Charles Francis Annesley Voysey

   

  • architect

    Charles Francis Annesley Voysey

  • Date of birth

    28. 5. 1857 Hessle, Great Britain

  • Date of death

    12. 2. 1941 Winchester, Great Britain
One of the main architects of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Voysey's style mainly developed between 1880 and 1900, when he was inspired by the old country houses in the British countryside and, in the spirit of the ideas of John Ruskin and William Morris, fought for valuable craftsmanship in all components of the building, the opposite of which was low-quality industrial production. The architect worked primarily on the British Isles, but he also produced designs for the then Tsarist Russia (Łódź), Egypt (Aswan), and Helenín near Jihlava. He designed and built over 100 private houses and residences.

C. F. A. Voysey was born as the first child of four sons and six daughters to parents who were cousins. He was home-schooled by his father until the age of 14, and later apprenticed under the architects John Pollard Seddon and George Devey, where he worked as an assistant for several years. C. F. A. Voysey's grandfather was also an architect, who built mostly churches and lighthouses. C. F. A. Voysey set up his own practice at the end of 1881. At first, he designed furniture and textile and wallpaper patterns. He designed houses for imaginary clients and participated in architectural tenders, but without any major success. He married Mary Maria Evans in 1885 and they had three sons and two daughters together, though only two sons and one daughter survived. In 1888, he built his first house (near Warwick, England), and in 1890, he won his first construction contract. As he himself noted, he had decided to become an architect because it was the only profession he could pursue without taking any exams. Yet he paid attention to detail, designing every part of the project down to the door hinges. He imprinted his style on many country houses around England. Around 1914, he separated from his wife and with the First World War came the end of his architectural career. This Arts and Crafts icon was no longer able to respond to new styles and rise again.

C. F. A. Voysey kept two diaries for his personal use, the Black Book and the White Book. The Black Book contained architectural and some other projects, and the White Book contained the financial costs of the projects. In the Black Book, Carl Löw, sometimes also Karl Low or Löwe, is listed with two contracts. At the age of 18, the textile entrepreneur Karel Löw (1849–1930) made a trip to England, where he drew inspiration for new production methods in textile manufacturing. Another trip followed in 1880 on behalf of the Viennese government as a delegate of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When he was about 62 years old, apparently influenced by the English style, he turned to the architect Voysey, who then designed tombstones in 1912 and a mansion in 1922 for him.

C. F. A. Voysey's work was often published in magazines, and the first published work in The British Architect magazine in 1888 started regular publication until 1918. The British Architectof 6 December 1912 presented a design of a family tomb in Austria, specifically in Helenín near Jihlava. Thus, a front view and top view plan, including the accompanying text on the use of black and white marble, the intended colours, and other materials and accessories, has been preserved in black and white period press. In the separate White Book of Expenses, on 24 September 1912, an expense was listed for the work for Löw at a cost of 4 pence, followed by an expense for gilding at a cost of 9 pence on 5 October. Karel Löw and his wife Franziska Anna, néeSchmal (Fanny, 25. 7. 1854 Brno – 22. 1. 1907 Jihlava-Helenín) rest in the Central Cemetery in Jihlava, in a tomb built in 1912 by the German sculptor and medallist Felix Georg Pfeifer (9 November 1871 Leipzig – 6 March 1945 Leipzig) according to an unknown design. The execution corresponds to the style of the elements used by Voysey, conforming to the time of their creation.

In 1922, Voysey drew up a design for Karel Löw's residence – the design is more or less axially symmetrical, with a central entrance through the tower and different roof heights over the individual structures. It is unclear whether Voysey took part in the announced architectural tender, but he certainly reworked the design and presented it in The Buildermagazine on 24 August 1923. A full double page is devoted to the project, showing both a section of the building, a pair of floor plans, and three views with accompanying descriptions of the contemplated materials and colours. Other than through a literal description, the variety of the design cannot be presented in a black and white magazine, and so we know that the corridors and halls were to have floors of dark grey stone slabs, the windows were to be of local grey granite. The walls, unless covered in oak, were intended to be white and all skirting boards where the walls were plastered were proposed to be green glazed 6 × 3 inch tiles and to be aligned with the plaster. The house was to be heated with hot water. The last words indicate the address of the architect's London residence. In this new design, there are two entrances to the central tower, which now also contains a clock. Also, he used nine south dormers instead of the original five.

Although C. F. A. Voysey applied for a passport and visa in September 1922 – charging his expenses to Karel Löw – as recorded in the White Expenses Book on page 268, there is no record of the actual trip to Czechoslovakia. The separate White Book of daily office expenses also includes an entry indicating "Map of Europe re Iglau. C Low – 1 s 0 d" dated 15 September 1922. The booklet is kept in the £, s, d (pounds, shillings, pence) system, which means that the map cost a whole shilling. Another item in the White Book charged to Löw is the addition of a new name on the passport and subsequently a phone call with a C. C-V (son Charles Cowles-Voysey). This allowed the son to use the updated passport to travel to the continent. Voysey further charged for plans from RIBA (the Royal Institute of British Architects) and a phone call to B. Reynolds, a metalworker and architect. This entire account is underlined and closed on 5 June 1923. Unfortunately, the surviving designs for Karel Löw do not match the implemented projects, and so the final implemented building is William Taylor's house in Leicestershire from 1920.

FK
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Literature and other sources