Arthur Benison Hubback (13 April 1871 – 8 May 1948) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architect and soldier who designed several important buildings in British Malaya, in both

Indo-Saracenic architecture Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...

and European " Wrenaissance" styles. Major works credited to him include

Kuala Lumpur railway station ( Jawi) zh, 吉隆坡 ta, கோலாலம்பூர் , address = Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin, 50621 Kuala Lumpur , borough = , country = Malaysia , coordinates = , grid_name ...

Ubudiah Mosque The Ubudiah Mosque ( ms, Masjid Ubudiah) is a small mosque located in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia. History The mosque is located beside the Royal Mausoleum on Jalan Istana at Bukit Chandan in Kuala Kangsar. The mosque wa ...

Jamek Mosque Jamek Mosque, officially Sultan Abdul Samad Jamek Mosque ( ms, Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad) is one of the oldest mosques in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the confluence of the Klang and Gombak River and may be accessed via Jala ...

, National Textile Museum, Panggung Bandaraya DBKL, Ipoh railway station, and Kowloon railway station. After an English training in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, he arrived in Malaya in 1895, and by 1900 was appointed chief government architect of the British-run Federated Malay States, returning to Britain in 1914 at the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, though he did not officially resign until 1917. Reversing the pattern of many British architects of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

in India, he was an architect who became a soldier, commanding troops in France, and remaining in the army until his retirement in 1924. He was active in sports, especially football and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

. Hubback was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

during his service in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Early life

Arthur Hubback was born at 74

Rodney Street, Liverpool Rodney Street in Liverpool, England, is noted for the number of doctors who practise there and its Georgian architecture. It is sometimes referred to as the "Harley Street of the North". Together with Hope Street and Gambier Terrace it forms the ...

, England, son of Joseph Hubback (1814–1882), who was

Mayor of Liverpool The mayor of Liverpool is the executive mayor of the city of Liverpool in England. The incumbent mayor is Joanne Anderson, who was elected in May 2021. The mayor of Liverpool was previously branded 'the most powerful politician in England outs ...

in 1870 and a merchant, and Georgina Hubback (née Benison and widow of Captain Allan Eliott Lockhart). Arthur attended

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

, Edinburgh, and then started work as an apprentice for the city architect in Liverpool,

Thomas Shelmerdine Thomas Shelmerdine (1845–1921) was an English architect who was appointed to the post of City Surveyor of Liverpool in 1871 at the age of 26. He is the youngest person to have held that post. Shelmerdine was the architect of several buildin ...

Career in architecture

In 1895, Hubback became chief draughtsman of

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

public works department, which was then working on the building of government offices now known as

Sultan Abdul Samad Building The Sultan Abdul Samad Building ( Malay: Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad) is a late-nineteenth century building located along Jalan Raja in front of the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) and the Royal Selangor Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The ...

. The Sultan Abdul Samad Building was originally designed by A.C. Norman and

R. A. J. Bidwell Regent Alfred John Bidwell, or R. A. J. Bidwell, was an English-born architect noted for his colonial era buildings in Singapore. His best-known works include the Raffles Hotel and the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore, and Sultan A ...

in a Classic Renaissance style, but Norman's plan was then reworked on by Bidwell in an

Indo-Saracenic Indo-Saracenic architecture (also known as Indo-Gothic, Mughal-Gothic, Neo-Mughal, or Hindoo style) was a revivalist architectural style mostly used by British architects in India in the later 19th century, especially in public and government ...

or Moorish style. After Bidwell left, Hubback also worked on the building. After the building was completed in 1897, he worked in private practice for a few years, before returning to public work in 1901. Ubudiah masjid KK

From then until the outbreak of World War I was a period of great construction projects, and he worked on buildings in Malaya and Hong Kong, from mosques to railway stations. An important work designed by Hubback is the

. Among other major works he designed are the

, Kowloon railway station, and Ipoh railway station. He designed at least 25 buildings in Malaya, and many of these are now considered an important part of the architectural heritage of Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Masjid-Jamek-03

He returned to England in 1914 and did not design any further buildings in Malaya, although some of his buildings were not completed until later.

