Charles Holden
Encyclopedia
Charles Henry Holden, Litt. D.
, FRIBA
, MRTPI
, RDI
(12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was a Bolton
-born English architect best known for designing many London Underground
stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library
, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
's headquarters at 55 Broadway
and for the University of London
's Senate House
. He also created many war cemeteries in Belgium and northern France for the Imperial War Graves Commission
.
After working and training in Bolton
and Manchester
, Holden moved to London. His early buildings were influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement
, but for most of his career he championed an unadorned style based on simplified forms and massing that was free of what he considered to be unnecessary decorative detailing. He believed strongly that architectural designs should be dictated by the intended functions of buildings. After the First World War he increasingly simplified his style and his designs became pared-down and modernist
, influenced by European architecture. Holden was a member of the Design and Industries Association
and the Art Workers' Guild. He produced complete designs for his buildings including the interior design and architectural fittings.
Although not without its critics, his architecture is widely appreciated. He was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects
' (RIBA's) Royal Gold Medal
for architecture in 1936 and was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry
in 1943. His station designs for London Underground became the corporation's standard design influencing designs by all architects working for the organisation in the 1930s. Many of his buildings have been granted listed building status, protecting them from unapproved alteration. Modestly believing that architecture was a collaborative effort, he twice declined the offer of a knighthood.
, Bolton
, Lancashire; he was the fifth and youngest child of Joseph Holden (1842–1918), a draper
and milliner, and Ellen Holden (née Broughton, 1841–1890). Holden's childhood was marred by his father's bankruptcy in 1884 and his mother's death when he was fifteen years old. Following the loss of his father's business, the family moved 15 miles (24.1 km) to St Helens
(now in Merseyside
) where his father returned to his earlier trade and worked as an iron turner
and fitter
and where Charles Holden attended a number of schools.
He briefly had jobs as a laboratory assistant and a railway clerk in St Helens. During this period he attended draughting
classes at the YMCA
and considered a career as an engineer in Sir Douglas Fox's
practice. In 1891 he began working for his brother-in-law, David Frederick Green, a land surveyor and architect in Bolton. In April 1892 he was articled
to Manchester architect Everard W. Leeson and, while training with him, also studied at the Manchester School of Art (1893–94) and Manchester Technical School (1894–96). Holden was an excellent student and was even put in charge of teaching a class.
While working and studying in Manchester, Holden formed friendships with artist Muirhead Bone
and his future brother-in-law Francis Dodd
. About this time Holden was introduced to the writings of Walt Whitman
and became friends with James William Wallace and a number of the members of Bolton's Whitman society known as the "Eagle Street College
". Whitman's writings and those of Henry David Thoreau
, Ralph Waldo Emerson
and Edward Carpenter
were major influences on Holden's life. He incorporated many of their philosophies and principles into his style of living and method of working.
In 1895 and 1896 Holden submitted designs to Building News Designing Club competitions using the pseudonym "The Owl". Although the number of competing submissions made was not always large, from nine competition entries, Holden won five first places, three second places and one third place. In 1897, he entered the competition for the RIBA's prestigious Soane Medallion for student architects. Of fourteen entries, Holden's submission for the competition's subject, a "Provincial Market Hall", came third. Holden described the design as being inspired by the work of John Belcher
, Edgar Wood
and Arthur Beresford Pite
.
The Holdens lived in suburban Norbiton
, Surrey (now Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
) until 1902, when they moved to Codicote
in Hertfordshire. Around 1906, they moved to Harmer Green near Welwyn
, where Holden designed a house for them. The house was plainly furnished and the couple lived a simple life, described by Janet Asbee in 1906 as "bananas and brown bread on the table; no hot water; plain living and high thinking and strenuous activity for the betterment of the World". The couple had no children together, though Margaret had a son, Allan, from her marriage. Charles and Margaret Holden lived at Harmer Green for the rest of their lives.
, before moving to London to work for Arts and Crafts
designer Charles Robert Ashbee
. His time with Ashbee was short and, in October 1899, he became chief assistant in H. Percy Adams' practice, where he remained for the rest of his career.
A number of Holden's early designs were for hospitals, which Adams' practice specialised in. At this early stage in his career, he produced designs in a variety of architectural styles as circumstances required, reflecting the influences of a number of architects. Holden soon took charge of most of the practice's design work. From 1900 to 1903, Holden also studied architecture in the evenings at the Royal Academy School. He also continued to produce designs in his spare time for his brother-in-law and Jonathan Simpson.
His red brick arts and craft façades for the Belgrave Hospital for Children in Kennington
, south London (1900–03), were influenced by Philip Webb
and Henry Wilson
and feature steeply pitched roofs, corner towers and stone window surrounds. The building, now converted to apartments, is Grade II* listed.
In 1902, Holden won the architectural competition to design the Bristol Central Library
. His Tudor Revival façades in bath stone
incorporate modernist
elements complementing the adjacent Abbey Gate of Bristol Cathedral
. The front façade features oriel window
s and sculpture groups with Chaucer
, Bede
and Alfred the Great
by Charles Pibworth. Internally, the design is classical, with the furniture designed by Holden and the stone carving mostly by William Aumonier. It was described by architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
as "free Neo-Tudor" and "extremely pretty" and by Andor Gomme
as "one of the great masterpieces of the early Modern Movement". It has been compared with Charles Rennie Mackintosh
's Glasgow School of Art
and it is sometimes suggested that Mackintosh's designs for the later part of the school were inspired by Holden's, although Pevsner noted that Mackintosh's designs were in circulation earlier. The building is Grade I listed.
At Midhurst
, West Sussex, Holden designed Tudor-style façades for the Sir Ernest Cassel
-funded King Edward VII Sanatorium (1903–06). The building features long wings of south-facing rooms to maximise patients' exposure to sunlight and fresh air. The design is in keeping with the building's rural setting, with façades in the local tile-hung style. Pevsner called this "certainly one of the best buildings of its date in the country" and "a model of how to build very large institutions". Holden also designed the sanitorium's V-shaped open-air chapel so that it could be used for both outdoor and indoor worship. Both buildings are Grade II listed. Other hospitals he designed in this period include the British Seamen's Hospital in Istanbul
(1903–04) and the Women's Hospital in Soho
, central London (1908).
For The Law Society he designed (1902–04) a simplified neoclassical
extension to the existing Lewis Vulliamy
-designed building in Chancery Lane
with external sculptures by Charles Pibworth and a panelled arts and crafts interior with carving by William Aumonier and friezes by Conrad Dressler
. Pevsner considered the façades to be Mannerist
: "The fashionable term Mannerism can here be used legitimately; for Holden indeed froze up and invalidated current classical motifs, which is what Mannerist architects did in the Cinquecento
."
In 1906, Holden won the architectural competition to design a new headquarters for the British Medical Association
on the corner of The Strand
and Agar Street (now Zimbabwe House). The six-storey L-shaped building replaced a collection of buildings on the site already occupied by the Association and provided it with accommodation for a council chamber, library and offices on the upper floors above space for shops on the ground floor and in the basement. Described by Powers as "classicism reduced to geometric shapes", the first three storeys are clad in grey Cornish granite with Portland stone
above. Located at second floor level was a controversial series of 7 feet (2.1 m) tall sculptures representing the development of science and the ages of man by Jacob Epstein
. The building is Grade II* listed. Alastair Service considered it "perhaps his best London building".
In 1909, Holden won the design competition for an extension to the Bristol Royal Infirmary
. Subsequently dedicated to the memory of King Edward VII
(died 1910), the extension (1911–12) was built on steeply sloping ground for which Holden designed a linked pair of Portland stone-faced blocks around a courtyard. The plain, abstract blocks have towers on the corners and two-storey loggia
s, and are a further simplification of Holden's style.
The practice became Adams & Holden in 1907 when Holden became a partner and Adams, Holden & Pearson when Lionel Pearson became a partner in 1913. In 1913, Holden was awarded the RIBA's Godwin medal and £65 to study architecture abroad. He travelled to America in April 1913 and studied the organisation of household and social science departments at American universities in preparation for his design of the Wren-influenced
Kings College for Women
, Kensington
. Other buildings by Holden before the First World War include modernist office buildings in Holborn
and Oxford Street
, an extension in red brick of Alfred Waterhouse
's Shire Hall in Bedford
, and Arts and Crafts Sutton Valence School
, Kent. Holden also worked with Epstein on the tomb of Oscar Wilde
at Père Lachaise cemetery
in Paris (1911–12). In 1915, Holden was a founding member of the Design and Industries Association
and he was a member of the Art Workers' Guild from 1917. Unsuccessful competition entries for which Holden produced designs include Strathclyde Royal Infirmary (1901), Manchester Royal Infirmary
(1904), County Hall
(1907), the National Library of Wales
(1909), Coventry Town Hall (1911) and the Board of Trade
building (1915).
