Albert Winstanley
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Research by Liz Bickerstaffe
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Albert Winstanley, LRIBA, was a highly creative and ingenious architect and surveyor who became known, in particular, for his theatre and cinema designs. He was born in North Meols, Southport in 1876, the only child of Elizabeth and Henry. (1)
Along with his six siblings, Albert’s father, Henry, was raised in Walton-le-Dale by Thomas, his widowed father, who worked variously as a cotton draper and later a cotton mill dresser. (2) Henry trained as an iron moulder and was himself widowed by the age of 31 with a four year old son, Thomas, born in 1867. (3) By the time Henry re-married Thomas had left home, so Albert, whilst retaining close links with his step-brother, was brought up as an only child.
Albert trained as an architect and surveyor in Southport and, by 1900, had joined a practice established before 1898 by Littleborough-born architect, Arnold England. They practised with Arnold’s brother, Thomas, under the name of England, Winstanley and England, Architects, Valuers and Civil Engineers, Carlton Chambers, 13 St Andrews Road South, St Annes. (4) Together they were responsible for much of the new residential property in the area and also some well-known buildings, including the Century Buildings (previously J R Taylor Ltd) and the Old Links Clubhouse on Mayfield Road (now the Royal British Legion Club), both in St Annes. (5) Arnold England went on to be elected an Alderman of the town and Mayor of the borough from 1926-27.
By 1907 Winstanley had established his own practice as an architect and estate agent at Imperial Chambers, 5a West Crescent, St Annes (6) and also had offices at 49 Deansgate, Manchester. He was able to capitalise on the great building boom in theatre and variety palaces that took place between 1890 and 1915, designing the theatre inside the Palace building in St Annes and the Empire Theatre and Hippodrome in Fleetwood, which opened on West Street in 1909. At the time it was considered to be ‘the first theatre in England to have had an absolutely white marble front, a great attraction and the talk of the county for miles around'. (7) In 1908 he carried out the reconstruction of the Grand Picture House in Lancaster, designed theatres in Carlisle, Castleford, Romiley, Wakefield and Whitehaven and re-designed the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, damaged by fire. (8)
Winstanley also converted the Baptist Chapel on Knowsley Street in Bury to a picture theatre in 1911 and re-built it in 1922 as the Art Picture Palace. Although owned by the Bury Cinematograph Company Limited, Albert retained an interest as a director. The General Manager, Thomas Lewis, became a valued friend and was chosen as one of the executors of his Will. (9)
He received his Licentiate of RIBA in 1910 (showing competence in architecture without examinations) and, as well as being ‘associated with much of the architecture of Lytham St Annes and Manchester’, (10) Winstanley ‘took part in important schemes all over the country’. (11)
He was the architect of St John’s Street Chambers on Deansgate, a prestigious seven storey building established to house many of Manchester’s most notable medical specialists. The exterior of the ‘massive and dignified structure' (12) was made of white carrera imitation marble which would be washed clean by the rain instead of going black like most other stone buildings in the city.
Meanwhile Albert’s step-brother, Thomas, had been brought up in Manchester by his maternal grandparents, Elizabeth and Richard Chippendale, a cabinet maker. (13) Thomas trained as an engine fitter and later became the manager of a humidifier works in a Blackburn textile factory. (14) The unpleasant conditions there must have been the catalyst for Albert and himself to develop the Winstanley humidifying warp moistener, a trough and rotating brush system which dispensed with the need for steaming in weaving sheds. The invention was patented in 1931 with Albert passing his financial interest on to Thomas in his Will. (15)
Albert was joined by his father after he set up practice in St Annes. Henry was working as a house agent and lodging with the family of Henry Crowe, a watercolour artist, at 2 Pollux Gate in 1901. (16) They later lodged together at 13 St Alban’s Road (17) until Albert designed and built his own house named ‘Kingsmere’ at 53 Orchard Road, St Annes. During this period he had met 40 year old Harriet Ann Deakin (nee Ellis), a milliner, widowed by the age of 29 after her first husband, a yeast merchant, had died in 1899. They married in 1912 (18) but unfortunately after only 14 years together Harriet died on 21 June 1926, aged 54. (19)
Albert and Harriet had no children of their own so he devoted his life to creative pursuits and his interest in politics. He was a prominent Conservative in the town, actively associated with St Annes Conservative Club, which he himself had designed in 1922 (20) and was at one time its Chairman. (21)
Unfortunately, Albert suffered from poor health in his later years and died after a tragic accident. On 30 May 1943 he was waiting on the platform of Kirkham railway station when he fell into the path of an oncoming train. He had been almost blind for some years and the accident left him with brain injuries and his left leg badly crushed, requiring amputation at Preston Royal Infirmary, where he died three weeks later on 24 June. (22) A verdict of misadventure was recorded at the inquest.
