Sir Aston Webb, RA

Year Awarded: 1907
Born: May 22, 1849; London, England
Died: 1930; London


Projects
1891: Entrance facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum
1895: Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall
1902: New buildings of Christ's Hospital in Horsham, Sussex
1903: St. Michael’s Court, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, England
1906: Imperial College of Science, South Kensington
1908: Webb Court: Provost's Lodge, King's College, Cambridge
1911: Admiralty Arch (between the Mall and Trafalgar Square), London
1912: Mall Approach and Principal Facade, Buckingham Palace, London
1913: Royal School of Mines, South Kensington
1914: King George the Fifth Gateway: Leys School, Cambridge, England


Biography
Sir Aston Webb began his architectural studies as an apprentice at the firm Banks & Barry in London from 1866 to 1871. During his apprenticeship, he attended classes at the Architectural Association. Later he served as president of the association in 1884.

As a recipient of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Pugin Scholarship in 1871, Webb traveled through Europe and Asia for a year. In 1873, he returned to London to begin his practice with Ingress Bell. The practice’s first major project was the Victoria Law Courts in Birmingham, completed in 1891. The two men practiced architecture together for 23 years, officially as partners from the early 1900s. Toward the end of his career, Webb practiced with his sons Maurice and Philip.

In 1883 Webb became a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and from 1902 to 1904 he served as RIBA president. He was elected an associate of the Royal Acadamy in 1899 and a full member in 1903; from 1919 to 1924, he served as acting president. He received the Royal Gold Medal in Architecture in 1905.