Walter Hindes Godfrey CBE

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

, FSA

Society of Antiquaries of London

The Society of Antiquaries of London is a learned society "charged by its Royal Charter of 1751 with 'the encouragement, advancement and furtherance of the study and knowledge of the antiquities and history of this and other countries'." It is based at Burlington House, Piccadilly, London , and is...

, FRIBA (1881–1961), was an English architect, antiquary, and architectural and topographical historian. He was also a landscape architect and designer, and an accomplished draftsman and illustrator. He was (1941-) the first Director and the inspiration behind the foundation of the National Buildings Record, the basis of today's National Monuments Record, and edited or contributed to numerous volumes of the Survey of London

Survey of London

The Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...

.

Architect

Godfrey first settled in Buxted in 1915, and then moved his practice from London in 1932 to live and have his offices in Lewes House, on Lewes High Street. He was regarded as one of the outstanding conservation architects of his generation, though his interventions are thorough and often unscholarly. He restored and adapted a number of important historic buildings and gardens, chiefly in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

 and the Weald

Weald

The Weald is the name given to an area in South East England situated between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It should be regarded as three separate parts: the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre; the clay "Low Weald" periphery; and the Greensand Ridge which...

. They include the Anne of Cleves House

Anne of Cleves House

Anne of Cleves House is a 15th century timber-framed Wealden hall house on Southover High Street in Lewes, East Sussex, England. It formed part of Queen Anne's annulment settlement from King Henry VIII in 1541, although she never visited the property...

 Museum in Lewes

Lewes

Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...

, Sussex; Herstmonceux Castle

Herstmonceux Castle

Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built Tudor castle near Herstmonceux, East Sussex, United Kingdom. From 1957 to 1988 its grounds were the home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory...

, East Sussex (1933), where his major reconstruction of the interior was in the view of 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...

 executed 'exemplarily'; Charleston Manor, Sussex (1928); Horselunges Manor, Hellingly

Hellingly

Hellingly is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The village is located 1.5 miles north of Hailsham.The nearby village of Lower Dicker is located within the parish.-History:...

, Sussex; Michelham Priory

Michelham Priory

Michelham Priory is the site of a former Augustine Priory near Upper Dicker, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. It is owned and administered by the Sussex Archaeological Society.-History:...

, Sussex; Plawhatch Hall and Kidbrooke

Kidbrooke

Kidbrooke is a district of South East London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.The district takes its name from the Kyd Brook, a watercourse which runs from Orpington to Lewisham, by which point it is part of the River Quaggy...

 Park (today Michael Hall School), both near East Grinstead, East Sussex; and Rymans at Apuldram

Apuldram

Apuldram or Appledram is a small parish on the north eastern upper reach of Chichester Harbour about two miles south-west of the centre of Chichester in West Sussex, England....

, West Sussex. In London, following war damage in the Blitz, he restored Chelsea Old Church

Chelsea Old Church

Chelsea Old Church is on the north bank of the River Thames near Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London, England. It is the church for a parish in the Diocese of London, part of the Church of England. It is located on the corner of Old Church Street and Cheyne Walk. Inside, there is seating for 400...

 (1953-5) and the historic Temple Church

Temple Church

The Temple Church is a late-12th-century church in London located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built for and by the Knights Templar as their English headquarters. In modern times, two Inns of Court both use the church. It is famous for its effigy tombs and for being a round church...

 (1947–57); also Crosby Hall, reconstructed in Chelsea incorporating elements of the house of Thomas More

Thomas More

Sir Thomas More , also known by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was an important councillor to Henry VIII of England and, for three years toward the end of his life, Lord Chancellor...

. He restored Goldings 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...

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

. In the Cotswolds

Cotswolds

The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

, his commissions included adaptations to Sudeley Castle

Sudeley Castle

Sudeley Castle is a castle located near Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, England. It dates from the 10th century, but the inhabited portion is chiefly Elizabethan. The castle has a notable garden, which is designed and maintained to a very high standard. The chapel, St. Mary's Sudeley, is the burial...

 and Little Barrow (largely a new work), Donnington

Donnington, Gloucestershire

Donnington is a small village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, near the Roman Fosse Way in the Cotswold District Council area of south west England.It is notable for its Cotswold stone houses...

, both in Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....

, and Burford Priory

Burford Priory

Burford Priory is a country house and former priory at Burford in the English county of Oxfordshire.The house stands on the site of a 13th century Augustinian hospital. In the 1580s an Elizabethan house was built incorporating remnants of the priory hospital...

, in Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

.

Author

He was the author or editor of a wide range of books and articles on architectural history and antiquarian subjects, many of them published by the Sussex Archaeological Society

Sussex Archaeological Society

The Sussex Archaeological Society, founded in 1846, is the largest county-based archaeological society in the UK. Its headquarters are in Lewes, Sussex...

. In 2006 a collection of Godfrey's private papers was deposited with the East Sussex Record Office.