William Curtis Green

William Curtis Green RA, FRIBA (16 July 1875 – 26 March 1960)[1] was an English architect, designer and barrister[2] who was based in London for much of his career.

William was educated at Newton College, Devon, and studied mechanical engineering,[3] an industry in which he intended to work,[4] at West Bromwich Technical School.

Green joined the staff of The Builder in 1897, briefly, and visited many countries in order to develop his skills in architecture.

[3] In 1910, the same year in which he designed the Church of the Good Shepherd in Dockenfield on the Surrey/Hampshire border,[7] Curtis Green went into partnership with London-based architects Dunn & Watson who frequently left him in charge of the practice.

[8] The same year, a request was made by the House and Cottage Exhibition Committee at Gidea Park, headed by the Liberal Member of parliament John Burns, for architects to take part in a new house-building competition.

[12] When his friend Edwin Lutyens went to New Delhi to build the Rashtrapati Bhavan in 1912, he asked Curtis Green to take charge of his office while he was away.

The opportunity allowed Curtis Green to build upon his understanding of how to conduct large works in a grand manner.

[8] Among their many buildings include the Church of All Saints in Shirley, Croydon,[17] Their offices were based at 5 Pickering Place, St. James's Street, London.

Restricted by the already established foundations,[3] and with just 14 months to complete the design and build,[4] he adapted to the awkward layout and made a success of the project.

He was appointed as the president of the Architectural Association, a member of the Royal Fine Arts Commission, and an officer of the Académie Française.

[3] The building, the former Scottish Provident Institution, is one that he had helped design in 1913, alongside William Newton Dunn (1859—1934) and Robert Watson (1865–1916).

[25] Soon after Cicely's death in 1934, Curtis Green met Laura Gwenllian James née Rice (c.1874–1952), whom he married on 2 August 1935 at Lambeth Palace.

[26] Curtis Green's great-grandson, Michael, is a furniture restorer, currently based in Battersea, South West London.