Leonard Aloysius Scott Stokes was born in in Southport, Lancashire in 1858 and was articled to Samuel Joseph Nicholl (1826-1905) from 1874 to 1877. In 1875 he became a member of the Architectural Association, and in 1878 entered the Royal Academy Schools. After leaving Nicholl, he worked in the office of James Gandy (1839?-1920) for a year, and was Clerk of Works at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin under George Edmund Street (1824-1881) for about a year. He then spent a period of time in Street's office, and worked in the offices of James Piers St. Aubyn (1815-1895) and Thomas Edward Collcutt (1840-1924).
Stokes commenced independent practice in London in January 1880. That year he was awarded the Pugin Travelling Studentship and travelled in Germany in 1881 and Italy in 1882. Much of his work was for the Roman Catholic Church for whom he designed churches, schools and convents. He also designed country houses and some 20 telephone exchanges for the National Telephone Company.
He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1882 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1890. Stokes was President of the Architectural Association from 1889 to 1892 and was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1910 to 1912. He was awarded the Medaille D'Argent at the Paris Exposition in 1900 and the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1919.
In addition to his work as an architect, Stokes was also a painter. He exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Royal Academy in London, Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh and at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. He died at his home in Chelsea, London on 25 December 1925.
For the National Telephone Co., Exchanges In London (e.g. Gerrard Street, W.; Paddington, Dalston, etc.). Also In Southampton, Reading, and many other provincial centres; All Saints' Convent, Colney Chapel, near St. Albans; St. Clare's Church, Sefton Park, Liverpool; Roman Catholic churches at Maidenhead, Folkestone, Southampton, Exeter, and Sudbury; Nazareth House, Southsea; Nazareth House, Bexhill; Lincoln Grammar School; schools at Oxford; new quadrangle, Emmanuel Coll., Cambridge ; new schools, Downside Abbey, near Bath; Minterne House, Dorset (for Lord Digby); Chelsea Town Hall; Roman Catholic Cathedral, Georgetown, Demerara, etc. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1923]
See also British Listed Buildings; and Historic England [links below]
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. Wetherby, England: Oblong Creative Ltd., 2006
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
Drysdale, George. ‘The work of Leonard Stokes’. Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects vol. 34, no. 5, 1927 pp. 168-177
Gray, A. Stuart. Edwardian architecture: a biographical dictionary. London: Gerald Duckworth & Co., Ltd., 1985
Hamilton, Alec. Arts & Crafts Churches. London: Lund Humphries, 2020
Millard, W. J. N. and Drysdale, George. 'Leonard Aloysius Stokes, president RIBA'. Royal Institute of British Architects Journal vol. 33, 9 January 1926 pp. 148-150
'Obituary'. Architect vol. 115, 1926 pp. 30-34
'Obituary'. Architectural Review vol. 59, February 1926 p. 1
'Obituary'. The Builder vol. 130, 1 January 1926 p. 7
Roberts, H. V. Molesworth. ‘Leonard Aloysius Stokes’. Architectural Review vol. 100, December 1946 pp. 173-177 [Reprinted in Edwardian Architecture and its Origins. Edited by Alastair Service. London: The Architectural Press Limited, 1975 pp. 362-371
Roberts, H. V. Molesworth ‘Leonard Aloysius Stokes’. Architectural Review vol. 100, 1946 pp. 173-177
Spence, Rory. Leonard Aloysius Stokes (1858-1928). PhD thesis, University of Sheffield, 1970
Stamp, Gavin. The English House 1860-1914. Catalogue of an exhibition of photographs and drawings. London: InternationalArchitect and the Building Centre Trust, 1980 pp. 56-57
Ward, Jan. The Leonard Stokes Directory: Architect in a Dressing Gown. [Privately published by the author], 2009 [ISBN: 0953464113]