David Evelyn Nye | |
|---|---|
 Blue plaque on the Berkhamsted Rex commemorating Nye's work | |
| Born | 1906 |
| Died | 1986 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Known for | Cinema architect |
David Evelyn Nye MBE was a British architect, born in 1906, who practised in Surrey, England. [1] He was best known as a cinema architect, having designed many picture houses in the 1930s for the Shipman and King cinema circuit. He was a committed Christian, abstainer and vegetarian. [2]
In 1930 he was awarded the first scholarship by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, through which he learned about the restoration of ancient buildings. Nye set up his own practice in 1931, initially working as honorary architect to the Essex Rural Community Council in Maldon, Essex. He was responsible for the 1932 restoration work on Thomas Plume's Library. [2] [3] It was in Maldon that he secured his first cinema project, designing the Embassy Cinema for the Shipman & King cinema circuit, which was erected on Maldon High Street in 1936. The Embassy was demolished in 1987 to make way for a sheltered housing complex, Embassy Court. [4]
Nye continued his association with Shipman & King for another 9 years, designing over 40 cinemas. [2] His most renowned cinema design was possibly the Rex, Berkhamsted, an Art Deco picture house designed in 1937 with a nautical theme, featuring decorations of waves, shells and portholes. The Rex was eventually turned into a bingo hall and then closed in 1988, but the building was listed Grade II by English Heritage, preserving it from demolition by property developers. A local campaign to restore the Rex succeeded and in 2004 it was re-opened as an independent cinema. [5]
During World War II Nye served in the Royal Navy. After the war, he began his work as an architect again, specialising in church building and restoration. He designed the church of St Faith's Church, Dulwich in the mid-1950s. He was appointed Architect to the Diocese of Southwark and Architect and Surveyor to Guildford Cathedral. His practice also carried out restoration work for the National Trust and was responsible for the reconstruction of All Hallows, London Wall after wartime bombing and the new Pewterers' Hall in Oat Lane in the City in 1960. [2]
Nye was chairman of SPAB’s Technical panel for several years.
The Architects' Practice of Nye, Saunders and Partners, based in Godalming, Surrey, was formed in 1971 following the merger of David Evelyn Nye & Partners with A.E.F. Saunders and Associates, and today the Nye Saunders practice continues to specialise in church and historic building conservation. [6]
Everyman Esher in Esher, United Kingdom (4 screens) Maxime Cinema in Blackwood, United Kingdom (5 screens) Rex Cinema in Berkhamsted, United Kingdom (1 screen) [10]
Berkhamsted is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, 26 miles (42 km) northwest of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town of Hemel Hempstead. Berkhamsted and the adjoining village of Northchurch are together encircled by countryside, much of it in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Maldon is a town and civil parish on the Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea Salt which is produced in the area.
James Wyatt was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England.
Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period.
The Rex is a cinema in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. Designed in the art deco style by David Evelyn Nye in 1936, the cinema opened to the public in 1938. After 50 years of service, the cinema closed in 1988 and became derelict. The building was listed Grade II by English Heritage, and following a campaign to save the Rex by a local entrepreneur, the cinema re-opened to the public in 2004.
Thomas Plume was an English churchman and philanthropist, and founder of a library in Maldon, Essex which still exists. The Plume School in Maldon is named after him.
Ashlyns School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. The school was established in 1935 as the final location of the Foundling Hospital, a children's charity founded in London in 1739. The Berkhamsted building converted into a school in 1955. Ashlyns School is noted as an example of neo-Georgian architecture and is a Grade II listed building.
John Belcher was an English architect, and president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, 2nd Baronet, was an English architect and designer who specialised in ecclesiastical buildings and war memorials. He carried out the refurbishments of several cathedrals, the design and build of over a dozen new churches, and the restoration of many existing, medieval parish churches.
Charles Harrison Townsend was an English architect. He was born in Birkenhead, educated at Birkenhead School and articled to the Liverpool architect Walter Scott in 1870. He moved to London with his family in 1880 and entered partnership with the London architect Thomas Lewis Banks in 1884. Townsend became a member of the Art Workers' Guild in 1888 and in the same year was elected a Fellow of the more conservative Royal Institute of British Architects. He remained an active member of both organisations throughout his career and was elected Master of the Art Workers' Guild in 1903. He is important Modern Style architect whose favourite motif was the tree.
Kings Langley Palace was a 13th-century Royal Palace which was located to the west of the Hertfordshire village of Kings Langley in England. During the Middle Ages, the palace served as a residence of the Plantagenet kings of England. It fell into disuse sometime during the 16th century and became a ruin. Today, nothing remains of the building except for some archaeological remains. The site is a scheduled ancient monument.
Joseph Clarke was a British Gothic Revival architect who practised in London, England.
Charles Baily, was an English architect and archaeologist. He worked initially in Nottinghamshire, then moved to London.
The Parish Church of St Peter, Great Berkhamsted, is a Church of England, Grade II* listed church in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It stands on the main High Street of the town and is recognisable by its 85-foot (26 m) clock tower.
Egerton House was a small Elizabethan mansion which stood on the High Street in the town of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire in England. Built during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it was demolished in 1937 and the site is now occupied by the Art Deco Rex Cinema. As well as its architectural merit, Egerton House was noted for its occupancy by the Llewelyn Davies family and its literary association with J. M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan.
Sir Jeffry Wyatville was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville. He is mainly remembered for making alterations and extensions to Chatsworth House and Windsor Castle.
Dean Incent's House is a 15th-century timber-framed house in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England. It is reputed to be the birthplace of John Incent, a Dean in the Church of England who held office at St Paul's Cathedral from 1540 to 1545.
The Embassy Theatre is a historic structure on Broadway in the city of Peterborough in the United Kingdom, which operated as a cinema from 1953 to 1989.
The Odyssey Cinema is a film theatre in the city of St Albans, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom. It is a locally listed Art Deco building, located on London Road, around 0.7 kilometres (0.43 mi) east of St Albans Cathedral. Originally built in 1931 as the Capitol Cinema, the current building stands on the site of an earlier film theatre, the Alpha Picture Palace. This former cinema was of particular historical significance as it was opened in 1904 by the film-making pioneer Arthur Melbourne-Cooper and is considered to have been the first cinema in Hertfordshire.