John B. Sutcliffe

John B. Sutcliffe (March 28, 1853 – October 23, 1913) was an English-born American architect.

Biography United Kingdom John Sutcliffe was born in Bacup, in the county of Lancashire, England, on March 28, 1853, the son of John and Martha (Townend) Sutcliffe. of Darlington and from 1877 to 1878, he worked for Osborne & Reading, Birmingham. From 1878 to 1882, he was engaged as an architect at Bacup, From 1882 to 1886, he was chief draughtsman in the British government's dockyard at Portsmouth. where the following year he founded the Alabama Association of Architects. John Sutcliffe is mentioned in a civil lawsuit with which he was connected while working in Alabama, which was heard by the Supreme Court of Alabama in 1895, regarding an unpaid bill for architectural work of $29.05.

Among the buildings he designed in Alabama is St. Mary's-on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church (1891–92).

Illinois

In 1892 he moved to Chicago. He built on his success at St. Mary's in Birmingham, by beginning to specialize in Gothic design and church architecture and found his true vocation. Examples of his churches include:

The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, IL, St. Luke's Church, Evanston, and Grace Church, Oak Park. St. Elizabeth's Church, Glencoe Christ Church, Chicago,

Sutcliffe was the official architect for the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield. Sutcliffe was a member of the Chicago Architects’ Business Association.

Arkansas In 1897, Sutcliffe designed St John's Episcopal Church, Helena, AR, which was completed in 1899 but burned down in 1914. Sutcliffe was the Diocesan Architect for the Diocese of Arkansas.

Other churches Other churches designed by Sutcliffe in the United States are: St. John's Church, Sturgis, Michigan Christ Church, Pensacola, Florida Church of Our Savior, Little Falls, Minnesota St. Andrew's Church, Ashland, Wisconsin St. Thomas Church, Plymouth, Indiana St. James Church, Dundee, Illinois Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Rushford, Minnesota St. John's Episcopal Church, New London, Wisconsin St. Paul's Church, Savannah, Georgia St. Luke's Protestant Episcopal Church, Kearney, Nebraska Trinity Episcopal Church, Houghton, Michigan

Other buildings In 1910, Sutcliffe designed the Frances Donaldson Library at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin.

Personal life and death On 13 May 1879, Sutcliffe married Lydia Sophia Knight of Saint Helier, Jersey. on October 23, 1913. He was survived by his wife and five children, Arthur George, Helen Mary, Clara Mabel, Edwin Alan and Isabel Ray. His second son, Edwin, also became an architect. Funeral services were held at Grace Church. There was a requiem celebration of the Holy Communion. He was interred at Oak Ridge Cemetery.

Publications John Sutcliffe (March 1908) "Washington Cathedral", Christian Art, Vol. 2, No. 6, Richard G. Badger Publisher, Boston

Gallery