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Orston's famous architect According to Nottinghamshire Record Office: (Thomas) Cecil Howitt was born in Hucknall in 1889 [1888 according to his primary school admission register entry] and after leaving school in 1904 began his career as an architect articled to Albert Nelson Bromley. He joined the Army in 1914 and served in the Leicestershire Regiment. After leaving the army in 1919, Howitt joined Nottingham City Engineer's Department and helped develop an extensive programme of new local authority housing estates in areas of the city such as Cinderhill and Wollaton (over 6000 properties), eventually writing a book on the creation of Local Authority housing schemes… The estates were laid out in concentric crescents similar to those in the nineteenth-century middle-class Park Estate west of the city centre. These were similar to estates in Letchworth, Hertfordshire and brought Howitt national recognition. The largest of these estates was on land bought from the Middleton family at Wollaton and there Howitt also designed his own house, 'The Thatch'. Source The Arts and Crafts-style house Cecil Howitt built in Baildon Close, Wollaton Park, Nottingham. Although called 'Thatch' it seems not to have had a thatched roof. The roof appears to be Collyweston 'slate', though I may be wrong. It was sold in 2015 for £710,000. This photograph was probably taken in 2014. update: Richard Ellis emailed me to say that his father was an articled pupil at T.C. Howitt's in the early 1950s. 'Thatch' was built with a thatched roof but after one (or more?) fires this was replaced with slate. Howitt is best remembered for designing the Council House in Nottingham. Howitt also designed a number of Odeon Cinemas, notably at Warley, Worcestershire (1934); Weston-super-Mare (opened May 1935); Clacton-on-Sea, Essex (1936); Bridgwater, Somerset (1936) and Bristol (1938). In 1948 Howitt became more involved with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and his partners, Philip Gerrard and Frederick Woolley, took over the practice. In the 1950s the name of practice was changed to Cecil Howitt & Partners. Cecil Howitt's purpose-built retirement residence, The Cottage, Lombard Street, Orston, in 2025. Howitt retired as an architect in April 1962 and died, aged 79, in September 1968 in another house he designed for himself: The Cottage, Lombard Street, Orston, Nottinghamshire, NG13 9NG. (Not to be confused with The Cottage, Hill Road, Orston, NG13 9ND or The Cottage, Chapel Street, Orston, NG13 9NL.) Souces: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cecil_Howitt nawcat.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/Record.aspx?src=Catalog&id=DP+TH nottinghamcivicsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/T-Cecil-Howitt.pdf "https://nottinghamcivicsociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/T-Cecil-Howitt.pdf Back to top of this page     Back to home page   This website does not gather or store any visitor information. Copyright Bob Trubshaw 2025 No unauthorised copying or reproduction except if all following conditions apply: a: Copy is complete (including this copyright statement). b: No changes are made. c: No charge is made. www.hoap.co.uk/chronicle

Chronicle entries home page what's new? the geology of the Vale the boundaries and rivers of the Vale long, long ago prehistory in the Vale prehistoric boundaries in the Vale north-south prehistoric routeways Romans roads in the Vale Roman settlements in and near the Vale long ago introduction to Anglo-Saxons place-names of the Vale waterborne transport around the sixth century Orston's early church Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the Vale why Orston lost out to Bingham and Bottesford what the Normans did for the Vale Granby's importance in 1086 Granby's lost castle the Vale's watermills in 1086 Romanesque sculpture in the Vale St Remigius why Bottesford is in Leicestershire the Vale in medieval times medieval gargoyles of the Vale Eastwell's chancel screen St Ethelburga's church other early saints Elston's old chapel Muston and Long Clawson saltways of the Vale the Vale's medieval tile collection the Vale in Tudor times Dissolution in the Vale not that long ago the Vale in the C17th the 'great and the good' of the Vale Bottesford's effigies 'wicked practice and sorcerye' the whales on the Whalley memorial Car Colston's bigoted GP cum JP the Vale's very own regicide Wiverton Hall five rare C17th fonts in the Vale pinfolds and pounds in the Vale dovecotes in the Vale the Vale in the C18th turnpiking the Vale gravestones and C18th trade routes goodbye 'Belvoir Angels' C18th gravestone carvers in the Vale Daffy's Elixir the Marquess of Granby Stilton from the Vale springs and spas of the Vale outstanding organs in the Vale Grantham canal changes in the Vale's agriculture since 1800 Eastwell's recusant priest house and chapel Colston Bassett's ruined church seems like yesterday windmills in the Vale stained glass in the Vale village life in the southern Vale 1850 to 1880 folklore of the Vale Flintham museum lacemaking in the Vale gypsum pits in the Vale brick and tile works in the Vale ironstone quarrying in the Vale ironstone railways ironstone quarries of Leicestershire (YouTube video) The Vale's railway stations Orston's famous architect Mothers Union banners of the Vale redundant telephone exchanges in the Vale WWII airfields and pillboxes in the Vale the Vale in 1944 location shooting at Belvoir Castle Screveton's giants researching and writing local history the Vale as a verb getting started free advice from 2005 asking curious questions (YouTube video) local history groups in and around the Vale Aslockton (Cranmer LHG) Bingham Heritage Trails Association Bottesford Eastwell Harby Harlaxton Hickling Redmile archive Belvoir Villages History and Memories Group Belvoir Angel Society Grantham Canal Society you may also be interested in free PDFs written by Bob Trubshaw Earliest Churches in Nottinghamshire How Anglo-Saxons Found Their Way Anglo-Saxon Leicestershire Conversations in Churchyards Little-known Leicestershire and Rutland Bob Trubshaw's YouTube channel Introduction to medieval carvings Anglo-Saxon and Romanesque carvings How Anglo-Saxons found their way Anglo-Saxon shrines at fords Meetings at triangles Rota's Land and Franni's Land Reading Romanesque fonts Church and manor The significances of square headdresses Early churches and waterborne trade Charnwood slate gravestones and C18th trade routes Ironstone quarries of Leicestershire Roman roads in north-east Leicestershire Salt ways in Leicestershire Why Melton Mowbray needed to called 'middle town' Evolving Anglo-Saxon agriculture Nottinghamshire's earliest churches Ploughs not piety? Economic regeneration in the C7th Were Anglo-Saxon weaving huts women-only places? Barrowby Until Now website Rutland Village by Village website Sepulchral Effigies of Leicestershire and Rutland