Basic Biographical Details Name: | Walter Ralph Herring | Designation: | | Born: | 1862 | Died: | | Bio Notes: | Walter Ralph Herring was born in Islington, London in 1862, the son of George Herring and Frances Woodhouse (married 1858). He initially trained with the surveyor WE Stoner and engineers A.Killby, Dennet & Ingle before being articled to the architect Charles Henman (1814-1884). In 1881 at the age of 19 he was working with Henman, and the following year was elected to the RIBA, his proposers being JE Saunders, Alexander Marshall Peebles, William Harvey and R W Edis.
At some stage he must have decided to specialise in engineering, and by the time he published ‘The Construction of Gas Works practicably described’ in 1892 he was already known in his field, being the Engineer for Huddersfield Corporation gasworks. He later (1899) published a Report on European Gasworks, and was the author of several patents.
He was appointed the Chief Engineer and Manager of the Edinburgh and Leith Gas Commissioners company on 12 February 1897 at a salary of £900 p.a. He retained this post until he resigned in 1910, when his salary was £1500 p.a. and was replaced by Mr Masterton, although he was retained as a consultant on a salary of £500 p.a.
On appointment in Edinburgh Herring immediately had to choose an appropriate site for the Gas Works and after Leith was discounted the 106 acre Granton site was purchased from the Duke of Buccleuch for £124,000. Work started in October 1898 and it opened on 27 February 1902. Herring was responsible for all of the pre-1910 buildings on the site including the gasholder, gatehouse, offices, stores, fitting shop, control shop and station. His architectural training is evident in the handsome Edwardian classicism of the buildings erected on the site in two stages between 1899-1902 and 1903-1910.
In 1891 he married Cora Annie Austin in Hastings, and two children were born in Huddersfield, Cora Esme in 1893 and Ralph Austin in 1896. Shortly afterwards his wife and family moved to Hastings, whilst Walter moved to Edinburgh, where he lived at Granton House, in Gipsies Brae, adjacent to the Granton gasworks. (1901 census).
Herring's membership to the RIBA lapsed in 1916. His date of death is not yet known.
| Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Chief Engineer's Department, Gas Commissioners/15, Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland | Business | Before 1900 | After 1911 | | | Granton House, Gipsies Brae, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | 1901 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployersThe following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | Charles Henman | c. 1878 | 1881 | Apprentice | |
Employees or PupilsThe following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | James Thomas Alexander Taylor | 1900 | After 1911 | Assistant | in Chief Engineer's Department, Edinburgh & Leith Corporations Gas Commissioners Office |
RIBARIBA Proposers
Buildings and Designs
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | British Architectural Library, RIBA | 2001 | Directory of British Architects 1834-1914 | | | | | www.familysearch.org | | www.familysearch.org | | Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints: Website | |
Archive ReferencesThe following archives hold material relating to this : | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of Steven Robb | Information via website | | | | Edinburgh City Libraries | Edinburgh Census Records | | | | RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert Museum | RIBA Nomination Papers | | A v8, p137 (Fiche 32/F7) |
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