Edmund Blayney Clarke [also known as Edmund Blayney-Clarke, and as Edmund B. Clarke] was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England on 27 July 1871 and was articled to James Perry Sharp (1840-1916) in Birmingham from 1888 to 1892. He also attended Birmingham School of Art and the Architectural Association Schools in London. In 1893 he qualified as an architect.
By the early 1900s he had moved to London where he worked in the offices of John Douglas (1830-1911), Alfred Waterhouse (1830-1905) and Sir William Emerson (1843-1934). It is thought that some time between c.1910 and c.1918 he lived and worked in South America. By 1919 he was living in Purley, Surrey where he had a practice.
Clarke was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1893 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1945. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and a Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers (M.I.Struct.E.).
His address was given as 118 Colmore Row, Birmingham, Warwickshire in 1893; c/o Sir Wm. Emerson, 8 The Sanctuary, Westminster, London in 1904; c/o Sir Wm. Emerson, 2 Grosvenor Mansions, 76 Victoria Street, London in 1909; Russelldene, Russell Hill Road Purley, Surrey 1911 and 1923; The Firs, Warren Road, Purley, Surrey in 1930 and 1937; 46 Purley Road, Surrey in 1939; and 87 Windermere Road, Coulsdon, Surrey in 1956. He died in Croydon, Surrey on 27 January 1956
Domestic work; conversion of country mansions into hotels; chemical works, tanneries, and buildings in South America,
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