The world according to Webster

The family and the firm...

The family name of Webster has cropped up many times in my research of the historical buildings of Kendal and the surrounding towns and villages in Cumbria, and wider a field. The name is connected with churches, town houses, museums, bridges and factories, and lives on today as strong and as visible as ever.

Now I'm writing this as a casual observer, so the depth of detail isn't too great, the amount of information sometimes leaves a little to be desired, and I've limited my research to the internet..so researching information over possibly hundreds of web sites has been the only way in which I've gleaned any information about this local firm.

I have found that this fascinating architectural dynasty had a far reaching influence on buildings in Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire, but closer to home, some of the most familiar buildings in Kendal and Ulverston for example, can be attributed to this firm.

First - a little information about the family...

Francis Webster, a prominent local stone mason, was born in 1767. His first son, George was born in Kendal in 1797, followed by Francis in 1805. The Webster name, it appears, was synonymous with local architecture before even Francis Webster. An internet search reveals that a Thomas Webster was heavily involved in the repair of 300 feet or so of the west end of the bridge in Kirkby Lonsdale in 1749, and as a consequence of the town's failure to provide horses and carts to transport materials for this venture, he levied the grand total of £4.10s to pay for his efforts.

Robert Webster, Francis' father, is credited with paving the church of St Peter at Finsthwaite in 1771.

It would appear that Francis Webster, George's father, really set the architectural ball rolling though. His credits include the Assembly Rooms and Market Hall in Hawkshead, and a prominent building on Strickland Gate in Kendal that would later become the Wakefield Bank in 1797. The beautiful Huck's bridge over Borrow Beck is Francis' handy work, built in 1826, as is the Bridge House on Aynam Road, that now houses the locally prominent The Bridge House restaurant, built in 1819 to house a showroom for Francis' marble works. Many houses over looking Goose Holme in Kendal are attributed to the joint efforts of both father and son, and Helme Lodge in Natland is also attributed to father and son, built in 1824.

George's father Francis set up the company with W. Holme in the New Inn Yard in 1888, and from then on, many of the buildings of Kendal took on a distinct design and flare of their very own. With George working with his father and brother Francis, who was the Director of the Sculpture department, the company went from strength to strength and it wasn't long before their influence was being felt across the area. Richard Stirzaker from Lancaster joined Francis Webster in 1817 as a draughtsman. Stirzaker is also famous as a local landscape painter, and teacher of painting at the Friend's school on Stramongate. Miles Thompson joined the Websters in 1825, as a draughtsman. He became a partner in the firm in 1845, and carried on the business after George's death in 1864. Finally, Thomas Duckett, an artist, plasterer, wood carver and sculptor joined the firm, contributing many pieces to the numerous building projects in the area.

As well as the obvious architectural influences in Kendal and the surrounding areas, both Francis and his son George served as mayors to the parish. Francis from 1823 to 1824, and George from 1829 to 1830.

The Webster Landscape of Kendal...

If you were to walk through the main street of Kendal, starting from Kirkland and walking right through to the bottom of Windermere Road, you would encounter a number of important Webster buildings.

Kirkland School was built and designed by Miles Thompson in 1861. The building is now known as Kirkland hall and sits between the parish rooms and Nether Hall on the West bank of the Kent.

134/136 Highgate were designed by Francis Webster and built in 1798. The houses were built on the site of some weaving shops and the site is now marked by a green Kendal Civic Society plaque.

Oddfellow's Hall on Highgate is a tall distinguished looking building. It was built in 1833 to George Webster's designs, on the site of an old inn. In 1857, the building was being used as a mechanic's institute.

The HSBC bank is another landmark building on the main streets through Kendal. The building was constructed to designs by George Webster in 1834, especially for the Bank of Westmorland. The bank included purpose built accommodation for the bank manager and his family, and remains the oldest purpose built bank in the Midland Bank network. The lions on the roof of the building were not original Webster ornaments, but were added at a later date.

Whitehall Assembly Rooms at the top of Lowther Street are today recognisable as the Tourist Information centre, and the Town Hall run by South Lakeland District Council. The faade of the building was designed by both George and Francis Webster in 1825, with additional works being done in 1858 and 1859, with the original clock tower being taken down. The portion of the frontage of the town hall that this refers to is everything to the right of the main doorway into the town hall.

The building currently occupied by Millets, was for years, occupied by Titus Wilson. The building was redesigned by George Webster in 1828.

