Walter Brierley

For the novelist, see Walter Brierley (writer).

Walter Henry Brierley
Born1862
Died22 August 1926(1926-08-22) (aged 63–64)[4]
NationalityEnglish
OccupationArchitect
PracticeAtkinson Brierley[1]
Demaine and Brierley[2]
Brierley & Rutherford[3]
Brierley Groom
County Hall, Northallerton, 1914

Walter Henry Brierley (1862–1926) was a York architect who practised in the city for 40 years. He is known as "the Yorkshire Lutyens"[5] or the "Lutyens of the North".[4] He is also credited with being a leading exponent of the "Wrenaissance" style - incorporating elements of Christopher Wren.[6]

Brierley's works include civic buildings, churches, schools and private houses (including his own home, Bishopsbarns) and are located mainly in York, North Yorkshire and the north of England. He was responsible for over 300 buildings between 1885 and the time of his death in 1926.[7] He was the architect for the York Diocese.

The Borthwick Institute in York holds an archive of the Atkinson Brierley architectural practice,[1] a practice that lives on as Brierley Groom, the oldest architectural firm in the UK having continuously practised since 1750.[8] In 2013 Pocklington School unveiled a clock based on plans drawn up by Brierley 116 years earlier and found at the Borthwick in 2006.[9]

A celebration of Brierley's life and architecture in 2007 unearthed the fact that he had designed and built many of the houses and other buildings (such as the Church of St Mary) in Goathland. Simon Groom, current co-owner of architects Brierley Groom, noted that the opening credits of the popular ITV programme Heartbeat displayed large amounts of Brierley's work on screen.[10]

  1. ^ a b "Borthwick Institute: what we hold". www.york.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  2. ^ Historic England. "Church of St Peter (Newton-le-Willows) (1343245)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ^ Historic England. "St Clements Church Hall (1390532)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b "One Vision". The Garden. 121. Royal Horticultural Society: 328–331. 1996. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  5. ^ Paul Chrystal (2015). "5". York in the 1960s: Ten Years that Changed a City. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445640969. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  6. ^ James Stevens Curl; Susan Wilson (2015). The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture. OUP. p. 116. ISBN 9780199674985. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  7. ^ "Borthwick spotlight for Brierley's architectural gems". www.york.ac.uk. 31 January 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  8. ^ "Walter H. Brierley (1862-1926)". two.archiseek.com. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  9. ^ "116 year wait over as the cogs turn on school's new clock". Pocklington Post. 22 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. ^ Stirling, Tom (1 February 2007). "Celebration of architect". York Press. Retrieved 16 August 2018.