49-566: The Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F. G. M. Chancellor . It is situated in Beaumont Street , Oxford , opposite the Ashmolean Museum . The Playhouse was founded as The Red Barn at 12 Woodstock Road , North Oxford , in 1923 by J. B. Fagan . The early history of the theatre is documented by the theatre director, Norman Marshall in his 1947 book, The Other Theatre . Don Chapman also provided
98-639: A B.A. ; he also studied design at the Architectural Association School of Architecture . In 1909 the Muff family name was changed by deed poll to Maufe by Henry and his brothers, Charles and Frederick, "for ourselves and our respective issue". The deed poll stated that they were "desirous of reverting to the old form of our surname". The following year Maufe, then aged 28, moved to 139 Old Church Street , Chelsea, London . On 1 October 1910, he married Prudence Stutchbury (1882–1976),
147-523: A combined freshness without obviously breaking with tradition. In 1932, Maufe won a competition to design the Guildford Cathedral , coming first among 183 entries with a Gothic design in concrete faced in brick. By the time the building was dedicated in 1961, it seemed even more of an anachronism. The cathedral's exterior including the nave and aisles together with Maufe's use of space, won him general admiration amongst fellow architects. As
196-438: A comprehensive study of the theatre in the 2008 book, Oxford Playhouse: High and Low Drama in a University City . The exterior design of the theatre building on the south side of Beaumont Street was by Sir Edward Maufe , with the interior design by F.G.M. Chancellor ; the building was completed in 1938. It is faced with stone, in keeping with the early 19th century Regency buildings in the street. Actors who have appeared on
245-596: A full length Lenscrete Window inspired by his design for Guildford Cathedral. In 1944, he was awarded the Royal Gold Medal for architecture. From 1943, Maufe was principal architect UK to the Imperial War Graves Commission , eventually becoming chief architect and artistic adviser until 1969. Among his war memorial designs are those at Tower Hill which was an expansion to the already established memorial by Sir Edward Lutyens and
294-490: A result, he was described as a designer of churches by conviction, as he attempted to produce buildings of austere simplicity aiming directly at the creation of a religious atmosphere. At Guildford, he wanted to produce a design of the times, yet to keep in line with the great English cathedrals already established within the United Kingdom. In 1936, King George VI commissioned Maufe to conduct various alterations to
343-572: A series of sculptures above the West Front, to mark the Millennium , whilst Canadian sculptor Nicholas Thompson completed a sculpture of a WWI mother and child in 2016. There are three side chapels. The Children's Chapel is dedicated to children who have died, and holds a book of remembrance for children of any age. The Chapel of the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment holds the regimental colours and
392-685: A silver medallist at the Paris Exhibition in 1925 which resulted in him securing a wide variety of commissions. The church of St Bede Clapham (1922) and St Saviour's in Acton (1924), were built for the Royal Association in Aid of the Deaf and Dumb and made. The latter church displays a simple structure and has a likeness to contemporary Swedish architecture. St Saviour's was loosely based on
441-704: A weekend house on the banks of the River Thames in Laleham, Middlesex. The house, known as The Barn, was heavily influenced by Edwin Lutyens's Homewood (1901), in particular the triple gabled roof, a device he used at Kelling Hall as well. His 1924 proposals for the Palace of Industry at the British Empire Exhibition , Wembley attracted notice though an alternative design was built. Maufe was
490-710: Is installed in the musicians gallery of the Lady Chapel. Organists at Guildford Cathedral have included the composer Philip Moore . Katherine Dienes-Williams became the first female Organist and Master of the Choristers in an English Anglican Cathedral in January 2008. The Cathedral Choir was formed for the consecration of the cathedral in May 1961. It consists of boy choristers, who sing at Sunday services and Choral Evensong on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and are educated at
539-597: Is remembered chiefly for his work on places of worship and memorials. Perhaps his best known buildings are Guildford Cathedral and the Air Forces Memorial . He was a recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture in 1944 and, in 1954, received a knighthood for services to the Imperial War Graves Commission , with which he was associated from 1943 until his death. Maufe was born Edward Muff in Sunny Bank, Ilkley , Yorkshire , on 12 December 1882. He
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#1732772618310588-400: The Air Forces Memorial at Cooper's Hill overlooking Runnymede (1950–53). Maufe's domestic work had a stylish modernity, in direct contrast with the new functionalism. In the architectural language of the time it was called ‘modernity with manners’ and very much reflected the established taste of the inter-war period. Maufe often wrote and lectured on architecture chiefly on furnishing within
