William John Hale (March 1862 – 25 November 1929) was an architect based in Sheffield, England, who produced the city's most striking early 20th-century architecture. He practised between 1896 and 1929 and designed several schools and churches in Sheffield, using the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau styles as a basis.
Biography
Hale was born in Sheffield in March 1862, the third of four children of Matthew Hale and Harriet Fordham. He was brought up as a Wesleyan and was educated at Wesley College on Glossop Road in Sheffield. Upon leaving school Hale was articled to the well-known Sheffield architectural firm of Innocent and Brown. Amongst other work, the firm were responsible for designing 25 schools for the Sheffield School Board between 1873 and 1893 and the time spent by Hale as a trainee architect with the firm familiarised him with the requirements of school architecture. In 1887 Hale was a founder member of the Sheffield Society of Architects and Surveyors.
On 3 September 1891 Hale married Edith Toothill (1867–1942), at Wesley Church Broomhill. The Toothills were an affluent Methodist family from Fulwood, headed by John Toothill, who had amassed considerable wealth from property development. The newly wed Hales became members of Fulwood Wesley Chapel, a high-status place of worship in an affluent suburb. Hale's Methodist social connections would ensure him a steady stream of work in the years to come. In 1892 the couple's only child, Doris Mary, was born and on 1 December of that year Hale, at the age of thirty, established his own business as an architect. In 1895 he set up the family home at Cedar House, an Italianate villa in Taptonville Road, Broomhill.
Architectural career begins
Hale's first public commission for his company was the designing of Stephen Hill Wesleyan Chapel at Crosspool which opened in March 1896. It was a simple stone chapel with Arts and Crafts touches, which he would extend in 1899 by the addition of a lecture room. However his first really prestigious project was the planning of Bole Hill Board School at Walkley. At that time Sheffield was in a flurry of school building as a result of Forster's Education Act of 1870. Hale's experience with school design whilst training with Innocent and Brown was a big factor in winning the contract. The school, which opened in May 1896, is an impressive building set above the Rivelin Valley. Initially it had places for 815 pupils and today it is still in excellent condition despite its exposed position: a tribute to Hale's design and the quality of materials used.
A further three Wesleyan chapels were built to his designs at Brightside, Low Bradfield and St Luke's at Crookes in the years up to 1900. The Ibbotson family were generous benefactors to the Low Bradfied project, allowing Hale to indulge in detailing which a small village could not otherwise have afforded. A similar situation arose at St Luke's with Samuel Meggitt Johnson, owner of the George Bassett confectionery company, who paid for the entire cost, with Hale finishing the building with some flair and facing the building with Bole Hill stone and a Matlock stone dressing, with intricate carving by Frank Tory.
Finest work
Hale did his finest and best-known works between 1904 and 1908. Hammerton Street Council School is widely regarded as a triumph, as is the arts and crafts school in Sheffield. It opened in October 1904 and cost £14,000. It features windows with elaborate lintels, ornate keystones over the doors and decorative drainpipes, as Hale introduced aspects of Baroque into his work. Between 1906 and 1908 Hale constructed two large, octagonal churches in the Crookes suburb in Sheffield. The Congregational Church at the top of Springvale Road had seating for 700, while the Wesley Hall in Crookes had seating for 900. Hale's decision to use an octagonal design was not an original idea, as there were 14 examples of eight-sided Methodist chapels in the 18th century. He may have been influenced by John Wesley's thinking, who believed the design offered better acoustics for the preacher, along with improved use of space for seating and a clear view for the congregation.