Aston Webb was born in Clapham in 1849. His father, Edward, was a reasonably well-known artist (a pupil of David Cox).
After training (and a year travelling abroad), and setting up his own architecture practice, he began working with Ingress Bell. Their first commission was the design of the Law Courts in Birmingham, and this was followed by a string of commissions for landmark buildings in London and elsewhere in the UK. These include:
- Queen Victoria Memorial
- The Mall approach to Buckingham Palace
- The facade of Buckingham Palace
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Admiralty Arch
- Royal Naval College, Devon
- Royal College of Science
- Kings College, Cambridge
Webb’s first work was at St Bartholomew-the-Great in Smithfield where his brother, Edward, was churchwarden. Edward Arthur Webb was main editor of the History of Chislehurst, and lived in Chislehurst. Aston Webb designed Cookham Dene in Manor Park for him in 1882. Darrell Spurgeon describes it as ‘a large and irregular pile‘.
Aston Webb’s son, Maurice, joined him in his architectural practice. Maurice is credited with the design of Easden’s in Bull Lane, Chislehurst, and with the swimming pool for Woodheath in Kemnal Road, but it is felt that the hand of his father is evident, certainly in the design of Easdens.
Webb was knighted in 1904. He died in London in 1930.
A drawing for Easdens in Bull Lane, 1908