Guy Dawber

Sir Edward Guy Dawber, RA (King's Lynn, 3 August 1861 – London, 24 April 1938) was an English architect working in the late Arts and Crafts style, whose work is particularly associated with the Cotswolds.

Sir Edward Guy Dawber
Born	3 August 1861 King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
Died	24 April 1938 (1938-04-25) (aged 76) London, England
Occupation	Architect
Awards	RIBA Gold Medal, 1928, RA
Buildings	Eyford Park
Projects	Batsford Park

Chapel of St John the Baptist

Biography

Nether Swell Manor

Reptile House entrance, London Zoo

Edward Guy Dawber was born in Britain in 1861, at King's Lynn, Norfolk, the son of a merchant.^[1] He trained in the practice of Sir Ernest George and Harold Peto, supervising their work on Batsford Park (1887–93), near Moreton-in-Marsh, in the Cotswolds.^[1]In 1896 he married Mary Eccles in Lancashire.^[1]

In 1897 Dawber designed St John the Baptist's Chapel, Matlock Bath in Matlock Dale, Derbyshire, when he lived locally. It was the only church designed by him.^[2] Dawber designed the Old Post Office at 25 High Street, Broadway, Worcestershire, which was built in Cotswold stone by Espley & Co of Evesham in 1899 and opened on Friday 1 December 1899.^[3] He also designed Bibsworth House, Broadway.^[4] Dawber sometimes also worked on the landscaping of the estates on which his houses were built, for example at Eyford Park in Gloucestershire.^[5]

Working in the Cotswold vernacular tradition,^[6] Dawber became a respected and scholarly architect, designing and converting houses such as Nether Swell Manor (1903 and 1909) and Eyford Park (1911–12), both near Stow-on-the-Wold. In 1905 Batsford published Dawber's Old Cottages, Farm-houses and other Stone Buildings in the Cotswold District. From 1925 to 1927 Dawber was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1928 he was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal.^[1] In 1926 he played a prominent part in establishing the Council for the Preservation of Rural England, and became its first President. In that year he worked on the design of the Reptile House at London Zoo, Regent's Park, opened in 1927.^[7] About 1928 he designed many buildings of Lord Wandsworth College, Hampshire.^[6]

He was knighted in 1936 and died in London on 24 April 1938.^[1] He is buried at St Giles's church with his parents and brother.

Works

• St John the Baptist's Chapel, Matlock Bath, Derbyshire (1897, Grade II*)^[8]
• Nether Swell Manor Farm Cottages, Gloucestershire (1902-04, Grade II)^[9]
• Nether Swell Manor, Gloucestershire (1903, Grade II) and its gatepiers (1906-09, Grade II) and lodge (1903, Grade II)^[10][11][12]
• 6 Linnell Drive, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Barnet, London NW11 (1908, Grade II)^[13]
• Conkwell Grange, Wiltshire (1907, Grade II)^[14]
• Burdocks (previously known as Claremont House), Milton End, Fairford, Gloucestershire, (1911, Grade II listed)^[15]

War memorials

• Moreton-in-Marsh and Batsford War Memorial, Cotswold, Gloucestershire (1908, Grade II)^[16]
• Northiam War Memorial, East Sussex. (1920-21, Grade II)^[17]
• Long Wittenham War Memorial, Oxfordshire. (1920, Grade II)^[18]
• Wallingford War Memorial, Oxfordshire. (1921, Grade II)^[19][20]

References

1. "Sir Guy Dawber". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
2. Historic England. "Chapel of St John the Baptist Supporting retaining wall and attached boundary walls, Matlock Bath (1248139)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 18 May 2011.
3. Evesham Standard & West Midland Observer, Saturday 9 December 1899.
4. Historic England. "Bibsworth House (Grade II) (1215625)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
5. "Eyford Park". January 1910.
6. "Architects Contemporary with Edwin Lutyens". Lutyens Trust. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
7. "History of the Reptile House". Zoological Society of London. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
8. Historic England, "Chapel of St John the Baptist, supporting retaining wall and attached boundary walls (1248139)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
9. Historic England, "Nether Swell Manor Farm Cottages (1222041)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
10. Historic England, "Nether Swell Manor and gatepiers attached to north east corner (1221955)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
11. Historic England, "Gatepiers to east of Nether Swell Manor and walls framing formal garden (1221977)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
12. Historic England, "Lodge and gatepiers to Nether Swell Manor (1221979)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
13. Historic England, "6 Linnell Drive (1259600)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
14. "Conkwell Grange, Conkwell, Wiltshire". House and Heritage. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
15. "Burdocks A Grade II Listed Building in Fairford, Gloucestershire". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
16. Historic England, "Moreton-in-Marsh and Batsford War Memorial (1170425)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
17. Historic England, "Northiam War Memorial (1393848)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
18. Historic England, "Long Wittenham War Memorial (1047906)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020
19. The Builder. 1921. p. 674.
20. Historic England, "Wallingford War Memorial (1048500)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 19 October 2020

Further reading

• A chapter on him in: Reilly, Charles Herbert: Representative British architects of the present day. London: Batsford, 1931.
• Obituary notices published in: AA Journal vol 53, May 1938, p 522; Architect & Building News vol 154, 29 Apr 1938, p 112, 114, 155; Architect & Building News vol 155, 15 July 1938, p 61; Architects' Journal vol 87, 28 Apr 1938, p 685, 691; The Builder vol 154, 29 Apr 1938, p 824, 827; RIBA Journal vol 45, 1938, p 631, 633, 666–7, 720; The Times, Monday 25 Apr 1938