Basic Biographical Details | Name: | Ernest Bower Norris | | Designation: | | | Born: | 1888 | | Died: | 24 April 1969 | | Bio Notes: | In a career spanning over fifty years, Ernest Bower Norris proved himself one of the most prolific church architects of the mid-twentieth century, responsible for dozens of new Roman Catholic churches throughout England. Although he practised alone for most of his professional life, his work was often recorded under the names of his practices. Thus his designs are variously ascribed to Sandy and Norris/Hill Sandy and Norris/E B Norris of Stafford/Norris and Reynolds /Sandy Norris and Partners and every permutation thereof in both the contemporary press and subsequent architectural guides, notwithstanding that Hill had died in 1917 and Sandy in 1922.
Born in Didsbury, South Manchester in early 1889, Ernest Bower Norris was the son of James Higginbotham Norris, Registrar of Births and Deaths, and Ellen F Norris. Little is yet known of his early life, education and training although he had been admitted an Associate of the RIBA by 1922.
In 1920 he was taken into partnership by T H Sandy of Stafford, but this partnership proved short-lived, cut short by Henry Sandy’s unexpected death on 16 January 1922 at the age of 53. Thus within two years of entering the partnership Ernest Bower Norris thus found himself sole principal of two practices. He continued to run the Stafford office under the style of “Sandy and Norris,” until his death in 1969. Similarly in Manchester, the office at 9 Albert Square was continued under the style of “Hill Sandy and Norris,” although here Norris later took F M Reynolds into partnership, a partnership dissolved in 1946.
Ernest Bower Norris died on 24 April 1969 at Durban, South Africa and was buried at Southern Cemetery, Manchester on 5 May 1969 following a requiem mass at St Austin’s Church, Stafford. He left estate valued at £103,241.
| Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | 22, Greengate Street, Stafford, Staffordshire, England | Business | 1920 | 1934 | As Sandy and Norris. At this address until at least 1934 | | 9, Albert Square, Manchester, England | Business | 1920 | 1946 | As Hill Sandy and Norris | | Avenue House, Rowley Park, Stafford, Staffordshire, England | Private | 1934 | 1969 | | | 134 , Newport Road, Stafford, Staffordshire, England | Business | 1969 | | As Sandy and Norris |
Employment and TrainingEmployers| The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | Sandy & Norris | 1920 | 16 January 1922 | Partner | Firm continued by Norris alone until 1969 | | Hill Sandy and Norris | 1920 | 1946 | Partner | |
Employees or Pupils
ReferencesArchive References| The following archives hold material relating to this : | | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | | Manchester Architects 1800-1940 | | |
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