[6] In May 1853 he set out to tour Europe with school friend Thomas Hodgkin who stated that Waterhouse "was entirely under the influence of Ruskin, and communicated his own admiration for Gothic art and a perfect detestation of that beastly Renaissance".
[14] His first large new country house design was Hinderton Hall (1856–57), Cheshire, for Liverpool merchant Christopher Bushell, built of red sandstone, slate roofs, stables, gardener's cottage and boundary walls.
[37] A senior draughtsman would typically be responsible for several projects, T. Cooper worked for Waterhouse from 1865 to 1876 covered Backhouse's Bank, Strangeways Prison, Allerton Priory, Foxhill, The Natural History Museum and Eaton Hall.
[42] Many of Waterhouse's buildings include carving and sculpture, Thomas Earp was commissioned on about a dozen occasions most notably Harris's Bank Leighton Buzzard and St Elizabeth's Reddish.
In the majority the drawing is bad, the sentiment is mawkish, and the colour, which is the real excuse for shutting out the cheerful light of day, is the worst thing about these stained glass windows; and yet they are there for all time, unless conflagrations, or another revolution conducted like our first by iconoclasts, intervene to rid us of them.
[76]In domestic and public buildings he preferred glass in muted greys and pinks of simple geometric patterns, he rarely uses heraldic or narrative designs, Eaton Hall was an exception with the Arthurian Scenes.
Most of us have been occasionally disconcerted in discovering that some interior which depended greatly on its harmony of colour, and which we may have thought more or less a success when it left our hands, had been handed over when in need of repainting to the tender mercies of some decorator, who failing to appreciate the delicate scheme of colour upon which we had prided ourselves.....had sown discord and vulgarity broadcast over our creation[76]Waterhouse designed the former North Western Hotel (1868–71), Lime Street, Liverpool, in the style of French Renaissance Revival architecture, it acted as the station hotel for Liverpool Lime Street railway station.
Boyd; the stone carving was by Farmer & Brindley; ceramic tiles were manufactured by Hargreaves & Craven; stained glass, notably the ceiling over the grand staircase was by Heaton, Butler & Baine; chimneypieces were provided by W.H.
In (1871–76) Waterhouse extended Reading's Georgian Town Hall, with his range of Gothic Municipal Buildings, of sandstone, brick and terracotta, it contained a new council chamber and office, there is a clock tower with carillon added in 1881, cost £8,650 (approx £980,000 in 2019).
[88] After the tower at Rochdale Town Hall was destroyed by fire Waterhouse designed its replacement (1885–88) it is 190 feet high, Gothic of stone to match the original building by William Henry Crossland.
The builder was William Sindall; the structural steel work was by A. Hanyside & Co.; the stone carving, mainly around the doorway, on the clock tower and in the gables was by Farmer & Brindley; the ceramic tiles were made by Craven Dunnill & Co.; the faience was by Burmantofts; the mosaic flooring was by J.F.
[97] Waterhouse designed the Pearl Life Assurance Building (1896–98), St John's Lane, Liverpool, clad in stone, with a corner turret, of three floors with gabled attic windows.
The builders were F. Morrison & Sons; the structural steel work was by A. Hanyside & Co.; heating and ventilation was by J. Grundy; the stone carving was by Farmer & Brindley; the faience was manufactured by Burmantofts; the mosaic flooring was by J.
It is in Italianate style one rarely used by Waterhouse, he refaced the existing eighteenth-century house in Bath stone, adding the tower with its belvedere, also entrance cloister and new main staircase, plus a new kitchen wing in brick.
[102] Easneye Park (1866) near Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire, was a country house built for Thomas Fowell Buxton, a large red brick in early Tudor style, with typical diaper work and terracotta decoration with crow-stepped gable and tiled roof the chimneys are base on those at Hampton Court Palace.
It is built from brick with sandstone dressings and in a French Gothic style, with the distinctive four storey tower with its steep pyramidal roof surrounded by four tourelles rising above the entrance porch.
Haden; the stone carving on the building was executed by Farmer & Brindley; decorative ceramic tiles were manufactured by W. Godwin and L. Oppenheimer; the stained glass windows were made by Heaton Butler & Bayne, R.D.
[107] Waterhouse was commissioned (1873–76) by Henry Pease (MP), to extended his existing mansion Pierrmont in Darlington, adding a new wing and conservatory, redecorated the hall, and built the gatehouse and the prominent clock tower.
[102] St Seiriol's parish church (1867–68), Penmaenmawr, Wales, is in the Early English Period style built from local granite with sandstone dressings and slate roof, the tower was added in 1885.
Hindshaw; the bells were cast by J. Warner & Co.[129] St Paul's School in Hammersmith (1881–1884; demolished 1968), built for the Worshipful Company of Mercers, Gothic, in dark brick and terracotta, with slate roof.
The Victoria Building and Jubilee Tower of red brick and terracotta from Ruabon and slate roofs, were constructed (1888–93) and contained the main teaching and administration facilities, that includes a large lecture theatre and library.
