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William Frame

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William Frame
Pierhead Building, Cardiff Bay, Frame's masterpiece
Born1848
Melksham, Wiltshire
DiedApril 1906 (aged 58-59)
NationalityEnglish
Notable work

William Frame was an English architect.[1]

Life and works

Frame was born at Melksham, Wiltshire in 1848.[2] Training as an architect, he was articled firstly to William Smith of Trowbridge,[1] he then became assistant to John Prichard of Llandaff.[1] In 1868, he entered the office of William Burges and worked with Burges at Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch.[1] Following Burges's death in 1881, Frame remained in the service of John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute and continued Burges's work at both castles, as well as designing the Grade I listed Pierhead Building in the docks built by Bute's father.[3]

Frame also continued to work on Bute's Scottish home, Mount Stuart House, on the Isle of Bute.[4] He undertook the building of the Animal Wall, in the grounds of Cardiff Castle, for which Burges had got no further than drawing the designs.[5] Burges's favourite sculptor, Thomas Nicholls, executed the carvings.[6] During these years he won the Royal Academy's gold medal and the Soane Medallion.[1] Later in his life, Frame also produced a small number of very well regarded grandfather clocks in the village of Larkhall, Scotland that were commissioned by some of the aristocratic class of his time.[7]

Frame died in April 1906, his latter years marred by alcoholism.[1] His drinking had been problematic for some time; in 1890, Bute noted in his diary, "Frame … drunk again … had to dismiss him".[8]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f David Goold. "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (April 1, 2012, 1:09 pm)". Scottisharchitects.org.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ The Pierhead Building, by William Frame, VictoriaWeb.org. Retrieved 26 january 2014.
  3. ^ Cadw. "Pierhead Building (Grade I) (14055)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  4. ^ Hannah 2012, p. 195.
  5. ^ Hannah 2012, p. 196.
  6. ^ Williams 2016, p. 4.
  7. ^ "CPHS Website". www.carlukehistory.co.uk.
  8. ^ Crook 2013, p. 276.

Sources