Basic Biographical Details Name: | Thomas Harold Hughes | Designation: | | Born: | 1887 | Died: | 9 November 1949 | Bio Notes: | Thomas Harold Hughes was born in 1887, the son of Thomas Hughes, a Staffordshire potter and his wife, Catherine Ann Walton (or Watton?). He was educated at Alleyne's Grammar School Uttoxeter and articled to Jones & Hilton of Burslem from 1904 to 1908. In the latter year he gained a scholarship to the Royal College of Art under Professor Arthur Beresford Pite, in whose office he assisted. There he became King's Prizeman, National Competition Prizeman, RIBA Silver Medallist (essays), City of London Guilds Institute Medallist, and Royal College of Art Travelling Scholar. He passed the qualifying exam in 1910 and was admitted ARIBA on 27 March 1911, his proposers being Pite, Alfred Bowman Yeates and Arthur Clyne of Aberdeen.
Prior to formal admission Hughes had obtained a place in the office of George & Yeates in 1910, but in the same year, on Pite's recommendation, he was recruited by Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen to initiate a school of architecture, and it was there he met his future wife Edith Mary Wardlaw Burnet, who was one of his first students. In the ensuing years he spent some time travelling in France and elsewhere.
During the First World War Hughes was a captain first in the Artists Rifles and then in the Royal Engineers where he was largely responsible for the manual on Map Reading and Field Sketching, published in 1916. A further volume of Map Work was published in 1918 with V Seymour Bryant as co-author and Oxford University Press as publisher.
On demobilisation Hughes married Edith Burnet. They hoped to be allowed to join Sir John Burnet's London office but Tait demurred at Hughes being given a partnership and Montague Place did not then have a separate lavatory for female staff. Hughes was offered a partnership in the Glasgow office instead, his time there being chiefly spent on war memorials. Incompatibility with Burnet's more senior Glasgow partner, Norman Aitken Dick, who referred to him as 'that College of Art b****r' for all the staff to hear, caused him to work alone in an upstairs office. Matters became much worse when the Glasgow practice ran into serious financial difficulties as a result of the unauthorised withdrawal of clients' fund due to contractors by the chief clerk, Duncan, who had absconded. To preserve the good name of the firm, the police were not called and the partners had to make good the loss. In the event most of the money was provided by Dick when he repurchased his partnership in 1920. This event resulted in Hughes resigning his partnership to teach at the Glasgow School of Architecture where he succeeded James Black Fulton as Professor and Director when the latter died in April 1922, an event which was followed by a dispute with Professor Charles Gourlay over their respective roles: the Governors had to provide Gourlay with a specification of his duties which established Hughes's jurisdiction over him.
After Gourlay died in 1926, Hughes took over Gourlay's responsibilities at the Royal College when the title of the combined chairs became simply architecture (building construction being omitted): a BSc Degree course had been instituted in 1924. These changes were at least partly related to differences with the Governors at Glasgow School of Art and John Keppie in particular.
In 1921-23 Hughes swiftly established a reputation as a writer on architectural history and town planning, beginning with a series of articles in the RIAS Quarterly on Scottish Architects of the past. These were well-informed by the standards of that time. Concurrently he collaborated with the self-taught Oxford polymath Edward Arnold Greening Lamborn (1877-1965) on ‘Towns and Town Planning, Ancient and Modern’ published by Oxford University press in 1923.
Lamborn was radical elementary school headmaster who was also a poet, dramatist and mathematician. He had no formal qualifications of any kind but he had a profound knowledge of medieval architecture, English local history, heraldry and archaeology and had already written ‘The Story of Architecture in Oxford Stone’. Lamborn was highly regarded within the University and, very unusually, had an Honorary MA conferred on him in 1921.
The brief preface of ‘Towns and Town Planning’ gives no indication of how the writing was shared, but Lamborn was presumably responsible for that on English towns in the middle ages. Although only 152 pages long the book covered the subject in a succinct well-informed way from Roman times and became a standard text for teaching purposes. It established his reputation in Oxford even before it was published, his first commission from an Oxford College being restoration and alteration work at Merton in 1922-25. Thereafter he to a large extent succeeded Sir Thomas Graham Jackson and Basil Champneys as one of the preferred architects for work on Oxford College and University buildings, but this led to further problems with the Governors at Glasgow School of Art as he was too often absent. Nevertheless he superseded Dick as architect to Glasgow University and from 1938 he worked in partnership with David Stark Reid Waugh, who also taught at the Glasgow School. When the Second World War broke out Hughes sent out fee accounts for work extending back several years and was asked to submit further accounts for work which had to be abandoned. The payments were taxed at wartime surtax rates and in common with several other architects at that time Hughes found he had worked for something like three years for virtually nothing. This contributed to a serious breakdown in health in 1941 which forced him to retire as Director of the School of Architecture in 1942, his Glasgow University work being taken over by Alexander Wright, although Waugh was to continue the practice after the war and later became Head of Architecture at Glasgow School of Art.
