As part of an endeavour to find out who did the beautiful plasterwork in our house, I think I may have discovered who the architect was. Joseph Frederick Walsh was born in Hipperholme, just up the road from us. He designed lots Arts and Crafts style houses, public buildings, business premises and churches in the Halifax, Hipperholme and Brighouse area, many of which have external features in common with our house.
The values of the Arts and Crafts movement included veneration for regional design traditions, utilising the methods and aesthetics of the artists and craftsmen of previous eras. This was called ‘vernacular revival’. The vernacular features that Joseph Walsh often incorporated into his designs include gable finials, kneelers, mullions, drip mouldings, and coping stones. These all feature on my house:
