Harry Edward Clifford
Harry Edward Clifford | |
|---|---|
 Clifford circa 1900 | |
| Born | Henry Edward Clifford 12 September 1852 North Naparima, Trinidad |
| Died | 14 October 1932 (aged 80) Campbeltown, Scotland |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards | FRIBA |
Henry Edward Clifford FRIBA (12 September 1852 – 14 October 1932) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1] His design genre was wide, from churches to schools to golf clubhouses, but he was focussed in the Glasgow area and the west coast of Scotland.[2]
Early life[edit]
Clifford's family was originally from Wexford, Ireland, but settled in Trinidad not long after its capture in 1797.[1]
Clifford was born on 12 September 1852 at Woodbrook estate in North Naparima, Trinidad, into a Scots-Irish family. He was the second son and fourth child of F. Henry Clifford, a sugar planter, and Rebecca Anderson. He and his siblings were raised in Glasgow by their single mother after the death of their father in 1859.[2][1]
Career[edit]
In 1867, Clifford was articled to John Burnet for five years. He remained with him for an additional five years as draughtsman.[1]
Clifford began his own practice, firstly at 113 West Regent Street in Glasgow, then at 196 St Vincent Street.[1]
He achieved national fame in 1901, when he won he Glasgow Royal Infirmary competition, but an internal disagreement led to its commission instead being given to James Miller.[1]
In 1909, Clifford began a partnership with his principal assistant Thomas Lunan, who was connected in the golfing world;[1] however, Lunan fought in the Great War and returned with post-traumatic stress disorder and found himself unable to work. Clifford bought him out and continued alone.[1]
Clifford retired on medical advice in December 1923. His practice was merged with that of Watson & Salmond.[1]
Selected notable works[edit]
- Bellahouston Park gate lodge
- Royal Troon Golf Club clubhouse (1886)
- Pollokshields Burgh Hall (1890)
- Kirn Pier buildings (1895)
- Glasgow Victoria Infirmary (1902)
- Perth City Hall (1914)
Personal life[edit]
Clifford's mother was from Campbeltown, Argyll and Bute, and it was there that he met his wife, Alice Gibson, who was twenty years his junior. They married on 7 December 1904 at Longrow Free Church in Campbeltown. Their only child, William Henry Morton Clifford, was born in 1909.[2][1]
In the early 1890s, Clifford built himself a weekend house, namely Redclyffe in Troon, but he lived with his mother and sisters in Pollokshields during the week.[1]
Upon retiring in 1923, he bought a two-acre plot in the English town of Reigate, Surrey, on which he built a "substantial house" which he also named Woodbrook.[1]
He came out of retirement to design Crosshill, at Wendover, for friends from Campbeltown.[1]
Clifford's health improved somewhat, but his fortune was diminished by the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the subsequent impact on the London Stock Exchange.[1] He suffered a severe heart attack in July 1930, and his wife endured phlebitis the following year.[1]
Death[edit]
Due to nursing costs, Clifford put Woodbrook on the market, but before it could be sold he died of a stroke on 14 October 1932, aged 80.[2] Alice died the following summer.[1]
Clifford was buried in Kilkerran Cemetery in Campbeltown.[1]