William Slater (architect)


William Slater was an English architect who was born in Northamptonshire and practised in London. He oversaw restoration of many churches, latterly in partnership with R. H. Carpenter.

Career

He joined Richard Cromwell Carpenter as his first pupil. For some years lived with the Carpenter family, and he became Carpenter's assistant. Slater left to establish an independent practice with another of Carpenter's pupils, William Smith. Carpenter died in 1855 at the age of 42, and Slater was persuaded to take over his practice. In 1857 Carpenter's son Richard Herbert Carpenter joined him as a pupil, and became a partner in 1863.

Work

Slater and Smith designed a parsonage and restored three churches.
He is reported by Antram & Pevsner to have restored the chancel of St Mary, Ticehurst circa 1850 and the remainder of the church in 1855-57. He was responsible for substantially rebuilding St Bartholomew, Burwash in 1855/56.
the firm of Carpenter & Slater was responsible for the Bishop's Throne in Chichester Cathedral and after Carpenter's death Slater completed the restoration of the Cathedral

When R. C. Carpenter died he left uncompleted the rebuilding of the parish church of SS Simon and Jude, Earl Shilton, Leicestershire. Slater took over the work and completed it in 1856.
Slater was responsible for the restoration of the parish church at Etchingham, The Assumption of the Blessed Mary and St Nicholas, and was asked by the new Rector, the Reverend Robert Barton, to design the new school, which was built in 1864. He contributed an article about the church to the Sussex Archaeological Society collection.
In 1863 Slater and an architect called Gillet directed the restoration of the parish church of SS Peter and Paul, Scaldwell, Northamptonshire.
In 1867 he designed and built the Church of St Philip, Burwash Common, which Pevsner describes as "a serious job"

Solo works

With R. H. Carpenter