Adwick - part of Woodlands Model Village

Percy Bond Houfton (1873–1926) was a late-19th century and early-20th century English architect.

Career

He started work for his older cousin, J. P Houfton at the Bolsover and Creswell Colliery Company. He was awarded a certificate in mine management in 1897 and was elected to the Institute of Mining Engineers. After designing Creswell Model Village for the colliery company in 1895, he turned to architecture and opened his own practice in Chesterfield in 1898. Much of his work was for colliery companies and designing private houses. In 1905 he was awarded a prize of £100 for producing the best cottage at

Letchworth Garden City Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first Garden city movement, garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 United Kin ...

. Between 1907 and 1909 Sir Arthur Markham of

Brodsworth Colliery Brodsworth Colliery was a coal mine north west of Doncaster and west of the Great North Road. in South Yorkshire, England. Two shafts were sunk between October 1905 and 1907 in a joint venture by the Hickleton Main Colliery Company and the Stav ...

employed him to build Woodlands, a

model village A model village is a mostly self-contained community, built from the late 18th century onwards by landowners and business magnates to house their workers. "Model" implies an ideal to which other developments could aspire. Although the villages ...

for employees at his colliery near

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 ...

. Houfton applied garden village principles designing the houses in an

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

style with large

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s reminiscent of the style of Voysey. He became a Fellow 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 suppl ...

in 1925. He had obituaries in *''The Builder'' 130:826 21 May 1926 *''RIBA Journal'' 33:495 26 June 1926

Personal life

He was born in 1873 in Alfreton, Derbyshire, the son of Elijah Houfton (1832-1908) and Elizabeth Bond (1842-1937). Elijah Houfton was surveyor for Alfreton Urban Council. Percy was educated at St Mary's House School in Chesterfield. He married Elizabeth Robinson (1879 - 1964), eldest daughter of William Robinson of Chesterfield on 2 July 1902 at St Thomas' Church, Brampton, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. A daughter, Margaret Eileen Houfton was born in 1904. He died on 16 May 1926 and left an estate valued at £8,566 18s 10d. ().

Works

*Cottage, 217 Iknield Way, Letchworth 1905

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

*Workmans' Institute, Public Hall and Girls' Club, Brook Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield 1906 *Terry Holt Cottage, 100A The Park, Woodlands, Doncaster 1907-08

*Semi-detached houses, 5 and 6, The Park, Woodlands, Doncaster 1907-08

*Four houses, 7-10, The Park, Woodlands, Doncaster 1907-08

*Four houses, 2-8 Central Avenue, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 27 and 29 Central Avenue, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Four houses, 31-37 Central Avenue, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 15 and 17 Green Lane, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Four houses, 26-32 Green Lane, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 27 and 29 Green Lane, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 87 and 89, Great North Road, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Three houses, 1-7 Harold Avenue, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 33 and 35 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 45 and 47 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Three houses, 49-53 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 64 and 66 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 65 and 67 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 73 and 675 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 113 and 115 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Four houses, 129-135 The Crescent, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Three houses, 17-19 Quarry Lane, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Semi-detached houses, 23 and 25 West Avenue, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Woodside Cottages, 1 and 2, Woodlands, Doncaster 1908

*Sheffield and Hallamshire Bank, Gluman Gate/Market Place, Chesterfield 1911-13 *Chesterfield Technical College, Infirmary Road, Chesterfield, Derbyshire 1924-27 *Derbyshire Miners' Convalescent Home, Skegness 1928

References

Citations Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Houfton, Percy Bond 1926 deaths 1873 births People from Alfreton Architects from Derbyshire Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects