Leonard Shuffrey: Ealing’s Master of Victorian and Edwardian Aesthetic Architecture

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Sam Habeeb

"Shadow MP Campaigner of Ealing North"

Leonard Shuffrey: Ealing’s Master of Victorian and Edwardian Aesthetic Architecture
Credit: Wikipedia

Leonard Shuffrey (31 March 1852 – 27 December 1926) was a British architect and architectural designer of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. He was a leading figure of the aesthetic movement, which had a significant impact on the development of buildings, their interiors, and their settings in London and the South of England.

Noted for his wallpaper, fireplaces, and ornate plasterwork, Shuffrey was considered William Morris’s equal in his creativity and skill as a craftsman. His output is often found in decorative schemes with William Morris, Edward Ould, William De Morgan, and other preeminent Arts & Crafts and late Pre-Raphaelite decorative artists of the day

Where Was Leonard Shuffrey Born?

Leonard Atkinson Shuffrey was born on 31 March 1852 in Wood Green, Witney, Oxfordshire, of an old Wood Green family of blanket weavers and tanners of Huguenot origin, who had lived at 7 Narrow Hill since the early eighteenth century.

His parents were Samuel Shuffrey (1810–1889) and Sarah Shuffrey, née Baylis (1819–1875). Among seven children, Shuffrey was the older brother of the renowned watercolor painter James Allen Shuffrey. Leonard’s cousin is the Revd William Shuffrey (1851–1932), who served as Vicar of Arncliffe and Honorary Canon of Ripon Cathedral. Leonard Shuffrey was educated at Bloxham School between 1856 and 1867.

How Many Times Did Leonard Shuffrey Marry?

Shuffrey’s first marriage, in 1873, was to Sarah Fletcher, a relative of Banister Fletcher (senior), with whom he had a son named Leonard. Leonard senior’s second wife, whom he married in 1877 after the death of Sarah, was Martha Carey, great-granddaughter of James Hardy, relative of Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy, Captain of the Victory. Leonard and Martha had two sons, Gilbert (born 1891) and Paul Shuffrey (born 1889), and a daughter, Kathleen (b. 1899). All of Shuffrey’s sons attended St. Paul’s School in London.

Wallpaper

Shuffrey’s wallpaper was considered to be the second-best invention, next only to William Morris and the craftsman who invented it. His company produced it in Herne Hill, South London, where the paper was printed with wooden blocks.

Shuffrey & Co. produced many sample books of their wallpaper designs. The second book was launched in 1886 with The Builder Magazine, praising the “simplicity and lack of ostentation” of the designs, adding, “Architects will be glad to have this book.”.

Another book appeared in 1891. The paper was clever but plain in ornament; it could be printed in chocolate browns, greens, and buffs and was appreciated for its ingenuity and cheapness by the ordinary householder.

Fireplaces

Fireplace design allowed Shuffrey to use most materials, and every fireplace was treated as a separate piece of decorative work. They were much used by leading architects, who appreciated the quality of Shuffrey’s drawings and were willing to rely on his judgment. Fireplaces provided a central occupation of Shuffrey’s lifetime, and his showrooms were filled with interesting examples in wood and metal, “amongst which he moved like a curator in a museum, loving to explain memorable facts about them.”. Shuffrey wrote his book, The English Fireplace, published by Batsford in 1912, which became required reading for architects and designers

Ceilings

Shuffrey & Co. also designed and made decorated ceilings, mainly in ‘fibrous’ plasterwork but also in wood. In 1893, Shuffrey was commissioned to create ceilings at Wightwick Manor near Wolverhampton, which was under construction by Edward Ould for Theodore Mander, of the Mander family. The billiard and dining room ceilings he produced are in the Jacobean style with pendants and with ornate friezes below. Other artists and designers commissioned to decorate and furnish the old English-style manor were Charles Eamer Kempe, who designed stained glass windows, and William Morris

Tiles

Not much is known about Shuffrey’s tiles. Luster tiles were designed by Shuffrey & Co. in the manner of William de Morgan and William Morris. Only two transfer-printed tile designs were registered by Shuffrey in addition to a range of molded designs. Shuffrey’s tiles were probably made on blanks by Maw & Co. Shuffrey & Co. tiles and glazed fireplaces were employed in the restoration of two staircases at Brasenose College in 1885, in addition to tiles by William Morris and William De Morgan.

Death

Shuffrey died on Monday, 27 December 1926, at Thorncote, the house he had built in Ealing almost 40 years earlier. His funeral was held at St. Peter’s Church, Ealing, on Friday, 31 December, and he was buried in Witney. Shuffrey’s decorated plaster barrel roof in the ‘new’ War Memorial Library at Trinity College, Oxford, was still under construction when he died

Decorated Ceilings

  • Wightwick Manor, near Wolverhampton. Decorative Shuffrey & Co. pendant imitation Jacobean plaster ceiling and frieze in the dining room and billiard room.
  • The Mount, near Wolverhampton. Shuffrey designed the ceiling for the new library (1908).
  • Owlpen Manor, Gloucestershire. Shuffrey & Co. Arts & Crafts ceilings.
  • Painter’s Hall, London. Dining room hall ceiling.
  • Trinity College, Oxford. Decorated Shuffrey & Co. plaster barrel roof in the War Memorial Library.
  • Six examples of Shuffrey & Co. wallpaper are held by the Victoria & Albert Museum.
  • The Leeds & Yorkshire Architectural Society installed Shuffrey & Co. wallpaper when they moved into their new premises on Albion Street, Leeds, in 1883.

Ecclesiastical Fittings

  • St. Peter’s Church, Ealing. Shuffrey Marble font, alabaster high altar, Lady Chapel altar, and reredos.
  • Holy Trinity Church, Wood Green, Witney (1909). The pulpit was donated in memory of Leonard Shuffrey’s parents and made in his Wood Green workshop to his design.

Fireplaces

  • Admiralty Buildings, London
  • Bank of England, London
  • The University of Birmingham buildings were designed by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell in 1909. They feature Shuffrey & Co. stoves, grates, and mantels.
  • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors building on Great George Street, Alfred Waterhouse 1899. Shuffrey & Co. provided grates and chimneypieces.
  • Coutts Bank building, The Strand, London, 1904, John Macvicar Anderson. Shuffrey & Co. provided fireplaces & grates.

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Brought to you by:

Sam Habeeb

"Shadow MP Campaigner of Ealing North"

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