's London Ambulance Column as a stretcher-bearer transferring wounded troops from London's stations to its hospitals. Holden also served on the fire watch at St Paul's Cathedral
between 1915 and 1917.
On 3 October 1917, Holden was appointed a temporary lieutenant with the army's Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries. He travelled to the French battlefields for the first time later that month and began planning new cemeteries and expanding existing ones. Holden described his experience:
In September 1918, Holden transferred to the Imperial War Graves Commission
(now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) with the new rank of major. From 1918 until 1928 he worked on 69 Commission cemeteries. Initially, Holden ran the drawing office and worked as the senior design architect under the three principal architects in France and Belgium (Edwin Lutyens
, Reginald Blomfield
and Herbert Baker
). Holden worked on the experimental war cemetery at Louvencourt
and, according to Geurst and Karol, probably on the one at Forceville
that was selected as the prototype for all that followed.
In 1920, he was promoted to be the fourth principal architect. His work for the Commission included memorials to the New Zealand missing dead at Messines Ridge British Cemetery
, and the Buttes New British Cemetery
at Zonnebeke
. His designs were stripped of ornament, often using simple detailed masses of Portland stone in the construction of the shelters and other architectural elements. Philip Longworth's history of the Commission described Holden's pavilions at Wimereux Communal Cemetery as "almost cruelly severe".
In 1922, Holden designed the War Memorial Gateway for Clifton College
, Bristol, using a combination of limestone and gritstone
to match the Gothic
style of the school's buildings. For the British War Memorials Committee, he produced a design for a "Hall of Remembrance" (1918) that would have been in the form of an art gallery, and for New College, Oxford
, he created a design for a tiny memorial chapel (1919). Neither was constructed.
Through his involvement with the Design and Industries Association Holden met Frank Pick
, general manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
(UERL). Holden at the time had no experience in designing for transport, but this would change through his collaboration with Pick. In 1923, Pick commissioned Holden to design a façade for a side entrance at Westminster tube station
. This was followed in 1924 with an appointment to design the UERL's pavilion for the British Empire Exhibition
. Also in 1924, Pick commissioned Holden to design seven new stations in south London for the extension of the City and South London Railway (now part of the Northern line
) from Clapham Common
to Morden
. The designs replaced a set by the UERL's own architect, Stanley Heaps
, which Pick had found unsatisfactory. The designs reflect the simple modernist style he was using in France for the war cemeteries; double-height ticket halls are clad in plain Portland stone framing a glazed screen, each adapted to suit the street corner sites of most of the stations. The screens feature the Underground roundel made up in coloured glass panels and are divided by stone columns surmounted by capitals
formed as a three-dimensional version of the roundel. Holden also advised Heaps on new façades for a number of the existing stations on the line and produced the design for a new entrance at Bond Street station
on the Central London Railway
.
During the later 1920s, Holden designed a series of replacement buildings and new façades for station improvements around the UERL's network. Many of these featured Portland stone cladding and variations of the glazed screens developed for the Morden extension. At Piccadilly Circus
, one of the busiest stations on the system, Holden designed (1925–28) a spacious travertine
-lined circulating concourse and ticket hall below the roadway of the junction from which banks of escalators gave access to the platforms below.
In 1926, Holden began the design of a new headquarters for the UERL at 55 Broadway
above St. James's Park station
. Above the first floor, the steel-framed
building was constructed to a cruciform
plan and rises in a series of receding stages to a central clock tower 175 feet (53.3 m) tall. The arrangement maximises daylight to the building's interior without the use of light wells. Like his stations of the period and his pre-First World War commercial buildings, the block is austerely clad in Portland stone. Holden again detailed the façades with commissioned sculptures; Day and Night, two compositions by Epstein, are at first floor level, and a series of eight bas-reliefs at the seventh floor represent the four winds
(two for each of the cardinal direction
s, on each side of the projecting wings). The building is Grade I listed.
In 1930, Holden and Pick made a tour of Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden to see the latest developments in modern architecture. The UERL was planning extensions of the Piccadilly line
to the west, north-west and north of London, and a new type of station was wanted. Adapting the architectural styles he had seen on the tour, Holden created functional designs composed of simple forms: cylinders, curves and rectangles, built in plain brick, concrete and glass. The extensions to the west and north-west were over existing routes operated by the District line
and required a number of stations to be rebuilt to accommodate additional tracks or to replace original, basic buildings. Sudbury Town
, the first station to be rebuilt in 1931, formed a template for many of the other new stations that followed: a tall rectangular brick box with a concrete flat roof and panels of vertical glazing to allow light into the interior. The Grade II listed building was described by Pevsner as "an outstanding example of how satisfying such unpretentious buildings can be, purely through the use of careful details and good proportions."
For Arnos Grove station
, one of eight new stations on the northern extension of the line, Holden modified the rectangular box into a circular drum, a design inspired by Gunnar Asplund
's Stockholm Public Library
. Also notable on the northern extension is Southgate station
; here Holden designed a single-storey circular building with a canopied flat roof. Above this, the central section of roof rises up on a continuous horizontal band of clerestory
windows, supported internally by a single central column. The building is topped by an illuminated feature capped with a bronze ball. Other stations show the influence of Willem Marinus Dudok
's work in Hilversum
, Netherlands. In order to handle such a large volume of work, Holden delegated significant design responsibility to his assistants, such as Charles Hutton, who took the lead on Arnos Grove Station. For some other Piccadilly line stations the design was handled in-house by Stanley Heaps or by other architectural practices. All followed the modern brick, glass and concrete house style defined by Holden, but some lacked Holden's originality and attention to detail; Pick dubbed these "Holdenesque".
The UERL became part of London Transport
in 1933, but the focus remained on high quality design. Under Pick, Holden's attention to detail and idea of integrated design extended to all parts of London's transport network, from designing bus and tram shelters to a new type of six-wheeled omnibus. In the late 1930s, Holden designed replacement stations at Highgate
, East Finchley
and Finchley Central
and new stations at Elstree South
and Bushey Heath
for the Northern line
's Northern Heights plan. Holden's designs incorporated sculpture relevant to the local history of a number of stations: Dick Whittington for Highgate, a Roman centurion
at Elstree South and an archer for East Finchley. Much of the project was postponed shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and was later cancelled. Only East Finchley station was completed in full with Highgate in part; the other plans were scrapped. East Finchley station is located on an embankment and the platforms are accessed from below. Making use of the station's air-rights, Holden provided staff office space spanning above the tracks accessed through semi-circular glazed stairways from the platforms. Eric Aumonier
provided the statue The Archer, a prominent feature of the station.
Holden's last designs for London Transport were three new stations for the Central line
extension in north-east London. These were designed in the 1930s, but were also delayed by the war and were not completed until 1947. Post-war austerity measures reduced the quality of the materials used compared with the 1930s stations and the building at Wanstead
was adapted from a temporary structure constructed during the line's wartime use as an underground factory. Gants Hill
is accessed through subways and has no station building, but is notable for the design of its platform level concourse, which features a barrel vault
ed ceiling inspired by stations on the Moscow Metro
.
needed a replacement for its overcrowded and scattered accommodation in Kensington
. A site was acquired in Bloomsbury
near the British Museum
and Holden was commissioned in 1931 to design the new buildings, partly due to the success of 55 Broadway.
Holden's original plan was for a single structure covering the whole site, stretching almost 1200 feet (365.8 m) from Montague Place to Torrington Street. It comprised a central spine linked by a series of wings to the perimeter façade and enclosing a series of courtyards. The scheme was to be topped by two towers: a smaller one to the north, and a 19-storey, 210 feet (64 m) tall Senate House.
Construction began in 1932, but due to a shortage of funds, the design was gradually revised and cut back, and only the Senate House and Library were completed in 1937, with the buildings for the Institute of Education
and the School of Oriental Studies
completed later. The design featured façades of load-bearing brickwork faced with Portland stone. Holden's intention to adorn the building with sculpture was also not fulfilled. As he had with his earlier buildings, Holden also prepared the designs for the individual elements of the interior design. From its completion until 1957, it was the tallest office building in London.
Senate House divided opinion. Pevsner described its style as "strangely semi-traditional, undecided modernism", and summarised: "The design certainly does not possess the vigour and directness of Charles Holden's smaller Underground stations." Others have described it as Stalinist
, or as totalitarian
due to its great scale. Functionalist
architect Erich Mendelsohn
wrote to Holden in 1938 that he was "very much taken and ... convinced that there is no finer building in London." Historian Arnold Whittick described the building as a "static massive pyramid ... obviously designed to last for a thousand years", but thought "the interior is more pleasing than the exterior. There is essentially the atmosphere of dignity, serenity and repose that one associates with the architecture of ancient Greece."