The many flamboyant and innovative buildings which Albert Winstanley designed stand as testament to his expansive spirit and love of the arts. As well as the three marble statuettes which he bequeathed to the people of Lytham St Annes, Winstanley left the residue of his Will to be held upon trust to his step-brother, Thomas, and then to Manchester Architects Society to provide scholarships in architecture. (23) The Winstanley Scholarship is still awarded today by the Manchester Society of Architects to students from Lancashire.
REFERENCES
(1) 1881 Census, Ancestry
(2) 1851 and 1861 Census, Ancestry
(3) 1861 and 1871 Census, Ancestry
(4) ‘Blackpool Times’, Fylde Year Books, Editions 1898-1907
(5) St Annes on the Sea, A History by Peter Shakeshaft, pp 220, 232
(6) Barrett’s Directory of Preston, Blackpool & District, 1907
(7) 90 Years of Cinema in Fleetwood, Cleveleys and Lytham St Annes by Brian Hornsey, 1998
(8) Buildings of England, Lancashire:North by Hartwell & Pevsner; cinematreasures.org/theatres website
(9) 90 Years of Cinema in Bury by Brian Hornsey
(10) Lytham Times & St Annes on the Sea Gazette, 25 June 1943, p3
(11) Lytham St Annes Express, 20 February 1925, p9
(12) ditto
(13) 1881 and 1891 Census, Ancestry
(14) 1911 Census, Ancestry
(15) National Probate Calendar, Ancestry
(16) 1901 Census, Ancestry
(17) 1911 Census, Ancestry
(18) Free BMD Marriage Index, Ancestry
(19) National Probate Calendar, Ancestry
(20) Lytham St Annes Express, December 1922 (c/o Lytham Civic Trust)
(21) Lytham Times & St Annes on the Sea Gazette, 25 June 1943, p3
(22) Lytham St Annes Express, 25 June 1943, front page
(23) National Probate Calendar, Ancestry
Donated 3 marble statuettes on 27 September 1943 - presently unlocated
Along with his six siblings, Albert’s father, Henry, was raised in Walton-le-Dale by Thomas, his widowed father, who worked variously as a cotton draper and later a cotton mill dresser. (2) Henry trained as an iron moulder and was himself widowed by the age of 31 with a four year old son, Thomas, born in 1867. (3) By the time Henry re-married Thomas had left home, so Albert, whilst retaining close links with his step-brother, was brought up as an only child.
Albert trained as an architect and surveyor in Southport and, by 1900, had joined a practice established before 1898 by Littleborough-born architect, Arnold England. They practised with Arnold’s brother, Thomas, under the name of England, Winstanley and England, Architects, Valuers and Civil Engineers, Carlton Chambers, 13 St Andrews Road South, St Annes. (4) Together they were responsible for much of the new residential property in the area and also some well-known buildings, including the Century Buildings (previously J R Taylor Ltd) and the Old Links Clubhouse on Mayfield Road (now the Royal British Legion Club), both in St Annes. (5) Arnold England went on to be elected an Alderman of the town and Mayor of the borough from 1926-27.
By 1907 Winstanley had established his own practice as an architect and estate agent at Imperial Chambers, 5a West Crescent, St Annes (6) and also had offices at 49 Deansgate, Manchester. He was able to capitalise on the great building boom in theatre and variety palaces that took place between 1890 and 1915, designing the theatre inside the Palace building in St Annes and the Empire Theatre and Hippodrome in Fleetwood, which opened on West Street in 1909. At the time it was considered to be ‘the first theatre in England to have had an absolutely white marble front, a great attraction and the talk of the county for miles around'. (7) In 1908 he carried out the reconstruction of the Grand Picture House in Lancaster, designed theatres in Carlisle, Castleford, Romiley, Wakefield and Whitehaven and re-designed the Lyceum Theatre in Crewe, damaged by fire. (8)
Winstanley also converted the Baptist Chapel on Knowsley Street in Bury to a picture theatre in 1911 and re-built it in 1922 as the Art Picture Palace. Although owned by the Bury Cinematograph Company Limited, Albert retained an interest as a director. The General Manager, Thomas Lewis, became a valued friend and was chosen as one of the executors of his Will. (9)
He received his Licentiate of RIBA in 1910 (showing competence in architecture without examinations) and, as well as being ‘associated with much of the architecture of Lytham St Annes and Manchester’, (10) Winstanley ‘took part in important schemes all over the country’. (11)
He was the architect of St John’s Street Chambers on Deansgate, a prestigious seven storey building established to house many of Manchester’s most notable medical specialists. The exterior of the ‘massive and dignified structure' (12) was made of white carrera imitation marble which would be washed clean by the rain instead of going black like most other stone buildings in the city.
