Edward Hubbard

Who was Edward Hubbard?

Edward Horton Hubbard was an English architectural historian who worked with Nikolaus Pevsner in compiling volumes of the Buildings of England. He also wrote the definitive biography of John Douglas, and played a part in the preservation of Albert Dock in Liverpool.

Edward Hubbard was born in Birkenhead in 1937 and studied architecture at Liverpool University where he discovered that his vocation was for the history of architecture rather than for its practice. When The Victorian Society was founded in 1958, Hubbard became an early member and in 1965 he established its first regional group in Liverpool, acting as its honorary secretary for 13 years. When the group was launched the first speaker was Nikolaus Pevsner, and Hubbard was to work with him for the next 20 years in helping to compile the series of the Buildings of England, and later the Buildings of Wales. He did the preparatory work for the South Lancashire volume, was joint author of the Cheshire volume, and helped to prepare the Staffordshire volume. He wrote the Clwyd volume for the Buildings of Wales which was published in 1986. When they were preparing the Cheshire volume, Hubbard drove Pevsner around the county. In the introduction to the book, Pevsner says of Hubbard, "...his even temper and his psychological treatment of my moments of despondency were invaluable".