Lynne About Loughborough

Friday, 17 April 2026

So Who Was Frederick Webster Ordish?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

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Okay, I’ll come clean – Frederick Webster Ordish may well have designed some buildings for Loughborough, but if he did, I have not discovered any! The closest we have is Leicester, Shearsby, Rearsby, and Syston. There, I’ve said it! I will, however, share the story of Frederick with you …

Frederick was baptised on 9 January 1821, and was the son of Ralph Ordish, who in 1854 was an hotel keeper, and his wife, Elizabeth. The baptism took place at All Saints church in Derby.

In 1841, when Frederick was 20, he was listed on the census returns as an architect’s pupil at 16 Full Street, Derby. It’s likely his architect master was Edward Stevens, who was an architect at the same property.

By 1851, Frederick was an architect working in London, and living alone at 9 John Street in St Martin-in-the-Fields. On 20 December 1854, Frederick married Isabella Kilby. Frederick, as we know, was an architect based in London at the time, and Isabella was living in Derby, but the couple married in Queniborough, as this was where Isabella’s father was living. The service was conducted by the Reverend Charles March Lisle Phillips, an ancestor of the de Lisle family, late of Garendon Hall. I believe Frederick then set up his architectural practice in Leicester, firstly with John Johnson, and in 1870 with John Charles Traylen.

In 1856 Frederick became a member of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society, and at the time of his death was one of its most long-standing members. On the night of the 1861 census, Frederick and Isabella were visiting chemist, Thomas Buck, who was living at 18 Marlborough Place, Lambeth.

In 1865, Frederick was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In 1871, architect, Frederick and his wife, Isabella are recorded as living in Queniborough, where they are helped by two servants.

An 1877 directory suggests that Frederick Webster Ordish was living at the Lower Hall, Queniborough; another suggests it was called the Old Hall. On the 1881 census return, the home of Frederick and Isabella is referred to as Bottom Hall, Queniborough.

Sadly, whilst still a practising architect, Frederick died in an accident on 23 September 1885. An account of his accidental death appeared in the Loughborough Herald and North Leicestershire Gazette in September 1885:

“SHOCKING ACCIDENT AT SYSTON STATION

A LEICESTER ARCHITECT DECAPITATED

A dreadful accident was witnesses at Syston Railway Station last evening, by which Mr Ordish, a well-known architect of Leicester, met with his death. Mr Ordish lived at Queniborough, and went home from Leicester by a late train. On arriving at Syston it is stated that he attempted to leave the carriage before the train had stopped, missing his footing, and fell between the platform and the footboard on to the metals.

The last carriage passed over his head and inflicted the frightful injuries, the jaws being broken, and the head reduced almost to a pulp. His arms were also much lacerated and broken, and other parts of his body were injured.

Death, of course, was instantaneous. His remains were conveyed to the Railway Hotel, where they lie awaiting the coroner’s inquest. As may be imagined, the accident caused a good deal of consternation among the passengers, and Mr Ordish’s untimely death will be much lamented.”

At its meeting on 28 September 1885, Reverend J.H. Hill, who was chair of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archaeological Society, suggested that the sudden loss of Mr Ordish would be keenly felt by members of the Society, and it was agreed to send a letter of condolence to his widow. At the time of his death, Frederick had just completed a brass memorial in St Martin’s Church (now Leicester Cathedral) to Thomas North, FSA.

Frederick’s will is one of the shortest I have ever come across:

“At my decease I, Frederick Webster Ordish, hereby leave all I possess or am entitled to, to my wife Isabella Ordish absolutely.”

The will of Frederick of Queniborough Old Hall, was proved on 10 April 1886, and he left a personal estate of under £260 to his widow, Isabella. Isabella herself died only 3 years and 1 day after her husband, on 24 September 1888. She left a personal estate of £331 9s. 6d.

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What follows is a selection of buildings designed by Frederick Webster Ordish

Note: this is a selective, not a comprehensive listing.

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Sole Designs

*St Luke’s church, Cheltenham (1853-4)

*Restoration of St Mary Magdalen church, Shearsby (1856)

*Restoration of St Michael’s church, Rearsby (1857-8)

*Restoration of St Peter and St Paul church, Syston (1871 and 1881)

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Designs with John Charles Traylen

*St Peter’s church, Leicester (1870-1)

*St Leonard’s church, Woodgate, Leicester (1876-7)

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I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

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Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Was Frederick Webster Ordish? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-who-was-frederick-webster-ordish.html [Accessed 13 April 2026]

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Lynne

Thursday, 16 April 2026

So Who Was John Smith Norris?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

Short biography of John Smith Norris

John Smith Norris was baptised on 28 November 1819 at St Leogardius church in Basford, Nottingham. He was the son of Thomas Norris, a clerk, and later an accountant, and his wife Mary: this may have been Mary Smith, who married a Thomas Norris in 1809 at Quarndon in Derbyshire. The couple had at least four children – Elizabeth Smith Norris (1817-1870); Thomas Smith Norris (1822-1880), Mary Smith Norris (1826-post-1901), and John himself.