Military service

Hubback took charge in the Federated Malay States Volunteer Rifles Force (M.S.V.R.) in 1907. He was appointed as a major in the M.S.V.R. in 1910 and he was in command of F.M.S. Contingent to

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

's coronation in 1911. He was then promoted as lieutenant colonel in the M.S.V.R. in 1912. In 1914, at the start of

, he became a major in the 19th battalion, London (territorial) regiment. In 1915, he was the lieutenant colonel commanding the 20th London Regiment Territorial Force, 47th Division B.E.F. He served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, fought on

the Somme The Battle of the Somme (French language, French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. I ...

and was wounded. He became brigadier general of 2nd Infantry Brigade, 1st Division in 1916, and brigadier general commanding of the 63rd Infantry Brigade, 37th Division B.E.F. in 1918. During the war he was mentioned in dispatches six times, and won the CMG and

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

. Following the war he continued in the military, commanding the 5th London infantry brigade of the territorial army from 1920 to 1924. He then retired, but attempted to rejoin at the outbreak of the

Second world War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and was turned down due to his age. He ran instead the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Family Association in Hertfordshire to look after the families of the armed forces.

Family

Hubback married Margaret Rose Frances (Daisy) Voules, the sister of a colleague, in 1901 and they had two children, a son ( Arthur Gordon Voules Hubback, R.N.) and a daughter (Yvonne Hubback). He had two brothers. Theodore Rathbone Hubback joined Arthur in Malaya, and was a civil engineer and contractor, as well as working for a while as a rubber planter, and after early adventures as a big game hunter became a conservationist and author. George Clay Hubback was bishop of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. He died in

Broxbourne Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 I ...

, Hertfordshire, on 8 May 1948 of heart failure.

Buildings

Old City Hall, Merdeka Square, Kuala Lumpur

Hubback worked on the following buildings: * (1894–1897) ** Federal Secretariat (

), ground plan based on A. C. Norman's design with elevations by

. Hubback contributed to the design and also designed the fixtures of the building. * 1901 **

Carcosa Seri Negara The Carcosa Seri Negara is a residence located on two adjacent hills inside the Perdana Botanical Gardens, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Originally built as the official residence and guest house of the British High Commissioner in Malaya, it is now o ...

, Kuala Lumpur (also credited to A.C. Norman) * 1904 ** Municipal Office & Town Hall, Kuala Lumpur (Sanitary Board/Town Hall) 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Narodowe Muzeum Włókiennictwa

2016 Kuala Lumpur, Narodowe Muzeum Włókiennictwa

* 1905 ** F.M.S Central Railways Offices, Kuala Lumpur (currently National Textile Museum) ** Shop Houses on Old Market Square, Kuala Lumpur * 1906 ** Residence of High Commissioner, Kuala Kangsar **

Selangor Museum Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan ...

, Kuala Lumpur. Rebuilt, (National Museum) * 1907 ** F.M.S Railways Terminal Office, Penang (Wisma Kastam – Malayan Railway Building) ** General Post Office, Kuala Lumpur Malay College, Kuala Kangsar

*1909 **

, Kuala Lumpur ** The Big School Malay College, Kuala Kangsar (

Malay College Kuala Kangsar The Malay College Kuala Kangsar (abbreviated MCKK; ; ) is a premier residential school in Malaysia. It is an elite all-boys and all- Malay school in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar, Perak. It is sometimes dubbed "the Eton College of the East". ...

) ** The White House of Klang (The Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery) 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Stacja kolejowa Kuala Lumpur (02)

*1910 ** Andersons Boy School, Ipoh ** Railway Station & Hotel, Kuala Lumpur ** Selangor Club 1910, Kuala Lumpur (

Royal Selangor Club The Royal Selangor Club ( ms, Kelab Di-Raja Selangor) is a social club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, founded in 1884 by the British who ruled Malaya. The club is situated next to the '' Dataran Merdeka'', or Independence Square, ''padang'' (field) ...

) ** Federal Survey Office, Kuala Lumpur KCR 1914

*1911 ** Federal Lunatic Asylum, Tanjung Rambutan, Ipoh (renamed Central Mental Hospital and subsequently renamed in 1970 Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta) ** The White House of Klang (The Sultan Abdul Aziz Royal Gallery) *1912 ** British Residency, Seremban (Kompleks Kraf Negeri Sembilan andicraft Centre ** Preparatory School,

(MCKK) – Prep School, Kuala Kangsar, Perak * 1913 ** Kowloon railway station, Hong Kong (Demolished in 1977, only the Clock Tower remains) Ipoh

* 1914 ** Selangor Museum (Extension & alteration) Kuala Lumpur * 1915 ** Supreme Court, Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur High Court) * 1916 ** Town Hall and Post Office, Ipoh * 1917 ** Idris Memorial Mosque, Kuala Kangsar (

) ** Malay Railway Administration Building, Kuala Lumpur Ipoh railway station *1920 ** Railway Station & Hotel, Ipoh ( Ipoh railway station) ''Source Included From: A.B Hubback: An Architectural Celebration in Malaya Exhibition. Located at National Textile Museum, Kuala Lumpur.''
''Jointly Organized by PAM Heritage Conservation Committee, Department of Museums Malaysia and National Textile Museum'' ''Officially Supported by Masjid Jamek, British Council, Arch, webmaster of thehubbacks.org, midor, ALFO, MIBOUTIQUE and Kuala Lumpur.''

