Harold Falkner

Harold Falkner was an notable architect in the early 20th century. Based in Farnham, Surrey, his buildings, 115 of them, are all in that area. A lifelong friend of Gertrude Jekyll, he was a near-contemporary of Edwin Lutyens, many of whose buildings can be seen in the same area. He was frequently featured in the architectural press of the time and produced a range of differing styles of building, from Arts and Crafts and Queen Anne to neo-Georgian and Tudor. His relative obscurity has been attributed [Harold Falkner - More than an Arts & Crafts Architect by Sam Osmond (Phillimore, 2003)] to his refusal to adopt the Modern Movement. His obituary in the Architectural Review was written by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner. Falkner is reputed to have been a key contributor to the preservation of Farnham as one of the best Georgian towns in England [as ref 1] , although Pevsner [Surrey by Nickolaus Pevsner (Penguin, 1971)] disagrees.

His houses include Stranger's Corner (the former home of W. H. Allen), the Farnham Town Hall buildings and Bailiff's Hall (both Grade II listed), the Tudor-style "Spinning Wheel" building in the Borough, Dippenhall Grange, Overdeans Court, and Halfway House (Dora's Green). He also did much work in collaboration with Guy Maxwell Ayling including rebuilds of many local pubs for Courage's brewery

References

Further reading

Harold Falkner - More than an Arts & Crafts Architect by Sam Osmond (Phillimore, 2003)