Edward Hollamby

Edward Ernest Hollamby (8 January 1921 – 29 December 1999) was an English architect, town planner, and architectural conservationist. Known for designing a number of modernist housing estates in London, he had also achieved notability for his work in restoring Red House, the Arts and Crafts building in Bexleyheath, Southeast London, which was designed by William Morris and Philip Webb in the year 1859.

Born in Hammersmith, West London, Hollamby served in the Royal Marines during the Second World War before embarking on his career in architecture. Involved with the Communist Party of Great Britain and other left-wing political groups, his socialist beliefs led him to work in the public sector, first for the Miners' Welfare Commission and then for London County Council (LCC), where he was involved in the design and construction of such modernist post-war housing estates as Bethnal Green's Avebury Estate, Kennington's Brandon Estate, and Deptford's Pepys Estate.

In 1952, Hollamby and his family moved into Red House, undertaking projects to renovate and restore it. A great admirer of the house's original inhabitant, William Morris, he also involved himself in the early activities of the William Morris Society, which held a number of meetings at the property. Awarded an OBE for his career in 1970, from 1969 to 1981 Hollamby worked as Director of Architecture, Planning, and Development for the London Borough of Lambeth, before moving to work for the London Docklands Development Corporation from 1981 to 1985. He continued restoring Red House in his later life, opening it up to visitors and establishing the ''Friends of Red House'' non-profit organization in 1998.

''The Guardian'' described Hollamby as "very much an architect of the 20th century, a public servant who believed not just in high quality architecture but in the existence and nurturing of the public realm, of public architecture and civic design." Provided by Wikipedia