Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Harvey Lonsdale Elmes

ELMES, Harvey Lonsdale (1814-1847), the architect of St George’s Hall, Liverpool, was the son of James Elmes (see next article), and was born at Chichester in 1814. After serving some time in his father’s office, and under a surveyor at Bedford and an architect at Bath, he became partner with his father in 1835, and in the following year he was the successful competitor among 86 for a design for St George’s Hall, Liverpool. The foun- dation stone of this building was laid on the 28th June 1838, but Elmes being successful in a competition for the Assize Courts in the same city, it was finally decided to include the Hall and Courts in a single building. In ac- cordance with this idea, Elmes prepared a fresh design, and the work of erection commenced in 1841. He superin- tended its progress till 1847, when from failing health he was compelled to delegate his duties to C. B. Cockerell, RA, and leave for Jamaica, where he died of consump- tion on the 26th November 1847.