Henry Lester (1840–1926) was a British
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
,
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
in Shanghai.
Birth and life in Britain
Lester was born in
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
in 1840 as the youngest of four brothers. After finishing his university studies, he returned to Southampton with a bachelor's degree in architecture. Unluckily, all of his brothers died of an unknown disease. One doctor told him that he should leave his homeland, so Lester departed Southampton with sadness and disconsolation. Henry took a cargo ship to Shanghai with another Briton,
Gordon Morris, who afterwards became his partner.
Early years in Shanghai
Lester arrived in Shanghai in 1867, and worked for the
Shanghai Municipal Council
The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the 1863 merger of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdiction under the terms of ...
for three years. Then he attended
Shanghai Real Estate Agency, which was opened by the American businessman
Edwin Smith, and he became a main shareholder of the agency. After Smith's retirement, Lester's own company,
Lester, Johnson & Morris ( zh, s=德和洋行), took over all the assets of Shanghai Real Estate Agency and Lester became one of the richest merchants in Shanghai. He was also a devout Christian Puritan.
Mr. Lester and his company
According to the stipulation of Shanghai Municipal Council, staff members could not participate in its main business services and trade activities. Henry opened its own company, Lester. H, until the expiration of his contract. His compatriots Gordon Morris, George A. Johnson became shareholders together afterward. They renamed the company 'Lester, Johnson & Morris' and the Chinese name was kept as before. It became one of the most well-known architect offices. It is hard to know how many architectures did this office design and construct.
Main architectures
*Sincere Department Store, Shanghai Branch (No.646, East
Nanjing Road (Shanghai), Nanjing Road) 1917
*Nissin Building (No. 5,
the Bund
The Bund is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the wester ...
) 1921
*Puyi Building (No.110, Middle Sichuan Road) 1922
*North China Daily News Building (No.17, the Bund) 1924
*Bank of Taiwan Building (No. 16, the Bund) 1926
*
Renji Hospital
Renji Hospital () is a general hospital in the Pudong District of Shanghai, China, with the rank of "Grade 3, Class A". The hospital is a university hospital affiliated to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.
History
Renji ...
(No.145, Shandong Road) 1932
*Henry Lester Institute of Technical Education (No.505, Changzhi Road) 1934
*Mitsubishi Bank Building (No.85, Guangdong Road) 1936
*Jialing Office Building (No.346, Middle Sichuan Road) 1937
*The Henry Lester Institute of Medical Research (No. 1314 West Beijing Road, Shanghai) 1926.
Most of them are historic architectures in Shanghai.
Heritage
Mr. Henry Lester bequeathed most of his assets to establish and endow the Henry Lester Trust Limited, which support Chinese Students study in UK.
The Henry Lester Institute of Medical Research was built according to his will. The relics of the institute in Shanghai was recently refurbished and will be used a site of the United Family Healthcare Shanghai (Jing'an).
External links
Introduction of Henry Lester Trust Ltd
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Henry
1840 births
1926 deaths
Architects from Hampshire
British philanthropists
People from Southampton
British expatriates in China