Reginald Morphew was born in Streatham, Surrey [now London], England [1] on 20 July 1874 and was articled to Arthur John Gale (1857-1929) in London. He also attended the Architectural Association Schools in London. After going to Ernest Augustus Runtz (1859-1913) as an improver, he worked as an assistant to David Barclay Niven (1864-1942) and Herbert Hardy Wigglesworth (1866-1949) of Niven & Wigglesworth in London. He commenced independent practice as an architect in London in 1901.
In addition to his work as an architect, Morphew was also a watercolour painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London between 1901 and 1908. A painting by him is in the permanent collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
During World War One, Morphew served in the Royal Navy and was invalided out. He then moved to Polerro, Cornwall where he lived until c.1935 when he moved to France, living in Cannes and Grasse. He died in Nice, France on 15 December 1971
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[1] His place of birth is given as Streatham in the 1881 England Census. In the 1911 England Census it is given as Brixton, Surrey [now London]
A biographical file on Reginald Morhew is available on request from the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British Architects, London
Morphew's output as an architect was somewhat limited. It included an office building,112 Jermyn Street, St. James's, London (1900); Marlborough Chambers, 70-72 Jermyn Street, St. James's, London (1902-03); a house in High Holborn, London (late 1890s or early 1900s); Eyhurst, Kingswood, Surrey (1906); and 20 small houses in Polperro, Cornwall in the 1920s and 1930s.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
Gray, A. Stuart. Edwardian architecture: a biographical dictionary. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1985