William Henry Crossland

• Name — William Henry Crossland FRIBA • Born — 1835 • Birthplace — Yorkshire, England • Died — 14 November 1908 May 1835 • Place of death — London, England • Citizenship — British • Partner — Eliza Ruth Hatt (died 1892) • Children — Two (one illegitimate) • Awards — Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1867 • Significant Buildings — * Rochdale Town Hall (1864–71) • Holloway Sanatorium (1872–85) • Royal Holloway College (1879–87)

Crossland was born in 1835 to a family living in Huddersfield. He was the younger son of Henry Crossland, who is recorded in the 1851 census as being a farmer and quarry owner, and his wife, Ellen (née Wilkinson). He had an elder brother, James, born in 1833. Crossland enrolled at Huddersfield College, where he excelled in writing and drawing. In the early 1850s Crossland became a pupil of George Gilbert Scott at his architectural practice in London. He worked with Scott on the design of the model village Akroydon, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, commissioned by the worsted manufacturer, Edward Akroyd.

In her biography of Crossland, published in 2020, Sheila Binns provides the most complete list yet of his architectural commissions, drawing on and supplementing earlier work by John Elliott, itself based on a compilation by Edward Law. Those that are listed by Historic England, many of them in Yorkshire, are included here.

• Location — Description — Dates — Listing — Notes — Refs — Images • Sunninghill — St Michael and All Angels Church — 1887–89 — Grade II — Crossland designed the memorial chapel to Thomas Holloway (whose funeral had taken place at the church) and also the rebuilding of the vestry and chancel. —

• Location — Description — Dates — Listing — Notes — Refs — Images • Rochdale — St Chad's Church — 1870–72 — Grade II* — 13th century and beyond; south aisle, porch and belfry by Crossland —

• Location — Description — Dates — Listing — Notes — Refs — Images • Hawnby — All Saints' Church — 1863 — Grade II* — This was Crossland's first known church restoration. — • Kellington — Church of St Edmund King and Martyr — 12th century, restored by Crossland 1867–69 — Grade I — Crossland's renovations included demolishing and rebuilding the north aisle and the south and east chancel walls and enlarging the chancel. — • Middlesmoor — Church of St Chad — 1865–66, replacing a 14th-century church — Grade II — Sheila Binns quotes a contemporary account in The Ecclesiologist as saying that in basing his design on that of the 14th-century church Crossland treated it "with much dignity". — • Sutton-in-Craven — Church of St Thomas — 1868–69 — Grade II — This was a new church building. It memorialises Thomas Bairstow, a local benefactor. The tower was designed to carry a spire that was never added. — • Illustration — Church of St Thomas, Sutton-in-Craven

• Location — Description — Dates — Listing — Notes — Refs — Images • Hoylandswaine, near Penistone — Church of St John the Evangelist — 1867–68 — Grade II — Binns describes it as a "small but substantial church, built to a high-quality of local stone for a small working class village". — | — • Sheffield — Church of St Mark, Broomhill — 1868–71 — Grade II — The church building, except for the tower and porch, was destroyed in the Second World War. In 1973, Crossland's porch and tower, which had been incorporated in a new 1960s building designed by George Pace, were Grade II listed, a heritage designation later applied to the whole church. — • Illustration — Church of St Mark, Broomhill, Sheffield