Edith Burnet Hughes's practice remained independent of him and after the Second World War they led semi-separate lives, Edith being based in Edinburgh and Hughes mainly in London, but it was in Edinburgh at 30 Royal Circus, the home of his wife, that Hughes died on 9 November 1949 of cerebral thrombosis. He was cremated at Warriston. The Hughes had three daughters. The marriage was said not to be an altogether happy one, but Edith retained a profound respect for him, and even more for his work. Professor William James Smith remembered him as 'a colourful, somewhat elusive personality … he was a good companion and generous host with a nimble wit and a keen sense of humour'.
Opinion on Hughes's teaching tended to be sharply divided. Archibald Doak, Margaret Brodie and others found him an outstanding teacher but to Ninian Johnston the standard of teaching at the School was terrible, partly due to Hughes's frequent absences from the School on Oxford business. In 1935 Hughes gave a keynote address to the RIBA conference in Glasgow entitled 'The Modern Movement - A False Start', in which he questioned both the propriety and practicality of imitating concrete forms in brick and render and the practice of copying the latest tricks from the magazines. It was criticised by one of his students, and by Raymond McGrath in the RIBA Journal as 'reactionary' and 'mediaeval' but it did all too accurately identify the weathering weaknesses of much 1930s building. Although by temperament a classicist his Chemistry Building at the University of Glasgow, brilliantly fitted into a difficult left-over site, was one of the finest and most original modernist buildings of the late 1930s.
Publications:
'Map Reading & Panorama Sketching' (1916) 'Map Work' (London: Oxford University Press, 1918) - joint author with V Seymour Bryant 'Towns & Town Planning' (London: Clarendon Press, 1923) - joint author with E A G Lamborn | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | 46, Beaconsfield Place, Aberdeen, Scotland | Private | 1911 * | | | | 8, Polmuir Road, Aberdeen, Scotland | Private | 1914 * | | | | Abbey House, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England | Private | 1918 * | | | | 27, Ashton Road, Glasgow, Scotland | Private | 1924 * | 1925 | | | 185, St Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1927 | c. 1930 | | | 121, Douglas Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | Before 1929 | After 1938 | With a break of possibly up to six years at 204 George Street | | Gray's Inn Square, London, England | Private | 1930(?) * | c. 1934(?) | | | Cardrona, Dunblane, Perthshire, Scotland | Private | c. 1930 | | The home of E M B Hughes | | 204, George Street, Glasgow, Scotland | Business | 1934(?) | 1938 | | | 30, Royal Circus, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | c. 1946 | 1949 | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersEmployees or Pupils
RIBARIBA ProposersRIBA Proposals
Buildings and DesignsThis was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | | University of Glasgow, Botany Building | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Addition - date unknown | | | University of Glasgow, Senate Room | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Alterations to lecture room - date unknown | | 1920 | Alhambra Theatre | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Further work | | 1920 | Arbroath Parish Church | Arbroath | | Angus | Scotland | War memorial | | 1920 | Dumbarton War Memorial | Dumbarton | | Dunbartonshire | Scotland | | | 1920 | Government Buildings | | | Ottawa | Canada | Designed when working with Burnet | | 1920 | University of Glasgow, Engineering Building | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Additions | | 1920 | Wellington UF Church, War Memorial | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1920 | Western Infirmary | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Massage building, x-ray department | | 1921 | Broomhill Congregational Church and halls | Partick | | Glasgow | Scotland | War memorial | | 1921 | Clyde Navigation Trust, War Memorial | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1921 | Clydesdale Bank Headquarters, St Vincent Place | | | Glasgow | Scotland | War memorial | | 1921(?) | House (bungalow) at East Linton | East Linton | | East Lothian | Scotland | | | 1921 | Kilmarnock Infirmary and Fever Hospital, Mount Pleasant | Kilmarnock | | Ayrshire | Scotland | Alterations to administration block and No 1 block | | 1921 | New Cumnock War Memorial | New Cumnock | | Ayrshire | Scotland | | | 1921 | Stenhouse Parish Church War Memorial | Stenhouse | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1922 | Merton College, Grove Building | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | Alterations and restorations | | 1922 | St Piran's School | Maidenhead | | Kent | England | Reconstruction