Charles Holden

Charles Henry Holden (12 May 1875 - 1 May 1960) was an English architect known for his designs of stations on the London Underground railway system.

Holden's childhood in Bolton was not easy. His father's drapery business went bankrupt, and his mother died when he was eight. After leaving school, he worked first as a railway store clerk, and as a chemical laboratory assistant.

His brother-in-law, Frederick Green, a land-surveyor, employed Holden at the age of twenty to be apprenticed to E. W. Leeson, a Manchester architect. He studied at the Manchester School of Art and Technical College, with such success that he soon was soon teaching. Around 1896, Holden revealed his grasp of architectural form in designs he submitted to the Building News Designing Club, using the pseudonym 'The Owl'.

Holden's friends in Manchester included artist Francis Dodd (1874-1949) and Dodd's brother-in-law, the etcher and draughtsman Muirhead Bone who, with his brother, James, remained lifelong friends.

Charles Holden's great-niece Dr Jean Ward in 1999 presented to the RIBA Architectural Library Drawings Collection many topographical drawings, family photographs and ephemera by or relating to him. They joined a large body of material acquired in the 1970s at the closure of his partnership, Adams, Holden & Pearson.

Works

Developing his career as an architect, Holden undertook some major assignments. In 1907, he designed the British Medical Association Building on the Strand in London, now Zimbabwe House.

London Transport executive Frank Pick engaged Holden as architect for several projects, including the southward extension of the Northern Line to Morden in 1925-6 and a new headquarters in 1928-30. A revival of 18th century monumental styles then dominated British architecture. In contrast, Holden's design for the 55 Broadway headquarters, over St. James's Park tube station, was original and modern: not just a building but a complete design. He commissioned sculptures for the exterior of the building from contemporary artists - Jacob Epstein, Eric Gill, Eric Aumonier, Henry Moore, A.H Gerrard, Samuel Rabinovich and Allan Wyon. The most controversial - considered indecent at the time - were the two groups by Epstein, Day and Night. His attention to this kind of detail typefied Holden's commitment to total design.

The 1930-5 Piccadilly Line extension both north and west, gave Pick and Holden the chance to develop a new type of station. Aiming for a striking and inviting modern appearance, they adapted for English surroundings simple, geometric styles and exposed brickwork they saw on the Continent. This led to their 'classic' style of Underground architecture, using clean, simple forms - cylinders, curves, rectangles - often decorating the interiors with brightly coloured tiles. All parts of a building were to be harmonious, all aspects integrated into the design. This included interior and exterior lighting, platform seats, clocks, kiosks, ticket machines, even litter bins.

Sudbury Town first demonstrated this style, opening on 19 July 1931. At least 17 other similar stations soon followed. A number of them - including Enfield West (now Oakwood), Southgate, Arnos Grove and the original Sudbury Town - were in 1971 designated as of "special architectural interest", as was the 55 Broadway headquarters building.

Senate House, University of London

The University of London had been in existence since 1838, a major reform in 1900 indicated the need for an administrative headquarters for this, in the words of Lord Haldane "ought to be the chief centre of learning in the entire Empire, perhaps the chief centre of learning for the entire world”

Charles Holden won the commission to design the new building for the University of London in competition with Sir Giles Scott amongst others. Holden's original plan, published in 1931 was more ambitious than what was eventually built. It had an enormous linear spine with 2 towers and 17 courtyards that extended from the British Museum to Byng Place; it would have dominated much of central London and would have taken decades to build. Only the first part of the approved scheme was built, incorporating the Library.

Holden designed the tower to taper, to "appear with quiet insistence", yet it was the tallest building in London (except for St. Pauls Cathedral) for a number of years, and was in effect "London's first skyscraper". It was Holden’s last building.

External links

• Arnos Grove station (http://user.chollian.net/~ucnet2003/Europe-Great%20Britain/England-London/WFAeur%20England-London%20Arnos%20Grove%20Undereground%20Station-01.jpg)
• Charles Holden pictures (http://www.charlesholden.com/html/gallery_index.html)
• LT Museum (http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/learning/online_resources/ecobus_omnibus/pg/1919a.htm)
• German Underground (http://www.london-underground.de)
• archINFORM biography (http://www.archINFORM.net/arch/7472.htm)
• Tube Art & Poems (http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/faq/artandpoems.asp)
• Muirhead Bone (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ARTbone.htm)sv:Charles Holden