Wyndham Westerdale, architect, 1955-2022
Our Chairman, Val Bott, writes:
Wyndham Westerdale fell in love with Hogarth’s House and spent a generous amount of time, some of it unpaid, on its conservation and refurbishment. He was introduced to the William Hogarth Trust by his colleagues, Charles Lawrence and David Wrightson, who founded what became AcanthusLW, the architects’ firm based in Chiswick’s Voysey House.
Wyndham and I, with advice from the late Treve Rosoman, worked closely on better understanding the Grade I Listed building in order to develop clear ideas for its refurbishment and its re-presentation to visitors. This was a really enjoyable process. While Wyndham drew up specifications for the work required I devised the storylines about its past use as a home and the range of people who had lived there, responding to discussions with visitors. This underpinned Hounslow Council’s grant bids, including to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Once the external funding had been promised Wyndham was appointed to run the contract. He ran the process smoothly and the House was ready for the installation of the displays and furnishings when a freak fire broke out in the middle of the night on 14 August 2009. We were able to rely on Wyndham’s calm and immediate response, devising a scheme for the repairs and the new Listed Building Consent application. He oversaw this work with great care and thoughtfulness. When I was awarded an MBE for services to the heritage (that is mainly for Hogarth’s House) Wyndham was one of my three guests at Buckingham Palace, along with my husband and our friend Sheila O’Connell, the then British Museum Hogarth expert, and we had a fabulous celebration lunch at The Wolseley afterwards.
Wyndham asked me to advise on another of his projects, at Hertford Brewery. Adjoining the industrial premises Sainsbury’s were building a substantial new supermarket; a planning condition was the creation of an interpretation scheme for the site and no-one seemed to be sure how to achieve this. Together we created what I believe is the first museum in a supermarket, with displays designed by David McCabe and Toni Marshall, and a fine collection of objects and advertising material from the Brewery’s collection. Another really enjoyable shared project.
When the Trust embarked on a new Hogarth’s House partnership with Hounslow Council, Wyndham and his colleagues were again involved. Steve Pike designed a remarkably handsome learning and events building, the Weston Studio, and Wyndham remained involved throughout the project. We met up on site in the late summer of 2021, sharing a goodbye hug, shortly before he embarked on his ambitious farewell trip to Scotland.
Wyndham’s colleague, Michael Watkins, prepared this personal tribute to share with colleagues
In May 2023 Wyndham’s ashes were interred at Grenoside Crematorium near Sheffield