and extensions | | 1923 | Hull Cenotaph | Hull | | Yorkshire | England | Won competition to secure job | | 1924 | House, Boars Hill | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | | | 1925 | Hamilton War Memorial | Hamilton | | Lanarkshire | Scotland | | | 1925 | Lochside | | | Renfrewshire | Scotland | Futher alterations with J R Johnstone | | 1925 | St Mary's Episcopal Church | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Restoration | | 1925 | Wheatley Manor | | | Oxfordshire | England | Restoration | | 1927 | Corpus Christi College, Thomas Building | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | | | 1928 | Corpus Christi College, Gentlemen Commoners' Room | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | Addition | | 1928 | Exeter College, Aedes Annexe | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | | | 1929 | Central Area Improvement Scheme | Bradford | | Yorkshire | England | Architectural competition, 3rd premium | | 1929 | Hertford College | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | New buildings on one side of North quad | | 1930s | Cardonald Association Hall | Cardonald | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1931 | University of Glasgow Students' Union | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Partial reconstruction as women's union | | 1932 | Greywalls | Cothill | | Berkshire | England | | | 1932 | Taylorian Institute for Modern Languages | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | New block | | c. 1932 | Ashmolean Museum, Draper's Gallery and Lecture Room | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | | | 1935 | Proposed new college | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | | | 1935 | St Matthew's Episcopal Church | Possilpark | | Glasgow | Scotland | In conjunction with J B Wilson Son & Honeyman | | 1936 | University of Glasgow, Institute of Chemistry | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1936 | University of Glasgow, Sports Pavilion | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1938 | Regent's Park College | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | | | 1938 | Royal Faculty of Procurators | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Orr Library extension | | 1938 | University of Glasgow/Western Infirmary, Gardiner Medical Institute | | | Glasgow | Scotland | Took over from Norman Aitken Dick and planned mirror image building on opposite side of Tennant Memorial Building to form symmetrical group; not carried out because of World War II | | 1939 | University of Glasgow, Reading Room | | | Glasgow | Scotland | | | 1946 | Exeter College, Rector's Lodging | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | Remodelling; also new staircase inside Palmer's Tower | | 1948 | Oxford University Press | Oxford | | Oxfordshire | England | Buildings planned | | 1949 | Dollar Academy, Science and Domestic Science block, northern extensions | Dollar | | Clackmannanshire | Scotland | Layout of extension begun | | 1949 | Glasgow University, Inorganic Chemistry Block | | | Glasgow | Scotland | In progress at time of Hughes's death | | 1949 | Glasgow University, new surgical building | | | Glasgow | Scotland | In progress at time of Hughes's death | | 1949 | Housing Scheme | Wolvercote | | Oxfordshire | England | In progress at time of Hughes's death | | 1949 | Springburn Primary School | Springburn | | Glasgow | Scotland | In progress at time of Hughes's death |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Bailey, Rebecca M | 1996 | Scottish architects' papers: a source book | | Edinburgh: The Rutland Press | | | Ferguson, H C S | | Glasgow School of Art: the history | | | pp139-43 | | Post Office Directories | | | | | | | Walker, Frank Arneil | 1986 | South Clyde Estuary: An Illustrated Architectural Guide to Inverclyde and Renfrew | | | p68 | | Who's Who in Architecture | 1914 | | | | |
Periodical ReferencesThe following periodicals contain references to this : | | Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | | Builder | 27 June 1941 | | | pp609-614 | | Builder | 17 October 1941 | | | pp348-350 | | Builder | 18 November 1949 | v177 | | p657 - obituary | | RIAS Quarterly | February 1950 | no 79 | Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) | Obituary by W J Smith | | RIBA Journal | December 1949 | v57 | London: Royal Institute of British Architects | p71 - obituary |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Professor David M Walker personal archive | Professor David M Walker, notes and collection of archive material | | Information from the personal recollections of Edith Burnet Hughes, William James Smith and Alexander Wright. Some information also from Iain Paterson | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | A v19 no2162 (microfilm reel 20); F no2341 (box 5) |
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