c. b. and c. e. pearson, lancaster architects, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/pricev35web.pdf ·...
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
19
C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939
James Price
Abstract
This paper covers the work of two architects, father and son, who worked in Lancaster between
1904 and 1939. Initially the firm undertook a wide range of local commissions, e.g. houses, shops
and public buildings. After 1918 C. B. Pearson entered national competitions, which increased in
number with the arrival of his son in the practice in 1931, giving them a national reputation. Both
father and son were fine draughtsmen and, in addition to exhibiting drawings at the Royal Academy,
also provided drawings for other architects’ commissions.
The development of the practice
The Pearson architectural practice was founded by Charles Bulman Pearson in 1904, his son
Charles Edward joining as a Partner in 1931. This paper details the work of the practice from its
foundation up to the outbreak of World War Two. After 1945 C.E. Pearson ceased to be only a local
architect, opening offices in London (1946) and Manchester (1949), and instead of working alone
he became the leader of a large group of architects, the bulk of their commissions being team
efforts. In 1958 the grandson of the founder (Michael Pearson) opened an office in London in his
own name and in 1982 the Lancaster office closed. The Michael Pearson Associates Practice
operated for many years thereafter.
Figure 1 C.B. Pearson (left) and C.E. Pearson (right)
Source: Lancaster Guardian 2004
Charles Bulman Pearson (Figure 1) was born in Milnthorpe (now in Cumbria) in 1876, moving to
Lancaster in 1890 when he became, firstly, an office boy to E.H. Dawson and then his articled pupil
(1890–6) (Price 2006–7). On E.H. Dawson’s death in 1896 Pearson became an Assistant to the
Lancaster Borough Surveyor and worked later for the firm of Oliver and Dodgson in Carlisle.
Following some early training at the Storey Institute he joined the Architectural Schools of the
Royal Academy. After a brief spell in Hull, where he got married and his daughter was born, he
returned to Lancaster. In 1904 he set up as an architect at 12A Cheapside, later moving to Dalton
![Page 2: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
20
Square (1907–60). He designed a wide range of buildings in and around Lancaster, including
houses, offices and shops (Pearson 1992). He was a superb draughtsman (as was his son), as early
as 1906 contributing drawings to the Annual Royal Academy Drawings Exhibition. In addition to
his own drawings, when architectural commissions were scarce, he hired himself as a perspective
and competitions expert, providing other architects with drawings for their competition entries and
sometimes for their commissions.
The pattern of work in the practice shows periods without commissions such as the three or four
years after Bowerham Church in 1904 (Pearson 1992). During the General Strike both father and
son worked in London for Campbell Jones, Son and Smithers, designing a building for an insurance
company at the north-facing axis of London Bridge. They also probably worked for Sir John
Burnett, Tait and Lorn on the competition for the Port of London building on Tower Green. Two
prizes were awarded for the plan and elevations. C.B. Pearson also worked on the Lloyds Building
in Cornhill (Rogers 2010). In 1915 C.B. Pearson became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British
Architects. While a Lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery, he sketched designs for war
memorials in a “simple Classical Language of columns, obelisks and pediments” (Michael Pearson
personal communication). In 1918 he made an ambitious proposal for an entirely new cathedral for
Manchester to serve as memorial, civic symbol and contributor to the local economy. He also
suggested remodelling the Priory Church in Lancaster to secure it cathedral status and he proposed
adapting Lancaster Castle as a royal residence for the Duke of Lancaster (C.B. Pearson Brochure
1918; Michael Pearson personal communication). An example of his artistic skill is the measured
drawing of the choir stalls in the Priory Church. He died in 1944.
His son, Charles Edward Pearson (1907–82) attended Lancaster Royal Grammar School, worked
for Lancashire County Council and then became articled to his father, becoming his business
partner in 1931 (Figure 1). The architectural practice now became regional and then national rather
than just local. They entered increasing numbers of national competitions for hospitals, schools and
civic buildings, for example, obtaining First Prizes for their designs for Ramsey Grammar School,
Llandudno Hospital and Scunthorpe Civic Centre. From the end of the Second World War, the
practice was run by C.E. Pearson who had a team of Associates with offices in Lancaster, London
and Manchester, joined by later generations of the Pearson family. Tables 1 and 2 give more details
about the practice.