The (1888–93) phase foundation were by Isaac Dilworth; the superstructure was constructed by Brown & Blackburn; structural steelwork by A. Handyside & Co.; modelling of the terracotta was by Farmer & Brindley and Earp & Hobbs; the faience work was provided by Burmantofts; mosaic flooring was by Jesse Rust; chimneypieces by Hopton Wood Stone Co. and J.
[146] In (1868–70) Waterhouse added to Jesus College, Cambridge a new three-storey range of undergraduate rooms, in red brick with stone dressings in style matching the existing Tudor buildings.
Emily writing in a letter in 1866 to her friend Anna Richardson, in which she outlined her vision for the college: ..to be as beautiful as the Assize Courts Manchester, with gardens and grounds and everything that is good for body and soul and spirit.
[177] The Waterhouse drawings for all the terracotta decoration in and on the building were converted to three dimensional clay models by a Frenchman by the name of M. Du Jardin, who worked as a foreman for Farmer and Brindley, who also carved and installed the marble window sills in the Museum.
The decoration of the interiors was the responsibility of many craftspeople: Heaton, Butler and Bayne designed both armorial stained-glass and six illustrating Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King; Gertrude Jekyll designed the tapestry panels on the staircase, woven at the Royal School of Needlework; Henry Stacy Marks painted murals of the Pilgrims from The Canterbury Tales on the walls of the Saloon; decorative ceramic tiles were by William De Morgan;[189] Farmer & Brindley were responsible for the extensive carving inside and out in the building.
[194] Building News magazine reviewed the water-colour perspective for the chapel in their May 1875 edition: ..represents a picturesque cluster of buildings, consisting of a private chapel for Eaton Hall, with a high pitched roof, flanked by a slender staircase turret; while detached but still forming part of the group stands a square clock tower of very considerable size and height with clock faces contrived in the same manner as those at Westminster, and surmounted by a picturesque high roof.
Boyd; the decorative ironwork was forged by Hart, Son, Peard and Co.; the ornamental plaster-work was the work of G. Jackson; furniture and furnishings were manufactured by Morris & Norton, W. James & Co., Maple & Co., who also provided the carpets for the building.
We have generally had to complain of a redundant use of enrichment, a mechanical monotony in the setting and distribution, that has greatly injured the reputation of the material as one of the most natural we possess, and one that will resist the elements besides acids and alkalis.
[237] Hamo Thornycroft spent the Christmas of 1882 at Yattendon, on 23 December he wrote to his future wife Agatha Cox: Being a well ordered house the family and the guests retire at the hour of eleven, so I am writing to you in my room seated before a jolly fire, anxious to tell you of the two days' sport, for we have been cover shooting and you will be glad to hear no one was 'peppered' except 98 head of game.
Darlington Market and clock tower (1861-64) Waterhouse's first public building outside Manchester, the market hall was Waterhouse's only
cast-iron building
Manchester Assize Courts (1859–65), showing the elaborate carving on the building's facade: what the drawing cannot show is the different coloured stones used
Gatehouse, Strangeways Prison (1861–69), French Chateau style, main arch is Romanesque, with Gothic window details, the tall 'chimney' on the right was part of the ventilation system
61 New Cavendish Street, Marylebone, London, Waterhouse's practice was based here from 1865, it was also his home, Paul Waterhouse used the house until 1909 after Alfred had died in 1905.
Waterhouse's watercolour perspective of the Natural History Museum London 1876, in the collection of the V&A Museum. Note the side facades – the east one is just visible on the right – were never built.
Plan of the Natural History Museum London 1881, showing the layout of the galleries on the main floor
Terracotta Gothic niche and statue of
Prudence
, Holborn Bars, above the main entrance arch on High Holborn c.1901, the statue is almost classical in style it was sculpted by F.M. Pomeroy
The former North Western Hotel, Lime Street, Liverpool, in a French Renaissance style, with its dramatic roof and towers typical of the style
Part of Metropole Turkish cooling-room
Former Seamen's Orphan Institution, Liverpool, with the Great Hall in the centre
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Great George St, London (1896-98), Jacobethan in style
The clock tower (1885-88) at Rochdale Town Hall, showing the carved stone work by Earp & Hobbs
Former Foster's Bank, Sidney Street, Cambridge (1891),
Jacobethan
in style, using complex decoration
the south front of Foxhill House, on the right is the conservatory (a modern replacement), behind which is the servants' wing, the dining room opens to the veranda, with the drawing room to the left, the upper floor is the family bedrooms and on the right the nursery, servants' bedrooms are in the attic
Goldney Hall, Bristol, Gloucestershire (1865–68), Italianate in style, a style rarely used by Waterhouse, though popular at the time, but he designed a French Renaissance style roof to the tower, clad in
Bath stone
Easneye Park, Stanstead Abbots, Hertfordshire (1866) Tudor, with bright red brick with dark brick diaper patterns, note the brick chimneys, based on those at
Hampton Court Palace
Allerton Priory, Allerton, Liverpool (1868-76) French Gothic with brick and stone dressings and a very characteristic Waterhouse tower, more often found on public buildings
St Matthew's Church, Blackmoor, Hants
