Walter Godfrey
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Walter Hindes Godfrey, CBE, FSA, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was (1941–60) the first director and the inspiration behind the foundation of the National Buildings Record, the basis of today's Historic England Archive, and edited or contributed to numerous volumes of the
Survey of London The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of central London and its suburbs, or the area formerly administered by the London County Council. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an A ...
. He devised a system of Service Heraldry for recording service in the European War. He was appointed a CBE in 1950.


Early life

Walter Hindes Godfrey was born at home at 102, Greenwood Road,
Hackney, London Hackney is a district in East London, England, forming around two-thirds of the area of the modern London Borough of Hackney, to which it gives its name. It is 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross and includes part of the Queen ...
, the eldest son of Walter Scott Godfrey, owner of a small wine business, and Gertrude Annie Rendall. His father later gave up his own business to become manager of a larger firm, then became a minister of religion and author of several works on the subject. Godfrey attended Whitgift Grammar School, then matriculated in June 1898 at the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
.


Architect

Godfrey first settled in
Buxted Buxted is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District, Wealden district of East Sussex in England. The parish is situated on the Weald, north of Uckfield; the settlements of Five Ash Down, Heron's Ghyll and High Hurstwood are included wit ...
in 1915, and then moved his practice from London in 1932 to live and have his offices in Lewes House, on
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
High Street. He was regarded as one of the outstanding conservation architects of his generation, though his interventions are thorough and often unscholarly. He restored and adapted a number of important historic buildings and gardens, chiefly in
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
and the
Weald The Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...
. They include the Anne of Cleves House Museum in
Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...
, Sussex; The Garth, Lingfield in Surrey (1919), where he converted the Old Workhouse (1729) into a residential dwelling and designed the surrounding gardens;
Herstmonceux Castle Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built castle, dating from the 15th century, near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, England. It is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England. The castle was renowned for being one of the fi ...
, East Sussex (1933), where his major reconstruction of the interior was in the view of
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...
executed 'exemplarily'; Charleston Manor, Sussex (1928); Horselunges Manor, Hellingly, Sussex; Michelham Priory, Sussex; Plawhatch Hall and
Kidbrooke Kidbrooke is an area of south-east London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich south-east of Charing Cross and north west of Eltham. The district takes its name from the Kyd Brook, a watercourse which runs from Orpington to Lewisha ...
Park (today Michael Hall School), both near East Grinstead, East Sussex; and Rymans at
Apuldram Apuldram or Appledram is a small parish and a village on the northeastern upper reach of Chichester Harbour about two miles (3 km) south-west of the centre of Chichester in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Hartin ...
, West Sussex. In London, following war damage in
the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...
, he restored Chelsea Old Church (1953–55) and the historic
Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...
(1947–57); also Crosby Hall, London, reconstructed in Chelsea incorporating elements of the house of
Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...
. Other notable buildings he restored include the Memorial Chapel at
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
; Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire; Old Surrey Hall, Dormansland, Surrey; Goldings in
Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a Ford (crossing), ford on ...
, Hertfordshire; and many churches, notably in Sussex. In the
Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...
, his commissions included adaptations to Sudeley Castle and Little Barrow (largely a new work), Donnington, both in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, and
Burford Priory Burford Priory is a Grade I listed country house and former priory at Burford in West Oxfordshire, England owned by Elisabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert Murdoch, together with Matthew Freud. History Origin The house is on the site of a 13 ...
, in
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 ...
.


Author

He was the author or editor of a wide range of books and articles on architectural history and antiquarian subjects, many of them published by the Sussex Archaeological Society. He was literary director of the Sussex Record Society and chairman of its council. In 2006 a collection of Godfrey's private papers was deposited with the East Sussex Record Office.


Personal life

Godfrey married Gertrude Mary (d. 1955), second daughter of Alexander Grayston Warren, and had three daughters and a son, Emil Godfrey, also an architect, who founded the practice of Carden and Godfrey.


Bibliography

*''A History of Architecture in London, arranged to illustrate the course of architecture in England until 1800, with a sketch of the preceding European styles'' (London: B.T. Batsford, 1911; revised ed. Phoenix House,1962) *''The English Staircase: An Historical Account of its Characteristic Types to the End of the 18th Century'' (London: B.T. Batsford, 1911) *''The work of George Devey, Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1820–1886'' (London: Privately published for Messrs Wratten and Godfrey by B.T. Batsford, 90- * ''Some Famous Buildings and their Story'', with Sir A. W. Clapham, (1913) *''Gardens in the Making'' (Batsford, 1914) *(with Budgen, Walter) ''Wilmington Priory and The Long Man'' (Sussex Archaeological Society, 1938) *''The Parish of Chelsea'' (ed.), Survey of London, vol. 7 (London County Council, 1924) *''The Story of Architecture in England'', 2 volumes (London: B.T. Batsford, 1928–31) *''The Village of Highgate'' (with Sir George Garter) (eds), Survey of London, vol. 12 (London County Council, 1936) *''Our Building Inheritance: are we to use or lose it?'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1944) *''The English Almshouse with Some Account of Its Predecessor the Medieval Hospital'' (London: Faber and Faber, 1955) *''A History of Lewes, incorporating a Guide to the County Town'' (Lewes Borough Council, 1971) *''Lambeth: South Bank and Vauxhall'' (with Sir Howard Roberts) (eds), Survey of London, volume 23 (London County Council, 1951) *''King's Cross neighbourhood'' (ed.), Survey of London (London County Council, 1952) *''At the Sign of The Bull, Lewes: with an Account of Thomas Paine's Residence in Lewes by J. M. Connell'' (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, n.d) *''Guide to the Church of St Margaret Angmering'' *''Guide to the Church of St. Mary and St. Gabriel, Harting'' (Harting Parochial Church Council) *''The Parish of St Pancras'' (with Percy W. Lovell and W.M. Marcham) (eds), Survey of London, (London County Council) *''Sussex Views: Selected from the Burrell Collections: Being the Jubilee Volume of the Sussex Record Society'' (with William Burrell, L. F. Salzman and British Library Staff and Sussex Record Society Staff) (eds) *''The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street'' (Monograph of the London Survey Committee) (The College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street, 1963) *''Colsoni's Guide de Londres'' (1693) (ed.)


References


Further reading

*

East Sussex Records Office accessions 2006 * * 'Godfrey, Walter Hindes', ''Who Was Who'',
A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing ''Who's Who'' since 1849 and the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' between 1827 and 1903. It offers a wide variety of boo ...
, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2015; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2014; online edn, April 2014


External links

*
Parks & Gardens UK

Sussex Record Society

British Listed Buildings, Old Surrey Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey, Walter 1881 births 1961 deaths Architects from Sussex Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English landscape architects Arts and Crafts movement artists People from Buxted Conservation architects People educated at Whitgift School