John B. Sutcliffe

His paternal great-grandfather was a wool manufacturer; his maternal grandfather, John Townend, was a large colliery owner in Lancashire.

[1] John's father was a large contractor, who failed in business as a result of the depression brought about in that part of England by the American Civil War.

He subsequently became an architect and civil engineer and in 1864, his son John left school to enter his father's business.

He built on his success at St. Mary's in Birmingham, by beginning to specialize in Gothic design and church architecture and found his true vocation.

[citation needed] In 1897, Sutcliffe designed St John's Episcopal Church, Helena, AR,[15] which was completed in 1899 but burned down in 1914.

He was survived by his wife and five children, Arthur George, Helen Mary, Clara Mabel, Edwin Alan and Isabel Ray.