The onset of the Second World War prevented any further progress on the full scheme, although Adams, Holden & Pearson did design further buildings for the university in the vicinity.
ideas involved the relocation of industry out of towns and cities to new industrial centres in the style of Port Sunlight
or Bournville
where workers could live close to their workplace. The new industrial centres would be linked to the existing towns with new fast roads and reconstruction in town centres would be planned to provide more open space around the administrative centres.
In 1944–45 Holden produced plans for the reconstruction of Canterbury
, Kent, with the City Architect Herbert Millson Enderby. Canterbury had been badly damaged by Luftwaffe bombing including the Baedeker raids
in May and June 1942. Holden and Enderby aimed to preserve much of the character of the city, but planned for the compulsory purchase
of 75 acres (30.4 ha) of the town centre for large scale reconstruction including a new civic way from the cathedral to a new town hall. Outside the city, they planned bypasses
and a ring road
at a two-mile (3.2-kilometre) radius of the centre. Although approved by the city council, the plan was widely opposed by residents and freeholders and the "Canterbury Citizens Defence Association" issued an alternative plan before taking control of the council at local elections in November 1945. The change in administration ended the proposals, although a new plan prepared in 1947 without Holden's or Enderby's involvement retained some of their ideas including the ring road.
The City of London
's first reconstruction plan was written by the City Engineer F. J. Forty and published in 1944. It had met with considerable criticism and William Morrison
, Minister for Town and Country Planning, asked the City of London Corporation to prepare a new plan. Holden was approached, and he accepted provided that William Holford
also be appointed. Holden's and Holford's City of London Plan (1946–1947) recommended a relaxation of the strict height limits imposed in the capital and the first use in London of plot ratio
calculations in the planning process so that buildings could be designed with floor space of up to five times the ground area. For the bomb-devastated area around St Paul's Cathedral
, Holden proposed a new precinct
around which buildings would be positioned to provide clear views of the cathedral and from which new ceremonial routes would radiate. The heights of buildings would be strictly defined to protect these views. The plan was accepted by the Minister for Town and Country Planning in 1948 and was incorporated into the wider London Development Plan.
In 1947, Holden planned a scheme on behalf of the London County Council
for the South Bank
of the River Thames
between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge
, including a plan for a concert hall with the council's architect Edwin Williams. The scheme received little attention and was almost immediately superseded by plans to develop the area as the site of the Festival of Britain
. Holden was also architectural and planning consultant to the University of Edinburgh
and to the Borough of Tynemouth
.
One of Holden's last public engagements was when he acted as a sponsor at the award of the RIBA's Royal Gold Medal to Le Corbusier
in 1953. The last project that Holden worked on was a much criticised headquarters building for English Electric
in Aldwych
, London. In 1952, Adams, Holden & Pearson were appointed by English Electric's chairman, Sir George Nelson
, and Holden designed a monolithic stone building around a courtyard. In 1955, the London County Council
persuaded English Electric to put the scheme aside and hold a limited architectural competition for a new design. Adams, Holden & Pearson submitted a design, but were beaten by Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners. When that practice later refused Sir George Nelson's request to redesign the façades, Adams, Holden & Pearson were reappointed and Charles Holden revised his practice's competition entry. The new design was criticised by the Royal Fine Art Commission and a further redesign was carried out by one of Holden's partners to produce the final design, described by Pevsner as "a dull, lifeless building, stone-faced and with nothing to recommend it".
Holden died on 1 May 1960. His body was cremated at Enfield crematorium and his ashes were spread in the garden of the Friends' Meeting House in Hertford
. On 2 June 1960 a memorial service was held at St Pancras New Church
, where Holden had designed the altar in 1914. Obituaries were published in daily newspapers The Manchester Guardian
, The Times
and The Daily Telegraph
and in construction industry periodicals including The Builder
, Architectural Review
, Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Journal of the Town Planning Institute. Generally, the obituaries were positive about Holden's early work and the stations for London Underground, were neutral about Senate House and were negative about his practice's later works. The Harmer Green house and most of its contents were auctioned with the proceeds left to family members. Holden also left £8,400 to friends and staff and £2,000 to charity.
In 1905, in an essay titled "If Whitman had been an Architect", Holden made an anonymous plea to architects for a new form of modern architecture: "Often I hear of the glory of the architecture of ancient Greece; of the proud Romans; of sombre Egypt; the praise of vast Byzantium and the lofty Middle Ages, too, I hear. But of the glory of the architecture of the Modern I never hear. Come, you Modern Buildings, come! Throw off your mantle of deceits; your cornices, pilasters, mouldings, swags, scrolls; behind them all, behind your dignified proportions, your picturesque groupings, your arts and crafts prettinesses and exaggerated techniques; behind and beyond them all hides the one I love."
In his 1936 speech when presented with the RIBA's Royal Gold Medal
, Holden defined his position: "It was not so much a matter of creating a new style, as of discarding those incrustations which counted for style ... surface embroidery empty of structural significance". His method was to focus on "those more permanent basic factors of architecture, the plan, and the planes and masses arising out of the plan." He described his ideal building as one "which takes naturally and inevitably the form controlled by the plan and the purpose and the materials. A building which provides opportunities for the exercise and skill and pleasure in work not only to the designer but also for the many craftsmen employed and the occupants of the building."
In a 1957 essay on architecture, he wrote "I don't seek for a style, either ancient or modern, I want an architecture which is through and through good building. A building planned for a specific purpose, constructed in the method and use of materials, old or new, most appropriate to the purpose the building has to serve."
for his body of work. He was Vice President of the RIBA from 1935 to 1937 and a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission from 1933 to 1947. In 1943 he was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry
for the design of transport equipment. He was awarded honorary doctorates by Manchester University in 1936 and London University in 1946. Many of Holden's buildings have been granted listed status, protecting them against demolition and unapproved alteration.
Holden declined the invitation to become a Royal Academician
in 1942, having previously been nominated, but refused because of his connection to Epstein. He twice declined a knighthood, in 1943 and 1951, as he considered it to be at odds with his simple lifestyle and considered architecture a collaborative process.
The RIBA holds a collection of Holden's personal papers and material from Adams, Holden & Pearson. The RIBA staged exhibitions of his work at the Heinz Gallery in 1988 and at the Victoria and Albert Museum
between October 2010 and February 2011.
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Portraits
Doctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
, FRIBA
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
, MRTPI
Royal Town Planning Institute
The Royal Town Planning Institute is a body representing planning professionals in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1914.-Members:...
, RDI
Royal Designers for Industry
Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for...
(12 May 1875 – 1 May 1960) was a Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
-born English architect best known for designing many London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
stations during the 1920s and 1930s, for Bristol Central Library
Bristol Central Library
Bristol Central Library is a historic building on the south side of College Green, Bristol, England. It contains the main collections of Bristol's public library....
, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
Underground Electric Railways Company of London
The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited , known operationally as The Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a circular tunnel by the use...
's headquarters at 55 Broadway
55 Broadway
55 Broadway is a notable building overlooking St. James's Park in London. It was designed by Charles Holden and built between 1927 and 1929, and in 1931 the building earned him the RIBA London Architecture Medal...
and for the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
's Senate House
Senate House (University of London)
Senate House is the administrative centre of the University of London, situated in the heart of Bloomsbury, London between the School of Oriental and African Studies to the north, with the British Museum to the south...
. He also created many war cemeteries in Belgium and northern France for the Imperial War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
.
After working and training in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Holden moved to London. His early buildings were influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
, but for most of his career he championed an unadorned style based on simplified forms and massing that was free of what he considered to be unnecessary decorative detailing. He believed strongly that architectural designs should be dictated by the intended functions of buildings. After the First World War he increasingly simplified his style and his designs became pared-down and modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
, influenced by European architecture. Holden was a member of the Design and Industries Association
Design and Industries Association
The Design and Industries Association is a United Kingdom charity whose object is to engage with all those who share a common interest in the contribution that design can make to the delivery of goods and services that are sustainable and enhance the quality of life for communities and the...
and the Art Workers' Guild. He produced complete designs for his buildings including the interior design and architectural fittings.
Although not without its critics, his architecture is widely appreciated. He was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
' (RIBA's) Royal Gold Medal
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
for architecture in 1936 and was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry
Royal Designers for Industry
Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for...
in 1943. His station designs for London Underground became the corporation's standard design influencing designs by all architects working for the organisation in the 1930s. Many of his buildings have been granted listed building status, protecting them from unapproved alteration. Modestly believing that architecture was a collaborative effort, he twice declined the offer of a knighthood.
Early life
Charles Holden was born on 12 May 1875 at Great LeverGreat Lever
Great Lever is mainly a residential suburb of Bolton in Greater Manchester, England. Historically within Lancashire, it is about 2½ miles south of Bolton town centre and the same distance north of Farnworth town centre. Great Lever has many shops and services serving the local community...
, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, Lancashire; he was the fifth and youngest child of Joseph Holden (1842–1918), a draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
and milliner, and Ellen Holden (née Broughton, 1841–1890). Holden's childhood was marred by his father's bankruptcy in 1884 and his mother's death when he was fifteen years old. Following the loss of his father's business, the family moved 15 miles (24.1 km) to St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
(now in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
) where his father returned to his earlier trade and worked as an iron turner
Turning
Turning is the process whereby a single point cutting tool is parallel to the surface. It can be done manually, in a traditional form of lathe, which frequently requires continuous supervision by the operator, or by using a computer controlled and automated lathe which does not. This type of...
and fitter
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...
and where Charles Holden attended a number of schools.
He briefly had jobs as a laboratory assistant and a railway clerk in St Helens. During this period he attended draughting
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
classes at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
and considered a career as an engineer in Sir Douglas Fox's
Charles Douglas Fox
Sir Douglas Fox was a British civil engineer.-Early life:Douglas was born in Smethwick, Staffordshire, the oldest son of Sir Charles Fox and had two brothers and a sister. Sir Charles was a civil engineer and had designed, amongst other things, The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park...
practice. In 1891 he began working for his brother-in-law, David Frederick Green, a land surveyor and architect in Bolton. In April 1892 he was articled
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
to Manchester architect Everard W. Leeson and, while training with him, also studied at the Manchester School of Art (1893–94) and Manchester Technical School (1894–96). Holden was an excellent student and was even put in charge of teaching a class.
While working and studying in Manchester, Holden formed friendships with artist Muirhead Bone
Muirhead Bone
Sir Muirhead Bone was a Scottish etcher, drypoint and watercolour artist.The son of a printer, Bone was born in Glasgow and trained initially as an architect, later going on to study art at Glasgow School of Art. He began printmaking in 1898, and although his first known print was a lithograph, he...
and his future brother-in-law Francis Dodd
Francis Dodd
Francis Edgar Dodd RA was a notable British portrait and landscape artist and printmaker.Born in Holyhead, north Wales, the son of a Wesleyan minister, Dodd trained at the Glasgow School of Art, winning the Haldene Scholarship in 1893 and travelling around France, Italy and later Spain...
. About this time Holden was introduced to the writings of Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman
Walter "Walt" Whitman was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among the most influential poets in the American canon, often called the father of free verse...
and became friends with James William Wallace and a number of the members of Bolton's Whitman society known as the "Eagle Street College
Eagle Street College
The Eagle Street College was an informal literary society established in 1885 at the home of James William Wallace in Eagle Street, Bolton, to read and discuss literary works, particularly the poetry of Walt Whitman, . The group subsequently became known as the Bolton Whitman Fellowship or...
". Whitman's writings and those of Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
and Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter was an English socialist poet, socialist philosopher, anthologist, and early gay activist....
were major influences on Holden's life. He incorporated many of their philosophies and principles into his style of living and method of working.
In 1895 and 1896 Holden submitted designs to Building News Designing Club competitions using the pseudonym "The Owl". Although the number of competing submissions made was not always large, from nine competition entries, Holden won five first places, three second places and one third place. In 1897, he entered the competition for the RIBA's prestigious Soane Medallion for student architects. Of fourteen entries, Holden's submission for the competition's subject, a "Provincial Market Hall", came third. Holden described the design as being inspired by the work of John Belcher
John Belcher (architect)
John Belcher was an English architect.Belcher was born in Southwark on 10 July 1841, London. His father of the same name was an established architect. The son was articled with his father, spending two years in France from 1862 where he studied contemporary architecture...
, Edgar Wood
Edgar Wood
Edgar Wood was an architect who practised from Manchester at the turn of the 20th century and gained a considerable reputation both in Britain and abroad, notably in Germany. British design was then of European significance. His work is principally domestic, but he designed several churches and...
and Arthur Beresford Pite
Arthur Beresford Pite
Arthur Beresford Pite was a British architect.-The early years:Arthur Beresford Pite was born on 2 September 1861 in Newington, London to Alfred and Hephzibah. The Pite lineage originated from Woodbridge, Suffolk and has been traced back to the late 17th century...
.
Family life
Around 1898 Holden began living with Margaret Steadman (née Macdonald, 1865–1954), a nurse and midwife. They were introduced by Holden's older sister, Alice, and became friends through their common interest in Whitman. Steadman had separated from her husband James Steadman, a university tutor, because of his alcoholism and abuse. Steadman and her husband were never divorced and, though she and Holden lived as a married couple and Holden referred to her as his wife, the relationship was never formalised, even after James Steadman's death in 1930.The Holdens lived in suburban Norbiton
Norbiton
Norbiton is a place in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London. It lies approximately east of Kingston upon Thames's town centre, and from Charing Cross. Its main landmarks include Kingston Hospital and Kingsmeadow football stadium, which is currently used for the home matches of both...
, Surrey (now Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a borough in southwest London, England. The main town is Kingston upon Thames and it includes Surbiton, Chessington, New Malden and Tolworth. It is the oldest of the three Royal Boroughs in England, the others are Kensington and Chelsea, also in London,...
) until 1902, when they moved to Codicote
Codicote
Codicote is a large village, and civil parish about seven miles south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has timber-framed and chequered brick houses, of special interest being the 18th-century Pond House and the half-timbered "As You Like It" Peking restaurant . Codicote Lodge is 18th...
in Hertfordshire. Around 1906, they moved to Harmer Green near Welwyn
Welwyn
Welwyn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. The parish also includes the villages of Digswell and Oaklands. It is sometimes called Old Welwyn to distinguish it from the newer settlement of Welwyn Garden City, about a mile to the south.-History:Situated in the valley of the...
, where Holden designed a house for them. The house was plainly furnished and the couple lived a simple life, described by Janet Asbee in 1906 as "bananas and brown bread on the table; no hot water; plain living and high thinking and strenuous activity for the betterment of the World". The couple had no children together, though Margaret had a son, Allan, from her marriage. Charles and Margaret Holden lived at Harmer Green for the rest of their lives.
Early career
Holden left Leeson's practice in 1896 and worked for Jonathan Simpson in Bolton in 1896 and 1897, working on house designs there and at Port SunlightPort Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
, before moving to London to work for Arts and Crafts
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
designer Charles Robert Ashbee
Charles Robert Ashbee
Charles Robert Ashbee was an English designer and entrepreneur who was a prime mover of the Arts and Crafts movement that took its craft ethic from the works of John Ruskin and its co-operative structure from the socialism of William Morris.-Early life:He was the son of businessman and erotic...
. His time with Ashbee was short and, in October 1899, he became chief assistant in H. Percy Adams' practice, where he remained for the rest of his career.
A number of Holden's early designs were for hospitals, which Adams' practice specialised in. At this early stage in his career, he produced designs in a variety of architectural styles as circumstances required, reflecting the influences of a number of architects. Holden soon took charge of most of the practice's design work. From 1900 to 1903, Holden also studied architecture in the evenings at the Royal Academy School. He also continued to produce designs in his spare time for his brother-in-law and Jonathan Simpson.
His red brick arts and craft façades for the Belgrave Hospital for Children in Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
, south London (1900–03), were influenced by Philip Webb
Philip Webb
Another Philip Webb — Philip Edward Webb was the architect son of leading architect Sir Aston Webb. Along with his brother, Maurice, he assisted his father towards the end of his career....
and Henry Wilson
Henry Wilson (architect and designer)
Henry Wilson was a British architect, jeweller and designer.-Career:He was born at 91 Red Rock Street in West Derby near Liverpool on 12 March 1864....
and feature steeply pitched roofs, corner towers and stone window surrounds. The building, now converted to apartments, is Grade II* listed.
In 1902, Holden won the architectural competition to design the Bristol Central Library
Bristol Central Library
Bristol Central Library is a historic building on the south side of College Green, Bristol, England. It contains the main collections of Bristol's public library....
. His Tudor Revival façades in bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
incorporate modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
elements complementing the adjacent Abbey Gate of Bristol Cathedral
Bristol Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral...
. The front façade features oriel window
Oriel window
Oriel windows are a form of bay window commonly found in Gothic architecture, which project from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. Corbels or brackets are often used to support this kind of window. They are seen in combination with the Tudor arch. This type of window was...
s and sculpture groups with Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey...
, Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
and Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
by Charles Pibworth. Internally, the design is classical, with the furniture designed by Holden and the stone carving mostly by William Aumonier. It was described by architectural historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner
Nikolaus Pevsner
Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner, CBE, FBA was a German-born British scholar of history of art and, especially, of history of architecture...
as "free Neo-Tudor" and "extremely pretty" and by Andor Gomme
Andor Harvey Gomme
Andor Harvey Gomme was a British scholar of English literature and architectural history. He read Moral Sciences at Cambridge University in the 1950s, and became a lecturer in English literature at Keele University in 1963...
as "one of the great masterpieces of the early Modern Movement". It has been compared with Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...
's Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art
Glasgow School of Art is one of only two independent art schools in Scotland, situated in the Garnethill area of Glasgow.-History:It was founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design. In 1853, it changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art. Initially it was located at 12 Ingram...
and it is sometimes suggested that Mackintosh's designs for the later part of the school were inspired by Holden's, although Pevsner noted that Mackintosh's designs were in circulation earlier. The building is Grade I listed.
At Midhurst
Midhurst
Midhurst is a market town and civil parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England, with a population of 4,889 in 2001. The town is situated on the River Rother and is home to the ruin of the Tudor Cowdray House and the stately Victorian Cowdray Park...
, West Sussex, Holden designed Tudor-style façades for the Sir Ernest Cassel
Ernest Cassel
Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, PC was a German-born British merchant banker and capitalist.-Biography:...
-funded King Edward VII Sanatorium (1903–06). The building features long wings of south-facing rooms to maximise patients' exposure to sunlight and fresh air. The design is in keeping with the building's rural setting, with façades in the local tile-hung style. Pevsner called this "certainly one of the best buildings of its date in the country" and "a model of how to build very large institutions". Holden also designed the sanitorium's V-shaped open-air chapel so that it could be used for both outdoor and indoor worship. Both buildings are Grade II listed. Other hospitals he designed in this period include the British Seamen's Hospital in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(1903–04) and the Women's Hospital in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, central London (1908).
For The Law Society he designed (1902–04) a simplified neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
extension to the existing Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy was an English architect belonging to the Vulliamy family of clockmakers.-Life:Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 1791, and articled to Sir Robert Smirke...
-designed building in Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane
Chancery Lane is the street which has been the western boundary of the City of London since 1994 having previously been divided between Westminster and Camden...
with external sculptures by Charles Pibworth and a panelled arts and crafts interior with carving by William Aumonier and friezes by Conrad Dressler
Conrad Dressler
Conrad Dressler was an English sculptor and potter.Dressler was born in London and studied sculpture at the Royal College of Art. He was later influenced by the Arts & Crafts Movement...
. Pevsner considered the façades to be Mannerist
Mannerism
Mannerism is a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. It lasted until about 1580 in Italy, when a more Baroque style began to replace it, but Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century throughout much of Europe...
: "The fashionable term Mannerism can here be used legitimately; for Holden indeed froze up and invalidated current classical motifs, which is what Mannerist architects did in the Cinquecento
Cinquecento
Cinquecento is a term used to describe the Italian Renaissance of the 16th century, including the current styles of art, music, literature, and architecture.-Art:...
."
In 1906, Holden won the architectural competition to design a new headquarters for the British Medical Association
British Medical Association
The British Medical Association is the professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association’s headquarters are located in BMA House,...
on the corner of The Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
and Agar Street (now Zimbabwe House). The six-storey L-shaped building replaced a collection of buildings on the site already occupied by the Association and provided it with accommodation for a council chamber, library and offices on the upper floors above space for shops on the ground floor and in the basement. Described by Powers as "classicism reduced to geometric shapes", the first three storeys are clad in grey Cornish granite with Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
above. Located at second floor level was a controversial series of 7 feet (2.1 m) tall sculptures representing the development of science and the ages of man by Jacob Epstein
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein KBE was an American-born British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British citizen in 1911. He often produced controversial works which challenged taboos on what was appropriate subject matter...
. The building is Grade II* listed. Alastair Service considered it "perhaps his best London building".
In 1909, Holden won the design competition for an extension to the Bristol Royal Infirmary
Bristol Royal Infirmary
The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital situated in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the medical faculty of the nearby University of Bristol, and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in...
. Subsequently dedicated to the memory of King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
(died 1910), the extension (1911–12) was built on steeply sloping ground for which Holden designed a linked pair of Portland stone-faced blocks around a courtyard. The plain, abstract blocks have towers on the corners and two-storey loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
s, and are a further simplification of Holden's style.
The practice became Adams & Holden in 1907 when Holden became a partner and Adams, Holden & Pearson when Lionel Pearson became a partner in 1913. In 1913, Holden was awarded the RIBA's Godwin medal and £65 to study architecture abroad. He travelled to America in April 1913 and studied the organisation of household and social science departments at American universities in preparation for his design of the Wren-influenced
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
Kings College for Women
Queen Elizabeth College
Queen Elizabeth College had its origins in the Ladies' Department of King's College London, England, opened in 1885. The first King's 'extension' lectures for ladies were held at Richmond in 1871, and from 1878 in Kensington, with chaperones in attendance.In 1881, the Council resolved 'to...
, Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. Other buildings by Holden before the First World War include modernist office buildings in Holborn
Holborn
Holborn is an area of Central London. Holborn is also the name of the area's principal east-west street, running as High Holborn from St Giles's High Street to Gray's Inn Road and then on to Holborn Viaduct...
and Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, an extension in red brick of Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse
Alfred Waterhouse was a British architect, particularly associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. He is perhaps best known for his design for the Natural History Museum in London, and Manchester Town Hall, although he also built a wide variety of other buildings throughout the...
's Shire Hall in Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, and Arts and Crafts Sutton Valence School
Sutton Valence School
Sutton Valence School is an English independent school near Maidstone in southeast England. It has about 520 pupils. It is a co-educational school with a boarding option . The three boarding houses are Westminster, St Margaret's and Sutton and, for those in the first and second form, Beresford...
, Kent. Holden also worked with Epstein on the tomb of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
at Père Lachaise cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
in Paris (1911–12). In 1915, Holden was a founding member of the Design and Industries Association
Design and Industries Association
The Design and Industries Association is a United Kingdom charity whose object is to engage with all those who share a common interest in the contribution that design can make to the delivery of goods and services that are sustainable and enhance the quality of life for communities and the...
and he was a member of the Art Workers' Guild from 1917. Unsuccessful competition entries for which Holden produced designs include Strathclyde Royal Infirmary (1901), Manchester Royal Infirmary
Manchester Royal Infirmary
The Manchester Royal Infirmary is a hospital in Manchester, England which was founded by Charles White in 1752 as a cottage hospital capable of caring for twelve patients. Manchester Royal Infirmary is part of a larger NHS Trust incorporating several hospitals called Central Manchester University...
(1904), County Hall
County Hall, London
County Hall is a building in Lambeth, London, which was the headquarters of London County Council and later the Greater London Council . The building is on the bank of the River Thames, just north of Westminster Bridge, facing west toward the City of Westminster, and close to the Palace of...
(1907), the National Library of Wales
National Library of Wales
The National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
(1909), Coventry Town Hall (1911) and the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
building (1915).
War cemeteries and memorials
The Holdens shared a strong sense of personal duty and service. In the First World War, Margaret Holden joined the "Friends' Emergency Committee for the Assistance of Germans, Austrians and Hungarians in distress" which helped refugees of those countries stranded in London by the conflict. Charles Holden served with the Red CrossBritish Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom branch of the worldwide impartial humanitarian organisation the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with over 31,000 volunteers and 2,600 staff. At the heart of their work...
's London Ambulance Column as a stretcher-bearer transferring wounded troops from London's stations to its hospitals. Holden also served on the fire watch at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
between 1915 and 1917.
On 3 October 1917, Holden was appointed a temporary lieutenant with the army's Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries. He travelled to the French battlefields for the first time later that month and began planning new cemeteries and expanding existing ones. Holden described his experience:
The country is one vast wilderness, blasted out of recognition where once villages & orchards & fertile land, now tossed about & churned in hopeless disorder with never a landmark as far as the eye can reach & dotted about in the scrub and untidiness of it all are to be seen here & there singly & in groups little white crosses marking the place where men have fallen and been buried.
In September 1918, Holden transferred to the Imperial War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
(now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission) with the new rank of major. From 1918 until 1928 he worked on 69 Commission cemeteries. Initially, Holden ran the drawing office and worked as the senior design architect under the three principal architects in France and Belgium (Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
, Reginald Blomfield
Reginald Blomfield
Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period.- Early life and career :...
and Herbert Baker
Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker was a British architect.Baker was the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, 1892–1912....
). Holden worked on the experimental war cemetery at Louvencourt
Louvencourt
Louvencourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Louvencourt is situated northeast of Amiens, on the D938 road-Population:-External links:*...
and, according to Geurst and Karol, probably on the one at Forceville
Forceville
Forceville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Situated on the D938 road, some northwest of Amiens.On 18 December 1915 the 107th Machine Gun Corps was established here as part of the 36th Division....
that was selected as the prototype for all that followed.
In 1920, he was promoted to be the fourth principal architect. His work for the Commission included memorials to the New Zealand missing dead at Messines Ridge British Cemetery
Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial
The Messines Ridge Memorial is a World War I memorial, located in Messines Ridge British Cemetery, near the town of Mesen, Belgium. The memorial lists 827 officers and men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force with no known grave who died in or near Messines in 1917 and 1918...
