Reference
Z558
Title
Manning & Steel, architects and surveyors, George St, Luton
Date free text
c 1914-1953
Production date
From: 1914 To: 1953
Creator
Admin/biog history
Born in 1892, Frederick Joseph Manning was the only son of Mr & Mrs Henry Manning. He originally came from Wiltshire and the designs for display cases for Swindon Museum may be his earliest work. In 1915 he came to Luton to work as an architect and surveyor. He lived at Middle Farm, Streatley and later farmed at New Farm. He enjoyed riding, hunting and shooting. He married Cicely Finnemore in 1939 and they had two sons, Robert and John. In 1919 he joined the Bedfordshire Historic Records Society and acted as their treasurer from 1928 until 1962. A close friend of Dr G H Fowler he became his executor and after the war re-launched the BHRS using the endowment left by Fowler. He served on the County Library sub-committee and the Records Committee of the County Council for 21 years and sat on the agricultural committee from 1938-1945. He died after a brief illness, in July 1962 aged 70. [For obituaries see Luton News, 26 July 1962 and Beds Times 3 Aug 1962]
Walter Reginald Steel seems to have had an architect's practice in Stoke Newington in 1919 but by the following year had entered into partnership with F J Manning. In 1927 he had a house built on the Old Bedford Road (see Z558/6/110) and lived there, with his wife Marjorie, until the 1980s.
The earliest surviving drawings under the name of F J Manning are dated 1918. The company name of Manning and Steel first seems to appear on drawings dated 1920 and the architect's practice of Manning and Steel is listed at 5 George Street West, Luton in the 1920 Kelly's Directory. The company continued in George Street West until at least 1965 when they are listed as being incorporated with Marshman Warren & Partners. The firm was sold to Messrs MWT of Bedford in 1968. No trace of either company appears in the Luton directory for 1972. By 1985 John Manning, F J Manning's son, was operating as the John Manning Partnership, Architects and Planning Consultants, 3 & 5 George Street West. The drawings were given to Mr John Manning of Northill by Mr Steel's widow, and by Mr John Manning to the Record Office on the 13th February 1986.
The architectural drawings date from c1906 to c1958 but the majority are from the 1920s and 30s. They show that the business worked for both residential and commercial clients in Luton and the surrounding area. In 1919 and 1920 they acted for the Luton Urban and Rural District Councils on housing schemes (Z558/10-11). Two of their biggest commercial clients appear to have been Electrolux Ltd (Z558/4/2) and Skefko (Z558/6/58). Both companies continually expanded their premises during the 1920s and 30s. The partnership was also involved in providing designs and undertaking surveys for the large-scale residential development of Luton, for example the Warden Hill Estate (Z558/6/109). Mr Manning's obituary in the Luton News describes the company as having 'played a considerable part in Luton's development and in its rapid expansion since the First World War'.
The contractors used by the company are familiar names in architectural drawings of the period, in particular H Young & Co, engineers, Williams Gamon & Co, Kaleyards, Cheshire for steel windows and the British Reinforced Concrete and Engineering Co.
Scope and Content
Mostly consists of architectural drawings for buildings designed or surveyed by Manning and Steel.
Archival history
The bulk of the material was deposited in 1986. In 2022 Mr John Manning sent a residue of material from W R Steel – ‘the contents of his own plan chest’ – this includes a number of early works by W R Steel from before he came to Luton. Other material that relates to the company of Manning and Steel has either been slotted into the existing scheme or, when this didn’t seem feasible, has been added to the end of the appropriate area of the catalogue.
System of arrangement
No index books or other finding aids or business records were deposited and it was not possible to deduce the system used for the bundle numbering of the drawings, therefore, it was decided to rearrange the material into an artificial order alphabetically by parish and then alphabetically by street. Out county material has been sent to the relevant repositories with a list of items sent being kept here.
Duplicates, some contractors drawings, road surveys used in court cases and unidentified sketches were weeded from the collection to reduce bulk, however the remaining drawings are believed to give a good indication of the material originally deposited.
Level of description
fonds