Edwin Dolby was an English Victorian architect who practised in Abingdon. His works include the design of Abingdon School.

Career

According to census records Dolby was born in

Sutton Bonington Sutton Bonington () is a village and civil parish lying along the valley of the River Soar in the Borough of Rushcliffe, south-west Nottinghamshire, England. The University of Nottingham has the Sutton Bonington Campus, a site just to the nor ...

, Nottinghamshire. By 1869 he working from 2 Bedwell Place, East St Helen Street, Abingdon, then in Berkshire. His known works span the period 1863–88. Dolby altered, rebuilt or restored a number of Anglican

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

es. Many of them were in the

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It Historic counties of England, was historically part of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Hors ...

(then part of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

) and

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, but he also rebuilt two churches in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

. Drawings for one of the latter, at Castlebythe, were published in the ''Church Builder'' in 1867. In 1869–70 he built

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

, described in ''The Builder'' as "of a simple character, the local material of red brick and tile being the chief material employed, relieved by bands of Bath stone". In 1877–78 Dolby worked with the architect H.J. Tollit of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, rebuilding the parish churches at Watlington and Crowell, both in

. After his partnership with Dolby, Tollit designed

Thame Town Hall Thame Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Thame Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History A moot hall, which was designed with arcading on th ...

in 1888, a building for Littlemore Hospital in 1902 and a factory for

Morris Motors Morris Motors Limited was a British privately owned motor vehicle manufacturing company formed in 1919 to take over the assets of William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, William Morris's WRM Motors Limited and continue production of the same ve ...

Longwall Street View north along Longwall Street Longwall Street is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs for about 300 metres along the western flank of Magdalen College. A high, imposing 15th century stone wall separates the college from the street a ...

in 1910.

Work

*Eagles Close Almshouses,

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Berkshire, it has been a ...

, 1867. *Claydon House,

Claydon, Oxfordshire Claydon is a village and former civil parish, now in Claydon with Clattercot, in the Cherwell District, Cherwell district, in Oxfordshire, England. The village is about north of Banbury and about above sea level on a hill of Early Jurassic Li ...

: alterations, 1867. *St Peter's parish church, Headley, Hampshire, 1867–68. *Abingdon Grammar School, Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire), 1869–70. *St John the Baptist's church,

Lynmouth Lynmouth is a village in Devon, England, on the northern edge of Exmoor. The village straddles the confluence of the West Lyn River, West Lyn and East Lyn River, East Lyn rivers, in a gorge directly below the neighbouring town of Lynton, w ...

, Devon, 1871. *St Michael's parish Church, Castlebythe,

: rebuilding, 1875 (demolished). *St David's parish Church,

Llanychaer Llanychaer (English: church on the Aer, a tributary of the River Gwaun) is a small rural village and parish in the community of Cwm Gwaun, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is southeast of the port of Fishguard. History Llanychaer was in the a ...

, Pembrokeshire: rebuilding, 1876 *St Giles' parish church, Medbourne, Leicestershire, chancel, 1876. *St Leonard's parish church, Watlington, Oxfordshire: rebuilding (with H.J. Tollit), 1877. *St Mary's parish church, Crowell, Oxfordshire: rebuilding (with H.J. Tollit), 1878. *St. Michael's parish church, Sutton Bonington, Nottinghamshire: restoration including complete rebuilding of the chancel and porch, 1878. *St Peter's parish church, Drayton, Cherwell: restoration and new vestry, 1878. *St Peter's parish church, Drayton, Vale of White Horse: south porch, 1879. *St Nicolas' parish church, Abingdon: restoration, 1880. *St Luke's parish church, Garford, Oxfordshire: rebuilding, 1880. *Abingdon School, Abingdon, Berkshire (now Oxfordshire): extension and bell turret, 1880. *St Edmund's parish church, Swanton Novers, Norfolk: north aisle and chancel, 1881. *St John the Baptist parish church,

Kingston Bagpuize Kingston Bagpuize () is a village in the civil parish of Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor, in the Vale of White Horse district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about west of Abingdon. It was part of Berkshire, until the 1974 bou ...

, Oxfordshire: added apse and made alterations, 1882. *Mortuary Chapel at Hatfield Cemetery,

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, Yorkshire, 1883. Dolby was also one of the architects of the Albert Park housing estate in Abingdon, along with Dolby's pupil John George Timothy West (1860–1931) and his son Archibald Buller West (1885–1957).

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolby, Edwin 1838 births 1900 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects from Berkshire English ecclesiastical architects Gothic Revival architects People from Sutton Bonington