his father would have liked him to enter the family business. The compromise was architecture.
Wood undertook his architectural training with Mills and Murgatroyd, a prominent Manchester practice whose buildings included London Road railway station and the redesigned Royal Exchange. By his own account, however, he resented the more routine aspects of his work such as tracing plans and checking quantities. By 1885, Wood had successfully completed the RIBA's examinations and established his own practice, initially in Middleton. He designed not just buildings but also supervised aspects of design such as metalwork, stained glass, sculpture and furnishings, engaging the services of local craftsmen who could help him to achieve a high level of skilful workmanship in his projects. Wood thereby incorporated the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement - preserving and emphasising the quality of materials and an essential unity of art, architecture and design. Early examples of this approach include Redcroft, his own house in Middleton (1885). By 1892, Wood's practice was evidently flourishing and he moved to new premises in Cross Street in central Manchester. He saw his own appearance as a form of advertisement for the practice, habitually dressing in flamboyant fashion with cloak lined in red silk, broad-brimmed hat, and silver-topped cane. Wood subsequently became a leading member of the Northern Art Workers Guild, established in the 1890s. In 1892 he had married Annie Marie Jelly, daughter of the headmaster of Middleton Grammar School; the couple had no children and had separated before 1909.
Many of Wood's commissions were for houses, especially in Middleton, Rochdale, Oldham, Bramhall, Hale and (as a result of the Sykes family connection) Huddersfield, but he also designed small-scale commercial premises, schools, small churches, and a few larger buildings, most notably Long Street Methodist Church in Middleton (1899) and the First Church of Christ Scientist in Daisy Bank, Manchester (1903), as well as Lindley Clock Tower, Huddersfield (1902). He generally worked with only a single assistant, thereby enabling him to retain personal control of projects. His designs place windows and doors where required functionally, rather than seeking to create symmetrical elevations, and often aim to maximise sunlight in living spaces (Huddersfield's Briarcourt is an excellent example). A close friend from childhood and for much of Wood's life was the painter FW Jackson (1859-1918), also from Middleton. Jackson was a founder member of the Staithes Group of artists and painted Wood's portrait on a number of occasions as well as providing painted friezes for several of Wood's buildings, most notably Briarcourt (1895) and Birkby Lodge (extended 1900), both in Huddersfield.
Around 1903, Wood formed a working partnership with the architect and furniture designer James Henry Sellers (1859-1918). Amid the influence of many new strands of architectural thought, Wood's style developed rapidly towards Modernism, most obviously manifested in the pioneering use of flat ferro-concrete roofs, beginning in 1906 with 36 Mellalieu Street, Middleton. Around the same time, Wood submitted several plans for suburban Manchester; though these were not accepted, it is clear that his radial designs influenced subsequent housing estates in the city.
Wood's father died in 1909, freeing Edgar from the need to accept large architectural commissions and allowing him to devote time to painting. He seems to have travelled extensively (leaving much of the architectural work to Sellers) before retiring and, in 1922, settling in Italy, where he designed and built himself a house and garden at Porto Maurizio, Liguria, living there until his death on 12 October 1935. He is buried not far away.
Wood's house in Porto Mauritzio
