SMITH, George Horatio (fl. 1848-52), a talented and ambitious British architect who trained under John Nash, a leading figure in 19th C. architecture and town planning in England. Smith was principal assistant to Nash on the design and construction of Buckingham Palace (1825-30; completed 1832-37), and later served as Clerk of Works on the Horse Guards Building, Whitehall, London, when substantial improvements were being made to this landmark. Smith arrived in Canada before 1847 and was recorded in partnership in Montreal, Que. with Charles M. Tate (see works under Tate & Smith). By 1849 he was operating his own office in that city, and was active there until late 1852. He sought work as far west as Toronto, and in 1849 he entered the competition for St. James Anglican Church, King Street, for which he prepared a refined Gothic design commended by the jury (The Church [Cobourg], xiii, 13 Sept. 1849, 26). A watercolour profile and silhouette of Smith's design, likely prepared by another competitor for comparison purposes, has survived and is held within the Horwood Collection, Ontario Archives, Toronto. His proposal was initally favoured by the jury, but it proved to be more costly that the design submitted by Frederic Cumberland, and after lengthy debate, it was set aside. A full record of the deliberations over Smith's design can be found in the Committee Report of the Vestry of St. James Church dated 4 December 1849 (Toronto Anglican Diocese Archives, Parish of St. James, Vestry Correspondence for 1849-1854, mfm. Reel 9). A strong defense of the design by Smith was outlined in Letters to the Editor, each signed " F.R.S." and published in The Globe [Toronto], 18 Oct. 1849, 2; and 4 Dec. 1849, 2, and 8 Dec. 1849, 2.
In early 1852 Smith was teaching Mechanical & Architectural Drawing at the Mechanics Institute in Montreal (Montreal Transcript, 10 Jan. 1852, 2, advert.). Later that year John G. Howard had noted in his diaries that he had again met with "Mr. Smith, architect from Montreal" who apparently had relocated to Toronto on a more or less permanent basis by late 1852. By December 1854 he had moved to Bytown (later Ottawa) where "...Mr. Smith's many friends in Bytown will gladly hail his coming" and he was the subject of biography describing his early career in England (Orange Lily [Bytown], vi, 5 December 1854, 678-79). No information can be found on his activity after leaving Bytown, but he may be the same "George H. Smith, architect" active in London, Ontario in 1856-60 as a partner there in the firm of Smith & Beattie, Architects (see separate entry for George H. Smith of London, Ont.).
G.H. SMITH
MONTREAL SWIMMING CLUB, a floating bath structure on the St. Lawrence River, 1849 (Morning Chronicle [Quebec City], 6 April 1849, 2; Gazette [Montreal], 9 April 1849, 3, t.c.)
MONTREAL, QUE., St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Beaver Hall Hill, 1849-51 (British Colonist [Toronto], 9 Oct. 1849, 3; Montreal Transcript, 16 Jan. 1851, 2, descrip.; L. d'Iberville-Moreau, Lost Montreal, 1975, 40-1, illus.)
COMPETITIONS
TORONTO, ONT., St. James Anglican Church, King Street East at Church Street, 1849. Eleven architects from the United States and Canada competed for this important ecclesiastical commission. The design by Smith was in the Gothic style 'of the Second Period, but not in accordance with the conditions'. Nevertheless, it was 'much admired for boldness of outline, and for the proportion of the Spire' (Globe [Toronto], 13 Oct. 1849, 2, descrip.). The commission was eventually awarded to Frederic Cumberland of Toronto.
TORONTO, ONT., Normal School, Gould Street, 1850. Undeterred by his loss in the competition for St. James Church, Smith was among several Canadian architects to submit plans for the Normal School in Toronto in early September 1850 (OA, RG2, Series B, Vol. 1, Letter Book A, correspondence from Egerton Ryerson to G.H. Smith, Montreal, dated 11 Sept. 1850). The proposal from Smith was not among the five finalists; he must have been particularly discouraged at seeing Frederic Cumberland again selected as the winner (Globe [Toronto], 28 Sept. 1850, 467).