637-560: The Oxford University Dramatic Society (OUDS) established the current tradition of the venue as a home for regular student productions. The Burton Taylor Studio programmes a mix of student and professional productions throughout the year. Edward Maufe Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe , RA , FRIBA (12 December 1882 – 12 December 1974) was an English architect and designer. He built private homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings, and
686-683: The Royal Chapel of All Saints in Windsor Great Park . The small private chapel stands in the grounds of Royal Lodge which was the Queen Mother 's residence. Maufe designed a new ceiling for the chancel and a royal pew, new choir stalls and a casing for a new organ. In 1937, Maufe designed the extension to Heal's furniture store in Tottenham Court Road , where his wife Prudence worked, with his design including
735-564: The Playhouse as a theatre for the local community, through a professional management and direction team. The freehold of the building is owned by St John's College . The theatre was closed for some years for lack of funding, but is now refurbished with a 663-seat capacity in the main auditorium. Oxford Playhouse has close relations with the University of Oxford and is the home stage of the Oxford University Dramatic Society . On behalf of
784-561: The RGS Preparatory School. Since 2002, girl choristers have sung on Sundays and Evensong on Fridays. There are six lay clerks , professional adult singers; two altos , two tenors and two basses . They sing on Sundays and at Evensong on weekdays. The Guildford Cathedral Singers are a voluntary mixed-voice choir, who sing at special services and when the Cathedral Choir is on holiday. Guildford Cathedral has
833-613: The Rosse Street Baptist Church in Shipley, West Yorkshire . The organ, probably built by Nicholson of Bradford, was a gift of the Coulthurst Trust. During the cathedral's renovation in 2015 to 2017, the organ was dismantled and refurbished by David Wells Organ Builders. There are approximately 4,600 pipes across both the main and positive organs. A second organ, also supplied by Rushworth and Dreaper,
882-529: The base of the tower, but post-war building restrictions meant that building was not able to fully resume until 1952, after the appointment of Walter Boulton as Provost . At that point, it was already clear that £250,000 originally raised to build the cathedral was hopelessly inadequate. The Cathedral Committee, and its formidable secretary, Miss Eleanora Iredale, launched the 'Buy-a Brick' campaign in 1952. Between 1952 and 1961 more than 200,000 people paid 2s 6d (equivalent to £5 in 2023) to sign their name, or
931-491: The battleship HMS Ganges . The ship's emblem — an elephant — is embedded in the wood. Sir Edward Maufe's wife, Lady Prudence Maufe – an interior designer, director of Heal and Son Ltd. and member of the Worshipful Company of Broderers – was instrumental in the design of the textiles within the cathedral. Unusually, Maufe's contract included complete control over the internal fittings and colour scheme of
980-562: The building as "sweet-tempered, undramatic Curvilinear Gothic ", and the interior as "noble and subtle". Maufe was influenced by continental cathedrals, notably Albi Cathedral in France, and favoured clean modern design in a Gothic Revival style. It is said that the design for Guildford Cathedral in turn influenced the design of Auckland Cathedral in New Zealand. The tower is 160 feet (49 m) high, and contains twelve bells. At
1029-434: The cathedral to the west and south. Guildford Cathedral shares Stag Hill with the main campus of the University of Surrey . Writing in 1932, Maufe said: "The ideal has been to produce a design, definitely of our own time, yet in the line of the great English Cathedrals; to build anew on tradition, to rely on proportion, mass, volume and line rather than on elaboration and ornament." The Pevsner Architectural Guides describe
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#17327726183101078-516: The cathedral. This colour scheme references Guildford's wool trade past, notably the blue colour for which Guildford wool was famous. The 1,447 kneelers, using a combination of standard and individual designs, were each reviewed and approved by Lady Maufe and her committee. They were made by over 400 individuals, mainly from the British Isles, but including people from other countries, such as Australia and New Zealand. Whilst most were made during
1127-700: The daughter of Edward Stutchbury of the Geological Survey of India . She was an interior designer and later a director of Heal's . They had a son who died in 1968. During the First World War Maufe served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve , before joining the army in 1917 with Dick Sheppard , who acted as his guarantor. Maufe enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery on 9 January 1917,
1176-560: The decoration of St Martin-in-the-Fields , the chapels and alterations at All Saints' Church, Southampton (destroyed in the Southampton Blitz in 1940), and restoration at St John's, Hackney , which first brought him into notice in church circles. Whilst Kelling Hall was Maufe's first major project. Prior to this in 1909 he was commissioned by Marie Studholme (the Edwardian Music Hall Star) to design
1225-589: The design by Ivar Tengbom of Högalid Church in Stockholm, which Maufe described as being the most completely satisfying modern Swedish building he had seen. During this period, Maufe was a constant champion of modern Swedish architecture, and was often vocal on this theme in the architectural press, citing his own buildings as having simplified elevations, painted ceilings, and applied sculpture, similar to those found in Sweden. Maufe felt that Swedish architecture had
