John B. Sutcliffe
John B. Sutcliffe (March 28,[1] 1853 – October 23, 1913) was an Anglo-American architect.[2]
Biography
United Kingdom
John Sutcliffe was born in the county of Lancaster, England, in 1853, the son of John and Martha (Townend) Sutcliffe.[1] His paternal grandfather was a builder in Todmorden, Yorkshire. His paternal great-grandfather was a wool manufacturer; his maternal grandfather, John Townend, was a large colliery owner in Lancashire. [1] John's father was a large contractor, who failed in business as a result of the depression brought about in that part of England by the American Civil War. He subsequently became an architect and civil engineer and in 1864, his son John left school to enter his father's business.[1]
Sutcliffe attended the evening classes of the Science and Art School for many years and, as a result of his work outside of business hours, he won the gold medal for architecture from the South Kensington Museum, the bronze medal for descriptive geometry, and many other prizes and diplomas. From 1875-77, he was a draughtsman for Robert B. Dixon,[3] of Darlington and from 1877-78, he worked for Osborne & Reading,[4] Birmingham. From 1878-82, he was engaged as an architect at Bacup, Lancashire,[1] and in 1878, he designed the buildings for a school in Crimsworth near Hebden Bridge.[5] From 1882 to 1886, he was chief draughtsman in the British government's dockyard at Portsmouth.
United States
In 1886 he emigrated to America, working first for J.A. Wood in New York City, and then on the staff of The American Architect in Boston, and in December moved to Birmingham, AL,[6] where the following year he founded the Alabama Association of Architects.
In 1892 he moved to Chicago. About this time he began to specialize in Gothic design and church architecture, and in this speciality he found his true vocation. The finest examples of his churches in this part of the country are the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, IL,[7] St. Luke's, Evanston,[8] and Grace Church, Oak Park.[9]
He was able to combine adherence to traditional Gothic with originality and life, so that his work had the naturalness and beauty of the best of the old English builders of the middle ages. In this respect—in their ability to escape from formalism—he and Ralph Adams Cram of New York were considered in a class by themselves in church design. Sutcliffe was a devout member of the Episcopal Church and designed many churches for the denomination. Oak Park has two examples of his work, Grace Church and St. Christopher’s. Sutcliffe was a member of the Chicago Architects’ Business Association.
In 1897, Sutcliffe designed St John's Episcopal Church, Helena, AR,[10] which was completed in 1899 but burned down in 1914.[11]
Sutcliffe designed Christ Church, Chicago, c. 1908[12] and St. Paul's Church, Savannah, Georgia, around the same time.[13]
In 1910, Sutcliff designed the Frances Donaldson Library at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin.[14][15]
Family
On May 13, 1879, Sutcliffe married Lydia Sophia Knight of Saint Helier, Jersey.[1]
Sutcliffe died on October 23, 1913. He was survived by his wife and five children, Helen, Arthur, Clara, Edwin and Isabel. His second son, Edwin, also became an architect. Funeral services were held at Grace Church. There was a requiem celebration of the Holy Communion.[2]
Interment was at Oak Ridge Cemetery.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "SUTCLIFFE, John", The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Vol. 2, p. 499 (1892) James T. White, New York
- ^ a b c "Obituary of the Late John Sutcliffe; Prominent Church Architect of Chicago" (Nov 8, 1913) The Construction News, Volume 36, No. 19, p. 11
- ^ Directory of British Architects, 1834-1914, Vol. 2
- ^ "Osborne & Reading," archiseek
- ^ The British Architect and Northern Engineer, Vol. 9 No. 21 (May 24, 1878)
- ^ Proceedings of the 26th Annual Convention of the American Institute of Architects (Oct 1892)
- ^ Cathedral Church of St. Paul
- ^ St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Evanston
- ^ Grace Episcopal Church
- ^ "Synopsis of Building News" (Aug 1897) The Inland Architect and News Record, Vol.30 No.1 p.10
- ^ St John's Episcopal Church website
- ^ Quarterly Bulletin: Containing an Index of Literature from the Publications of Architectural Societies and Periodicals on Architecture and Allied Subjects, Vol. 9
- ^ Book of the Annual Exhibition of the Chicago Architectural Club (1908)
- ^ "Contracts Awarded" (Aug 6, 1910) The American Contractor, Vol. 31, p. 40
- ^ About the library
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