Walter Hervey Bagot (17 March 1880 – 27 July 1963) was a

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n architect. He was one of the last great proponents of the traditional school of South Australian architecture. He founded Woods & Bagot in 1905.

Early life and education

Bagot was born in

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

, the son of pastoralist John Bagot MHA, and Lucy Josephine Ayers; his grandfathers were

Charles Hervey Bagot Charles Hervey Bagot (17 April 1788 – 29 July 1880), often referred to as "Captain Bagot", was a South Australian pastoralist, mine owner and parliamentarian, and was the ancestor of a number of notable South Australian citizens. Life Char ...

and Sir

Henry Ayers Sir Henry Ayers (now pron. "airs") (1 May 1821 – 11 June 1897) was the eighth Premier of South Australia, serving a record five times between 1863 and 1873. His lasting memorial was in the name Ayers Rock, now better-known as Uluru, wh ...

He was educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter. After serving an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

with the architect

Edward John Woods Edward John Woods F.R.I.B.A. (1839 – 5 January 1916) was a prominent architect in the early days of South Australia. History Woods was born in London and educated at several private schools, then, deciding to become an architect, served h ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

for four years, in 1902 Bagot went to England where he studied architecture at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He won the silver medal of the

Worshipful Company of Carpenters The Worshipful Company of Carpenters is a livery company of the City of London. The Carpenters were traditionally different from a fellow wood-crafting company, the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers, in that carpenters utilised nails whi ...

, and in 1904 was admitted as an associate member 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 ...

Career

Bagot returned to Adelaide in 1905, and was taken into partnership with Woods, forming Woods & Bagot. The practice grew to include other prominent architects as members over time, including

Louis Laybourne-Smith Louis Edouard Laybourne Smith (1 April 1880 – 13 September 1965) was an Australian architect and educator in South Australia. Born in the Adelaide inner-southern suburb of Unley, he became interested in engineering and architecture whil ...

in 1917,

Herbert Jory Harrold Herbert Jory (20 March 1888 – 16 May 1966) , known as Herbert Jory, was a South Australian architect. He was a partner in the leading firm of Woods, Bagot & Jory from 1913, which became Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith from 1915 t ...

in 1915, and

James Campbell Irwin Sir James Campbell Irwin ( – ) was an Australian architect and government official. Irwin studied architecture at the South Australian School of Mines and Industries, under the stewardship of George Soward. He joined the firm of Woods, Bagot, ...

in 1932. Bagot preferred

classical architecture Classical architecture typically refers to architecture consciously derived from the principles of Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or more specifically, from ''De archit ...

and despised

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

. He was appointed architect for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Adelaide is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Australia located in Adelaide, South Australia. Cathedral St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide is the seat of the Catholic A ...

in 1905, and architect in charge of St Peter's Cathedral in 1907, remaining in that position until 1945. He was architect for the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

from 1910 until 1945.

Selected works

Bagot's work includes: *Chapel of the Convent of Mercy (1920) *Additions to St Francis Xavier's Cathedral (1922) *

War Memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

(1924 design destroyed by fire; contributed to final design built 1931.) * Waite Institute Building (1927) * Elder Smith & Co. Ltd (1929) *

Union Buildings The Union Buildings () form the official seat of the South African Government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjeskop at the northern end of Arcadia, close ...

(1929 and 1937) *

Barr Smith Library The Barr Smith Library is the main library of the University of Adelaide, situated in the centre of the North Terrace campus. It is named after its early benefactor Robert Barr Smith and was formally established in 1882, though its history dat ...

(1932) *

Bonython Hall Bonython Hall is the "great hall" of the University of Adelaide, located in the university grounds and facing North Terrace, Adelaide. The building is on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate and the South Australian Heritage Register. ...

(1936)

Family and personal life

Woods bought the McMinn-designed Waterhouse House on North Terrace in 1906, selling it in 1926. On 18 November 1908 at

St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide St Peter's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Adelaide and Metropolitan of the Province of South Australia. The cathedral, a significant Adelaide landmark, is sit ...

, he married Josephine Margaret Barritt (1889-1946), a granddaughter of

Joseph Barritt Joseph Barritt (1816 – 17 August 1881) was a pastoralist and politician in the colony of South Australia. History Barritt was born in Hazeleigh, near Maldon, Essex, and emigrated to South Australia on the ''Anna Robertson'' in 1839 with an int ...

. They lived at "Forest Lodge", a house near Aldgate built by Bagot's father, John Bagot. The couple had three children, one being John Hervey Bagot (1910–2008), a prominent lawyer.''Bagot, Charles Hervey (1788-1880)''
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 1, Melbourne University Press, 1966, pp 47-48.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagot, Walter 1880 births 1963 deaths Alumni of King's College London Architects from Adelaide People educated at St Peter's College, Adelaide