1274-460: The first 6 acres (2.4 ha) of land on which the cathedral stands, with Viscount Bennett , a former Prime Minister of Canada, purchasing the remaining land and donating it to the cathedral in 1947. Designed by Edward Maufe and built between 1936 and 1961, it is the seat of the Bishop of Guildford . The cathedral was listed as Grade II* by Historic England in 1981. The Diocese of Guildford
1323-540: The hill. After the war, the brickworks ceased to trade, and bricks were then bought from a brickmakers in Beare Green, Sussex. There is a slight colour variation between the local bricks (forming the eastern end of the cathedral) and the Sussex bricks, forming the western end, tower, garths and Lady Chapel. The building was consecrated in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip on 17 May 1961. The building
1372-587: The home and on present-day architecture. His designs were considered by interior designers to be modern and stylish, with built-in fitments and pastel colour-schemes, particularly pink, mauve, and cream, contrasted with silver-lacquered furniture and mirrors. One of his house designs was Yaffle Hill, Broadstone , Dorset , built in 1929 for Cyril Carter of Poole Pottery . Other schemes included an extension to Baylins, Beaconsfield in 1927, for Ambrose Heal , Gluck 's studio in Bolton Hill, Hampstead (1932), and
1421-622: The late 1920s. He died aged 92 on his birthday, 12 December 1974, in nearby Uckfield Hospital. His architectural drawings and correspondence were deposited at the RIBA upon his death. Guildford Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford , commonly known as Guildford Cathedral , is the Anglican cathedral in Guildford , Surrey , England . Earl Onslow donated
1470-414: The late 1950s and early 1960s, there are examples dating back to the late 1930s, and they collectively form a fascinating record of society and life at that time. 20th-century sculptors and artists are well represented at Guildford Cathedral, notably Eric Gill , Vernon Hill , Mary Spencer Watson , Dennis Huntley , Alan Collins and local artists John Cobbett and Douglas Stephen. Charles Gurrey created
1519-405: The light) to complement the modernist architectural style of the building. However it includes works by Moira Forsyth , William Wilson , James Powell and Sons , Ninian Comper and Lawrence Lee . There are etched glass works by New Zealand -born artist John Hutton . One set adorns the panel at the west entrance; the other is above the internal doors to the south porch. In January 2024 one of
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1568-460: The name of another person on a brick. Elizabeth II and Prince Philip both signed bricks, which are on display inside the cathedral, along with bricks signed by other members of the Royal Family. Before the war, the bricks themselves had been made by Guildford Brick Works at the bottom of Stag Hill, from the clay removed during the installation of 778 piles, driven 50 feet (15 m) into
1617-480: The panes on the west front door was smashed in an act of apparent vandalism. Hutton achieved particular acclaim for his work at Coventry Cathedral , and he worked on both Coventry and Guildford Cathedrals at the same time. As of 30 May 2019: The cathedral organ was installed in 1961 by the Liverpool firm of Rushworth and Dreaper . It is a reconstruction of an organ dating from c. 1866 , previously in
1666-583: The stage at the Playhouse include Rowan Atkinson , Ronnie Barker , Dirk Bogarde , Judi Dench , John Gielgud , Ian McDiarmid , Ian McKellen , Dudley Moore , and Maggie Smith . Susannah York gave her final stage performance there in August 2010, in Ronald Harwood 's Quartet . The journalist and writer Christopher Hitchens worked as a stagehand at the Playhouse during his time as an undergraduate at Balliol College, Oxford . The Oxford Playhouse
1715-783: The studio for religious services at Broadcasting House (1931). He also designed several branch banks for Lloyds Bank , including 50 Notting Hill Gate , London in 1930. Other works include the Festival Theatre in Cambridge , St Thomas the Apostle in Hanwell , London and the Oxford Playhouse and St Columba's Church ( Pont Street , London SW1). He designed buildings for Trinity and St John's College, Cambridge , Balliol and St John's College, Oxford (of which he
1764-420: The then manager of Barclays Bank, Chelsea. The altar and altar rails were originally used in the chapel in the crypt, the place of worship for the original parish, during the construction of the cathedral. The crypt chapel is now used as the choir room. The cathedral contains fewer stained glass windows than many comparable church buildings, having a predominantly clear glazing scheme (using opaque glass to soften
1813-588: The top of Stag Hill as a site for the cathedral. The foundation stone was laid by Cosmo Lang , Archbishop of Canterbury , in 1936, but work was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War . In 1947, Viscount Bennett , former prime minister of Canada , bought the land surrounding Stag Hill, as a memorial to Canadian soldiers who were billeted in the area during the Second World War. In 1948, work recommenced on building new roofs and
