Herbert Luck North was born Leicester, Leicestershire, England on 9 November 1871. In his youth he moved with his family to the Isle of Wight and later to Plas Llanfair in Llanfairfechan, Wales. After studying at Jesus College, Cambridge, he was articled as an architect in London, following which he worked as an assistant to William Alfred Pite (1860-1949) and to Edwin Landseer Lutyens (1869-1944). Having qualified as an architect, he worked in London for a period before returning to Wales. By 1905 he had established a practice in Llanfairfechan, Conwy.
A photograph of detached slate-aided cottages in Llanfairfechan, North Wales, designed by North is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1923 (p.23), a photograph of a house at Headington, Oxford, designed by him is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1925 (p.33), a photograph of the cottage in The Close in Llanfairfechan, North Wales, designed by him is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1926 (p.21), and a photograph and ground-floor plan of a house in Headington, Oxfordshire, designed by him are illustrated in 'Decorative Art' 1929 (p.88).
North was the author of 'The Old Churches of Arliechwedd' (Bangor, Wales: Jarvis & Foster, 1906) and co-author, with Harold Hughes, of 'The Old Cottages of Snowdonia' (Bangor, Wales: Jarvis & Foster, 1908) and 'The Old Churches of Snowdonia' (Bangor, Wales: Jarvis & Foster, 1924).
Between 1898-1912 North exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and at the Royal Cambrian Academy in Conwy, Wales.
North was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1905 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1907. North died on 9 January 1941. His death was registered in Bangor, Caernarvonshire. At the time of his death he was living at Wern Isa, Llanfairfechan, Caernarvonshire.
A biographical file on Herbert Luck North is available on request from the Enquiry Desk of the Royal Institute of British Architects Library, London
Architectural projects by North included several buildings in Llanfairfechan including the Church Institute (1912), St. Winifred's School, and houses and cottages; a school in Gyffin, Wales; Keldwith in Windermere, England; and White Gables in Oxford, England. North was also responsible for church decorations in Stafford, Leamington. Kirkby, Ireleth, Buton-on-Trent, Ashleworth and Barrow in England; and of a rectory in Llanbyther, Wales, and the parish hall in Caerleon, Wales.
_____
See also: British Listed Buildings - 36 listed buildings by Herbert Luck North
Allan, Ian B. The life and work of Herbert Luck North 1871-1941. Liverpool, England: University of Liverpool, 1988 [Ph.D. Thesis]
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
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]
Hamilton, Alec. Arts & Crafts Churches. London: Lund Humphries, 2020
Hyde, Matthew and Whittaker, Esmé. Arts and Crafts houses in the Lake District. London: Francis Lincoln Limited, 2014
'Obituary'. Architect & Building News vol. 165, 14 March 1941 p. 17
'Obituary'. The Builder vol. 160, 28 February 1941 p. 219
'Obituary'. RIBA Journal vol. 48, May 1941 p. 124
Voelcker, Adam. Herbert Luck North: Arts and Crafts architecture for Wales. Aberystwyth, Wales: Royal Commission on the Ancient & Historical Monuments of Wales, 2011