Meanwhile Albert’s step-brother, Thomas, had been brought up in Manchester by his maternal grandparents, Elizabeth and Richard Chippendale, a cabinet maker. (13) Thomas trained as an engine fitter and later became the manager of a humidifier works in a Blackburn textile factory. (14) The unpleasant conditions there must have been the catalyst for Albert and himself to develop the Winstanley humidifying warp moistener, a trough and rotating brush system which dispensed with the need for steaming in weaving sheds. The invention was patented in 1931 with Albert passing his financial interest on to Thomas in his Will. (15)
Albert was joined by his father after he set up practice in St Annes. Henry was working as a house agent and lodging with the family of Henry Crowe, a watercolour artist, at 2 Pollux Gate in 1901. (16) They later lodged together at 13 St Alban’s Road (17) until Albert designed and built his own house named ‘Kingsmere’ at 53 Orchard Road, St Annes. During this period he had met 40 year old Harriet Ann Deakin (nee Ellis), a milliner, widowed by the age of 29 after her first husband, a yeast merchant, had died in 1899. They married in 1912 (18) but unfortunately after only 14 years together Harriet died on 21 June 1926, aged 54. (19)
Albert and Harriet had no children of their own so he devoted his life to creative pursuits and his interest in politics. He was a prominent Conservative in the town, actively associated with St Annes Conservative Club, which he himself had designed in 1922 (20) and was at one time its Chairman. (21)
Unfortunately, Albert suffered from poor health in his later years and died after a tragic accident. On 30 May 1943 he was waiting on the platform of Kirkham railway station when he fell into the path of an oncoming train. He had been almost blind for some years and the accident left him with brain injuries and his left leg badly crushed, requiring amputation at Preston Royal Infirmary, where he died three weeks later on 24 June. (22) A verdict of misadventure was recorded at the inquest.
The many flamboyant and innovative buildings which Albert Winstanley designed stand as testament to his expansive spirit and love of the arts. As well as the three marble statuettes which he bequeathed to the people of Lytham St Annes, Winstanley left the residue of his Will to be held upon trust to his step-brother, Thomas, and then to Manchester Architects Society to provide scholarships in architecture. (23) The Winstanley Scholarship is still awarded today by the Manchester Society of Architects to students from Lancashire.
REFERENCES
(1) 1881 Census, Ancestry
(2) 1851 and 1861 Census, Ancestry
(3) 1861 and 1871 Census, Ancestry
(4) ‘Blackpool Times’, Fylde Year Books, Editions 1898-1907
(5) St Annes on the Sea, A History by Peter Shakeshaft, pp 220, 232
(6) Barrett’s Directory of Preston, Blackpool & District, 1907
(7) 90 Years of Cinema in Fleetwood, Cleveleys and Lytham St Annes by Brian Hornsey, 1998
(8) Buildings of England, Lancashire:North by Hartwell & Pevsner; cinematreasures.org/theatres website
(9) 90 Years of Cinema in Bury by Brian Hornsey
(10) Lytham Times & St Annes on the Sea Gazette, 25 June 1943, p3
(11) Lytham St Annes Express, 20 February 1925, p9
(12) ditto
(13) 1881 and 1891 Census, Ancestry
(14) 1911 Census, Ancestry
(15) National Probate Calendar, Ancestry
(16) 1901 Census, Ancestry
(17) 1911 Census, Ancestry
(18) Free BMD Marriage Index, Ancestry
(19) National Probate Calendar, Ancestry
(20) Lytham St Annes Express, December 1922 (c/o Lytham Civic Trust)
(21) Lytham Times & St Annes on the Sea Gazette, 25 June 1943, p3
(22) Lytham St Annes Express, 25 June 1943, front page
(23) National Probate Calendar, Ancestry
Donated 3 marble statuettes on 27 September 1943 - presently unlocated