Watson, Charles Herbert 1888 - 1953

Charles Herbert Watson was born in Seer Green, Buckinghamshire, England on 4 November 1888 and was articled to Julian Gulson Burgess (1876-1933) and Legender William Myers (1878-1958) of Burgess & Myers in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. By 1911 he was practising as an architect in Buckinghamshire [1] and in 1919, after military service during World War One, he formed a partnership with J. G. Burgess and Walter Frederick Clarke Holden (1882-1953) as Burgess, Holden & Watson [2]. The practice had an office at Lloyds Bank Chambers, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. In 1932 he formed a partnership with Arthur A. Stewart (1907-?) which was dissolved following the outbreak of World War Two in 1939. He formed another partnership in c.1945 with H. Desmond Hall.

Watson was elected a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1930. He was also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Surveyors (FRICS).

His address was given as Seer Green, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1911; Lloyds Bank Chambers, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1931 and 1950; 12 Gray's Inn Square, London in 1939; and Candlemas Corner, Candlemas Lane, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire in 1939 and 1953. He died on 17 December 1953.

A biographical file on Charles Herbert Watson is available on request from the Enquiry Desk, Royal Institute of British architects Library, London
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[1] 1911 England census

[2] It is unclear when the partnership with Burgess and Holden was dissolved. Sources give it as 1924 and as 1933, however, the entry on him in the 1950-51 edition of the R.I.B.A. Kalendar states that he was a partner in Burgess, Holden & Watson. By then Burgess had been dead for 17 years. There is no mention of an association with the firm in Holden's entry in this edition of the Kalendar. It is possible, therefore, that Watson was the sole partner in the firm, but had retained its original title