British architect (1858-1937)
Sir Philip Sidney Stott |
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| Born | (1858-02-20)20 February 1858
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| Died | 31 March 1937(1937-03-31) (aged 79) |
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| Nationality | British |
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| Occupation(s) | Architect, civil engineer, surveyor |
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Sir Philip Sidney Stott, 1st Baronet (20 February 1858 – 31 March 1937), usually known by his full name[1] or as Sidney Stott, was an English architect, civil engineer and surveyor.
Early life and career
Stott was born in Chadderton, Lancashire, at Wykeham Place (now the site of the former Chadderton Central Library), the third son of Abraham Henthorn Stott.[2] He was educated at Oldham High School and then joined the family firm, which had offices in Oldham and Manchester.
Design business
In 1883, he set up his own business, P. S. Stott, specialising in the design of cotton mills.[3] Many of his designs were erected in Lancashire and across the world, especially in India and the Far East.
He benefited from innovations made by his father and Edward Potts, another Oldham architect. His first mill design was for Chadderton Mill in 1885. Sidney Stott designed 22 mills in Oldham and 55 elsewhere in Lancashire. His last design was for the Maple No 2 Mill in 1915. His work accounted for 44% of the increase in the spinning capacity of the county between 1887 and 1925, and for 40% of the new spindles laid down in Oldham between 1887 and 1914. His mills housed 9 million spindles. He relied on triple brick arches supported on steel beams, a system favoured by George Stott, rather than concrete.[4] His wealth was accumulated from the shares he held in the mills he designed rather than professional fees. Many of his designs were erected across the world, especially in India and the Far East.
Other interests and later life
Stott was a freemason. He was president of the Oldham Lyceum and played rugby for Oldham F.C. (the "Roughyeds") from circa 1877 to 1885.[5] He held several directorships in the Lancashire cotton spinning industry.
Stott moved to Stanton, Gloucestershire (near Broadway, Worcestershire) in 1913 and took up residence in Stanton Court, a Jacobean manor house built in the 17th century, now Grade II listed.[6] He began to devote much of his time to the Conservative Party and the protection of the village. He had purchased much of the area of the village in 1906 and he improved it significantly, restoring all of the properties. In addition, the Stott family built a reservoir in 1907, added lighting to the main street, improved the church, extended the school, built a swimming pool and cricket field.[7]
He was created a baronet in the 1920 Birthday Honours.[8] He became a Justice of the Peace and, in 1925, High Sheriff of Gloucestershire. Stott was created a 1st Baronet on 3 July 1920. Stott and his wife Hannah Nicholson had four children. Hannah died in April 1935.[citation needed] Stott married the portrait painter May Bridges Lee (1884−1977) on 2 January 1936.[9]
In 1923 Stott presented Overstone Park, Northamptonshire, to the Conservative Party for use as a training college for speakers and election agents. It was named the Philip Stott College. It closed in 1929 and its work was transferred to the Bonar Law College. Stott claimed it had never been given enough support and in May 1935 resigned from the presidency of the Cirencester-Tewkesbury Conservative and Unionist Association, citing differences with the party leadership over Indian policy. He died in 1937 aged 79.
After his death, a plaque commemorating Philip Sidney Stott was erected at the Chadderton Central Library near his birthplace. Research at that time indicated that he had designed about 28 mills in the area, of a total of the 124 mills designed during his career, including 28 overseas. He was a Fellow of the Society of Architects, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and president of the Cirencester and Tewksbury Conservative Association; his role as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire spanned 1925–26.[10]