St Mary's parish church Twyford, Hampshire, from the north, this village church is very different in character to Waterhouse's town churches, there is an attempt to blend the style of the building to the vernacular architecture of the area by using local building materials
St Elizabeth's Church, Reddish, Stockport (1883–85), Romanesque, red brick with stone dressings, the plan is conventional for an English parish church
The main administration block, Liverpool Royal Infirmary, show the restrained decoration, in red terracotta and dark brick, (1886–92), note the porte-cochere sheltering the main entrance to protect patients from inclement weather
Former University College Hospital, London (1894–1903) showing the main entrance and Waterhouse's radical new design for the hospital
Cricket Pavilion, Marlborough College (1872-73) an example of one of Waterhouse's smaller buildings, he rarely designed buildings for sport, even so much thought has gone into it, the veranda and balcony providing excellent views of the pitch, the easy-going simplicity of the design suits its purpose
Whitworth Hall, University of Manchester (1898–1902) plain stone, with red tile roofs with prominent areas of lead, as with all three universities Waterhouse created one of his typical skylines of turrets and steep roofs, show the continuing influence of French Gothic at the end of his career, the walls are more English Perpendicular in style
Exterior Great Hall, Yorkshire College, now University of Leeds (1892) like his work at Manchester showing the influence of English Perpendicular Gothic as well as French Gothic, the walls are red brick with yellow stone
Victoria Building, red terracotta with darker brickwork, University of Liverpool (1888) the epitome of the
Red brick university
, this time Waterhouse mixed Early English Gothic with the French Gothic of the roofs
Balliol College. Oxford (1866–71) a High Victorian Gothic design, using the local stone and plain red tiled roof
Hall, Balliol College, Oxford (1873–78) the Gothic style is less fussy than the earlier work at the college, the roofscape is especially restrained for Waterhouse, the style though Decorated Gothic has a Perpendicular feel especially the
window aprons
.
Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (1868–70), Tree Court, Jacobethan but with French influenced roofs
Girton College, Cambridge, showing the building phases of 1883–85 & 1886-89
Principal facade Manchester Town Hall (1868-77), from Albert Square, showing the Clock Tower and the almost symmetrical facade, the ends vary in design
Manchester Town Hall, showing the rear facade on Cooper Street left and the Princess Street facade right
Main (South) facade of The Natural History Museum (1873-81), viewed from the east, showing the large number of blocks of terracotta of varying size, shape and decoration needed, mainly buff but with a blue-grey colour used sparingly for decoration, with decorative sculptures also of terracotta
The main entrance and flanking towers, Natural History Museum, the octagonal top storey of the towers contained the water tanks, the four pinnacles surrounding the octagonal tower tops are the air intakes and exhaust vents for the Museum's ventilation and heating system
Eaton Hall (1869-83), Entrance front in 1907, demolished 1961-63 apart from the chapel, on the right is the Library wing with its own squatter tower with pyramidal roof, just visible in the middle is the
porte-cochère
and the elaborate French-style steeply pitched roofs with
tourelles
of the main building
Eaton Hall, Garden front c.1880, demolished apart from the chapel and stable court, the main rooms with bedrooms above on the left, in the centre is the servants wing with chapel rising above, on the right the private wing, the surviving stable court is out of view behind and to the right of the private wing
The Gothic Chapel, Eaton Hall, plain solid
buttressed
walls, with its steeply pitched roof of plain slates, the window tracery is simple in design, this contrasts with the elaborately decorated termination to the tower, the clock face and the stage above it have stripes of red stone running in bands around them
Entrance front, National Liberal Club, London (1884-87) note the doorway with its Italian renaissance design, the thin tower just visible on the left contains the secondary staircase
The National liberal Club, the tower houses the secondary staircase, to the left is the terrace with the billiard room beneath, to the right the lowest row of windows lights the original Smoking Room, above is the former Writing Room (now the Smoking Room), the next level is the Gladstone Library, these are double height spaces, the upper four floors are bedrooms
Holborn Bars, High Holborn, London (1897–1901), Waterhouse's largest and most expensive commercial building, Gothic, using the standard design grey granite lower walls, red brick with red terracotta decoration
Prudential Assurance, Newcastle (1891-97) grey granite base with brick and stone walls
Prudential Assurance, Nottingham (1893–98) grey granite base, red brick and terracotta walls, the decoration is more elaborate than normal
Prudential Assurance, Edinburgh (1895–99) this is the design he used only in Scotland, grey granite base with sandstone walls
The Saloon, Heythrop Hall, Oxfordshire (1871–77) Waterhouse's rare foray into Baroque architecture. A style to match that of the original house
St Ann's Church, St Ann's Square, Manchester, restored (1887-91) with woodwork in a style contemporary with the church, and new stained glass in the end windows, the glass below the galleries, is too intense in colour to have met with Waterhouse's approval
Staple Inn after Waterhouse's restoration, with reconstructed windows, his Staple Inn Buildings is on the right
