Maxwell Ayrton

Maxwell's forebear Edward Ayrton was mayor of Ripon in 1760, and laid the foundations for the family's subsequent prominence.

[4] He then moved to London, where from 1897 to 1899 he was an assistant first to Richard Creed, then to William Alfred Pite, and finally to Edwin Landseer Lutyens.

One of his early buildings was a house called Hall Ingle, at Heath End, Checkendon (1902), "...by Mr. O. Maxwell Ayrton, for, and decorated by, Arthur Hacker, Esq., ARA".

[12] Ayrton's National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill, London, is an imposing copper-roofed building.

Although construction began in 1937, it was delayed by the Second World War, and the opening ceremony in the presence of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth did not take place until 5 May 1950.

"[13] Maxwell's son, Tony Ayrton (1909–1943), followed the vocation of his uncle rather than his father and became an artist, before serving as a distinguished camouflage-officer in World War Two, but died on active service in 1943.