Significance of Hubback’s work

Hubback’s architectural work, on the one hand, is rooted in 19th-century eclectic historicism. One style of his architecture may be known as

, which is a blend of Mughal forms with

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, Romanesque, and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

details. The first major work Hubback was involved in, the

, is in this style. It was largely the work by

following the design direction set by the State Engineer Charles Edwin Spooner, and Hubback made additions and alterations to the building under Spooner's instructions. This strand of English colonial architecture was based on Indian Islamic architecture and not native to Malaya. Hubback and Bidwell effectively introduced into the Malaysian architectural vocabulary the

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point. It is a typ ...

. The Federal Secretariat/Sultan Abdul Samad Building formed the perimeter of the Padang or Merdeka Square is as much a part of the architectural consciousness of Malaysia as the Houses of Parliament is to Britain. Many of his buildings, such as the Railway Station and Jamek Mosque, are landmarks in Kuala Lumpur. The twentieth-century quality of his architectural output is that he created a number of large buildings to house the colonial government's administrative functions, an architectural recognition of the increasing spatial demands of an official bureaucracy, but in elegant dress. While in post-independence Malaysia these functions have moved elsewhere, these buildings remain as a potent visual symbol of the country and its multicultural heritage.

Honours

* 1905 Associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...

* 1909 Fellow of the

* 1913 Honorary Diocesan Architect for the Diocese of Singapore * 1916 Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George * 1918

Sports

Hubback was an active sportsman who played the following sport:A.B. Hubback: An Architectural Celebration in Malaya Exhibition. Located at National Textile Museum, Kuala Lumpur. "The Life and Time of A.B. Hubback", 17 May 2014, 9.30am–12pm. Dialogue with Dr. Peter Barbor (Grandson of A.B. Hubback), Mr. Llyod Gan (webmaster of thehubbacks.org) & Ar. Rosli Mohd Ali (PAM Heritage Conservation Committee). * 2 June 1894 – Played Cricket for Liverpool in the Liverpool vs. Birkenhead Park match, Aighburth Liverpool. * 9 September 1896 – Made his first century in cricket * 4 February 1897 – Played cricket in Selangor vs. Singapore match. * 24–25 October 1897 – Took leave to play for the Straits Settlements Cricket Team in a Cricket Festival in Hong Kong. * 8 November 1897 – Played in the Interport matches: 1897/98 Hong Kong and Shanghai vs. Straits Settlements, Hong Kong Cricket Club Ground, Hong Kong * 14 November 1897 – Played in the Interport matches: 1897/98 Hong Kong and Shanghai vs. Straits Settlements, Hong Kong Cricket Club Ground, Hong Kong. * November 1899 – Represented F.M.S in a cricket match in Burma. * 4 February 1905 – Played in Straits Settlements in F.M.S cricket match, F.M.S vs. Straits Settlements at the Padang Kuala Lumpur. * 1906– Captained the F.M.S team in a cricket match in Burma * 16 August 1906 – Cricket match, F.M.S in Straits in Straits Settlements 1906, Straits Settlement vs. Federated Malays States at the Padang, Singapore. * 30 March 1907 – Played in Straits Settlements in Federated Malay States 1906/07 * 5 August 1907 – Played in F.M.S in Straits Settlements 1907 cricket match, Straits Settlements vs. F.M.S at Penang Cricket Club Ground, Penang. * 31 July 1908 – Played in F.M.S inStraits Settlements cricket match 1908, Straits Settlements vs. Federated Malay States, The Pedang, Singapore. * 30 January 1911 – Played in Straits Settlements in Federated Malay States cricket match 1910/11, F.M.S vs. Straits Settlements, The Pedang Kuala Lumpur.

References

External links

Photographs in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Hubback brothers tribute website

Arthur Benison Hubback
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hubback, Arthur Benison 1948 deaths 1871 births 20th-century English architects People educated at Fettes College Architects from Liverpool London Regiment officers British Army brigadiers British colonial army officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Malaysian architects British Army generals of World War I Military personnel from Liverpool