Edwin Landseer Lutyens OM KCIE (1869 - 1944)

Born 29 Mar 1869 in Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Emily Bulwer-Lytton — married 4 Aug 1897 in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 1 Jan 1944 at age 74 in Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Edwin Lutyens OM KCIE is Notable.

Sir Edwin Lutyens OM KCIE PRA FRIBA was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials and public buildings, and played an instrumental role in designing and building New Delhi, which would later on serve as the seat of the Government of India. In his biography, the writer Christopher Hussey wrote, "In his lifetime (Lutyens) was widely held to be our greatest architect since Wren if not, as many maintained, his superior". The architectural historian Gavin Stamp described him as "surely the greatest British architect of the twentieth (or of any other) century".

Edwin Landseer Lutyens was born on 29th March 1869 in Kensington, London, England, United Kingdom, the tenth of thirteen children of Captain Charles Henry Augustus Lutyens (1829–1915), a soldier and painter, and Mary Theresa Gallwey (1832/33–1906) from Killarney, Ireland. ^[1] He was named after a friend of his father, the painter and sculptor Edwin Henry Landseer. He grew up in Thursley, Surrey.

For many years he worked from offices at 29 Bloomsbury Square, London. Lutyens studied architecture at South Kensington School of Art, London from 1885 to 1887. After college he joined the Ernest George and Harold Peto architectural practice. It was here that he first met Sir Herbert Baker. In his biography, the writer Christopher Hussey wrote, "In his lifetime (Lutyens) was widely held to be our greatest architect since Wren if not, as many maintained, his superior". ^[2] The architectural historian, Gavin Stamp, described him as 'surely the greatest British architect of the twentieth (or of any other) century', thereby also rating him at least as the equal of Sir Christopher Wren. ^[3] Lutyens received the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1921 and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 1925.

Two years after she proposed to him and in the face of parental disapproval, Lutyens married Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874–1964), third daughter of The 1st Earl of Lytton, a former Viceroy of India, and Edith (née) Villiers, on 4th August 1897 in Knebworth, Hertfordshire. ^[4] Although they had five children, the union was largely unsatisfactory, practically from the start, with Lady Emily becoming interested in theosophy, Eastern religions and a fascination – emotional and philosophical – with Jiddu Krishnamurti.

Aged 74 years, he passed away on 1st January 1944 in London. His remains were cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and placed in St Paul's Cathedral. ^[5] Probate passed on 17th April that year. ^[6]

In 2015, a memorial to Lutyens by the sculptor Stephen Cox was erected in Apple Tree Yard, Mayfair, London. ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 Edwin Landseer Lutyens, Registration Year 1869, Registration Quarter Apr-May-Jun, Registration district Kensington, Inferred County London, Volume 1a, Page 145
2. ↑ Hussey, Christopher. The Life of Sir Edwin Lutyens. Antique Collectors Club, Woodbridge, 1989. ISBN 978-0-907462-59-0
3. ↑ Stamp, Gavin. The Memorial to the Missing of the Somme (2007 ed.). Profile Books, London, 2006. ISBN 978-1-86197-896-7
4. ↑ England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1940 Edwin Landseer Lutyeus, Gender Male, Age 28, Birth Date abt 1869, Marriage Date 4 Aug 1897, Marriage Place Knebworth, Hertfordshire, England, Phillimore Ecclesiastical Parish Map 4021, Father Charles Henry Augustus Lutyeus, Spouse Emily Lytton
5. ↑ England & Wales, Death Index: 1984-2004 Edwin L Lutyens, Death Age 74, Birth Date abt 1870, Registration Date Mar 1944, Registration district Marylebone, Inferred County London, Volume 1a, Page 635
6. ↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941 Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, Death Date 1 Jan 1944, Death Place London, England, Probate Date 17 Apr 1944, Registry Llandudno
7. ↑ Cox, Stephen. Apple Tree Yard Sculpture Honours Spirit of Lutyens. The Lutyens Trust. Retrieved 10 May 2019

See also:

• Wikipedia article: Edwin Lutyens.