Leonard Cecil Howitt (1896 – 1964) – often referred to as L. C. Howitt – served in both World Wars and was

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three ...

's chief architect from 1946 until he retired in 1961.

Life

Leonard Howitt was born on 27 December 1896 in Islington, London. His parents were William Howitt, a type founder, and his wife Ada. After her husband's death in about 1910, Ada Howitt returned to Manchester with her son. Howitt died at his home in Brooklands, Sale on 20 May 1964 aged 67. He was survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

Career

Howitt started work in the architect's office at

Manchester Town Hall Manchester Town Hall is a Victorian, Neo-gothic municipal building in Manchester, England. It is the ceremonial headquarters of Manchester City Council and houses a number of local government departments. The building faces Albert Square to th ...

shortly before the First World War. After war service, he attended the

University of Liverpool School of Architecture The School of Architecture is an architecture school in Liverpool, England, and part of the University of Liverpool. It was the first architecture school in the United Kingdom to be affiliated with a university, and the first to have degree ...

from where he graduated in 1925. He then joined Herbert J Rowse Architects in Liverpool where he remained until 1934. He was part of the team that designed the Mersey Tunnel (Queensway) ventilation towers. He was appointed chief architectural assistant to Liverpool City Council's Director of Housing before returning to Manchester as deputy city architect in 1937. Howitt served in the army during World War II, rising to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. In 1945 Howitt returned to Manchester as acting city architect. The following year he was appointed city architect, a position he held until he retired in 1961. He designed many schools, colleges and other buildings for the corporation and was responsible for reconstructing the Free Trade Hall after it was damaged in the Manchester Blitz. He designed the Courts of Justice (1957-1962), Hollings College (1957-1960). Other than schools, few buildings erected during Howitt's tenure as city architect survive. His 1974 Terminal Building at

Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2019, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passenger numbers and the busiest of those n ...

was remodelled by his successor, Sidney George Besant-Roberts. Other surviving buildings are Hollings College, Heaton Park Reservoir Pumping Station (1955), Wythenshawe Fire Station (1957), Blackley Crematorium (1959), Wythenshawe Bowls and Tennis Pavilion (1960) and the Manchester Courts of Justice. After retiring from the corporation in 1961 he entered private practice in Manchester in partnership with Leonard J Tucker. Howitt became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in March 1942, served on its council for twelve years and was its vice-president from 1956 to 1958. He was president of the Manchester Society of Architects from 1955 until 1957 and served on other professional bodies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howitt, Leonard Cecil 20th-century English architects Architects from London Alumni of the University of Liverpool