CLARK, Hutchinson (1806-1877) was an architect, builder and civic politician active in Hamilton, Ont. Born at Barnard Castle, Durham, England on 29 August 1806, he emigrated to Upper Canada at age 27 and arrived in the town of York on 29 June 1833. He moved to Hamilton in 1834 and practised his trade as a builder there until after 1851. He designed the Mechanic's Institute, Hamilton in 1852, and that same year prepared an entry in the competition for the Perth County Court House, Stratford, Ont., but his scheme was thought to be '.....more ornamental than useful' and was set aside in favour of the design by Peter Ferguson (H. Johnston, History of Perth County to 1967, 61-62). Later that same year he submitted plans in the Brock Monument competition (OA, MU 279, Design 6), but once again his plans were passed over, and the proposal by William Thomas was awarded First Prize. By 1853 he was advertising himself as an architect, and in May of that year he formed a partnership with his young apprentice David Murray, with whom he worked until retiring from the practice on 15 August 1854. Together they executed a variety of commercial, residential and institutional commissions in Hamilton and in southwestern Ontario, the most notable of which is the eclectic design for the Oxford County Gaol, Woodstock, Ont. (1853-55), combining Norman and Romanesque battlements with an octagonal tower.
Few references to his designs can be found after 1856, although he is listed as an architect in city directories in Hamilton until 1875. He possessed a '......sternness and severity of manner' which may have been an attribute in public office; he served as Chairman of the Hamilton Board of Works in 1862 (Spectator [Hamilton], 18 March 1862, 2), and was elected mayor of that city in 1868. He died on 17 February 1877 in Hamilton and left an estate valued at $4,000 (obituary in Christian Guardian [Toronto] 21 March 1877, 95; portrait and biography in Historical Atlas of Wentworth County, 1875, xviii, 17; OA, Wills, Wentworth Co., 1232; biography in Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, 1981, 51).
Hutchinson CLARK
HAMILTON, ONT., design for the enlargement of Christ Church [Anglican], Hamilton, 1852. Clark was one of several architects who were consulted on this project, and on 20 April 1852 he submitted an invoice for L 3.0.0. Sterling for his services (McMaster University, Mills Library, Diocese of Niagara, Records of Christ Church Hamilton, Building Committee Corresp. 1852-57, Box 9, letter from Hutchinson Clark 10 April 1852). The commission for expanding the church was later given to William Thomas of Toronto. .
HAMILTON, ONT., Mechanics Institute, James Street North, 1852-53 (Spectator [Hamilton], 9 April 1853, 3, descrip.)
CLARK & MURRAY (with David Murray)
HAMILTON, ONT., a three storey office block adjoining the Spectator Building, King Square, 1853 (Spectator [Hamilton], 14 June 1853, 3, t.c.)
HAMILTON, ONT., additions and improvements to the Courthouse for a new Gaol, John Street at Maiden Lane, 1853-54 (Spectator [Hamilton] 3 Sept. 1853, 3, t.c.)
MILTON, ONT., Halton County Court House & Gaol, Brown Street, ".....in the Anglo-Norman style", 1854-55, completed by Murray & Smith (Globe [Toronto] 13 Feb. 1854, 3, t.c.; Spectator [Hamilton], 18 March 1854, 2, descrip.; M. MacRae & A. Adamson, Cornerstones of Order, 116-19, illus.)
HAMILTON, ONT., two storey addition to the Post Office, Rebecca Street, 1854 (Spectator [Hamilton], 27 Feb. 1854, 3, t.c.)
HAMILTON, ONT., a "gentleman's residence" for an unnamed client, MacNab Street at Maiden Lane, 1854 (Spectator [Hamilton], 28 March 1854, 3, t.c.)
HAMILTON, ONT., a stone residence for an unnamed client, Hughson Street South at Augusta Street, 1854 (Spectator [Hamilton], 13 May 1854, 3, t.c.)
WOODSTOCK, ONT., Oxford County Gaol, Buller Street, 1854-55 (Minutes of the Oxford County Council, 15 Dec. 1853, 275; Spectator [Hamilton], 25 Aug. 1854, 1, t.c.; Ingersoll Chronicle, 8 Feb. 1856, 2; M. MacRae & A. Adamson, Cornerstones of Order, 1983, 114-16, illus.)
Hutchinson CLARK
GUELPH, ONT., Norfolk Street Methodist Church, 1855-56 (M. MacRae, & A. Adamson, Hallowed Walls, 1975, 220, illus.)