Table 1 Members of the Practice
C.B. Pearson F.R.I.B.A, 1876–1944
C. E. Pearson F.R.I.B.A, 1907–1982
from 1931 a partner in Charles B. Pearson and Son
Michael Pearson F.R.I.B.A 1931–
1958 -77 Partner in C.B. Pearson and Son
1977 Michael Pearson opened an office in London
1982 Established Michael Pearson Associates
Table 2 Practice names, dates and locations
1904–07 C.B. Pearson, Cheapside office
1907–60 Dalton Square office
1960–82 Dallas Road office
1931–82 C.B. Pearson and Son
c.1977 Pearson International established
1982 Closure of Lancaster office, Dallas Road, now a dental clinic
![Page 3: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
21
1982– Michael Pearson Associates (Michael, Karine (daughter) and Abigail (daughter) Pearson)
Practice Styles and Work
Table 3 is a list of the known works of the practice between 1904 and 1939. During this period the
partners made use of a number of styles – Neo-Classical, Arts and Crafts and Vernacular, Gothic
and Modernist. For much of the time a classical architectural language was a feature of their work,
something that was especially apparent in C.B. Pearson’s early work. The arrival of C.E. Pearson
brought in a Modernist style.
Neo-classical style
Bowerham Mission Hall (1904) appears to be a simple design but it contains classical features such
as arched windows with a trace of a keystone on the central axis, the volutes that encase it and the
flagpole (Figure 2). E.B. Dawson (the father of E.H. Dawson to whom he had been articled) laid the
foundation stone.
Figure 2 Bowerham Mission Hall (1904)
Source: Bowerham United Reformed Church records
In 1906 C.B. Pearson entered the competition for the new County Hall for London County Council.
This shows his skilful handling of the Classical style with a Beaux Arts façade with pilasters and his
favoured round windows.
1921–3 The New Kinema (cinema) in Carnforth shows a late use of the Classical with its four
bulging pillar and Ionic capitals. The Village Halls of Glasson and Arnside also have Classical
features.
1931 Moorgarth, Lancaster, is a house that displays some classical features – circular windows and
banded chimneys, yet it reflects a more Modernist approach with its symmetry (Figure 3). It has
elements of a French seventeenth-century design. During the First World War C.B. Pearson made a
number of sketches for war memorials in a Classical style.
![Page 4: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
22
Figure 3 Moorgarth, Lancaster (1931) Source: Rogers 2010
Arts and Crafts and Vernacular styles
Inverlune is a large country house designed by C.B. Pearson in 1910 for E.B. Dawson (1830–1916),
the father of the man to whom he had been articled (Figure 4). It is in an Arts and Crafts style and
C.B. Pearson is likely to have drawn on two houses by C.F.A. Voysey in the Lake District, Broad
Leys and Moor Crag. They have the Voysey ‘trademarks’ of deep windows and vernacular
chimneys from the Lakes. He made use of banding on the chimney pots and gave it a half-timbered
tower with an open top floor.
Figure 4 Inverlune, Lancaster (1910) Source: Pearson 1992
![Page 5: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
23
Gothic style
C.B. Pearson’s love of Gothic led to his proposal for remodelling Lancaster Priory and also
adapting the Castle as a royal residence. 1918 he put forward a proposal for a new Manchester
Cathedral in the Gothic style.
Modernist style
In 1934 the rebuilding of Morecambe’s Central Pier saw the Pearsons design a New Dance Pavilion
with strip windows, exuberant lighting and a dramatic ribbed, barrel-vaulted ceiling (Figure 5). In
1936 a design for Harpenden Public Hall adopted a new approach that looked to the work of
Continental architects. Two designs, Llandudno Hospital (1936) and Scunthorpe Civic Centre
(1937) displayed the Modernist approach that the practice would develop after 1945.