1862-502: The top of the tower stands a 15-foot (4.6 m) gilded angel, which turns in the wind. Inside, the cathedral appears to be filled with light, with pale Somerset limestone pillars and white Italian marble floors. It is a Grade II* listed building . The angel on the top of the tower was given in memory of Sgt. Reginald Adgey-Edgar of the Intelligence Corps , who died on active service in 1944 during World War II. It
1911-631: The university the Playhouse also manages the nearby Burton Taylor Studio, named in honour of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor . "The BT" is a 50-seat studio theatre in Gloucester Street , close to the Oxford Playhouse. It originated in 1966, when Richard Burton donated money towards the creation of a rehearsal space, also occasionally used for performance, named the Burton Rooms. A couple of decades later, students from
1960-730: Was commissioned as a staff lieutenant that April, and saw action in Salonika . He was discharged on 26 February 1919. Having already been an associate member since 1910, Maufe was elected a fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1920. In 1940 Maufe commissioned his portrait, which is now housed at the RIBA. The picture shows him in front of his winning design for Guildford Cathedral from Gluck , whose studio in Hampstead he had designed in 1932. Another oil portrait of him by John Laviers Wheatley (1892-1955)
2009-548: Was created in 1927, covering most of Surrey . Guildford's restored Georgian Holy Trinity Church served as pro-cathedral , but was considered too small to become the cathedral. In 1932, a design competition was held, with a brief that the construction costs should be £250,000. 183 architects took part, from whom the Cathedral Committee chose Edward Maufe (later Sir Edward Maufe) as its architect. In 1933, Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow donated land at
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2058-748: Was dedicated in 1959 to the Honour of King Charles the Martyr . The Queen's Royal Regiment was founded in 1661 as the Tangiers Regiment on the marriage of King Charles II and Catherine of Braganza . The Lady Chapel was built using funds donated by the Canadian people, in recognition of the support for Canadian troops stationed in the area during both world wars. It contains a figure of the Madonna and Child, carved in lignum vitae by Douglas Stephen,
2107-529: Was designed by William Pickford and created by four silversmiths, before being positioned in Spring 1963. The supporting pole for the angel houses mobile phone antennas. The wooden cross which stands outside the eastern end of the cathedral was erected in 1933 before construction work began in order to mark the site of the new cathedral. Known as the Ganges Cross, it is made from timbers of Burma teak from
2156-589: Was exhibited in 1956 and is in the Primary Collection of the National Portrait Gallery , London. Maufe's first important commission after establishing his own practice was in 1912, the design of Kelling Hall , Norfolk , for Sir Henry Deterding. The building shows Maufe's early links with the arts and crafts movement due to its butterfly plan, knapped flint walls, and a grey tiled and gabled roof. Maufe's other pre-war work included
2205-475: Was finally completed in 1965. Where to put the cathedral for the new diocese of Guildford was a vexing question until Richard, Lord Onslow donated 6 acres (2.4 ha) atop Stag Hill — so named because the Kings of England used to hunt there. Its solid red brick outline is visible for miles around. Whilst in 1932 this was far outside the town of Guildford, the growth since then has already begun to wrap around
2254-528: Was made an honorary fellow of in 1943). Maufe was later commissioned to re-design the war-damaged Middle Temple , Inner Temple and Gray's Inn , which made him an Honorary Master of the Bench in 1951. Architectural historian Ian Nairn said that "Maufe is the rare case of a man with genuine spatial gifts but out of sympathy with the style of his time". Maufe retired in 1964 to Shepherd's Hill, Buxted , East Sussex , which he had restored as his second home in
2303-537: Was sent to London to serve a five-year apprenticeship under the direction of the architect William A. Pite, brother of Arthur Beresford Pite . Soon after, the Muff family moved from Yorkshire to Red House in Bexleyheath . The house was designed by Philip Webb for William Morris ; Maufe later acknowledged the design as an early architectural influence. After completing his apprenticeship in 1904, Maufe attended St John's College, Oxford , where, in 1908, he received
2352-646: Was the base from which Prospect Theatre Company was created by manager Elizabeth Sweeting and resident stage manager Iain Mackintosh in 1961. Between 1963 and 1976, the Prospect Theatre Company toured 75 productions to 125 theatres in 21 countries. The Greek theatre director Minos Volanakis was an associate director at the Playhouse; his productions included Jean Genet 's The Maids (1963–4) and The Balcony (1967), and Jean Giraudoux 's Madwoman of Chaillot . A charitable trust runs
2401-703: Was the second of three children and the youngest son of Henry Muff and Maude Alice Muff née Smithies. Henry Muff was a linen draper who was part owner of Brown Muff & Co a department store in Bradford, “the Harrods of the North”. Maufe was the niece of Titus Salt , the founder of Saltaire . Maufe started his education at Wharfedale School in Ilkley, and later attended Bradford School . During his adolescent years, Maufe became interested in architecture. In 1899 he
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