By the age of 22, John was listed on the 1841 census return as a surveyor, and he, his parents, and his siblings were living on Canal Street, Nottingham. On 27 July 1848, John married Anne Peet, the daughter Thomas, a lace manufacturer, at the parish church in Sneinton. At the time, John was living on Eldon Terrace, and Anne on Belvoir Terra, but the couple made their home at a property on Sneinton Road, Nottingham. The 1851 census return shows John and Anne at Sneinton Road, with their 1-year-old son, Henry John, and a servant. John’s occupation is listed as an engineer and architect.

In an 1854 trade directory, John is listed under architects, and his place of work as Market Street, Nottingham, and in an 1855 newspaper article his occupation is given as engineer to the local board. Between 1851 and 1861, John and Anne had eight more children, brothers and sisters to Henry John. Frank Peet was born in 1852; Katherine Anne in 1853; Charles was born in 1855); Edith Ellen followed in 1856); Edward Thomas was born in 1857); Margaret Mary in 1858); Herbert William was born in 1859, but sadly died in 1865, and finally Florence Louisa was born in 1861.

On the 1861 census return, John, Anne, and the 9 children, were living on Blue Coat Street (probably no.3), and John was listed as a civil engineer and architect. The family were supported by two people, Elizabeth Comber, a servant, and Sarah Hickson, a nursemaid. The life of an engineer, architect, and surveyor, was varied. John acted, presumably in a personal capacity, as executor to Samuel Henry Oaks, who died in 1861. In 1864 he was on the grand jury of the Nottingham Quarter Sessions, and, in the same year, commenting upon plans for ventilation and closets. As an architect, it was also in 1864 that he designed the new Unitarian Chapel on Victoria Street in Loughborough, which replaced the older one which was on what is now called Warner Lane, off Church Gate. For a report of the opening, please scroll down! In 1868, John is surveyor to the assessment committee of the Nottingham Union.

In 1871, John and Anne are both now aged 51, and four of their children – Edith, Thomas, Margaret, and Florence – are still living with them at 3 Blue Coat Street, Nottingham. John is still working as a civil engineer, and Thomas is apprentice to a lace manufacturer, who is probably his uncle, Thomas Smith Norris, who is living at no.5 Blue Coat Street, with his sister Mary and a servant. In 1881, John, described as a civil engineer surveyor, and his wife Anne are still at Blue Coats Street, and still have four children at home – Charles aged 26; Edward Thomas aged 23; Margaret M. aged 22, and Florence Louisa aged 20 – and they are supported by servant Ann England

In 1885 John and Anne still at Blue Coats Street. John’s brother, Thomas, who was the lace manufacturer living next door at no.5 died in 1880, so their sister, Mary, is now living at no.5. By 1891, John has retired, and he and Anne have moved to 64 Mapperley Road, where their children, Edward Thomas, and Margaret are still living with them, along with two servants.

John Smith Norris died on 22 March 1892. Probate was granted to Anne, his widow, and Edward Thomas his son the lace manufacturer, on 13 April. His effects were £21,635 17s. 8., which was resworn in July 1892 and became £22,510 17s. 8d.. Now only was John Smith Norris survived by his wife, his mother also outlived, who died on 15 May 1897; her effects were £693 12s. 6d..

In 1893, following the death of brother, Mary Smith Norris commissioned Nottingham architect Watson Fothergill to design a terrace of eight almshouses on Sherwood Rise. These became known as the Norris Almshouses, and were available only to well-educated, upper class ladies over the age of 60, who found themselves in reduced circumstances. Mary herself died in 1904.

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What follows is a selection of buildings designed by John Smith Norris

Note: this is a selective, not a comprehensive listing.

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*Loughborough Victoria Street Chapel, Unitarian (1864)

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Here’s an account of the opening of the chapel, by the Nottingham and Midland Counties Daily Express

OPENING OE VICTORIA-STREET CHAPEL, LOUGHBOROUGH.

For nearly two years and a half the congregation of the old Presbyterian Chapel, in Warner's Lane, have been gathering a fund for the erection of a new place of worship, in a better situation, with school-rooms attached.

The new building, situated at the corner of Victoria-street and Park-place [now Park Street], was opened on Wednesday, the 14th instant. It fronts towards Victoria-street, and is an adaptation of the style prevailing in the early part of the 13th century. The walling is of undressed Forest stone, and the dressings of Hollington stone, the inside of the walls being faced with white brick.