The next visit on the tour through Kendal town centre, is to the familiar buildings now occupied by Ponden Mill, Farrers and the Edinburgh Woollen Mill. All three of these buildings were re-fronted by the Webster firm. If you look between Ponden Mill and the Edinburgh Woollen Mill outlets, there is a very subtle classical pavilion type entrance way, with an ornamental hood and twisted balustrades supporting the hood. Farrers seems to have received a subtle make over, retaining much of its medieval charm!

There are obviously many more Webster designed building in Kendal. For example, Stramongate Bridge (1793) was re-cased in local limestone to designs by FW and W Holme, with Francis probably working as a stone mason on the project. Miller Bridge (1818) built to replace an earlier bridge, was built from Francis Webster's designs.

Three of Kendal's most prominent churches were also built by the Webster firm to designs by George Webster. Holy Trinity and St George Roman Catholic church on New Road was built between 1835 and 1837, and features a statue of St George slaying the dragon designed and built by Thomas Duckett. St Thomas, at the bottom of Windermere Road was built between 1836 and 1837, and is especially interesting as it is apparently built the wrong way round owing to site problems at the time! St George's on Goose Holme was built between 1839 and 1841 and originally featured two 100 foot spires. These were removed at some point as they were deemed to have been unsafe, and the stumps capped.

Francis Webster was most likely a stone mason involved in the design and creation of the obelisk mounted on Castle Howe. The monument was erected in 1788 to celebrate the centenary of the glorious revolution of 1688.

George Webster is also responsible for three chapels associated with cemeteries in Kendal. Firstly the small disused chapel in the grounds of the tiny Castle Street cemetery, and secondly, the twin chapels that sit either side of Parkside road serving the Parkside Road cemetery.

Sheerman House on All Hallows Lane at the bottom of Beast Banks was designed by one of the Webster's draughtsmen, Miles Thompson (and is currently named after him). The 70 foot chimney is now something of a Kendal landmark. The building was designed by Thompson in 1863, as a public wash house and baths. An interesting point to note, is that about 100 yards up the road, is a house associated with Miles Thompson. Number 21 Beast Banks has a small ceramic statue of Miles, placed on the gable as a memorial by his brother Robert Thompson Thorny Hills (once named Kent Terrace) sits opposite the old Axa office buildings across the river, and is a collection of Francis and George Webster designed town houses. In fact, as you look at the terrace from the right, all the houses were designed and built between 1823 and 1824, but all show different characteristics.

Looking back across the river from Thorny Hills, the offices that once housed Provincial, are one of the most well known George Webster designs in the town. Sande Aire House is a huge townhouse built in 1827.

The Quaker's Friends Meeting house, that now houses the Tapestry, was also designed and built by George Webster 1816.

The Websters made a strong and lasting contribution to the landscape of Kendal. Many of the houses and buildings that we walk past on our way to work every day were designed and built by this firm of local architects and designers, but Kendal isn't the only place to have been touched by their visions. Settle in North Yorkshire can boast a town hall built by the firm, a terrace of houses and the Falcon Manor Hotel. Kirkby Lonsdale's bank building in the town square is also a Webster building, as is the church of St Margaret in Bentham, North Yorkshire. Ulverston's Market Square Trustees savings bank building is from a Webster design, as is St Stephen's church at New Hutton. The list is endless, and includes houses, museums, offices, halls, churches and even bridges.

As an aside to the many buildings in and around Kendal, the Webster firm provided many monuments within the old Parish church in Kirkland. All of these are mounted on the walls, and demonstrate the outstanding workmanship of the marble sculptures that the firm employed.

Research resources...

The Webster Buildings of Kendal is an extremely useful resource if you want to spot the firm's buildings in and around Kendal. It's available from the TIC in Kendal for a small fee of 75p. It boasts a map of Kendal detailing where the various buildings are situated, along with building dates and silhouettes for easy identification, and brief histories of the members of the Webster firm. It also mentions a few lost' Webster buildings, with details on where they were built and what remains of them.

http://www.cwaas.org.uk/book_wok.html A book about the firm can be ordered through the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society providing details of the members of the firm, and listing the many buildings and projects that they were involved in. At £45 you may find it a bit on the pricey side, so my best recommendation would be to get the map and do your own tour of Kendal and check out the buildings for yourself. Some of the Webster buildings have been endowed with Kendal Civic Society information plaques, and these help to impart a brief history to the casual observer.

There are many buildings that I've not mentioned here that can be attributed to the Websters.too many to write about in a brief' article. The best thing is to search the internet, using http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/default.aspx This website allows you to do searches using place names, towns\villages, map searches, or even a name search using George Webster' as the search criteria. A search using these details will present you with a list of 8 pages of George Webster designed buildings for example. An excellent resource I'm sure you'll agree.

So..happy hunting, and remember to take your camera with you!