Richard Norman Shaw was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 7 May 1831. In 1846 he moved with his family to London, and, in c.1847 began working in the office of an unknown architect. Between 1849 and 1854 he was articled to William Burn (1789-1870). From 1849 he also attended the Royal Academy architecture school in London where he was awarded a Silver Medal in 1852, a Gold Medal in 1853, and a Travelling Studentship in 1854. He spent the years 1854 to 1856 travelling throughout Europe. From 1856 to 1858 he worked as an assistant in the office of Anthony Salvin (1799-1881) in London. He was then employed as chief assistant to George Edmund Street (1824-1881) in London in 1859.
He commenced practice as an independent architect in London in 1862. The following year he took an office with fellow architect William Eden Nesfield (1835-1888) at 30 Argyll Street, near Oxford Circus, London. They worked in partnership from 1866 to 1869, although they continued to share the same office after that.
In 1876 Shaw moved to a larger office at 29 Bloomsbury Square, London. Among assistants he employed over the next three decades were to become leading figures in British architecture including Ernest Newton, E. S. Prior, Mervyn Macartney, Gerald Horsley, R. W. Schultz, and W. R. Lethaby.
Shaw was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1860; an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1872; Royal Academician (RA) in 1877; and a member of the Art Workers Guild in 1897. He died at his home, 6 Ellerdale Road, London on 17 November 1912.
4-6 Page Heath Lane, Bickley, Kent (1864); Bailiff's Cottage, Bromley Palace Estate, Bromley, Kent (1864); Leyswood (or Leys Wood) in Groombridge, East Sussex (1866-68); Holy Trinity Church in Bingley, Yorkshire (1866-68); Leyswood, Withyham, Sussex (1866-69); Knight's Bank in Farnham, Surrey (1868); The Corner House, 114 Shortlands Road, Beckenham, Kent (1869); restoration of All Saints’ Church in Youlgreave, Derbyshire (1869-70); St. Matthew Church in Meerbrook, Staffordshire (1869-73); Cragside in Rothbury, Northumberland (1869-1882); Grim's Dyke in Harrow Weald, London (1870-72); Hillside in Groombridge, Kent (1871); Gorehill in Petworth, West Sussex (1871); New Zealand Chambers in Leadenhall Street, London (1871-73); restoration of St Giles' Church in Longstone, Derbyshire (1872-73); 8 Melbury Road, Kensington, London, for the painter Marcus Stone (1872-73); Lowther Lodge (now the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society) in Kensington, London (1873-75); St. John's Church, Boxmore, Hertfordshire (consecrated 1874); House of Bethany in St. Clement's Road, Bournemouth, Hampshire (1874-75); St. Michael Church in Bournemouth, Hampshire (1874-76); Wispers in Stedman, near Midhurst, West Sussex (1874-76); Swan House, 17 Chelsea Embankment, London (1875-77); Chigwell Hall in Chigwell, Essex (1876); Woodland House at 31 Melbury Road, Kensington, London for the painter Luke Fildes (1876-77); Pierrepont House School in Frensham, Surrey (1876-78); Adcote in Little Ness, near Shrewsbury, Shropshire (1876-81); Bannow in St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex (1877); housing, Bedford Park, London (1876-82); Albert Hall Mansions, Kensington Gore, London (1879-86); The Tabbard in Bedford Park, London (1880); Alderbrook Park in Cranleigh, Surrey (1881); 1–2 St. James Street , London (1882-83); Bolney House , Knightsbridge, London (1883); Trevanion in Totteridge Lane, Barnet, London (1883-84); a house in Frognal London for the artist Kate Greenaway (1885); All Saints Church in Leek, Staffordshire (1885-87); New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in Westminster, London (1887-1906); 170 Queen's Gate, Kensington, London (1887-88); Baldslow Place in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex (1888); Chesters, near Hexham, Northumberland (1889-91); All Saints' Church, Richard's Castle, Batchcott, near Ludlow, Shropshire (1889-93); a country house for Viscount Portman (now Bryanston School) in Bryanston, near Blandford Forum, Dorset (1889-94); All Saints Church in Swanscombe, Kent (1893-95); The Hallams, near Wonersh, Surrey (1894-95); Police Station, Holmes Road, Kentish Town, London (1891-96); White Star Line Building, James Street, Liverpool (1895-98); Cannon Row Police Station, New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, London (1897-1901); Parr's Bank, Catle Street, Liverpool, in collaboration with Willinck & Thicksee (1898-1901); Alliance Assurance Building St. James's Street, London, with Ernest Newton (1903-09); Gaiety Theatre and office block, with Ernest Augustus Runtz (1904-05); façades, Piccadilly Hotel at Piccadilly Circus, London (1905-08); and an extension to Bradford City Hall, Town Hall Square Bradford, Yorkshire (1905-09); and Associated Portland Cement Co. offices 8 Lloyds Avenue, City of London.
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Sources of Illustrations
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in the North East of England: a handbook. Wetherby, England: Oblong Creative Ltd., 2013
Armstrong, Barrie and Armstrong, Wendy. The Arts and Crafts movement in the North West of England: a handbook.
