John Shewell Corder

John Shewell Corder (1856 in Westoe, South Tyneside – 19 July 1922 in Ipswich)^[1] was an English architect, artist and antiquarian.

Early life

Corder came from a well-connected Quaker family with links in East Anglia, North England and Berkshire. He was the son of Frederick Corder and Jane Ransome, daughter of James Ransome.^[2] Along with other siblings the family moved to Ipswich in 1860.^[3] He was given the name of Shewell from Fredrick's mother, Mary Shewell.^[4]

Architectural career

During the period 1872-7, Corder was articled to his step-uncle, the architect Joseph Morris based in Reading.^[4] Frederic Corder had married Maria Morris, Joseph's sister, both of whom were children of Thomas Morris and Ann Talwin Shewell.^[4]

Corder worked on the exposed timbers and plaster work of the Black Boy using a Tudor style

Corder has been credited with over 100 commissions. These include:^[3]

• Boscombe House, 65 Anglesea Road, Ipswich, (Grade II listed building)
• Hacheston Lodge, The Street, Hacheston
• Extra classrooms for Woodbridge School in Burkitt road, Woodbridge, Suffolk,
• Work on the Black Boy public house, Sudbury
• Tranmer House, 1910. Home of Edith Pretty during the 1938-39 excavation of the Sutton Hoo Anglo-Saxon burial mounds.^[5]

He trained Harold Ridley Hooper who later became a prominent Ipswich architect.^[6]

Publications

Christchurch or Withepole House: A Brief Memorial

Corder joined the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology & History. He also made several contributions to their journal:

• "The Guild Hall, of Corpus Christi, Lavenham" Volume VII, part 2 (1890)

• "The timber framed buildings of Ipswich and their pargetting", Volume VII Part 3 (1891)
• "Notes on Bury corner posts", Volume XVI Part 3 (1918) Published as a separate booklet, 50 copies.^[7]

Other publications:

• Ye Olde Corner Posts of Ipswich, (1890) S. H. Cowell: Ipswich
• Christchurch or Withepole House: A Brief Memorial (1893) S. H. Cowell: Ipswich

References

1. "Find a will | GOV.UK". probatesearch.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
2. "Corder, John Shewell". suffolkartists.co.uk. Suffolk Artists. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
3. "Suffolk People". historicalsuffolk.com. Historical Suffolk Research. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
4. Arnold, H. Godwin; Gold, Sidney M. (1989). "Morris of Reading:A Family of Architects 1836-1958". Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society. 33: 45–96.
5. Bettley & Pevsner 2015, pp. 538–539.
6. Antonia Brodie, ed. (2001). Directory of British Architects 1834–1914: A-K. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 945–946. ISBN 0-8264-5513-1.
7. "Notes on Bury Corner Posts [Reprinted from Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology & Natural History, Volume XVI, Part III] by Corder, John Shewell: Good Hard Cover (1918) Limited Edition. | Besleys Books PBFA". www.abebooks.com. Besleys Books. Retrieved 1 August 2022.

Sources

• Bettley, John; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2015). Suffolk: East. Buildings of England. New Haven, US and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-19654-2. OCLC 995084088.