Edgar Wood - Old Photos

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In 1891, Edgar Wood built his own house, Redcroft, and its neighbour Fencegate in Middleton, Manchester. It was styled on the old farmhouses of the area, even down to the whitewashed fencing.

an old photo of a large building with many windows

Briarhill (1892) is one of the first examples of Art Nouveau, the new art that quickly swept across Europe at the turn of the century. It is built of bright red bricks and mixed blue, green and purple slates which give the roof a mottled character. Edgar Wood combined simple shapes, semi-circles, oblongs and triangles, with elongated features like the pilasters on the bay windows. If you look closely, you can see swirling Art Nouveau leaded windows and a tree carving above the door.

an old black and white photo of a brick building with arched windows on the front

Edgar Wood's Elm Wood School (originally Elm Street School) was the most advanced school in England when built in 1909. It had a civilised and child-centred design which was built in warm orange bricks with pure white stonework. The low curved facade enclosed the children's garden bestowing a sense of comfort and safety. It is still a school today.

an old wooden chair sitting in front of pews

Edgar Wood also designed furniture. Here is one of his Minister's Chairs at Long Street Methodist Church, now the Edgar Wood Centre.

St Aidan’s Mission Church, Rochdale (1897) designed by Edgar Wood, was inspired by traditional farm buildings rather than church architecture. It was built by volunteers.

an old black and white photo of a fountain in the middle of a stone garden

In 1932, Edgar Wood built a colourful villa on the steep slopes of Monte Calvario, Porto Maurizio, Italy. It was a beautifully decorated house and garden that reflected its sunny location.

an old black and white photo of a brick building with three windows on the front

Edgar Wood Initiative

36 Mellalieu Street, Middleton was built for the local newspaper owner Fred Bagot. Do you know of another building so resolutely modern in 1910?

an old black and white photo of a large house in the middle of a field

Edgar Wood built Dalney Veed (now Hill House), Barley, Hertfordshire in 1907. Its austere beauty shocked his contemporaries.

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