Austin, Phyllis. 'The enchanted circle';. Architectural Review vol. 133, March 1963 pp. 205-207 [Buildings in Bedford Park, London designed by Richard Norman Shaw are discussed]
Beattie, Susan. 'New Scotland Yard' Architectural History vol. 15, 1972 pp. 68-81 [A description of New Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London designed by Richard Norman Shaw and John Dixon Butler between 1887 and 1906]
Blomfield, Reginald. Richard Norman Shaw, R.A. London: B.T. Batsford, 1940
Brandon-Jones, John. 'The work of Philip Webb and Norman Shaw'. Architectural Association Journal vol. 71, July-August 1955 pp. 44-47
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
Falkner, Harold. 'The creator of modern Queen Anne, the architecture of Norman Shaw'. Country Life vol. 89, 15 March 1941 pp. 232-235
Fisher, Michael. Vision of Splendour : Gothic Revival in Staffordshire, 1840-90. Stafford: Michael Fisher, 1995 [The book examines in detail the work of George Gilbert, A.W.N. Pugin, George Edmund Street, G.F. Bodley and Richard Norman Shaw in Staffordshire]
Girouard, Mark. 'Adcote, Shropshire'. Country Life vol. 148, 22 October 1970 pp. 1056-1059 [Discusses Adcote, a country house in Shropshire designed by Richard Norman Shaw]
Girouard, Mark. 'Craigside, Northumberland'. Country Life vol. 146, 18 December 1969 pp. 1640-1643 [The first part of a two-part article on Craigside, a country house in Northumberland designed by Richard Norman Shaw and built between 1870 and 1883]
Girouard, Mark. 'Craigside, Northumberland'. Country Life vol. 146, 25 December 1969 pp. 1694-1697 [The second part of a two-part article on Craigside, a country house in Northumberland [now Cumbria] designed by Rochard Norman Shaw and built between 1870 and 1883]
Girouard, Mark. 'The Victorian artist at home'. Country Life vol. 152, 16 November 1972 pp. 1278-1781 [Discusses houses designed by Richard Norman Shaw for artists including Luke Fields and Marcus Stone]
Girouard, Mark. The Victorian Country House. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, revised and enlarged edition, 1979.
Gray, A. Stuart. Edwardian architecture: a biographical dictionary. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1985
Greeves, T. Affleck. 'London's first garden suburb: Bedford Park, Chiswick'. Country Life vol. 142, 7 December 1967 pp. 1524-1529 [First part of a two-part article on Bedford Park. The buildings designed for the community by Shaw are discussed]
Greeves, T. Affleck. 'London's first garden suburb: Bedford Park, Chiswick'. Country Life vol. 142, 14 December 1967 pp. 1600-1602 [Second part of a two-part article on Bedford Park. The buildings designed for the community by Shaw are discussed]
Hamilton, Alec. Arts & Crafts Churches. London: Lund Humphries, 2020
Hussey, Christopher. '180 Queen's Gate, London'. Country Life vol. 120, 30 August 1956 pp. 424-427 [A description of 180 Queen's Gate, London, a house designed by Shaw and built between 1883 and 1885. The furniture and furnishings designed by William Morris and others are described. The house was demolished in 1971]
Keen, Arthur. 'Some personal recollections of Norman Shaw'. Architectural Review vol. 32, December 1912 p. 300-308
Newton, William G. 'Sir Reginald Blomfield's Life of Norman Shaw'. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 48, February 1941 pp. 61-62 [A review of Richard Norman Shaw, R.A. by Sir Reginald Blomfield (London: B.T. Batsford, 1940)]
'Obituary'. American Institute of Architects Journal vol. 1, 1913 p. 137
'Obituary'. The Builder vol. 103, 22 November 1912 pp. 599-601
'Obituary'. The Builder vol. 103, 29 November 1912 pp. 627-628
'Obituary'. The Builder vol. 103, 20 December 1912 p. 745
'Obituary'. Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects vol. 20, 1912-13 pp. 55-56, 88
Pevsner, Nikolaus. ‘Richard Norman Shaw’. Architectural Review vol. 99, March 1941 pp. 41-46 [Reprinted in Victorian Architecture, edited by Peter Ferriday. London: Jonathan Cape, 1963 pp. 235-246]
Pevsner, Nikolaus. ‘Richard Norman Shaw’ in Edwardian Architecture and its Origins. Edited by Alastair Service. London: The Architectural Press Ltd., 1975 pp. 40-55
Pite. Beresford. 'A review of the tendencies of the modern school of architecture: the school of Mr. Norman Shaw and of Mr. Bodley'. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 8, 1900-01 pp. 90-91
Ricardo, Halsey. 'Parr's Bank, Liverpool'. Architectural Review vol. 10. September 1901 pp. 146-155 [ A description of Parr's Bank in Liverpool designed by Richard Norman Shaw and built between 1898 and 1901]
Saint, Andrew. Richard Norman Shaw. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, revised edition, 2010
Saint, Andrew. ‘Norman Shaw's letters: a selection’. Architectural History vol. 18, 1975 pp. 60–85
Service, Alastair. The Architects of London and their buildings from 1066 to the present. London: The Architectural Press, 1979
Shaw, R. Norman. 'That an artist is not necessarily unpractical' in Architecture. A Profession or an Art: Thirteen Short Essays on the Qualifications and Training of Architects. Edited by R. Norman Shaw and T. G. Jackson. London: John Murray, 1892 pp. 1-15
Stamp, Gavin. The English House 1860-1914. Catalogue of an exhibition of photographs and drawings. London: International Architect and the Building Centre Trust, 1980 pp. 14-17
Stamp, Gavin and Amery, Colin. Victorian Buildings of London 1837-1887. An Illustrated Guide. London: The Architectural Press, 1980
Sturges, W. Knight. ‘The Long Shadow of Norman Shaw’. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians vol. 9, no. 4, December 1950 pp. 15-20
Wight, M. ' A vanished house by Norman Shaw'. Country Life vol. 146, 13 November 1969 p. 1249 [Discusses Preen Manor in Shropshire designed by Richard Norman Shaw in 1869 and demolshed in the 1920s]
Williams, John H. H. 'Revelations in vintage concrete'. Concrete vol. 6, November 1972 pp. 30-34