Easton, John Murray 1889 - 1975

John Murray Easton was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 30 January 1889 and studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College, London. He subsequently practised as an architect in London.  From 1919 he was in partnership with the American-born architect Howard Morley Robertson (1888-1979) as Easton & Robertson.  Projects by the partnership included 'Old Bodnod' in North Wales (1920); Luckington Court in Wiltshire (1921); Fulmer Grange in Slough (1922); the pavilion, swimming pool and bathing station at Prestatyn in North Wales (1922-23); Watford Court in Northamptonshire (1924); the British Government Pavilions at Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925;  the Golf House Hotel in Prestatyn, Wales (1925); and the Royal Horticultural Society Hall in London (1928).

In c.1931 Easton and Roberson formed a partnership with Edwin Stanley Hall (1881-1940) j Projects by Stanley Hall, Easton & Robertson included flats in Avenue Close, Hampstead, London (c.1937); a nurses' house at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital on Euston Road, London (c.1938); additions to the Hospital for Sick Children in Guilford Street, London (c.1938); the School of Anatomy, University of Cambridge (c.1938);  the pavilion for Great Britain and its Possessions for the New York World’s Fair 1939-40;  Loughton Station for the London Passenger Transport Board and London and North Eastern Railway (1941); the Oxford University Press building in Neasdon, London (c.1944);  

Hall died in 1940 but the name Stanley Hall Easton & Robertson was retained for a number of years. By c.1959 the name of the firm had changed to Easton & Robertson Cusdin Preston & Smith.  Projects by the practice included Middlesex Hospital Medical School in London (c.1960); laboratories for the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Cambridge (c.1960); an extension to the library at King's College, Newcastle (c.1960); the Shell Centre in London (1962); buildings for Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge (c.1962);  the International Hall of Residence, University of London (c.1963); Reading University Library (1964); and buildings for Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex (1965).

Easton was at one time Consulting Architect to Prestatyn Estates in North Wales and during the 1920s was co-editor of 'Building News'.  He was elected an was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA). in 1921 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1927.  He was awarded the Godwin Bursary in 1927; the RIBA London Architecture Bronze Medal in 1928 and 1936; RIBA Architecture Bronze Medal for Essex, Cambridge and Hertfordshire in 1937; and the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1954. In the 1930s he was President of the Architectural Association. He died in London on 19 August 1975.