The nave is lighted by six lancet windows, with a circular window over the doorway, filled in with plate tracery. Accommodation for the choir is obtained by an arched compartment, projected from the south-west corner of the nave, finished externally with a slated spire, the finial of which reaches 72 feet from the ground.

The moulded arch of the principal door contains the tooth ornament, whilst the jambs have Mansfield red shafts and moulded bases, with carved foliated capitals. The chapel is fitted up with open deal benches varnished in the natural colour, affording accommodation for 176 persons. The pulpit and communion rail and table are constructed of polished pitch pine, the first named having quatre foil panels on the four sides, while the angles are enriched with eight-pollard oak shafts, and carved foliated capitals.

The lighting is effected by ten handsome gas brackets, projected from the walls and the usual branches to the pulpit. The heating is by means of hot water pipes under continuous gratings on the aisles. The roof is open timbered, of interlaced rafters.

Adjoining to the chapel in the rear is a well-lighted and lofty school-room, with an independent entrance from Park-place; also a vestry and an upper and lower classroom. The school buildings are of red brick, relieved by a sparing introduction of blue bands, and the windows, gable-copings, &c., are of Hollington dressed stone. While the style of these buildings is preserved in keeping with the chapel, the architectural features have been subordinated so as to give a consistent prominence to the latter.

The stone-walling, bricklayers' and plasterers' work, have been carried out by Mr. W. Moss, of Loughborough; the carpenters' and joiners' work, by Lamb and Stevenson, of Nottingham; the masonry, by W. Walpole, of Loughborough, assisted by Mr. W. P. Smith, for the carved work; the glaziers' work and heating apparatus, by Mr. Messenger of Loughborough; the painting &c., by Mr. Greening, of Nottingham; and the gas fittings were furnished by Mr. Rhodes, of Nottingham. The architect is John S. Norris, Esq., of Nottingham.

The total cost of land, buildings, and other charges, will be little short of £1,450; of this, about £1,360, including the value of the old chapel, are already provided for; and of the remaining £80 or £90 beyond some £40 which there is good hope of obtaining yet from other friends, about £50 are still entirely to seek. The congregation will be grateful for any contribution which their neighbours may be disposed to make towards the completion of this fund.

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Basic facts

Name: John Smith Norris

Parents: Thomas Norris and Ann (possibly née Smith) possibly m.1809, Derbyshire

Date and place of Birth: baptised 28 November 1819, Basford

Spouse: Ann née Peet (m.1848)

Children: Henry John (b.1850); Frank (b.1852); Katherine Anne (b.1853); Charles (b. 1855); Edith Ellen (b.1856); Edward Thomas (b.1857); Margaret Mary (b.1858); Herbert William, (1859-1865);

Death: 22 March 1892

Places lived: Eldon Terrace, Sneinton; Canal Street, Nottingham; Sneinton Road, Nottingham; 3 Blue Coat Street, Nottingham; 64 Mapperley Road, Nottingham

Place of work/Offices: Market Street, Nottingham

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I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Was John Smith Norris? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-who-was-john-smith-norris.html [Accessed 16 April 2026]

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site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

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Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Wednesday, 15 April 2026

So Who Was William Bonython Moffatt?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

As with many of the letters in the alphabetical whiz through architects with a Loughborough connection, I had several candidates for letter M. I might, perhaps have chosen to write about John Morris, of the architectural partnership John Morris and Charles Grieve Hebson, who were based in London. One of the firm's most notable buildings was the grammar school at Wimbourne in Dorset, around 1849-1851. The architectural partnership was dissolved in 1854, when Morris emigrated to Canada, but that was after the pair had also designed, what I would describe as the main building for the Loughborough Grammar School.

However, I’ve decided to write about a different architect, one who also was part of a partnership which worked from London.

Short biography of William Bonython Moffatt

William Bonython Moffatt was born in 1812 in St Columb, Cornwall, to parents Richard, born in 1777, and at the time of William’s birth he was a carpenter, and his wife Elizabeth, born in 1790. Richard and Elizabeth had married on 25 December 1810 in St Columb Minor, Cornwall. Elizabeth’s family name was Bonython, which is where William’s middle name comes from. Richard and Elizabeth also had another child, Mary, baptised in 1813. It’s possible that Richard’s father was also a Richard Moffatt, master carpenter with apprentices around 1876 in St Columb Minor.

Apparently, having a master carpenter for a father leads biographers to suggest that William Bonython was from a working-class family, and uneducated. If this means that one is employed in a trade, then this may be the case, however, since Richard seems to own land in St Columb Minor, and since he is referred to as an ‘esquire’ (so not quite a gentleman) on the wedding licence of his son in 1846, I’d suggest he was further up the social ladder than this.

