Elizabeth Whitworth Scott
(b Bournemouth, Hants, 1898; d Bournemouth, 19 June 1972). Great-niece of (1) George Gilbert Scott. She trained at the Architectural Association in London (1919-24) and then acted as assistant to Louis de Soissons and then Oliver Hill. She was working for Maurice Chesterton (1883-1962) in 1928, when her design for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford, was chosen from 72 entries in a two-stage international competition. This made her the most celebrated woman architect in Britain in the 20th century. Her remarkable design, which gently adapted north European modern architecture to English conditions, was chosen entirely on its own merits. She had been helped with the drawings by Alison Sleigh and J. C. Shepherd (1896-1978), who later married, and subsequently she entered into partnership with Chesterton and Shepherd to build the theatre. Chesterton, however, disclaimed 'any personal share whatever in the successful design'. The Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, completed in 1932, was notable for its fine brickwork and unusual modernity for a public building in England. Scott's other principal commission was for new buildings for Newham College, Cambridge. It is often stated that she retired after her marriage to George Richards in 1936, but in fact her architectural career continued after World War II with work for Bournemouth Borough Architects' Department.
Part of the Scott family
See the Abbreviations for further details.
