Robert William Edis

Colonel Sir Robert William Edis KBE CB DL JP
"Architecture Militant", caricature of Edis by "Spy" (1885)
Born	Robert William Edis (1839-06-13)13 June 1839 Huntingdon
Died	23 June 1927(1927-06-23) (aged 88)
Education	Huntingdon Grammar School Aldenham School
Spouse	Elizabeth Ann Woodward
Children	5
Relatives	Isabella Reaney (sister) Olive Edis (niece)

Colonel Sir Robert William Edis KBE CB DL JP (13 June 1839 – 23 June 1927) was a British architect.^[1][2]

Edis was born in Huntingdon to Emma and Robert Edis, also an architect.^[3] His sister was the preacher Isabella Reaney,^[4] his brother was Arthur Wellesley Edis, a gynaecologist,^[5] and his niece through Arthur was the photographer Olive Edis.^[6]

Edis was educated at Huntingdon Grammar School and Aldenham School, before attending University College School in London and studying at the Royal Academy Schools.^[3] He was then articled to William Gilbee Habershon and Edward Habershon, architects, in London.^[1][2]

He became chief assistant to Anthony Salvin, and joined the Architectural Association in 1859.^[1] He was admitted an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1862 and a fellow of the association in 1867.^[1]

Although his early work was Gothic, Edis later became a proponent of the Queen Anne style of baroque revival architecture. He worked mostly on private houses and public buildings, although he did design a few churches.^[7]

He later became involved in the Aesthetic Movement of decorative arts and in furniture design, and delivered a series of Cantor lectures on the subject at the Royal Society of Arts. These formed the basis of two books: Decoration and Furniture of Town Houses (1881) and Healthy Furniture and Decoration (1884).^[1][8] Combining principles of Aestheticism with the Sanitary Movement, Edis delivered a lecture during the 1884 International Health Exhibition calling for more artistic designs within hygienic interior objects.^[9]

From 1883, Edis extended and rebuilt Sandringham House in Norfolk for the Prince of Wales.^[10][11] He was the designer of the parish hall and parsonage for St Philip's Church, Buckingham Palace Road (1892) and the British pavilion at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893).^{[citation needed]}

He built a studio on Church Street, Sheringham, for his nieces the photographers Olive and Katharine Edis. It was their first studio and had a glass roof to allow in natural daylight which became an important aspect of their trademark style.^[6]

Edis had a long association with the Volunteer Force and its successor the Territorial Force. In 1868 he received a commission in the Artists' Rifles.^[12] He went on to be the regiment's commanding officer from 1883 to November 1902,^[13][14][15] and subsequently held the office of honorary colonel from 1902 until his death (he continued when the regiment was reorganized as part of the Territorial Force in 1908).^[2][16] He designed the unit's drill hall at Duke's Road, off Euston Road, Camden (now The Place, home of the Contemporary Dance Trust).^[17]

In January 1889 he was elected a member of the first London County Council, representing St Pancras South for three years as a member of the Conservative-backed Moderate Party.^[18]

In 1863, Edis married Elizabeth Ann Woodward.^[3] He had homes at Ormesby Old Hall, Great Ormesby, Norfolk, as well as Fitzroy Square^[19] and Regent's Park, London.^[20] He was a justice of the peace and a Deputy Lieutenant for Norfolk from 1901.^[2][21] He was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1919 for his military services.^[22]

Edis died suddenly at his Norfolk home in 1927, aged 88.^[2] He was predeceased by his wife, but was survived by his five daughters.^[23]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert William Edis.

• Sir Robert William Edis (1839-1917), Architect and Honorary Colonel of 'Artists Volunteers' at the National Portrait Gallery, London

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