Thomas Verity

Career

Verity began his career articled in the architecture department of the War Office, assisting in the erection of the South Kensington Museum. He further assisted in the building of the Royal Albert Hall between 1867-1870. Other London theatres for which he was engaged included the Royalty Theatre, the Novelty Theatre, the Folly Theatre, the Scala Theatre, and the Comedy Theatre.

In 1878, he was appointed consulting architect to the Lord Chamberlain"s office.

Both Veritys bought an interest in ornate Second Empire-style architecture to their early buildings, developing this into grand Beaux Arts in their later works. The Pavilion with its famous Long Room at Lord"s Cricket Ground was built in 1889-1890 to his designs.

Recently, this historic landmark - a Grade II*-listed building - underwent an £8 million refurbishment programme in 2004-2005.

Achievements

• In 1870, he won an open competition to build the Criterion Theatre and Criterion Restaurant for caterers Spiers and Pond founding his own architectural practice. Many of the surviving buildings have achieved recognition in the late 20th century, becoming listed for their architectural significance. The company designed many cinemas achieving a Royal Institute of British Architects bronze medal for the Shepherd"s Bush Pavilion cinema in 1930.