The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

Henry Hill Vale (1831–26 August 1875) was a British architect who was active in North West England in the late 19th century. He was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, into a Warwickshire family, and studied under the Liverpudlian architect Henry Roberts.[1]

Vale served as president of the Liverpool Architectural Society 1870-72.[2] He is noted as one of the architects responsible for the design of the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Work

St Paul's Methodist Church in Didsbury, Manchester
St Andrews United Church, New Brighton

In 1874, Vale was commissioned to assist the architect Cornelius Sherlock in the design of the Neoclassical Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. At the laying of the foundation stone in 1874, Vale and Sherlock were presented by Lord Sandon to the Duke of Edinburgh.[3] Vale had previously worked for the gallery's benefactor, Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, on an unrealised project to build a church for his house at Gateacre in 1868. Walker commissioned work from Vale again in 1874, on a proposal for an ornate Gothic Revival-style Conservative Club building in Liverpool, also unrealised.[4]

Vale's buildings include:

Vale was the architect for a number of other buildings in Liverpool, including residential villas in Sefton Park, an infants' school in West Derby, Earle & King linseed oil mill on Burlington Street, and a commercial block on the corner of Whitechapel and Richmond Street. Vale also designed a new banking building for the Liverpool Sailors' Home.[3]

Death

Vale reportedly suffered from chronic mental health problems and a form of psychological stress. On 26 August 1875, while at home with his wife and daughter, Vale took a dose of laudanum and drowned himself in a pond behind the family house. His suicide was attributed to "temporary insanity" caused by pressure of work.[1][7]

Vale's death occurred part-way through the Walker Art Gallery project; following this, Vale's contribution to the design no longer appeared on architectural documentation and Sherlock claimed credit for the entire project.[10][1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Opening Address of the President". Sessional Papers Read at the Royal Institute of British Architects. RIBA. 1876. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "Past presidents". Liverpool Architectural Society. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "Liverpool in 1874-5". The British Architect: A Journal of Architecture and the Accessory Arts. 3: 51. 1 January 1875. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Costambeys, Marios; Hamer, Andrew; Heale, Martin (2007). The Making of the Middle Ages: Liverpool Essays. Liverpool University Press. p. 223. ISBN 9781846310683. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "1867 - Offices & Shops, Lord St., Liverpool - Architecture of Liverpool - Archiseek - Irish Architecture". Archiseek. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "History of Wallasey Churches | New Brighton". History of Wallasey. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016.
  7. 1 2 "The Late Mr H. H. Vale". The Building News and Engineering Journal. Office for Publication and advertisements. 29. 3 September 1875.
  8. ↑ "Building Intelligence". The Building News and Engineering Journal. Pub. for the proprietors. 25: 633. 5 December 1873. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "History". Anglican Church of St. John and St. Philip. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Hill, Kate (16 October 2014). Museums and Biographies: Stories, Objects, Identities. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 110. ISBN 9781843839613. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
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