John Edward Speed [commonly known as Edward Speed] was born in Lambeth, London, in 24 July 1847. His father, also named John Edward Speed, was employed as a carpenter at the Natural History Museum in London. After working as an engineer's clerk, Edward Speed trained in the office of the London architect Charles Henry Driver (1932-1900) from 1867 until 1879 when he established his own independent architectural practice in London. In 1882 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA). Speed's address was given as 5 Queen Victoria Road, London in 1881 and 27 Riggindale Road, Streatham, London in 1914. He died in Carshalton, Surrey, in 1933.
Edward Speed had five sons, one of whom, Harold Speed (1872-1957), initially trained as an architect at the Royal College of Art in London but switched to painting. Like his father, he also designed wallpaper. A sample of wallpaper he designed for Lightbrown, Aspinall Ltd. is in the permanent collection of the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester in Manchester, England. Another son, Edward Speed (1875-1962), was a wallpaper designer.
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