Edmund William Wright | |
|---|---|
 Headquarters for the oldBank of South Australia, now Edmund Wright House | |
| Born | (1824-04-04)4 April 1824 London, England |
| Died | 5 August 1888(1888-08-05) (aged 64) |
| Resting place | North Road Cemetery,Nailsworth |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Agnes Stuckey |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Stephen Amand Wright Lucy Elizabeth Tomkins |
| Practice | Wright andE. J. Woods Wright, Woods &Hamilton Wright & Reed Architects Wright, Reed &Beaver |
Edmund William Wright (4 April 1824 – 5 August 1888) was aLondon-born architect in thecolony of South Australia. He wasmayor of Adelaide for 10 months in 1859. He designed many civic, commercial, ecclesiastical, and residential buildings inAdelaide city centre and its suburbs, in styles influenced byFrench andItalian Renaissance, as well asNeoclassical architecture. He collaborated with other notable architectsE. J. Woods,Isidor Beaver, andEdward Hamilton in designing some of the most notable buildings.
Edmund William Wright born on 4 April 1824 inFulham,London. He was the son of Stephen Amand Wright, who was Master of Ordnance at theTower of London,[1] and Lucy Elizabeth, née Tomkins.[2] Wright spent holidays in France, as there were French relatives, and it is thought that memories of these influenced his later designs.[1]
He trained as architect, surveyor, and engineer, graduating when articled to a Mr Stow, Borough Surveyor ofBermondsey, London. He becameclerk of works atYarmouth, later sailing first toBermuda to construct an ironlighthouse, and then to Canada, where he worked in construction and engineering. After experiencing poor health, he returned to Bermuda and thence to London.[1]
On 15 May 1849 Wright emigrated with his brother Edward to thecolony of South Australia, and although he first advertised his architectural services in South Australia inThe South Australian Register in June 1849, he did not work as an architect until over a decade later.[1] The brothers worked as land agents and joined therush to theVictorian goldfields, but by 1852 he had returned to Adelaide, where he married Agnes Jane Stuckey (née Rippingville).[3]
Between 1849 and 1860, Wright worked in a number of roles, including as a clerk for theMt Remarkable Mining Company. He also worked as a surveyor with the Union Land and Building Society and the Alliance Assurance Company, and as City Surveyor for the Corporation of Adelaide, and as an insurance agent for the Imperial Fire Insurance Company.[1] He was appointed to the boards of several mining companies.[3]
Wright gave talks in which he proposed adopting elements of some Italian styles of architecture, such asflat rather thansteeply-pitched roofs, and suggested that large rooms were cooler in hot summers. He preferred the style of "Gothic-Italian" architecture seen innorthern Italy overGothic architecture. His building designs were influenced byFrench,Italian Renaissance architecture, with his best works showing moreNeoclassical elements. His style has been dubbed "Victorian Free Classical" style.[1]
His designs forParliament House were in Victorian Academic Classical style, while his bank designs were Renaissance style.[1]
In June 1851 Wright took over the practice of Adelaide architectHenry Stuckey (1821 – 31 May 1851).[1][4][5] In that year, he won a competition to design a bridge over theTorrens River to be known as the City Bridge, but after delaying until 1854, government architectWilliam Bennett Hays and his department designed an iron bridge to be ordered from England.[1]
In 1860, Wright andE. J. Woods formed a partnership.[1] In 1858 Wright had submitted the winning design for a competition forAdelaide Town Hall, but he was mayor at that time, so declined the prize. A second competition was held on 20 January 1863, in which Wright & Woods' plans won.[1]
From 1866 the partnership includedE. A. Hamilton in the architectural firm of Wright, Woods & Hamilton. Wright and Woods got on well, but Woods left the partnership in 1869 because BishopAugustus Short requested that he devote himself to the construction ofSt Peter's Cathedral at North Adelaide.[1] In 1879James Henry Reed went into partnership with Wright, forming Wright & Reed Architects. In March 1886Isidor George Beaver joined the partnership, which was renamed Wright, Reed & Beaver (for only two years, as Wright died in 1888).[1]
Wright was senior partner in his later years.[2]
Wright won several architectural competitions to design notable buildings in Adelaide, including theAdelaide Town Hall,Adelaide GPO (General Post Office), andBrougham Place Congregational Church, some in collaboration with Woods or other architects.[1]
The town hall was opened in 1866 after substantial modifications demanded by the councillors, to make it suitable for more purposes. Wright was paid to superintend the work. The post office also had to undergo major alterations to its design before it was built.[2]
