H. E. and A. Bown

The two partners of the architectural practice H. E. and A. Bown of Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, were brothers who came from an artisanal background, of Northern England and Midlands stock. Their paternal grandparents were jeweller Peter Bown (1791–1872) born in Matlock, Derbyshire, and Mary Fielding (1785 – 18 June 1881), also from Matlock. Their parents were jeweller and china-dealer Edwin Bown (1823–1909), born in Buxton, Derbyshire, and Anne Bown (1823–1891), Ann Bown is listed as an architect in the 1861 Census, however Henry Edwin was a 16-year-old apprentice architect by that time but is listed as a scholar, when boys were schooled up to age 14, so that may be a line-slippage error. Henry Edwin Bown The elder brother was Henry Edwin Bown, who was born in Halifax on 26 March 1845, but spent his professional years in Harrogate. They had three children: architect Percival "Percy" Bown (1873–1953), Frank (1876 – 8 June 1929) and Kathleen Carr Bown (born 1877), all born in Harrogate. H. E. Bown was a member of the Harrogate Horticultural and Floral Society, and would show his roses at its annual flower show: sometimes under the name of his gardener John Pinkney, sometimes under his own name. From 1877, during the last four years of his life, H. E. Bown spent much time away from his work, attempting relief from tuberculosis, in Bournemouth and Italy. The funeral took place on 29 September, and he was buried in Grove Road Cemetery, Harrogate, beside the family's vault where his grandfather Peter Bown lay. The funeral cortège was "headed by a number of gentlemen of the town". It travelled via Beech Grove from his home, Harlow View, to the cemetery, where many mourners had gathered with Rev. G. O. Brownrigg, who took the service. "The coffin (which was of polished oak and gilt furniture) was almost covered with wreaths, and bore upon the breastplate the following inscription: 'Henry E. Bown, died Sept. 27th, 1881, aged 36 years'". The Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald said: whose father was Batley iron founder and engineer John Bagshaw (1828–1897) of Stockwell House, Batley. One of their two children was Harrogate architect Harold Linley Bown (1883–1962). who in 1935 designed a cinema with frontages in Cambridge Road and Oxford Street and adjoining St Peter's Church, Harrogate (since demolished). Between 1891 and 1916, Arthur Bown's residence was "Hillstead", 11 Grove Road, Harrogate, West Yorkshire. after a service at St Luke's Church, Harrogate. He left £7,092 () gross. ==Training, partnership and assistants==

Training Henry Edwin Bown was articled to architect Richard Dyson of Harrogate. In 1868 he was elected ARIBA, In 1877 Arthur Bown joined in partnership with his brother Henry as H. E. and A. Bown. Arthur Bown continued under the original practice name until he retired in 1911. In 1895 Arthur Bown brought a case against engineer W. H. Baxter of Leeds, in that Baxter had not paid Bown for surveying and architectural work carried out on Baxter's stables and residence in Knapping Mount, Harrogate. Baxter counterclaimed for unskilled and improper services on the part of Bown. The case went to arbitration, both were allowed their monetary claims, and Bown had to pay the difference between the sums claimed. Assistants One of at least three assistants to Arthur Bown was George R. Bland (b.1866) (fl.1894–1896), who was with the firm between 1885 and 1894. He was later working in partnership as Bland & Bown, with T. Bown, and then H. E. Bown's son Percival Bown. Percival Bown was also articled to Arthur Bown, between 1890 and 1894, and was his assistant until 1897. A third assistant, taken on in 1901, was Walter Clement Barker (1880–1854). ==Works: new builds, 1860s – 1881==

After H. E. Bown died in 1881, the Pateley Bridge & Nidderdale Herald credited him with the following works (although some may have involved collaboration with his brother): The West End Park, situate opposite the Prince of Wales Hotel, now forms a formidable rival to the Victoria Park. The premium offered by the company, who bought 69 acres here, for the best plan for laying out the estate with sites and first-class villas, was awarded to [John Henry Hirst (1826–1882)], of Bristol, architect. Either a second premium was awarded to Mr H. E. Bown, or an arrangement was come to whereby it was agreed that Mr Hirst should take the premium, and Mr Bown carry out the design. However, Mr Bown appears to have the principal management of the estate. There are above 300 sites, we believe, including a site for a church. Many of the mansions in Victoria Park have also been designed by Mr Hirst and Mr Bown. It was designed with "two large bay windows in front, with drawing room, dining room, library etc., with bedrooms and offices ... the house [stood] in its own grounds, and [commanded] extensive views of the Vale of York". The first pastor of the church to inhabit the manse was to be Rev. F. Fox Thomas. Former detached villa, Station Parade, Harrogate, 1870s This was a Gothic Revival villa on Station Parade, Harrogate, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, designed for the developer Victoria Park Company, by Henry Edwin Bown. The crosses on the gable suggest that it may have been a priest's house for St Robert's Church, Harrogate (built 1873) across the road. It was demolished in the 1980s to make way for a Safeways supermarket. A Waitrose supermarket occupies the site, as of 2022. Queen's Park Lodge and fountain, Heywood, Greater Manchester, 1878–1879 This lodge, designed by H. E. and A. Bown in 1878, Queen Victoria donated the money for Queen's Park and its buildings for the benefit of the inhabitants of Heywood, The firm is also credited with the 1878–1879 design of a "grand three-basin ornamental fountain, elaborately decorated with dolphins and swans", at Queen's Park. The fountain is a listed building, included in the same listing as the lodge above, although Historic England has spelled Bown's name incorrectly. Dunorlan, 2 Park Road, Harrogate, before 1881 This large villa was designed by Henry Edwin Bown, possibly in collaboration with his brother Arthur. ==Works: new builds, 1882 – 1911==