Anyway, I can’t find much about William Bonython Moffatt’s early years, except that he was apprenticed to the architect James Edmeston, as was George Gilbert Scott. Scott then helped out with the design of workhouses, and once he had set up his own practice in about 1835, he took on William as assistant, and clerk of works, the practice being based at Spring Gardens. I’ve read somewhere on my travels, that William kept four horses, and that he and Scott would ride across the country looking for commissions to build workhouses. In 1836, William was commissioned to design the Union Workhouse at Amesbury, but together Scott and Moffatt designed over 40 workhouses in around 5 years.

The partnership of Scott and Moffatt came to an end in 1845, and somehow William got into debt, and was jailed. On 31 December 1846, William married Diana Margaretta Jones, at St Martin-in-the-Fields. In the ensuing 4 years, the couple had three children – Sydney, Julia, and Rosalie. By 1851, they were living at 81 North End, Croydon, William’s occupation being listed as surveyor, before moving to Southwark.

Eventually, William retired, and returned to St Columb, Cornwall. He died on 24 May 1887, at the age of 75, at Summercourt, St Ednor, in Cornwall, after a protracted illness. He was survived by his wife, Diana, who died in 1898, in Roche, Cornwall: her effects were £898 2s. 6d..

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What follows is a selection of buildings designed by Arthur John Price

Note: this is a selective, not a comprehensive listing.

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*Loughborough Union Workhouse (with George Gilbert Scott) (1838)

*Amesbury Union Workhouse (1836)

*Royal Crystal Palace Hotel (c.1853/1860)

*Taunton Assize Courts/Shire Hall (1855-8)

*Royal Earlswood Hospital, Redhill (1853)

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Basic facts

Name: William Bonython Moffatt

Parents: Richard and Elziabeth née Bonython

Date and place of Birth: 1812, St Columb, Cornwall

Spouse: Diana Margaretta Jones

Children: Sydney (b.c.1848); Julia (b.c.1849); Rosalie (b.c.1851)

Death: 24 May 1887

Places lived: Summercourt, St Columb Minor; Spring Gardens

Place of work/Offices: Spring Gardens

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I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Was William Bonython Moffatt? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-who-was-william-bonython-moffatt.html [Accessed 15 April 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

So Who Is Our Letter L?

An A-Z of Architects of Loughborough

For a complete list of the A-Z posts please head over to the bloglist.

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Plenty of architects with a Loughborough connection whose surname begins with the letter L, but I had set my heart on sharing with you the story of one particular person – but I have been singularly unsuccessful in finding out anything about them!!!

So, while stamping my li’l old feet, I shall resort to mentioning that the Leicestershire County Council (LCC), like other councils across the UK, had, and still have, an in-house team of architects who are focussed on building design, building renovation, and improvements to the local environment via its built heritage. This has been the case for many years, and I have already shared with you the story of Ernest George Fowler, who was employed in this capacity.

Back in the 1960s, when there was a lot of building demolition and new builds happening, and one such person who worked for the LCC at that time was S.W. Lax, who, according to Leonard Cantor in his celebratory book, Loughborough College: a centenary history 1909-2009, reports that it was Lax who was responsible for designing the main building on the Loughborough College campus, which I’m presuming (someone will tell me if I’m wrong!) is the tall building off Epinal Way, behind the Cope Auditorium (which I think was designed by another of the County Architects, Arthur Ernest Thorndyke), and which has recently been modernised.

Sorry for such a short entry! If anyone has any more information, I’d love to hear about it!

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What follows is the only building I’ve discovered that was designed by S. W. Lax

Note: this is a selective, not a comprehensive listing.

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Sole Designs

*Loughborough College main building (opened 1966)

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I’m taking part in the April A-Z Blogging Challenge!

____________________________________

Posted by lynneaboutloughborough

With apologies for typos which are all mine!

_______________________________________________

Thank you for reading this blog.

Copyright:

Dyer, Lynne (2026). So Who Is Our Letter L? Available from: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/2026/04/so-who-is-our-letter-l.html [Accessed 13 April 2026]

Take down policy:

External Links:

Blog archive and tags:

Searching the blog:

site: https://lynneaboutloughborough.blogspot.com/ “Radmoor House”

NOTE – the words you’re actually looking for must be in “” and the first of these must be preceded by a space

Thank you for reading this blog.

Lynne

Lynne About Loughborough

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Friday, 17 April 2026

So Who Was Frederick Webster Ordish?

Thursday, 16 April 2026

So Who Was John Smith Norris?

Wednesday, 15 April 2026

So Who Was William Bonython Moffatt?

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

So Who Is Our Letter L?

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