Edward Hubbard was born in
Birkenhead in 1937 and studied architecture at
Liverpool University where he discovered that his vocation was for the history of architecture rather than for its practice. When the
Victorian Society was founded in 1958, Hubbard became an early member and in 1965 he established its first regional group in Liverpool, acting as its honorary secretary for 13 years. When the group was launched the first speaker was Nikolaus Pevsner, and Hubbard was to work with him for the next 20 years in helping to compile the series of the
Buildings of England, and later the
Buildings of Wales. He did the preparatory work for the
South Lancashire volume, was joint author of the
Cheshire volume, and helped to prepare the
Staffordshire volume. He wrote the
Clwyd volume for the
Buildings of Wales which was published in 1986. When they were preparing the
Cheshire volume, Hubbard drove Pevsner around the county. In the introduction to the book, Pevsner says of Hubbard, "...his even temper and his psychological treatment of my moments of despondency were invaluable". In 1976 Hubbard was elected as a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries. In 1980, with Michael Shippobottom, he organised an exhibition at the
Royal Academy on
Lord Leverhulme, which led to the joint publication in 1988 of
A Guide to Port Sunlight Village. Hubbard was concerned with conservation, in particular with the upgrading of the
listing of Albert Dock in Liverpool from Grade II to Grade I, which resulted in its preservation as a commercial and tourist attraction. ==Bibliography==