The headquarters for the oldBank of South Australia (which became defunct in 1892[6]) was designed by Wright in collaboration withMelbourne-based architect Lloyd Tayler. The building style is influenced byclassical andRenaissance architecture, while the richly-decorated interiors are inRococo Revival style.[1] Subsequent to the demise of the Bank of South Australia, the building was occupied by three major banks in succession, before being sold to a commercial developer, who planned to demolish it in 1971.[7] A public campaign that raisedA$250,000[2] saved the building, and it was bought by theDunstan government and renamed Edmund Wright House. The campaign also led to the passing of the first SA heritage laws in 1978. The banking chamber was used for various types of performances, including the inaugural theAdelaide Chamber Singers' inaugural concert, many recitals, andAdelaide Fringe shows, while the offices were once occupied by the SA Government's Arts Department. The building became vacant around 2014 or 2015, and was sold to a privateSydney-based buyer by theMarshall government in 2019. In 2024, journalist David Washington compared its fate toChelsea Town Hall in London, which had recently undergone extensive refurbishment, suggesting that the building is "arguably South Australia's most spectacular heritage building".[7]
Wright was elected as analderman on the City of Adelaide Council in July 1857. In January 1859, he became mayor but resigned in November of the same year.[1]
Wright was an inaugural member of the Society of Architects, Engineers, and Surveyors in 1858. In 1859 he read a paper to the society outlining his architectural philosophy for South Australia.[1]
In September 1885, he was elected president of theSouth Australian Architects' Association. Woods was patron, while Beaver,Edward Davies, and W. A. Reid were elected as vice-presidents.[8]
Wright was elected vice-president of theSouth Australian Institute of Architects after its foundation in 1886.[1][3]
Wright married Agnes, the widow of Henry Stuckey (c. 1820 – 31 May 1851),[4] on 26 October 1852. She had a daughter, and the couple had a further four children,[1] of whom only three survived to adulthood.[3] Wright bought and extended the cottage formerly rented by Stuckey 26 Palmer Place,North Adelaide (later the site of "the Walkley house", designed prominent Australian architectRobin Boyd in 1955).[1]
Wright died ofbowel obstruction[2] on 5 August 1888 and was buried inNorth Road Cemetery,Nailsworth.[3]
He is remembered by a commemorative plaque in theJubilee 150 Walkway alongNorth Terrace in the city.[9]
SculptorJohn Dowie dubbed Wright "theChristopher Wren of Adelaide".[2]
Biographer P. A. Howell suggests that Wright does not deserve the reputation that he has been accorded since 1971, suggesting that "most of Wright's partners were gifted professionals who merited a large share of the honour accorded him".[2]
The Edmund Wright Heritage Awards were administered by the South AustralianDepartment for Environment and Heritage from 2003 to 2005.[1]
The inaugural Edmund Wright Heritage Award for Heritage Places in 2003 was won by Peter Moeck for the new auditorium of the Anglican St John's Church inSalisbury (originally designed byDaniel Garlick, gutted by fire in 1989[10]), project by Brown Falconer.[11]
In 2004, the Danvers Studio won Edmund Wright Heritage Awards in two categories: Outstanding Contribution, and Adaptive Re-use (Non-Residential).[12] Grieve Gillett Architects won in the Heritage Place (Non Residential) category, for their upgrade of theTorrens Parade Ground building.[13]
In 2005, Chapman Herbert Architects won the award in two categories: Heritage Places (Non-Residential) and Minister's Award for Outstanding Contribution, for their "City Hall &Cave Garden II Redevelopment" inMt Gambier.[14] In the same year,Artlab Australia commendation in the Heritage Trades and Products category for their restoration of a painted ceiling in the historicAyers House.[15] Kevin & Mardi Verrion won the Heritage Homes category, for Brock House – Conservation, and David Johnson for his reconstruction ofScotch College front gates.[16]
Wright designed (either alone or in partnership) the following buildings:
This article was published in hardcopy inAustralian Dictionary of Biography, Supplementary Volume, (Melbourne University Press), 2005
This entry was first published in S.A.'s Greats: The men and women of the North Terrace plaques, edited by John Healey (Adelaide: Historical Society of South Australia Inc., 2001). Uploaded 13 December 2013.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Mayor of the Corporation of Adelaide 1859 | Succeeded by |
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