Figure 5 New Dance Pavilion, Central Pier, Morecambe (1934)
Source: Rogers 2010
Figure 6 Hart and Levy shop, Cheapside, Lancaster 1928
Source: Pearson 1992
![Page 6: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
24
Table 3 Selected architectural commissions and competitions up to 1939
1904 Bowerham Mission Hall, Lancaster (now Bowerham United Reformed Church)
1906 County Hall, London County Council competition
1910 Inverlune, Aldcliffe, Lancaster
1914 Concrete Cottage competition, Lancaster
1918 Proposal for a cathedral as a war memorial in Manchester
1920 Southport Secondary School competition
1920 Glasson Dock Memorial Hall
1921–3 The New Kinema (Cinema), Carnforth
1922 Daily Mail Competition for Labour-Saving Bungalows (Daily Mail [1923])
1924 Lowood, Arnside
1924 Warehouse and office, Cable Street, Lancaster
1925 Bridleway at Arnside
1926 Houses at Carus Park, Lancaster
1928 House at Bare Lane, Morecambe
1928 Hart and Levy Building, Cheapside, Lancaster (now Thomas Cook)
1929–30 Alterations to Penny’s Almhouses, Lancaster
1929 Arcade and Shops for Reddrops, Lancaster (the exhibition drawing is dated 1926)
1931 Ramsey Grammar School, Isle of Man
1931 Moorgarth, Lancaster
1931 Village Hall, Arnside
1932 Southampton Girls Grammar School competition
1932 Birmingham Mansion House competition
1934 Central Pier, Morecambe
1936 Harpenden Public Hall competition
1936 Llandudno Hospital competition
1936 Newport Civic Centre competition
1937 Scunthorpe Civic Centre competition
1937 St. Wilfrid’s Rectory, Halton
1938 Lancaster Lads Club, Dallas Road, Lancaster
1938 The Cross Keys public house, Slyne
Sources: Hartwell and Pevsner 2009; Pearson 1992; Rogers 2010
Table 4 Drawings exhibited at the Royal Academy up to 1939
1920 Memorial Hall and Cross at Glasson Dock
1921 Southport Secondary School competition
1921 House and Cottage at Lancaster
1925 Warehouse and office in Lancaster
1925 Houses at Bare, Arkholme and Arnside
1926 Houses at Carus Park, Lancaster
1926 New premises at Lancaster for Reddrops shop
Table 5 Successes in architectural competitions up to 1939
1905 Preston Secondary School. Second Prize
1914 Concrete Cottage. Second Prize
1920 Southport Secondary School. Selected
1922 Labour-Saving Bungalow. Daily Mail Books
1931 Ramsey Grammar School. First Prize
![Page 7: C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904 1939lahs.archaeologyuk.org/PriceV35Web.pdf · C. B. AND C. E. PEARSON, LANCASTER ARCHITECTS, 1904–1939 James Price Abstract This](https://reader034.vdocuments.site/reader034/viewer/2022043022/5f3d8adbbe5f0033b662a2a0/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Contrebis 2017 v35
25
1932 Southampton Girls Grammar School. Second Prize
1932 Birmingham Mansion House. Highly Commended
1936 Llandudno Hospital. First Prize
1936 Harpenden Public Hall. Third Prize
1937 Scunthorpe Civic Centre. Third Prize
1938 Chester Royal Infirmary. Second Prize
Acknowledgements
Much of the material used in this article is drawn from the unpublished dissertation (The Bartlett School of
Architecture, London, 1992) by Abigail E. Pearson, the great granddaughter of C.B. Pearson, entitled “The
Architectural Works of Charles B. Pearson and Charles E. Pearson prior to the Second World War”. A second
source is “The Power and Process: the Architecture of Michael Pearson” by Chris Rogers (London: Black
Dog Publishing Ltd, 2010). Michael Pearson has given permission for the publication here of the four
illustrations taken from his work and that of his daughter.
Author Profile
James Price read Geography at Hull University. After time in the steel industry and teaching in secondary
schools he lectured in Geography for 30 years at the University College of St Martin in Lancaster. He has
published widely on industrial archaeology, Lancaster architects and the local history of North Lancashire. In
2016 he moved with Anne to Bedford.
References
Daily Mail [1923] The Daily Mail Bungalow Book 1922. London: Associated Newspapers
Hartwell C and Pevsner N 2009 Lancashire: North. The Buildings of England. New Haven: Yale University
Press
Pearson AE 1992 The Architectural Works of Charles B. Pearson and Charles E. Pearson prior to the
Second World War. Unpublished dissertation, University College London, The Bartlett School of
Architecture
Pearson CB 1918 Brochure
Pearson M Letters to James Price, dated 11 February 2006 and 25 October 2006
Pearsons’ Lancaster: an Exhibition of Drawings by Charles B and Charles E Pearson. Held at the Dukes
Theatre Gallery, Moor Lane, Lancaster from 27 March to 7 April 2006
Price J 2006–07 Edward Howard Dawson, ARIBA, 1864–1896. Contrebis 31, 58–64
Rogers C 2010 The Power of Process: The Architecture of Michael Pearson. London: Black Dog
Publishing