WILLS, Herbert Winkler (1864-1937), active in Vancouver, B.C. in 1892 where he was in partnership with Robert M. Fripp (see list of works under Fripp & Wills). Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England in 1864, he was educated there and trained in the office of Henry C. Boyes of London (in 1882-87). He then worked as assistant to George & Peto, and for Harold A. Peto, in London before moving to New York City where he joined McKim, Mead & White, the leading architectural office there, and then went to Boston to assist Henry Vaughan, a prominent architect in that city.
After arriving in Vancouver in early 1892, he was invited by R.M. Fripp to form a partnership (Vancouver Daily World, 23 Jan. 1892, 4). Together, they operated their main office in Vancouver, with a branch office in nearby New Westminster. For unknown reasons, their collaboration ended later that same year, and Wills teamed up with J.G. Tiarks to submit an elaborate Renaissance Revival entry in the competition for the Legislative Building in Victoria, B.C. Their design, one of 60 entries submitted by architects from the United States and Canada, was not among the five finalists, but his scheme was later published in The British Architect [London], xl, 25 Aug. 1893, 130 and illus. plates., and was credited to Wills only.
Wills returned to London in late 1892 and opened his own office in Swansea, and was later in partnership with John Anderson (as Wills & Anderson), and after WWI, with William Kaula, as Wills & Kaula, Architects. He was an inveterate participant in English architectural competitions in the period from 1900 to 1912, and he served as Editor of two important weekly architectural journals in England, the first being The Builder (as editor in 1913-1918), and later The Architect & Contract Reporter (as editor in 1918 to c. 1926). Wills died in London in February 1937 (obit. The Builder [London], clii, 5 Feb. 1937, 305; obit. and tribute, R.I.B.A. Journal, xliv, 20 March 1937, 517-18; biog. F. Chatterton, Who’s Who in Architecture, 1923, 273; A. Stuart Gray, Edwardian Architecture: A Biographical Dictionary, 1985, 386; R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects 1834-1914, 2001, Vol. ii, 1016-17; D. Luxton, Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 160)
HENRY W. WILLS
CARDIFF, WALES., Aberdale Hall, 1902-03 (British Architect [London], lix, Feb. 1903, 114, illus.)
WILLS & ANDERSON
SUNDERLAND, ENGL., Town Hall, 1902; Extension to the Town Hall, 1904 (British Architect [London], lviii, Aug. 1902, 85, 108, illus.; Builder‘s Journal & Architectural Engineer [London], xx, 28 Dec. 1904, Supplement, 8, illus.)
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS, Palace of Peace, competition entry, 1906. Wills & Anderson were one of 216 competitors who submitted designs for this important international competition. Their scheme was not among the finalists, but their design was later published (British Architect [London], lxvi, June 1906, 377-78, 380, illus.)
CHELSEA, LONDON, ENGL, Public Baths, 1907 (Architectural Review [London], xxii, Oct. 1907, 30-36, illus.)
SUNDERLAND, ENGL., Law Courts, Police and Fire Station, 1907 (Architectural Review [London], Oct. 1907, 202-08, illus.)
GREENWICH, LONDON, ENGL., Public Library, London Road, 1906-08 (Builder‘s Journal & Architectural Engineer [London], xxiii, 14 Feb. 1906, 87-88, illus. & descrip.; Architectural Review [London], xxiv, Nov. 1908, 228-49, illus.)
READING, ENGL., Berkshire County Offices, competition entry, 1909. Wills & Anderson received the Third Prize for their design (Builder‘s Journal & Architectural Engineer [London], xxx, 15 Sept. 1909, 206, descrip.; 6 Oct, 1909, 271, illus.). The First Premium was awarded to Septimus Warwick, of Warwick & Hall, Architects.
WILLS & KAULA
LONDON, ENGL., Design for No. 2 Mansfield Street, London, a large 6 storey office block, c. 1920 (drawings exhibited in 1988 by Gallery Lingard, London, with catalogue illus. in Prize Papers: Architectural Drawings, 1988, pp. 6 and 27, illus.)