Details

Name

George Henry Walton

Brief Biography

1867 - 1933, Scottish

Occupation

Architect; Designer

Description

George Henry Walton was born in Glasgow on 3 June 1867, the youngest of twelve children. His father died in 1873 leaving his family in reduced circumstances. George had to leave school at the age of thirteen to become a clerk with the British Linen Bank. Whilst working there he also studied at Glasgow School of Art and took classes at Glasgow Atelier Fine Arts.

In 1888, Miss Catherine Cranston commissioned Walton to re-design the interiors of the tea rooms at 114 Argyle Street, Glasgow. Walton then left his banking employment and opened up showrooms. They quickly grew to produce woodwork, furniture and stained glass. Walton was commissioned to decorate and furnish Miss Cranston's Buchanan Street tea room. In 1897, the business continued to expand in York and with larger premises in Glasgow. By 1901 Walton had started to get involved in the building trade, constructing houses.

Shortly after this he resigned from his company and concentrated primarily on being an architect and designer in private practice. Work was difficult to find during World War I but by 1919 he had resumed private practice. He then focused on textile design but, as fashions changed in the 1930s, work was less available.

Walton died on 10 December 1933. The drawings and photographs relating to his later practice are in the British Archtectural Library Collection.