Theodore Ridley Saunders – Architect and Civil Engineer – Part 2

Theodore Ridley Saunders designed many houses in and around Ventnor – probably the most impressive and recognisable being the terrace known as Alexandra Gardens (where Sir Edward Elgar, one of Britain’s greatest composers, spent his honeymoon in 1889). Many of his commissions were for Public Works, notably the water supplies for the Isle of Wight Rural District Council, involving the villages of Whitwell, Brightstone, Wroxall, Niton, Godshill and St. Lawrence.

Other public works in the Ventnor district included The Battenberg Block at the Royal National Hospital, Capital and Counties Bank (acquired by Lloyds Bank in 1918) and, as mentioned in part 1, St. Margaret’s Church. He has also been identified with the development of St. Lawrence Hall, Craigie Lodge, St. John’s Church, Wroxall, the Artillery Drill Hall, Steeple Castle Stables and the main roads; Ventnor to Whitwell, Whitwell to Niton and Leeson Road, Bonchurch.

Read PDF version here: Theodore Ridley Saunders – Architect and Civil Engineer – Part 2