Note: The following works were designed or completed by Arthur Bown, after his brother died in 1881. Bradford Old Banking Company building, James Street, Harrogate, 1885 This former building designed by Arthur Bown was a replacement of the bank's previous, less convenient, building on the opposite side of the road. The bank's board chose H. E. and A. Bown ... ... under whose plans one of the most magnificent and imposing buildings in the town has been erected. Both internally and externally the premises have an elaborate appearance. The building is entirely of stone, carved. The fittings are of polished mahogany, every convenience being provided. The strong room of the bank has had special attention paid, being made practically burglar and fire-proof, and is fitted with Chubb's doors the room being about 24 feet square. The buildings are a decided improvement to the town, and have been much admired while in course of erection, special care having been taken in the external carving, &c. The Harrogate Club house, Harrogate, 1885–1886 This unlisted building was designed by Arthur Bown as a club house for The Harrogate Club in 1885, and completed at 36 Victoria Avenue, Harrogate, in 1886. Historian Malcolm Neesam describes it as follows: and was designed by Arthur Bown. When the Mayoress of Harrogate, May Jane Ellis, laid the cornerstone of the memorial, Arthur Bown presented her with an engraved silver trowel, engraved thus: Presented to the Mayoress of Harrogate (Mrs Ellis) by the architects and contractor, on the occasion of her laying the cornerstone of Her Majesty's Jubilee Memorial, Station Square, Harrogate, April 14th, 1887. Drill Hall, Harrogate, 1894 This drill hall was designed by Arthur Bown at a cost of £2,300 () for the use of F Company of the 1st VB West Yorks (PWO) Regiment, which previously had to "drill in the street". The foundation stone was laid on 22 May 1894 at the junction of Strawberry Dale and Franklin Road, by Colonel George Kearsley, commander of the regiment, before a large crowd including military and civic personages, and with some ceremony including a military band. The hall alone measured , and the building included an orderly room, an armoury, lavatories, a cellar and band room in the basement, and a gymnasium upstairs. The club rooms above the hall were reached via the tower, and included a reading room, a smoking room and a billiard room. There was also a three-bedroom sergeant's house. The building has the insignia of the West Yorkshire Regiment carved into the top of the gable. Two shops in James Street, Harrogate, 1896 Arthur Bown designed two shops and made alterations to a property in James Street, Harrogate in 1896. Factory, offices and stables, Manchester, 1896 In 1996, Arthur Bown was calling for building contractors, to build a factory, offices and stables in Stockport Road, Manchester, for the Chemists′ Aerated Mineral Waters Association Limited. Salvation Army Barracks, Harrogate, 1897 The eight memorial stones (or foundation stones) for this building were laid on 23 January 1897, on the former site of Volta House and garden, Harrogate. The stones were laid by several local worthies, including the Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor J. H. Wilson, in the presence of a "large attendance" including various significant local personages and Salvation Army officers. All those who laid the stones were presented with a trowel and inscribed mallet by the contractor Rhodes of Shipley, and Arthur Bown who designed the building. The plans included shops, cellars, a large hall to accommodate 500 people and a junior soldiers' room for 100, retiring rooms, officers' rooms, a crush room, and a band room. 7 and 8 Springfield Avenue, Harrogate, 1898 This pair of semi-detached villas was designed by Arthur Bown, "showing the same strong neo-Tudor influences as their western neighbours" on the same street. Six houses and shops, Longsight, Manchester, 1899 E. H. and A. Bown were calling for contractors for this job from 18 March 1899. It involved "the erection and completion of six dwelling-houses and shops" in Longsight, a suburb of Manchester, and the client was Aerated Mineral Waters Association Limited. The above Queen's Park Lodge and its surrounding park was "enclosed, laid out, planted and ornamented under the immediate superintendence of the Surveyor-general of the Duchy [of Lancaster], Mr Cartwright", so it was for that client that the residence was designed by Bown. This is possibly Duchy House, 59 Duchy Road, Harrogate, which is on the Duchy of Lancaster Estate and is of the style which was being built in Harrogate in 1902. ==Works: restorations, additions and extensions==

Alterations to Trinity Church, Ripon, 1873 This was a seven-month job for Henry Edwin Bown, involving alterations and improvements to Trinity Church, Ripon. The Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer said: As of 2022 the pews, pulpit, reading desk and lectern were gone, but the east window was still there. In 1873, before the alterations were quite completed, there was an opening service, with a procession of clergy headed by Robert Bickersteth, Bishop of Ripon. There was an organ voluntary, a service, and a sermon by the bishop, who said that the bill for the works had been £900 () and the church still owed £150 (). "The offertory box realised £19 2s 3d" (). On 14 May 1874, this church in Westcliffe Grove, Harrogate (built 1822, demolished after 1903) was reopened on Ascension Day after Bown's restoration, at a cost of £600 (), Additions to Skerry Grange farm house and buildings, nr Sicklinghall, 1891 This job involved "additions to tenant's house and farm buildings at Skerry Grange Farm, near Sicklinghall, for R.J. Foster Esq.". Yorkshire Hospital for Chronic and Incurable Diseases, Harrogate, 1895 The Yorkshire Hospital for Chronic and Incurable Diseases, Harrogate, is as of 2022 converted into flats, and has been renamed as Chapman House, Chapman Square. The same building contained a different environment altogether when in 1895, Arthur Bown designed plans for two additional large rooms, holding ten patients each, to separate those suffering from cancer and tuberculosis from the other patients. The cost of this extension was £250 (). ==Institutions==

Henry Edwin Bown, and possibly his brother Arthur, served on the Harrogate Improvement Commissioners' Board, alongside other local architectural worthies including Isaac Thomas Shutt. Henry Bown was elected ARIBA in 1868. ==Notes==