Whiddington, Henry Morgan

• Whiddington, H.M.

Henry Morgan Whiddington (1877-1949) and his younger brother William A. Whiddington (1881-1954) were active in Lethbridge, Alberta, where they dominated the local architectural scene for more than twenty years. Born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England on 7 May 1877, Henry M. trained under his father William Whiddington (1849-1934), an architect in London, and with W.H. Duffield while attending classes at the Architectural Association in that city. Both he and his brother emigrated to Canada in 1906 and settled in Alberta where they are recorded among the first members of the newly formed Alberta Association of Architects. Henry M. joined the Alberta Association of Architects on 19 November 1906. He later went on to be Hon. Secretary of the Association in 1909 and was on Council of the Association in 1907. In 1912 he was appointed delegate of the Association to the Annual Convention of Builders Exchanges, Lethbridge.

Henry M. and his brother created a partnership and opened an office in the Strathcona neighbourhood of Edmonton in 1907 but by 1910 both had relocated to Lethbridge where they established that town's first professional architectural office. From that location, they also operated a branch office at Hosmer, British Columbia.

Their designs for institutional buildings borrowed from Edwardian and Beaux-Arts precedents and employed a formal symmetry evident in their plans for Fleetwood School (c. 1912) and for the Galbraith School (c. 1912). For unknown reasons William A. left Alberta in 1926 and Henry continued to practice under his own name. In late 1928 Henry moved to Cranbrook, British Columbia and opened an office there, but within two years the practice was closed. Henry later moved to Victoria, British Columbia in 1940 and died there on 19 September 1949.

Alberta Association of Architects fonds. The Canadian Architectural Archives.

Whiddington, Henry Morgan. The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950. http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/356. Retrieved April 7, 2017.

Alberta Association of Architects fonds. The Canadian Architectural Archives.
Whiddington, Henry Morgan. The Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800-1950. http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/356. Retrieved April 7, 2017.