• Location — Description — Dates — Listing — Notes — Refs — Images • Almondbury — All Hallows Church — Dating from the 13th century, it was restored by Crossland 1872–76 — Grade I — Much of the work was funded by local landowner Sir John Ramsden. — • Birstall — St Peter's Church — Founded c.1100 and rebuilt by Crossland 1863–70, except for the medieval tower — Grade II* — Historic England say that it "demonstrates well" Crossland's "preference for the Decorated style and taste for lavish decoration". — • Illustration — St Peter's Church, Birstall • Copley — St Stephen's Church — 1861–65 — Grade II* — This church building, commissioned by Edward Akroyd, is now redundant and is under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. — • Illustration — St Stephen's Church, Copley • Elland — Church of St Mary — Built mainly in the 13th and 14th centuries and restored by Crossland 1865–66 — Grade I — As a child, Crossland had been baptised in this church. — • Illustration — Church of St Mary, Elland • Far Headingley, Leeds — St Chad's Church — 1864–68 — Grade II* — Designed by Crossland and Edmund Beckett Denison (later 1st Baron Grimthorpe), the church was built on land given by the Beckett family of Kirkstall Grange who paid £10,000 towards it. — • Illustration — St Chad's Church, Far Headingley, Leeds • Flockton — |Church of St James the Great — 1866–67 — Grade II — According to Binns, "the church was built largely due to the efforts and at the personal expense of the incumbent at the time, the Reverend Robert Jackson French". — • Huddersfield — 1–11 Railway Street and 20–26 Westgate (former Ramsden Estate Office) — 1868–74 — Grade II — This was commissioned by Sir John Ramsden; the Ramsden family then owned much of Huddersfield. • Huddersfield — Byram Buildings (now known as Byram Arcade) 10–18 Westgate — 1875–81 — Grade II — This was commissioned by Sir John Ramsden. — • Illustration — Byram Arcade in 2007 • Huddersfield — Kirkgate Buildings — 1877–85 — Grade II — Commissioned by Sir John Ramsden, this was a speculative development of office space and shops, originally called Bulstrode Buildings. • Huddersfield — Longley New Hall — 1870–75 — Grade II — This rebuilding of a property built in the 1860s was commissioned by Sir John Ramsden as a house for his family; it became a school in the 1920s. Crossland also drew up plans for alterations to Longley Old Hall, on a nearby site. • Huddersfield — St Andrew's Church, Leeds Road — 1869–70 — Grade II — This church building was declared redundant in 1975. The Victorian Society included it on a list in 2017 of the top ten endangered Victorian or Edwardian buildings in England and Wales that have been neglected and are now at risk. — • Illustration — Former Church of St Andrew, Leeds Road • Bradley, Huddersfield — St Thomas's Church — 1859–68 — Grade II — One of Crossland's earliest commissions, the church building was declared redundant in 1975. Historic England say that the church "is notable for the vitality of detail typical of the decade" and "is carefully sited on sloping ground, with asymmetrical south tower and spire placed so as to maximise the effect of its silhouette". — • Huddersfield — Somerset Buildings — 1881–83 — Grade II — Historic England say that "its eclectic C19 Queen Anne styling displays a strong level of architectural flair, incorporating French and Flemish Renaissance influenced detailing to successful effect... it has strong group value with nearby listed buildings, a number of which were also designed by Crossland". • Huddersfield — Waverley Chambers — 1881–83 — Grade II — Soon after this commercial building was built, it became a temperance hotel and later was used as offices. • Ossett, Wakefield — Church of the Holy Trinity — 1862–65 — Grade II* — This was Crossland's first large church building. — • Illustration — Church of the Holy Trinity, Ossett, Wakefield • Staincliffe — Christ Church — 1866–67 — Grade II — Historic England describe the church building as "unfinished". Cuts to the budget meant that its exterior was not completed to Crossland's original designs. — • Illustration — Christ Church, Staincliffe

Crossland's last entry in the RIBA's records was in 1894–95. There is no record of him undertaking any work after 1900, when he ceased to be architectural adviser to Royal Holloway.

• Illustration — Family vault of William Henry Crossland in Highgate Cemetery (east side) On 1 October 1859, Crossland married Lavinia Cardwell Pigot (who died in Boulogne, France on 17 January 1876). They had one child – a daughter, Maud, who was born on 10 July 1860 and died on 8 March 1900. Crossland also had an illegitimate son, Cecil Henry Crossland Hatt (born 1877), with his second (common-law) wife, (Eliza) Ruth Hatt (née Tilley; 1853–1892). She became a well-known actress, using the stage name Ruth Rutland, and they lived together in a bungalow on the Royal Holloway site, designed by Crossland and built in 1878 as a home for himself and his family while he oversaw Holloway College's construction. Crossland died at 57 Albert Street, Camden, London on 14 November 1908 following a stroke. His wife Lavinia, his brother James Crossland, his common-law wife Eliza Ruth Hatt, his daughter Maud Lart, his parents-in-law and his stepson Benjamin Tilley Hatt are buried in a family vault at Highgate Cemetery. Although Crossland's will specifically stated that he and his son should be interred there, neither of them is in the family vault. Crossland's place of burial is unknown. Crossland was survived by his son Cecil (by then known as Cecil Hatt Crossland) and two granddaughters – Maud and her husband William Lart's daughter Dorothea Maud (born 1881), and Cecil and his wife Lucy's daughter Beryl Joan (born 1905).