The Architect  -  John Knight

The architect responsible for the glorious design of the Ambassador, John Knight, was born literally a stone's throw away from the building he would later create, at Fern Lea, 43 Seedley Road on 3rd  March 1884. He was the second son of Elizabeth and John James Knight, a builder, and contractor from Pendleton, Salford. John was baptised on 9th April 1884 at  St Thomas' Church in Pendleton.

  At the age of 13 on 15 Sept 1897, John's father died. This must have been very hard time for the family as his mother gave birth to John's youngest brother Philip in the same year.

 

 In 1901, at just 17, he embarked on his career as a trainee architect and surveyor at Whitelegg & Whittaker Architects & Surveyors, located at Somerset Chambers on Brazennose Street in Manchester. Alongside his work, he honed his skills at the Architectural School of Manchester University, laying the foundation for what would become a notable career in architecture.

John Knight, FRIBA * FIAr**

Architect & Surveyor

By 1907, at the age of 23, he had established his own practice with offices at 40 South King Street, Manchester. Many of his earliest commissions were cinema theaters, and in the early days of cinema construction, he was widely regarded as one of the most eminent designers of such buildings in the North West.

His appreciation of art, coupled with his familiarity with the latest principles and demands of construction, was evident in later projects such as the Kingsway Super Cinema in Levenshulme and the Ambassador Super Cinema in Pendleton, both of which could accommodate approximately 2,000 patrons. Other cinemas in the Manchester area included the Claremont Super Cinema in Moss Side, the Premier Super Cinema in Cheetham Hill, the Victory in Rochdale, the Corona Super Cinema in Stretford, and the West End Super Cinema in Whalley Range.

 John married Jessie Smith at Ormskirk in October 1910 at the age of 26, and by 1916, he had relocated to a larger suite of offices in the Howarth Buildings, 5 Cross Street, Manchester, where he remained until his untimely death in 1937.

After the First World War, he moved to Park Hill, Broadoak Park in Worsley before relocating to Calderbrook, Stamford Road, Ellesmere Park, in the mid-1930s. He was also a prominent mason.

In October 1921, John and Jessie Knight faced the heartbreaking loss of their only son, John Graham Knight, who passed away at just seven years old in Barton upon Irwell, Lancashire, England.

In 1930, it was reported that “John Knight is everywhere recognised as in the front rank of architects who have made a specialty of theatre and cinema design.” However, in the delisting of the Ambassador Cinema in 2001, English Heritage dismissed him, somewhat unfairly, as an architect "not of major repute, either in a provincial or national context."

He also undertook a significant amount of work on large industrial buildings and office buildings, being responsible for tobacco factories for Muratti and Company Ltd and R J Lea, bakeries for W J Brookes & Sons Ltd and Messrs John Scott of Bootle, schools in Eccles, Eccles Masonic Hall, the King Edward the Seventh Memorial wing at Eccles and Patricroft Hospital, along with many large private residences and corporation properties.

He was also a prominent Mason, involved in the Eccles Masonic Lodge. During the last few years of his life, he suffered from the effects of a motoring accident, which resulted in the partial loss of use of his left hand.

John Knight passed away at Calderbrook on 11 December 1937, at the age of 53, leaving behind his widow, Jessie (50), and two children Joan (25) and Helen (21). His funeral took place at Manchester Crematorium on Tuesday, 14 December 1937.

1916 - 1937,  John Knight's  Architect Practice based in the 

Howarth Buildings. 5, Cross Street, Manchester

Notes:

* FRIBA  - stands for Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. It is a professional title awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to its members who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture.

 

** FIAr -  stands for Fellow of the Institute of Art and Design. It is a professional title awarded by the Institute of Art and Design (IAD) to its members who have made significant contributions to the field of art and design.