Harold Falkner was born in Bramley, Surrey, England on 28 November 1875. After leaving school he was articled in the office of Reginald Theodore Blomfield (1856-1942) following which he attended Farnham School of Art in Farnham, Surrey.
Falkner commenced independent practice as an architect in 1897. His first commission was Strangers Corner in Farnham (1897) for W. H. Allen, the master of Farnham School of Art.
From 1902 to 1909 he was a junior partner in the London-based architectural firm Niven Wigglesworth & Falkner. He then practised on his own before forming a partnership with Guy Maxwell Aylwin (1889–1968) in 1927. As Falkner Aylwin they designed a number of buildings in the Farnham area, usually in a vernacular and Arts and Crafts style. They also received several commissions from Courage Brewery in Alton, Hampshire for whom they designed or refurbished a number of public houses. The partnership was dissolved in 1930 and for the rest of his career Falkner practised alone.
Falkner was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) 1929.
In addition to his work as an architect, Falkner was also an accomplished artist and between 1900 and 1924 exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. A pencil drawing by him entitled "Bull Pitt Passage, Bradford-on-Avon" is illustrated in Drawing & Design vol.5, no.12, April 1926 (p.397)
Falkner died at 44 Hale Road, Farnham on 30 November 1963
Notable works by Falkner included Strangers Corner, Farnham, Surrey (1897); studio for Strangers Corner, Farnham, Surrey (1902); rebuilding of North Munstead in in Busbridge, Surrey (c.1920); remodelling of Dippenhall Grange in Farnham, Surrey (early 1920s); The Barn in Farnham, Surrey (c.1925); St. Thomas-on-the-Bourne War Memorial, Farnham, Surrey (unveiled 1921); Overdeans Court, Farnham, Surrey (1931); Meads, Farnham, Surrey (1935); and Burles Cottage in Farnham, Surrey (1937).
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See also:
UK Modern House - 77 houses designed by Harold Falkner [link below]
British Listed Building - 8 listed buildings by Harold Falkner [link below]
Historic England - 10 listed buildings by Harold Falkner [link below]
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
Drury, Michael. Wandering Architects. In Pursuit of an Arts and Crafts Ideal. Donington: Shaun Tyas, revised edition, 2016. Donington: Shaun Tyas, revised edition, 2016 [Chapter 8. Three Builder-architects. Herbert North, Geoffey Lupton & Harold Falkner pp. 169-194]
Gradidge, Roderick. Dream Houses: The Edwardian Ideal. London: Constable, 1980
Gray, A. Stuart. Edwardian architecture: a biographical dictionary. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1985
‘Harold Falkner’. Architects’ Journal 23 June 1938 pp. 1055-1-56
‘Obituary’. Architectural Review April 1964 p. 240
‘Obituary’. The Builder 6 December 1963 p. 1178
Osmond, Sam. Harold Falkner: more than an Arts & Crafts architect. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Phillimore, 2003
Williamson, G. C. ‘Harold Falkner and His Work’. The Artist vol. 32, September 1901 pp. 149-157.