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Architects

Basic Biographic Details

Leonard Aloysius Scott Stokes
Architect
Year Only
1858
Exact Date
25/12/1925
Leonard Aloysius Scott Stokes was born at Southport, Lancashire in 1858, the son of a Roman Catholic barrister Scott Nasmyth Stokes who was chief inspector of schools. Stokes's eldest brother was a painter Adrian Scott Stokes RA, and his youngest was Sir Wilfred Stokes, inventor of the Stokes gun; his uncle was S N Stokes, a founder member of The Cambridge Camden Society, who had converted to Catholicism.

The Stokes family moved to London where Stokes was articled to the Roman Catholic church architect Samuel Joseph Nicholl of Kentish Town in 1874 for three years. In 1877 he moved to the office of James Gandy a London architect who was also Street's quantity surveyor, followed by a year as clerk-of-works at Christ Church Cathedral Dublin and a period in George Edmund Street's office as an assistant. Thereafter he entered the RA Schools in 1878 and was briefly in the offices of Piers St Aubyn, Thomas Edward Collcutt and Bodley & Garner before commencing independent practice at 13 Holland Street, Kensington in January 1850. In the same year he won the Pugin Studentship which enabled him to travel in Germany in 1881 and Italy with Walter Millard in 1882. He was admitted ARIBA on 9 January of the latter year his proposers being Street (who had died on 18 December) St Aubyn and Spiers.

The practice was very successful from 1883 onwards, mainly with Roman Catholic Church work, and moved to 31 Spring Gardens where it remained until 1901 when it moved to 2 Great Smith Street, Westminster. Stokes was President of the Architectural Association 1889-92 and was admitted FRIBA on 16 June 1890, his proposers being Collcutt, Alfred Waterhouse and Aston Webb whose outlook as an imaginative freestyle designer was similar to his own. In 1898 Stokes married Edith Gaine, daughter of the General Manager of the National Telephone Company and between 1898 and 1911 when the company was compulsorily acquired by the Post Office as a result of a legal judgement, Stokes built twenty telephone exchanges of which three were in Scotland, all highly original variations on English Renaissance themes.

Stokes was awarded the Medaille d'Argent at the Paris Exhibition of 1900 and was President of the RIBA 1910-12. In 1915 he was severely affected by paralysis. His practice was continued by George Drysdale. Born 1851, Drysdale had been articled to Stokes 1903-05, followed by six months with Sir Ernest George. Thereafter Drysdale had attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts for fifteen months winning the Pugin studentship in 1906 and the Tite Prize and the Soane Medallion in 1908. He passed the qualifying exam in 1910 and was admitted ARIBA on 27 March 1911, his proposers being Stokes, James Sivewright Gibson and Henry Thomas Hare.

Stokes was Royal Gold Medallist in 1919. He died in London on 25 December 1925. The practice having passed out of his control before his son David was old enough, David became the Aberdeen partner of Alexander George Robertson Mackenzie.

Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From CharDate From TypeDate To CharDate To TypeNotes
31 Spring Gardens London EnglandPrivate

Business Addresses

Business Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From Date From TypeDate ToDate To TypeNotes
13 Holland Street Kensington London EnglandBusiness
3 Prince's Street Storey's Gate London EnglandBusiness
2 Great Smith Street Westminster London EnglandBusiness
17 Buckingham Street London EnglandBusiness

Employment and Training

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this person (click on an item to view details):

Employers2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
Bodley & Garner200777After 1878Assistant
James Piers St Aubyn203621After 1878Assistant
Thomas Edward Collcutt202065After 1878Assistant
Samuel Joseph Nicholl203619In year 1874In year 1877Apprentice
James Gandy203620In year 1877Assistant
George Edmund Street202036In year 1878Assistant

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this person (click on an item to view details):

Employees or Pupils2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
Basil Ionides2003171904 or 1905Before 1908Assistant
Edwin Alfred Rickards201938After 1890In year 1896Assistant
Thomas Geoffry Lucas (or Geoffry Lucas)202231After 1891Before 1899Assistant
David Milne202682After 1902Before 1908Assistant
Thomas Arthur Sladdin201320Before 1896In year 1896Assistant
David Smith202746Early 1903sLate 1903sDraughtsman
William Weir204049In year 1889Assistant
James Hervey Rutherford202993In year 1900In year 1901Assistant
(Sir) Albert Edward Richardson205135In year 1903In year 1904Assistant

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this person for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSERS2 classic

ProposerProposer LinkDate ProposedNotes
George Edmund Street2020361882/01/09for Associateship
James Piers St Aubyn2036211882/01/09for Associateship
Richard Phené Spiers2036021882/01/09for Associateship
Alfred Waterhouse2003761890/06/16for Fellowship
Aston Webb2009721890/06/16for Fellowship
Thomas Edward Collcutt2020651890/06/16for Fellowship

RIBA Proposals

This person proposed the following individuals for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):

RIBA PROPOSALS2 classic

PersonDate ProposedNotes
George McLean Ford1892/11/21for Associateship
Francis William Troup1899/12/04for Fellowship
Thomas Geoffry Lucas (or Geoffry Lucas)1899/12/04for Associateship
Herbert Hardy Wigglesworth1900/03/05for Fellowship
David Barclay Niven1900/03/05for Fellowship
James Glen Sivewright Gibson1902/05/02for Fellowship
Alfred Cox1905/06/05for Fellowship
Walter Henry WoodroffeIn year 1906for Fellowship
Detmar Jellings Blow1906/12/03for Fellowship
Hugh Alexander Dalrymple1907/03/04for Associateship
James Irving Tweedie1907/03/04for Associateship
Charles Turnbull Ewing1910/07/04for Licentiateship
William Weir1911/03/20for Licentiateship
Thomas Geoffry Lucas (or Geoffry Lucas)1911/03/27for Fellowship
Robert Robertson1911/07/20for Licentiateship

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
British Architectural Library, RIBADirectory of British Architects 1834-19142001Lists other sources