, and the Buttes New British Cemetery
Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial
The Buttes New British Cemetery Memorial is a World War I memorial, located in Buttes New British Cemetery, near the town of Zonnebeke, Belgium...
at Zonnebeke
Zonnebeke
Zonnebeke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Beselare, Geluveld, Passendale, Zandvoorde and Zonnebeke proper. On January 1, 2006 Zonnebeke had a total population of 11,758...
. His designs were stripped of ornament, often using simple detailed masses of Portland stone in the construction of the shelters and other architectural elements. Philip Longworth's history of the Commission described Holden's pavilions at Wimereux Communal Cemetery as "almost cruelly severe".
In 1922, Holden designed the War Memorial Gateway for Clifton College
Clifton College
Clifton College is a co-educational independent school in Clifton, Bristol, England, founded in 1862. In its early years it was notable for emphasising science in the curriculum, and for being less concerned with social elitism, e.g. by admitting day-boys on equal terms and providing a dedicated...
, Bristol, using a combination of limestone and gritstone
Gritstone
Gritstone or Grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for paper and for grindstones to sharpen blades. "Grit" is...
to match the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style of the school's buildings. For the British War Memorials Committee, he produced a design for a "Hall of Remembrance" (1918) that would have been in the form of an art gallery, and for New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, he created a design for a tiny memorial chapel (1919). Neither was constructed.
London Transport
Frank Pick
Frank Pick LLB Hon. RIBA was a British transport administrator. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1902, he worked at the North Eastern Railway, before moving to the Underground Electric Railways Company of London in 1906...
, general manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London
Underground Electric Railways Company of London
The Underground Electric Railways Company of London Limited , known operationally as The Underground for much of its existence, was established in 1902. It was the holding company for the three deep-level "tube"A "tube" railway is an underground railway constructed in a circular tunnel by the use...
(UERL). Holden at the time had no experience in designing for transport, but this would change through his collaboration with Pick. In 1923, Pick commissioned Holden to design a façade for a side entrance at Westminster tube station
Westminster tube station
Westminster is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster. It is served by the Circle, District and Jubilee lines. On the Circle and District lines, the station is between St. James's Park and Embankment and, on the Jubilee line it is between Green Park and Waterloo. It is in...
. This was followed in 1924 with an appointment to design the UERL's pavilion for the British Empire Exhibition
British Empire Exhibition
The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley, Middlesex in 1924 and 1925.-History:It was opened by King George V on St George's Day, 23 April 1924. The British Empire contained 58 countries at that time, and only Gambia and Gibraltar did not take part...
. Also in 1924, Pick commissioned Holden to design seven new stations in south London for the extension of the City and South London Railway (now part of the Northern line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
) from Clapham Common
Clapham Common tube station
Clapham Common tube station is a station on London Underground's Northern Line. It lies between Clapham North and Clapham South stations and is in Travelcard Zone 2.-History:...
to Morden
Morden tube station
Morden is a London Underground station in Morden in the London Borough of Merton. The station is the southern terminus for the Northern line and is the most southerly station on the Underground network. The next station north is...
. The designs replaced a set by the UERL's own architect, Stanley Heaps
Stanley Heaps
Stanley A. Heaps was an English architect responsible for the design of a number of stations on the London Underground system as well as the design of train depots and bus and trolleybus garages for London Transport.-Works:...
, which Pick had found unsatisfactory. The designs reflect the simple modernist style he was using in France for the war cemeteries; double-height ticket halls are clad in plain Portland stone framing a glazed screen, each adapted to suit the street corner sites of most of the stations. The screens feature the Underground roundel made up in coloured glass panels and are divided by stone columns surmounted by capitals
Capital (architecture)
In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
formed as a three-dimensional version of the roundel. Holden also advised Heaps on new façades for a number of the existing stations on the line and produced the design for a new entrance at Bond Street station
Bond Street tube station
Bond Street tube station is a London Underground station on Oxford Street, near the junction with New Bond Street. Note that the street-level entrances are approximately 200 metres west of New Bond Street itself...
on the Central London Railway
Central London Railway
The Central London Railway , also known as the Twopenny Tube, was a deep-level, underground "tube" railway that opened in London in 1900...
.
During the later 1920s, Holden designed a series of replacement buildings and new façades for station improvements around the UERL's network. Many of these featured Portland stone cladding and variations of the glazed screens developed for the Morden extension. At Piccadilly Circus
Piccadilly Circus tube station
Piccadilly Circus tube station is the London Underground station located directly beneath Piccadilly Circus itself, with entrances at every corner...
, one of the busiest stations on the system, Holden designed (1925–28) a spacious travertine
Travertine
Travertine is a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs, especially hot springs. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, and cream-colored varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot...
-lined circulating concourse and ticket hall below the roadway of the junction from which banks of escalators gave access to the platforms below.
In 1926, Holden began the design of a new headquarters for the UERL at 55 Broadway
55 Broadway
55 Broadway is a notable building overlooking St. James's Park in London. It was designed by Charles Holden and built between 1927 and 1929, and in 1931 the building earned him the RIBA London Architecture Medal...
above St. James's Park station
St. James's Park tube station
St James's Park is a London Underground station near St James's Park in the City of Westminster. It is served by the District and Circle Lines and is between Victoria and Westminster stations. It is in Travelcard Zone 1....
. Above the first floor, the steel-framed
Structural steel
Structural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and mechanical properties...
building was constructed to a cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
plan and rises in a series of receding stages to a central clock tower 175 feet (53.3 m) tall. The arrangement maximises daylight to the building's interior without the use of light wells. Like his stations of the period and his pre-First World War commercial buildings, the block is austerely clad in Portland stone. Holden again detailed the façades with commissioned sculptures; Day and Night, two compositions by Epstein, are at first floor level, and a series of eight bas-reliefs at the seventh floor represent the four winds
Anemoi
In Greek mythology, the Anemoi were Greek wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction from which their respective winds came , and were each associated with various seasons and weather conditions...
(two for each of the cardinal direction
Cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions of north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the direction of rotation and west being directly opposite. Intermediate...
s, on each side of the projecting wings). The building is Grade I listed.
In 1930, Holden and Pick made a tour of Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden to see the latest developments in modern architecture. The UERL was planning extensions of the Piccadilly line
Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly line is a line of the London Underground, coloured dark blue on the Tube map. It is the fifth busiest line on the Underground network judged by the number of passengers transported per year. It is mainly a deep-level line, running from the north to the west of London via Zone 1, with...
to the west, north-west and north of London, and a new type of station was wanted. Adapting the architectural styles he had seen on the tour, Holden created functional designs composed of simple forms: cylinders, curves and rectangles, built in plain brick, concrete and glass. The extensions to the west and north-west were over existing routes operated by the District line
District Line
The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...
and required a number of stations to be rebuilt to accommodate additional tracks or to replace original, basic buildings. Sudbury Town
Sudbury Town tube station
Sudbury Town is a London Underground station on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly Line. The station is between Sudbury Hill and Alperton. It is located on Station Approach in Sudbury, a short distance from the junction of Bridgewater Road and Harrow Road . The forecourt of the station is...
, the first station to be rebuilt in 1931, formed a template for many of the other new stations that followed: a tall rectangular brick box with a concrete flat roof and panels of vertical glazing to allow light into the interior. The Grade II listed building was described by Pevsner as "an outstanding example of how satisfying such unpretentious buildings can be, purely through the use of careful details and good proportions."
For Arnos Grove station
Arnos Grove tube station
Arnos Grove is a London Underground station on the Piccadilly line between Bounds Green and Southgate. It is in Travelcard Zone 4 and is located in Arnos Grove, near Arnos Park on Bowes Road, London. The station and surrounding neighbourhood of Arnos Grove take their names from the Arnos Grove...
, one of eight new stations on the northern extension of the line, Holden modified the rectangular box into a circular drum, a design inspired by Gunnar Asplund
Gunnar Asplund
Erik Gunnar Asplund was a Swedish architect, mostly known as a key representative of Nordic Classicism of the 1920s, and during the last decade of his life as a major proponent of the modernist style which made its breakthrough in Sweden at the Stockholm International Exhibition...
's Stockholm Public Library
Stockholm Public Library
Stockholm Public Library is a rotunda library building in Stockholm, Sweden, designed by Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund. The library was prepared from 1918 and onwards by a committee in which Asplund himself took part. Construction began in 1924, and the library was completed in 1928...
. Also notable on the northern extension is Southgate station
Southgate tube station
Southgate is a London Underground Piccadilly Line station in Southgate. It is located between Arnos Grove and Oakwood stations and is in Travelcard Zone 4.-History:...
