>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 3 templates: del empty params (3×); hyphenate params (1×);

2021-01-08T02:05:00Z

Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 3 templates: del empty params (3×); hyphenate params (1×);

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{{Infobox architect
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Vincent Jerome Esch
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=UK|CVO}}
| image =
| caption =
| nationality = British
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1876|07|10|df=y}}
| birth_place = Blackheath, London
| death_date = {{death date and age|1950|12|09|1876|07|10|df=y}}
| death_place = Surrey
| practice =
| significant_buildings = {{ublist|[[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata]]|[[Osmania General Hospital]]|[[Kacheguda railway station]]|[[City College Hyderabad]]|[[Hyderabad High Court]]}}
| awards = [[Commander of the Royal Victorian Order|CVO]]
| website =
| significant_projects =
}}
'''Vincent Jerome Esch''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|CVO|FRIBA}} (20 July 1876 – 9 December 1950) was a British architect who worked in India. He is regarded as a pioneer of the [[Indo-Saracenic architecture|Indo-Sarcenic]] architectural style, which developed during the British rule in the Indian subcontinent.

Born in London, he moved to India in 1898, and was appointed assistant engineer on the [[Bengal Nagpur Railway]] before setting himself up as a architect in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]]. He was later appointed as the assistant to [[William Emerson (British architect)|William Emerson]], who had been chosen to design the monumental [[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata|Victoria Memorial Hall]] in Calcutta. Esch was given the role of Superintending Architect and made major contributions to the design of the building.

In 1914, he has invited to [[Hyderabad]] by the [[Nizam of Hyderabad|Nizam]], to design some major public buildings. He designed the [[Kacheguda railway station]], the [[High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad|High Court]], the [[City College Hyderabad|City College]], and the [[Osmania General Hospital]] in Hyderabad.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tillotson|first=G. H. R.|author-link=Giles Tillotson|date=January 1993|title=Vincent J. Esch and the Architecture of Hyderabad, 1914–36|journal=South Asian Studies|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|pages=29–46|doi=10.1080/02666030.1993.9628458|issn=0266-6030}}</ref> He was in Hyderabad until 1921, when he returned to Calcutta. He later returned to England, and died in 1950.

== Early life and background ==
He was born the son of C.A. Bernard Esch, a merchant banker of Blackheath, London and educated at [[Mount St Mary's College]]. He then trained as an architect in London.

== Career ==

=== Early career ===
[[File:Osmania Hospital.jpg|alt=|thumb|Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad]]
[[File:Kachiguda_Railway_Station_Hyderabad.jpg|alt=|thumb|[[Kacheguda railway station|Kacheguda Railway Station]]]]
He moved out to India in 1898 and was appointed assistant engineer on the [[Bengal Nagpur Railway]] before setting himself up as a architect in Calcutta (now Kolkata). After designing the temporary exhibition building for the [[Delhi Durbar]] of 1903, he was employed as an assistant by Sir [[William Emerson (British architect)|William Emerson]], who had been chosen to design the monumental [[Victoria Memorial, Kolkata|Victoria Memorial Hall]] in Calcutta. Esch was given the role of Superintending Architect and made major contributions to the design of the building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23649/lot/83/|title=Vincent Jerome Esch C.V.O., F.R.I.B.A (1876-1950)|publisher= Bonhams|access-date= 17 July 2017}}</ref>

He had also won a competition to design the Bengal Club building at Chowringhee and the Bengal-Nagpur Railway head office building at Garden Reach.

=== Career in Hyderabad ===
In 1914 Esch was retained by [[Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII|Osman Ali Khan]], the [[Nizam of Hyderabad]] to help redevelop the city after serious flood damage. He designed numerous public buildings including the [[Kachiguda railway station]] (1914), the [[High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad|High Court]] (1916), the [[City College Hyderabad|City College]] (1917–20), and the large [[Osmania General Hospital]] (1918–21).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Khalidi|first=Omar|url=https://libraries.mit.edu/img/libs/rotch/HyderabadGuide_2009.pdf|title=A Guide to Architecture in Hyderabad, Deccan, India|year=2009|pages=221, 244, 245, 273|author-link=Omar Khalidi|access-date=2020-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925143941/https://libraries.mit.edu/img/libs/rotch/HyderabadGuide_2009.pdf|archive-date=2019-09-25|url-status=live}}</ref> The latter is now threatened with demolition.

=== Later career ===
Esch enjoyed 25 years of success as an architect in Calcutta, where he became a proponent of the Indo-Saracenic style, a fusion of classical and Islamic styles. In 1922 he was made [[Commander of the Royal Victorian Order|CVO]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=32716 |supp=y |pages=4317–4325|date=2 June 1922}}</ref>

== Return to England and death ==
He later returned to England and died in Surrey in late 1950.

== Personal life ==
He had married Olive Edward in 1923 and had at least one son and one daughter.{{Citation needed|date=March 2020}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esch, Vincent}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1950 deaths]]
[[Category:Architects from London|Esch]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:British expatriates in India]]

Vincent Esch - Revision history

>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 3 templates: del empty params (3×); hyphenate params (1×);