Edwin Seward

British architect (1853–1924)

Edwin Seward
Born1853
Yeovil, Somerset
Died21 June 1924(1924-06-21) (aged 70–71)[1]
Weymouth, Dorset
OccupationArchitect
The Coal Exchange, Cardiff

Edwin Seward (1853–1924)[2] was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales.[3]

Biography

Cardiff Free Library (1882)

Born in Somerset, Seward came to Cardiff aged 16 and studied at the School of Art.[4] He began work as an assistant to architect G. E. Robinson.

Seward was one of the individuals at the centre of Cardiff's young art scene. He was the 21st President of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society (founded 1867) which was a hub of intellectual discussion. He tried unsuccessfully to establish a national institution in Cardiff for Welsh art (the Cambrian Academy of Art eventually set up in Conwy) and was a founding member of the South Wales Art Society in 1888.[4]

By 1875 Seward was a member of the architecture firm James, Seward and Thomas and went on to build some of Cardiff's most notable buildings in the late 19th century.

Whilst in Cardiff, Seward lived in Lisvane house, a property which he remodeled himself and is now Grade II listed. He later retired to Weymouth, Dorset, where he lived until his death.[5]

Works in Cardiff include

St David's Hospital, Cardiff
  • Cardiff Free Library in The Hayes (1880–82)
  • St David's Hospital (1881)
  • Cardiff Royal Infirmary (1883)
  • Coal Exchange (1884–88) in Mount Stuart Square
  • David Morgan department stores building
    • two arcades in the city centre
  • Llanishen Methodist Church
  • New Trinity Church United Reformed Church (demolished in 1998) at junction of Cowbridge Road East and Theobald Rd. Canton Uniting Church rebuilt on same site.

Works elsewhere

Seward designed the Turner House Gallery (1887/8) in Penarth for businessman James Pyke Thompson. He was the winning architect for the Swansea Harbour Trust Building in Swansea and he worked on the widening of the Wye Bridge in Monmouth.[6]

Notes

  1. ^ Ffrancon, Rhys (21 June 2024). "Edwin Seward: Y dyn a adeiladodd Caerdydd". BBC Cymru Fyw (in Welsh). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  2. ^ Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 811. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
  3. ^ Antonia Brodie (ed) Directory of British Architects, 1834–1914: Vol. 2 (L-Z), pg 581, British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects, 2001
  4. ^ a b Lord, Peter (2000), The Visual Culture of Wales: Imaging the Nation, Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp. 301–303, ISBN 0-7083-1587-9
  5. ^ "The Victorian Web". Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  6. ^ Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological Trust, Historic Landscape Characterisation, Wyesham. Accessed 4 January 2012
  • Cardiff conservation area appraisal
  • Borders Opens New Superstore In Cardiff 28 September
  • BBC South West Wales: From Harbour to Hotel
  • "Cardiff between Chicago and Baltimore: Reflections on cultural developments" (PDF). Archived from the original on November 3, 2003. Retrieved August 18, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  • Edwin Seward, F.R.I.B.A. (1853–1924) 21st President
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • VIAF
Artists
  • Musée d'Orsay
  • ULAN