Norman Adolphus Evill [commonly known as Norman Evill] was born in born in St Briavels in the Forest of Dean District of Gloucestershire, England in 1873. Between 1891 and 1993 he worked in a joiner's shop. He was then articled to Walter Evill (possibly his father) until 1897. In 1897-98 he was an improver with Frank Thomas Verity (1866-1941). He then worked as an assistant to Andrew Noble Prentice (1866-1941) in 1898-99, and with Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869-1944) from 1899 to 1902. He also studied at the Royal Academy Schools in London.
Evill established his own independent architectural practice in London in 1902 and was at one point in partnership with Horace Cowley Nesham Farquarson (1874-1966).
A drawing of a house at Tidenham, Gloucestershire designed by Evill is illustrated in 'The Studio yearbook of Decorative art' 1910 (p.31); A watercolour drawing of additions to Shirenewton Hall in Chepstow, designed by him is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1911 (p.23); and a watercolour painting of a house at Silchester, designed by him is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1912 (p.29).
Evill was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1910. By 1926 he was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA). In addition to his work as an architect,
He was also an architectural painter and exhibited at the the Royal Academy, Walker's Gallery and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in London between 1905-36. His address was given as 124 Regent Street, London (1905), 10 Davies Street, London Berkeley Square, London (1906, 1910); 14 North Audley Street, Grosvenor Square, London (1910, 1914); and 67 George Street, Portman Square, London (1921, 1929). Evill died in Hampstead, London on 5 August 1958.
Architectural projects by Evill included 'Ivy Rock' in Chepstow; 'Barn Close' in Carlisle; 'The Grange', 'New Timber', Silchester House' (additions) and Silchester Rectory in Silchester; additions to 'Shire Hall in Chepstow, 'Lodge Hill' in Farnham (with Horace Farquarson); additions to 'Inholm' in Holmbury St. Mary (with Horace Farquarson); additions to 3 Savile Row, London; additions to 'Park House' at Hampton Court; a block of cottages at Handcross; and alterations to 'Nymans' (with Sir Walter Tapper), Chartley Castle, and Lee Place, Charlbury.
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
Exhibition of Drawings by Norman Evill and Gertrude Knoblock. London: Walker’s Galleries, 1935
Marriott, Charles. Modern English Architecture. London: Chapman & Hall, 1924
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 195, 15 August 1958 p. 259