; here Holden designed a single-storey circular building with a canopied flat roof. Above this, the central section of roof rises up on a continuous horizontal band of clerestory
Clerestory
Clerestory is an architectural term that historically denoted an upper level of a Roman basilica or of the nave of a Romanesque or Gothic church, the walls of which rise above the rooflines of the lower aisles and are pierced with windows. In modern usage, clerestory refers to any high windows...
windows, supported internally by a single central column. The building is topped by an illuminated feature capped with a bronze ball. Other stations show the influence of Willem Marinus Dudok
Willem Marinus Dudok
Willem Marinus Dudok , was a Dutch modernist architect, best known for the brick Hilversum City Hall....
's work in Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
, Netherlands. In order to handle such a large volume of work, Holden delegated significant design responsibility to his assistants, such as Charles Hutton, who took the lead on Arnos Grove Station. For some other Piccadilly line stations the design was handled in-house by Stanley Heaps or by other architectural practices. All followed the modern brick, glass and concrete house style defined by Holden, but some lacked Holden's originality and attention to detail; Pick dubbed these "Holdenesque".
London Passenger Transport Board
The London Passenger Transport Board was the organisation responsible for public transport in London, UK, and its environs from 1933 to 1948...
in 1933, but the focus remained on high quality design. Under Pick, Holden's attention to detail and idea of integrated design extended to all parts of London's transport network, from designing bus and tram shelters to a new type of six-wheeled omnibus. In the late 1930s, Holden designed replacement stations at Highgate
Highgate tube station
Highgate tube station is a London Underground station on Archway Road, Highgate, not far from Highgate Village in north London. It is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, between Archway and East Finchley, in Travelcard Zone 3....
, East Finchley
East Finchley tube station
East Finchley is a London Underground station in East Finchley in north London. The station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern Line, between Highgate and Finchley Central stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 3.-History:...
and Finchley Central
Finchley Central tube station
Finchley Central tube station is a London Underground station in the Church End area of Finchley, North London.The station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, between West Finchley and East Finchley stations and is the junction for the short branch to Mill Hill East station...
and new stations at Elstree South
Elstree South tube station
Elstree South tube station was an unbuilt London Underground station in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It was designed by Charles Holden...
and Bushey Heath
Bushey Heath tube station
Bushey Heath tube station was an unbuilt London Underground station in Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire. The planned location of the station was at the junction of the A41 and A411 roads.-History:...
for the Northern line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
's Northern Heights plan. Holden's designs incorporated sculpture relevant to the local history of a number of stations: Dick Whittington for Highgate, a Roman centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
at Elstree South and an archer for East Finchley. Much of the project was postponed shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War and was later cancelled. Only East Finchley station was completed in full with Highgate in part; the other plans were scrapped. East Finchley station is located on an embankment and the platforms are accessed from below. Making use of the station's air-rights, Holden provided staff office space spanning above the tracks accessed through semi-circular glazed stairways from the platforms. Eric Aumonier
Eric Aumonier
-Life:Aumonier was born in Northwood, Middlesex . his family name is Huguenot . Eric's grandfather, William, founded the Aumonier Studios in 1876, an architectural sculpture firm in London, initially located at New Inn Yard off Tottenham Court Road, then at 84 Charlotte Street. His son, also called...
provided the statue The Archer, a prominent feature of the station.
Holden's last designs for London Transport were three new stations for the Central line
Central Line
The Central line is a London Underground line, coloured red on the tube map. It is a deep-level "tube" line, running east-west across London, and, at , has the greatest total length of track of any line on the Underground. Of the 49 stations served, 20 are below ground...
extension in north-east London. These were designed in the 1930s, but were also delayed by the war and were not completed until 1947. Post-war austerity measures reduced the quality of the materials used compared with the 1930s stations and the building at Wanstead
Wanstead tube station
Wanstead tube station is a London Underground station in Wanstead, on the Hainault loop of the Central Line. It is in Zone 4.Construction of the station had started in the 1930s, but was delayed by the onset of World War 2. Wanstead was not opened until December 14, 1947...
was adapted from a temporary structure constructed during the line's wartime use as an underground factory. Gants Hill
Gants Hill tube station
Gants Hill tube station is a London Underground station in Gants Hill, in the London Borough of Redbridge. It is served by the Central Line and is in Zone 4. It is the easternmost station to be entirely below ground on the London Underground network....
is accessed through subways and has no station building, but is notable for the design of its platform level concourse, which features a barrel vault
Barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
ed ceiling inspired by stations on the Moscow Metro
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is a rapid transit system serving Moscow and the neighbouring town of Krasnogorsk. Opened in 1935 with one line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the Moscow Metro has 182 stations and its route length is . The system is...
.
University of London
After the First World War, the University of LondonUniversity of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
needed a replacement for its overcrowded and scattered accommodation in Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
. A site was acquired in Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
near the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
and Holden was commissioned in 1931 to design the new buildings, partly due to the success of 55 Broadway.
Holden's original plan was for a single structure covering the whole site, stretching almost 1200 feet (365.8 m) from Montague Place to Torrington Street. It comprised a central spine linked by a series of wings to the perimeter façade and enclosing a series of courtyards. The scheme was to be topped by two towers: a smaller one to the north, and a 19-storey, 210 feet (64 m) tall Senate House.
Construction began in 1932, but due to a shortage of funds, the design was gradually revised and cut back, and only the Senate House and Library were completed in 1937, with the buildings for the Institute of Education
Institute of Education
The Institute of Education is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom specialised in postgraduate study and research in the field of education and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It is the largest education research body in the United Kingdom, with...
and the School of Oriental Studies
School of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
completed later. The design featured façades of load-bearing brickwork faced with Portland stone. Holden's intention to adorn the building with sculpture was also not fulfilled. As he had with his earlier buildings, Holden also prepared the designs for the individual elements of the interior design. From its completion until 1957, it was the tallest office building in London.
Senate House divided opinion. Pevsner described its style as "strangely semi-traditional, undecided modernism", and summarised: "The design certainly does not possess the vigour and directness of Charles Holden's smaller Underground stations." Others have described it as Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
, or as totalitarian
Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life wherever feasible...
due to its great scale. Functionalist
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
architect Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn
Erich Mendelsohn was a Jewish German architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinemas.-Early life:...
wrote to Holden in 1938 that he was "very much taken and ... convinced that there is no finer building in London." Historian Arnold Whittick described the building as a "static massive pyramid ... obviously designed to last for a thousand years", but thought "the interior is more pleasing than the exterior. There is essentially the atmosphere of dignity, serenity and repose that one associates with the architecture of ancient Greece."
The onset of the Second World War prevented any further progress on the full scheme, although Adams, Holden & Pearson did design further buildings for the university in the vicinity.
Town planning
With virtually no new work being commissioned, Holden spent the war years planning for the reconstruction that would be required once it was over. Holden was a member of the RIBA's twelve-man committee which formulated the institute's policy for post-war reconstruction. Holden's town planningTown and country planning in the United Kingdom
Town and Country Planning is the land use planning system governments use to balance economic development and environmental quality. Each country of the United Kingdom has its own planning system that is responsible for town and country planning devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the...
ideas involved the relocation of industry out of towns and cities to new industrial centres in the style of Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight
Port Sunlight is a model village, suburb and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Between 1894 and 1974 it formed part of Bebington urban district within the county of Cheshire...
or Bournville
Bournville
Bournville is a model village on the south side of Birmingham, England, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate – including a dark chocolate bar branded "Bournville". It is also a ward within the council constituency of Selly Oak and home to the Bournville Centre...
where workers could live close to their workplace. The new industrial centres would be linked to the existing towns with new fast roads and reconstruction in town centres would be planned to provide more open space around the administrative centres.
In 1944–45 Holden produced plans for the reconstruction of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent, with the City Architect Herbert Millson Enderby. Canterbury had been badly damaged by Luftwaffe bombing including the Baedeker raids
Baedeker Blitz
The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...
in May and June 1942. Holden and Enderby aimed to preserve much of the character of the city, but planned for the compulsory purchase
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
of 75 acres (30.4 ha) of the town centre for large scale reconstruction including a new civic way from the cathedral to a new town hall. Outside the city, they planned bypasses
Bypass (road)
A bypass is a road or highway that avoids or "bypasses" a built-up area, town, or village, to let through traffic flow without interference from local traffic, to reduce congestion in the built-up area, and to improve road safety....
and a ring road
Ring road
A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...
at a two-mile (3.2-kilometre) radius of the centre. Although approved by the city council, the plan was widely opposed by residents and freeholders and the "Canterbury Citizens Defence Association" issued an alternative plan before taking control of the council at local elections in November 1945. The change in administration ended the proposals, although a new plan prepared in 1947 without Holden's or Enderby's involvement retained some of their ideas including the ring road.
