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] Another restoration was of the Dartmouth Butterwalk which had been severely damaged during German air raids in 1943. [6]
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. [7]
Everyman Esher in Esher, United Kingdom (4 screens) Maxime Cinema in Blackwood, United Kingdom (5 screens) Rex Cinema in Berkhamsted, United Kingdom (1 screen) [11]
Berkhamsted is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, 26 miles (42 km) north-west 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, along with the adjoining village of Northchurch, is encircled by countryside, much of it in the Chiltern Hills which is 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. In 2011 the parish had a population of 14,220 and the district had a population of 61,700.
Esher is a town in the borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole.
Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe, RA, FRIBA was an English architect and designer. He built private homes as well as commercial and institutional buildings, and is remembered chiefly for his work on places of worship and memorials. Perhaps his best known buildings are Guildford Cathedral and the Air Forces Memorial. He was a recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture in 1944 and, in 1954, received a knighthood for services to the Imperial War Graves Commission, with which he was associated from 1943 until his death.
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.
Joseph Clarke (1819–1888) 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 Embassy Cinema is a former cinema in the town of Chadwell Heath, Greater London. It was once known, among locals, as The Gaumont. It was designed in an art deco style, with a streamline moderne interior, by Harry Weston in 1934. The building is situated on the border of Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham, in the Chadwell Heath District Centre. The cinema closed in 1966 and became a Bingo Hall. In 2015, following the closure of the Bingo Hall, it was then used as a wedding hall/banqueting suite. The building was listed as an Asset of Community Value by the 'Chadwell Heath South Residents' Association' in August 2017 and is currently the focus of a major cinema restoration project.
James Bettley is a British architectural historian, whose publications include editions of the Pevsner Architectural Guides to Essex (2007), Suffolk (2015) and Hertfordshire (2019). In 2019-20 he served as High Sheriff of Essex.