Ernest George

Ernest George was born in London in 1839. He was educated in Clapham and Brighton, before transferring to Reading where his sketching ability was encouraged. He was articled to Samuel Hewitt, a London architect, from 1856 to 1860. In 1857 he joined the Royal Academy Schools, winning the gold medal in 1859. He set up a partnership with Thomas Vaughan in 1861 and married in 1866. By the early-1870s the architectural practice was well-established, but Thomas Vaughan died in 1875.

A year later, George set up what was to become a long-lasting partnership with Harold Peto. The pair were extremely well-respected and very successful, completing both commercial and domestic commissions. The fashionable reputation of the firm attracted assistants such as Guy Dawber and Edwin Lutyens.

George was awarded the gold medal for architecture in 1896. He was president of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1908 to 1910 and was knighted in 1911. He retired in 1920 and died in 1922.

Bibliography

Grainger, Hilary J, 'George, Sir Ernest (1839-1922)' Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford: Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Oct 2006) [ accessed 23 June 2009]

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