WHIDDINGTON, Henry Morgan (1877-1949) and his younger brother William A. Whiddington (1881-1954) were active in Lethbridge, Alta. where they dominated the local architectural scene for more than twenty years. Born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, Engl. on 7 May 1877, Henry M. trained under his father William Whiddington (1849-1934), an architect in London, and with W.H. Duffield while attending classes at the Architectural Association in that city. Both he and his brother emigrated to Canada in 1906 and settled in Alberta where they are recorded among the first members of the newly formed Alberta Association of Architects. They created a partnership and opened an office in the Strathcona neighbourhood of Edmonton in 1907 but by 1910 both had relocated to Lethbridge where they established that town's first professional architectural office. From that location, they also operated a branch office at Hosmer, British Columbia, where they met with clients "...in Hosmer every Tuesday" (Hosmer Times, 17 Feb. 1910, 4, advert.).
Their designs for institutional buildings borrowed from Edwardian and Beaux-Arts precedents and employed a formal symmetry evident in their plans for Fleetwood School (c. 1912) and for the Galbraith School (c. 1912). For unknown reasons William A. left Alberta in 1926 and Henry continued to practise under his own name. In late 1928 Henry moved to Cranbrook, B.C. and opened an office there, but within two years the practice was closed (Const., xxiii, Nov. 1930, 382). Henry later moved to Victoria, B.C. in 1940 and died there on 19 September 1949 (death notice Victoria Daily Times, 21 Sept. 1949, 22; inf. Architectural Inst. of British Columbia)
H.M. & W.A. WHIDDINGTON (works in Alberta and Saskatchewan)
STRATHCONA, ALTA., Methodist Church, First Avenue North near Main Street, 1907 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 23 March 1907, 10; and 13 April 1907, 4, descrip.; Saturday News [Edmonton], 27 July 1907, 2)
STRATHCONA, ALTA., commercial block for John P. Tipton & Co., Whyte Avenue, 1907 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 17 April 1907, 2)
STRATHCONA, ALTA., Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 84th Avenue at 101 Street, begun 1907, completed 1913 (Edmonton Daily Bulletin, 21 May 1907, 10, t.c.; 11 Sept. 1912, 9; Holy Trinity Church 75th Anniversary, 1968, 9, illus. & descrip.; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Univ. of Calgary)
STRATHCONA, ALTA., major addition to the Strathcona Hotel, Whyte Avenue East, 1907 (C.R., xviii, 24 July 1907, 8)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Fleetwood Public School, 9th Avenue at 12th Street South, 1910-11 (C.R., xxiv, 10 Aug. 1910, 25, t.c.; Lethbridge Herald, Fourth Annual Publicity Number, 1912, viii-1; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Farmer's Lumber Co., office building and lumber sheds, 3rd Avenue South at 17th Street, 1911 (Winnipeg Tribune, 19 Jan. 1911, 3)
HARDIEVILLE, ALTA., Public School, 1911 (C.R., xxv, 21 June 1911, 58, t.c.)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Manual Training School, 5th Avenue at 9th Street South, 1912 (C.R., xxvi, 7 Feb. 1912, 62; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Galbraith School, 17th Street at 9th Avenue North, 1912 (C.R., xxvi, 7 Feb. 1912, 62; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
SWIFT CURRENT, SASK., Metropolitan Methodist Church, 1912 (Calgary Herald, 19 April 1912, 28; Edmonton News-Plaindealer, 18 October 1912, 8)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Wesley Methodist Church, 4th Avenue South near 10th Street, 1913-14 (C.R., xxvii, 29 Jan. 1913, 70; Lethbridge Daily Herald, 16 June 1913, 1, illus.; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
MacLEOD, ALTA., public school, 1913 (MacLeod Advertiser, 8 May 1913, 1; C.R., xxvii, 17 Sept. 1913, 70)
SUNDIAL, ALTA., public school for Sundial Consolidated School District No. 22, 1918 (Medicine Hat News, 27 Feb. 1918, 4, t.c.)
FOREMOST, ALTA., public school, 1918 (Lethbridge Herald, 5 June 1918, 2, t.c.)
BARONS, ALTA., Public School, 1920 (Calgary Herald, 20 March 1920, 7, t.c.; C.R., xxxiv, 31 March 1920, 60, t.c.; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Standard Bank, 4th Avenue South, 1920 (C.R., xxxiv, 12 May 1920, 55)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., First Church of Christ Scientist, 4th Avenue South, c. 1920 (dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
WHIDDINGTON & FRY (works in Alberta)
(with Edward L. Tilton) LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Carnegie Library, 3rd Avenue South at 6th Street South, 1921-22; now occupied by the Southern Alberta Art Gallery (historical article in the Lethbridge Herald, 25 Oct. 1935, 8)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., major addition to Bank of Montreal, 6th Street South, 1923 (Lethbridge Herald, 27 Feb. 1923, 2)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Children's Shelter, 7th Avenue South at 20th Street, 1923 (Lethbridge Herald, 2 June 1923, 7, illus. & descrip.)
H.M. WHIDDINGTON (works in Alberta and British Columbia)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Crystal Dairy Co., 8th Street South, 1922 (C.R., xxxvi, 22 Feb. 1922, 52)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., auto garage for M. Miebach, 6th Street South, c. 1925 (dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Brodie Block, 3rd Avenue South, a block of 3 stores for John Brodie, 1925 (Lethbridge Herald, 19 March 1925, 7)
COALDALE, ALTA., Public School, c. 1925 (dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
McLEAN, ALTA., McLean School District, a small public school near McLean Lake, 1925 (Lethbridge Herald, 3 March 1925, 3, t.c.)
PRINCETON, B.C., Capitol Theatre, for Towriss & Bailey, c. 1925 (dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., Exhibits Building at Henderson Park, on the Lethbridge Exhibition Grounds, 1926 (dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., major addition to Westminster Public School, 13th Street North, 1927 (Calgary Herald, 8 June 1927, 9, t.c.; Western Canada Contractor & Builder [Winnipeg], July 1927, 43)
LETHBRIDGE, ALTA., St. Patrick's Roman Catholic School, 4th Avenue South, 1927; demol. 1976 (dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
CRANBROOK, B.C., a public school, 1927 (Calgary Herald, 11 March 1927, 5)
CHAMPION, ALTA., a large brick Public School, 1928 (Calgary Herald, 13 June 1928, 5, t.c.; dwgs. at the Canadian Architectural Archives, Calgary)
CRANBROOK, B.C., United Church, Baker Street at 12th Avenue South, 1929; still standing in 2022 (Calgary Herald, 13 May 1929, 10, descrip.)
McLEAN, ALTA., public school, 1945 (Lethbridge Herald, 17 March 1945, 4)
COMPETITIONS
SWIFT CURRENT, SASK., Collegiate Institute, 1913-14. Designs for the major institutional building were submitted by 59 firms from across Canada. The firm of H.A. and W.A. Whiddington recieved Second Prize (Morning Leader [Regina], 13 Feb. 1914, 14). The winning design was prepared by Clemesha & Portnall of Regina.