Charles Webb (born 26 November 1821,

Sudbury, Suffolk Sudbury (, ) is a market town and civil parish in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, north-east of London. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government district and part of the South Suf ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

– 23 January 1898) was an architect working in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

during the 19th century. Notable Webb designs include the iconic Windsor Hotel, Royal Arcade, South Melbourne Town Hall and Tasma Terrace, all listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

Biography

Charles Webb was born in

, England on 26 November 1821, as the youngest of nine children. After being apprentice at an architect in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in 1847 he became the secretary of the London Architectural Students' Society. Following his brother James who earlier migrated to Australia, Charles arrived in Melbourne on 2 June 1849. He set up an architecture and surveyor partnership with his brother at Brighton. Their first important commission was for the St Paul's Church on Swanston Street in 1850. After 1858 Webb practised on his own, until two of his sons joined him in 1888. In this period he designed several public buildings, including the Wesley College (1864), Alfred Hospital (1869), Royal Arcade (1869), South Melbourne Town Hall (1878), Melbourne Orphan Asylum (1878) and the Grand Hotel later renamed Hotel Windsor (1884). In 1856 he was a founding member of the Victorian Institute of Architects, and between 1882-83 the organisation's president.Bridges-Webb, Charles
"Webb, Charles (1821–1898)"
''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed 3 November 2012.

Significant works

* 1856 -

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

(main buildings), Melbourne * 1857 - St Andrew's Anglican Church, Brighton, Melbourne * 1863 - Church of Christ,

Swanston Street Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. It was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically bisects Melbourne's city centre and is famous as the wor ...

, Melbourne * 1864 - Wesley College,

Prahran Prahran ( , also colloquially or ), is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a population ...

, Melbourne * 1869 - Royal Arcade, Bourke Street, Melbourne * 1872 - The Beehive Building, Pall Mall,

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

* 1873 - Christ Church, Dingley, Melbourne * 1875 - Congregational Church, Black St., Brighton, Melbourne * 1876 - Mandeville Hall,

Toorak Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 2021 census. The name ...

, Melbourne * 1876 - John Knox Presbyterian Church, Gardenvale, Melbourne * 1878 - Tasma Terrace, Parliament Place,

East Melbourne East Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. East Melbourne recorded a population of 4,896 at the 2021 ce ...

* 1879 - South Melbourne Town Hall,

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

* 1880 - Primary School No. 1253, South Melbourne * 1882 - Mosspennoch, East Melbourne * 1883 - Grand Hotel (Windsor),

Spring Street, Melbourne Spring Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district, Australia. It runs roughly north-south and is the easternmost street in the original 1837 Hoddle Grid. Spring Street is famous as the traditional seat of the Governmen ...

* 1884 - Banks & Co Warehouse, 96 Pelham Street, Carlton, Melbourne * 1889 - Charsfield Hotel,

St Kilda Road St Kilda Road is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the Melbourne central business district, locality of Melbourne which has the postcode of 3004, and along with Swanston Street forms a major spine of the city. St Kilda ...

, Melbourne

Gallery of works

File:MGS Witherby Tower.jpg, Melbourne Grammar School, Witherby Tower, South Facade File:Church of christ swanston street.jpg, Church of Christ, Swanston St, Melbourne File:Bourke street mall facade of royal arcade melbourne.jpg, Royal Arcade File:John Knox Church in Brighton.jpg,

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

Church (built 1876) on the corner of New Street and North Road, Brighton, Victoria File:Tasma terrace parliament place.jpg, Tasma Terrace File:South Melbourne Townhall.jpg, South Melbourne Town Hall File:Windsor hotel in 2010.jpg, Melbourne Windsor Hotel (Built 1887) File:New and old buildings in Carlton.jpg, Banks & Co Warehouse (right) File:A Boutique Hotel (Charsfield Hotel) in St Kilda Rd.jpg, Charsfield Hotel, St Kilda Road File:Beehive Building on Pall Mall, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.jpg, Beehive Building, Bendigo, Victoria

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Charles 1821 births 1898 deaths People from Sudbury, Suffolk 19th-century Australian architects English emigrants to colonial Australia Architects from Melbourne