Edmund John Butler [commonly known as Edmund Butler] was born in Birmingham, England on 3 July 1862 and was articled to D. Smith & Son in Birmingham between 1878 and 1883. He then worked as an assistant to W.J. Moore in Bournemouth, Dorset; to Alexander Ross Stenning; and to William Henry Romaine Walker (1854-1940) and Augustus William Tanner (1843-1923) of Romaine Walker & Tanner.
Butler commenced independent practice as an architect in Birmingham in 1885. He was in partnership with Joseph Crouch (1969-1956) as Crouch & Butler from 1885, and with Rupert Savage (1871-1956) as Crouch, Butler & Savage from 1902. Butler was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1911, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1913.
With Joseph Crouch he was co-author of two books: The Apartments of the House (1900), and Churches, Mission Halls and Schools for Non-conformists (1901).
Butler died in Warwick, Warwickshire on 15 November 1946
Works by Crouch & Butler included Shop for George Cadbury, Great Hampton Street, Birmingham (1887); 56 houses, three shops and workshop for H. C. Fulford, New Town Row, St. Stephen's Street and Ashford Street, Birmingham (1888); Chapel, Mission Roome and caretaker's house, Inge Street, Long Acre, Birmingham (1888); Wesleyan Elementary School, Coventry Street, Birmingham (1888); 10 houses for Richard Rabone, Woodstock and Anderton Park Roads, Birmingham (1889); Baptist Chapel and School, St. Thomas and Charles Hentry Streets, Birmingham (1890); Factory, warehouse and shop, Oliver Street, Birmingham for Brampton & Co. (1890); Dactory, Hampton Street, Birmingham for N. S. Heeley (1890); Shop, Great Hampton Street for Green, Caper & Co. (1891); Shop, 5-7 Hockley Hill, Birngham for S. Dale (1891); Factory, Price Street, Birmingham for Bolt Addis (1891); 16 houses, Villiers Street, Winson Green, Birmingham (1891); Offices and shops for Dr Parks, Newhall and Lionel Streets, Birmingham (1891); Red Hill Elementary School, Yardley, Birmingham (1892); Red Hill Elementary Boad School, Hay Mill, Birmingham (1892); 8 houses for John Loughton off Bacchus Road, Birmingham (1893); Factory, Northwood Street, Birmingham for W. J. Baker (1893); Factory, Oliver Street, Birmingham for F. Brampton (1893); 16 houses and a shop for John Loughton, Leonard Street, Birmingham (1894); Lozells Methodist Church, Loizells Street, Birmingham (1894); 46 houses for H. C. Fulford, Kenhelm Road, Small Heath, Birmingham (1895); Wesleyan Chapel, Somerset House, Handsworth (1895); Premises, Livery Street, Birmingham for William Pope (1895); Shop, Shofield Street, Birmingham for F. Brampton (1895); 51 houses for H. C. Fulford, Kenhelm Road, Small Heath, Birmingham (1896); Gaiety Concert Hall, Gem Street, Birmingham for Weldon Watt (1896); Business premises, workshops and restaurants, 153-161 Corporation Street, Birmingham for A. R. Dean, furniture manufacturer and retailer (1896-99); Cycle factory, Sampson Road, Birmingham for A. W. G. Baxter (1897); Shop, 36 Darwin Street, Birmingham for Charles Hodges (1897); Aston Higher Grade Elementary School, Whitehead Road, Aston (1898); Business premises for Edgar Evans, Lancaster Street, Birmingham (1899); Kiln, Cleveland Street, Birmingham, for Morland Bros.; Sydenham Hotel, Golden Hillock and Anderton Roads, Small Heath, Birmingham for Thomas Leckie (1900); Broadway Lower School, Whitehead Road, Aston, Birmingham (1900); Wesleyan Mission Hall, Westgate Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1900).
Works by Crouch, Butler & Savage included Technical School, Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield (1903); New premises, Barwick Street, Birmingham for Barwick Estates (1903); Chapel, Wesleyan School, Streetley (1903); Congregational Chapel, Lea Road, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton (1905); Factory , Hockley Hill, Birmingham for S. Wall (1905); Wesleyan Church, Briton Ferry, Glamorgan (1906); Rawtenstall Municipal Building and library, Rawtenstall, Lancashire (1906); Holyfield Road Elementary School, Reddicap Heath, Sutton Coldfield (1906); Church hall, parsonage and caretaker's house, Four Oaks Methodist Church, Lichfield Road, Sutton Coldfield (1907); Public Library, Walsall Street, Wednsbury (1908); Wesleyan Church, Tyburn, Birmingham (1909); Wesleyan Church, Stockfield Green, Birmingham (1909); Wesleyan Church, Streetley, Birmingham (1909); Hostel for Girls, Corporation Street, Birmingham (1910); Brook Lane Elementary School, King's Heath, Birmingham (1911); Premises, Cornwall Street, Birmingham for Coud Bros. (1911); Women's Hostel, St. Mary's Row, Birmingham foe Wesleyan Central Committee (1912); New premises for Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, New Street, Birmingham (1912); Grammar School, Barnsley, Yorkshire (1914); 8 houses for F. Isherwood, Alum Park Road, Birmingham (1914; 114 houses, for F. Isherwood, Foxton Road, Saltley, Birmingham (1914); and 12 houses, for F. Isherwood, Hazelbeach Road, Saltley, Birmingham (1914)
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See also:
Historic England [link below] - contains over 40 references to architectural work by Crouch & Butler and by Crouch, Butler & Savage
British Listed Buildings [link below] - 40 listed buildings by Crouch & Butler and Crouch, Butler & Savage
List of Architectural Works of Crouch and Butler in Herbert, Rudi and Shackley, Barbara. ‘Crouch and Butler’ pp. 471-76 [Biblography below]
By Hammer and Hand: the Arts and Crafts movement in Birmingham. Edited by Alan C. Crawford. Birmingham, England: Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery, 1984
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Herbert, Rudi and Shackley, Barbara. ‘Crouch and Butler’ in Birmingham's Victorian and Edwardian Architects, edited by Phillada Ballard. Wetherby: Oblong Creative Ltd. for the Birmingham and West Midlands Group of the Victorian Society, 2009, pp. 451-478
Who's Who in Architecture 1914. London: Technical Journals Ltd., 1914