The City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
's first reconstruction plan was written by the City Engineer F. J. Forty and published in 1944. It had met with considerable criticism and William Morrison
William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil
William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, GCMG, MC, KStJ, PC, QC , the 14th Governor-General of Australia, was born in Scotland and educated at George Watson's College and the University of Edinburgh. He joined the British Army in the First World War and served with an artillery regiment...
, Minister for Town and Country Planning, asked the City of London Corporation to prepare a new plan. Holden was approached, and he accepted provided that William Holford
William Holford, Baron Holford
William Graham Holford, Baron Holford was a British architect and town planner.-Biography:He was born in South Africa and educated at Diocesan College, Cape Town. He studied architecture at Liverpool University, where he won the Rome Scholarship in Architecture to the British School at Rome in 1930...
also be appointed. Holden's and Holford's City of London Plan (1946–1947) recommended a relaxation of the strict height limits imposed in the capital and the first use in London of plot ratio
Floor Area Ratio
The floor area ratio or floor space index is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location, or the limit imposed on such a ratio....
calculations in the planning process so that buildings could be designed with floor space of up to five times the ground area. For the bomb-devastated area around St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
, Holden proposed a new precinct
Precinct
A precinct is a space enclosed by the walls or other boundaries of a particular place or building, or by an arbitrary and imaginary line drawn around it. The term has several different uses...
around which buildings would be positioned to provide clear views of the cathedral and from which new ceremonial routes would radiate. The heights of buildings would be strictly defined to protect these views. The plan was accepted by the Minister for Town and Country Planning in 1948 and was incorporated into the wider London Development Plan.
In 1947, Holden planned a scheme on behalf of the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
for the South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
between County Hall and Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, England between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge. The name of the bridge is in memory of the British victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815...
, including a plan for a concert hall with the council's architect Edwin Williams. The scheme received little attention and was almost immediately superseded by plans to develop the area as the site of the Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
. Holden was also architectural and planning consultant to the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and to the Borough of Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
.
Final years
Although Charles Holden had gradually reduced his workload, he was still continuing to go into the office three days per week during the early 1950s. He did not formally retire until 1958, but even then he visited occasionally. Margaret Holden died in 1954 after a protracted illness which had left her nearly blind since the mid-1940s. In the last decade of his life, Holden was himself physically weaker and was looked after by his niece Minnie Green.One of Holden's last public engagements was when he acted as a sponsor at the award of the RIBA's Royal Gold Medal to Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
in 1953. The last project that Holden worked on was a much criticised headquarters building for English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
in Aldwych
Aldwych
Aldwych is a place and road in the City of Westminster in London, England.-Description:Aldwych, the road, is a crescent, connected to the Strand at both ends. At its centre, it meets the Kingsway...
, London. In 1952, Adams, Holden & Pearson were appointed by English Electric's chairman, Sir George Nelson
George Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson of Stafford
George Horatio Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson of Stafford , known as Sir George Nelson, 1st Baronet, from 1955 to 1960, was a British engineer, the chairman of the firm English Electric....
, and Holden designed a monolithic stone building around a courtyard. In 1955, the London County Council
London County Council
London County Council was the principal local government body for the County of London, throughout its 1889–1965 existence, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today known as Inner London and was replaced by the Greater London Council...
persuaded English Electric to put the scheme aside and hold a limited architectural competition for a new design. Adams, Holden & Pearson submitted a design, but were beaten by Sir John Burnet, Tait and Partners. When that practice later refused Sir George Nelson's request to redesign the façades, Adams, Holden & Pearson were reappointed and Charles Holden revised his practice's competition entry. The new design was criticised by the Royal Fine Art Commission and a further redesign was carried out by one of Holden's partners to produce the final design, described by Pevsner as "a dull, lifeless building, stone-faced and with nothing to recommend it".
Holden died on 1 May 1960. His body was cremated at Enfield crematorium and his ashes were spread in the garden of the Friends' Meeting House in Hertford
Hertford
Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...
. On 2 June 1960 a memorial service was held at St Pancras New Church
St Pancras New Church
St Pancras Parish Church, sometimes referred to as St Pancras New Church to distinguish it from St Pancras Old Church, is a 19th century Greek Revival church in London, England.-Location:...
, where Holden had designed the altar in 1914. Obituaries were published in daily newspapers The Manchester Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
and The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and in construction industry periodicals including The Builder
Building (magazine)
Building is one of the United Kingdom’s oldest business-to-business magazines, launched as The Builder in 1843 by Joseph Aloysius Hansom – architect of Birmingham Town Hall and designer of the Hansom Cab. The journal was renamed Building in 1966 as it is still known today. Building is the only UK...
, Architectural Review
Architectural Review
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects....
, Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Journal of the Town Planning Institute. Generally, the obituaries were positive about Holden's early work and the stations for London Underground, were neutral about Senate House and were negative about his practice's later works. The Harmer Green house and most of its contents were auctioned with the proceeds left to family members. Holden also left £8,400 to friends and staff and £2,000 to charity.
Holden on architecture
Holden recognised that his architectural style placed him in "rather a curious position, not quite in the fashion and not quite out of it; not enough of a traditionalist to please the traditionalists and not enough of a modernist to please the modernists." He believed that the principal aim of design was to achieve "fitness for purpose", and repeatedly called for a style of architecture that avoided unnecessary architectural adornment.In 1905, in an essay titled "If Whitman had been an Architect", Holden made an anonymous plea to architects for a new form of modern architecture: "Often I hear of the glory of the architecture of ancient Greece; of the proud Romans; of sombre Egypt; the praise of vast Byzantium and the lofty Middle Ages, too, I hear. But of the glory of the architecture of the Modern I never hear. Come, you Modern Buildings, come! Throw off your mantle of deceits; your cornices, pilasters, mouldings, swags, scrolls; behind them all, behind your dignified proportions, your picturesque groupings, your arts and crafts prettinesses and exaggerated techniques; behind and beyond them all hides the one I love."
In his 1936 speech when presented with the RIBA's Royal Gold Medal
Royal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
, Holden defined his position: "It was not so much a matter of creating a new style, as of discarding those incrustations which counted for style ... surface embroidery empty of structural significance". His method was to focus on "those more permanent basic factors of architecture, the plan, and the planes and masses arising out of the plan." He described his ideal building as one "which takes naturally and inevitably the form controlled by the plan and the purpose and the materials. A building which provides opportunities for the exercise and skill and pleasure in work not only to the designer but also for the many craftsmen employed and the occupants of the building."
In a 1957 essay on architecture, he wrote "I don't seek for a style, either ancient or modern, I want an architecture which is through and through good building. A building planned for a specific purpose, constructed in the method and use of materials, old or new, most appropriate to the purpose the building has to serve."
Recognition and legacy
Holden won the RIBA's London Architecture Medal for 1929 (awarded 1931) for 55 Broadway. In 1936 he was awarded the RIBA's Royal Gold MedalRoyal Gold Medal
The Royal Gold Medal for architecture is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects on behalf of the British monarch, in recognition of an individual's or group's substantial contribution to international architecture....
for his body of work. He was Vice President of the RIBA from 1935 to 1937 and a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission from 1933 to 1947. In 1943 he was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry
Royal Designers for Industry
Royal Designer for Industry is a distinction established by the British Royal Society of Arts in 1936, to encourage a high standard of industrial design and enhance the status of designers. It is awarded to people who have achieved "sustained excellence in aesthetic and efficient design for...
for the design of transport equipment. He was awarded honorary doctorates by Manchester University in 1936 and London University in 1946. Many of Holden's buildings have been granted listed status, protecting them against demolition and unapproved alteration.
Holden declined the invitation to become a Royal Academician
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
in 1942, having previously been nominated, but refused because of his connection to Epstein. He twice declined a knighthood, in 1943 and 1951, as he considered it to be at odds with his simple lifestyle and considered architecture a collaborative process.
The RIBA holds a collection of Holden's personal papers and material from Adams, Holden & Pearson. The RIBA staged exhibitions of his work at the Heinz Gallery in 1988 and at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
between October 2010 and February 2011.
See also
- List of works by Charles Holden, including cemeteries and memorials for the Imperial War Graves Commission.
External links
General- Charlesholden.com (Brief introduction to Holden)
- Bristol Central Library (Looking at Buildings guide to one of Holden's buildings)
- Underground Journeys: Charles Holden's designs for London Transport (online exhibition from the Royal Institute of British Architects)
- Map of London Underground structures that were designed or inspired by Holden (from the RIBA exhibition)
Image galleries
- London Transport Museum Photographic Archive (search results for 'Charles Holden')
- RIBA photographic archive (search results for 'Charles Holden')
- Charlesholden.com (Image gallery)
Portraits
- Charles Holden in later life (from the LTM Photographic Archive)
- Charles Holden by Francis Dodd, 1915 (from the National Portrait Gallery)