Howard Martin Otto Travers [also known as H.M. Travers, H.M.O. Travers, Howard Martin Otho Travers and Martin Travers] was born in Margate, Kent, England on 19 February 1886. From 1904 to 1908 he studied architecture, design, stained glass and calligraphy, at the Royal College of Art in London where he was taught by Arthur Beresford Pite (1861-1934), Edward Johnston (1872-1944), Christopher Whall (1849-1924), and William Richard Lethaby (1857-1931). After graduating from the RCA with a Diploma in Architecture in 1908, he was employed for a period as an assistant to Pite and then to Ninian Comper (1864-1960). He subsequently worked as a stained glass designer, decorative artist, architect, illustrator and painter.
In 1912 he set up his own practice and although he designed some buildings, he never formally registered as an architect.
Between c.1918 and 1925 he had a studio at Lowndes and Drury's Glass House in Fulham, London.
In 1925 he was appointed chief instructor in stained glass at the Royal College of Art, a position he held until 1948.
Although Travers professed that he was an agnostic, throughout his career he was closely aligned with the Anglo-Catholic movement. He designed fittings, furniture and stained glass for several churches, and drew illustrations for publications by the Society of SS. Peter and Paul.
Travers exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. He was elected a member of the Art workers Guild in 1921
During World War One Travers was a conscientious objector. He died in London on 25 July 1948.
Travers designed a number of churches including The Good Shepherd in Carshalton, London (1930); The Holy Redeemer in Streatham Vale, London (1931); and Emmanuel Parish Church in Leyton, London (1934-35), and St Cuthman's Church, Brighton (1937-38), in collaboration with Thomas Francis Wiltshire Grant (1885-1965).
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‘Obituary: Martin Travers’. The Journal of Stained Glass vol.10, no.2, 1949 pp.105-107
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