Our Founders

Bodley began his architectural career in the office of the eminent Victorian architect, Sir George Gilbert Scott (his sister had married Samuel Scott, brother of Sir George). However, his creative instincts soon diverged. Rather than looking solely to the Gothic past, he sought to reinterpret it for a modern age, while taking inspiration from early English Gothic style. In 1869 he formed a partnership with Thomas Garner, and together they designed and restored churches, houses, and major collegiate buildings at Oxford and Cambridge.

Bodley’s pursuit of useful and harmonious beauty led him to co-found Watts & Co. with Garner and George Gilbert Scott Jr. Among his most celebrated achievements is Washington National Cathedral.

A quieter and lesser known founding partner, Garner trained under Sir George Gilbert Scott before forming a partnership with Bodley. He was a leading English Gothic Revival architect and in addition to his practice, founded Watts & Co. with Bodley and Scott Jr. His conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1896 led to the amicable dissolution of his partnership with Bodley (their business being in large part Anglican church design). Garner retained an office in Grays’ Inn, London and continued to work on distinguished house and chapel restorations. It was Garner who designed the cope worn by the dean of Westminster at the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, an early example of the craftsmanship and artistry synonymous with Watts.

Known as ‘Middle Scott’, the son of Sir George Gilbert Scott joined Bodley and Garner in founding Watts & Co. to pursue an integrated vision of beauty and craftmanship. He worked in the late Gothic and Queen Anne Revival styles and was responsible for significant buildings including St John the Baptist Church in Norwich—now a Roman Catholic cathedral—projects for Cambridge colleges, and the impressive Dulwich College in London. Unfortunately, many of the buildings Middle Scott designed were destroyed in the Second World War.

After his father’s death, Scott Jr stepped away from the family’s architectural practice. His life took a change of direction on a more personal front, thanks to an encounter with St John Henry Newman. In 1880 he converted to Roman Catholicism. His later years were overshadowed by mental illness, but his architectural legacy lived on through his sons, Giles Gilbert Scott and Adrian Gilbert Scott. Giles would later describe his father as ‘a genius—far a better architect than my grandfather.'

A prolific architect and son of ‘Middle Scott’, Giles became chairman and director of Watts & Co. At just 22, he won a competition to build an Anglican cathedral in Liverpool, overseen by Bodley before the latter’s death. He advocated a ‘middle line’ between tradition and modernity and took care of even the smallest details. True to the founders’ vision, vestments and furnishings for his projects occupied the Watts workroom from 1908 to 1919, with extensive embroideries designed by Bodley.

Giles was elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1933. His distinguished secular works include Waterloo Bridge, Battersea Power Station, Bankside Power Station (now Tate Modern), and the iconic red telephone box.

In 1948, with Sir Giles immersed in his architectural work, he entrusted the leadership of Watts & Co. to his niece, Elizabeth Hoare. Together with her husband, Graham Hoare, she revitalised the company and championed the preservation of Victorian ecclesiastical embroidery at a time when interest had waned. Her sheer determination and passionate belief led to a remarkable renaissance for Watts & Co., culminating in the commission to create the vestments and furnishings for the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth Hoare collaborated closely with leading architects—among them her uncle Giles, Stephen Dykes Bower, George Pace, and Keith Murray. By now settled in the new premises on Tufton Street in Westminster, they worked extensively with Westminster Abbey to produce copes for state and royal occasions.

In 1986, Watts was granted a Royal Warrant as ecclesiastical furnishers to HM The Queen. Around this time, Elizabeth founded the Elizabeth Hoare Gallery at Liverpool Cathedral, preserving a rich collection of Victorian embroidery and safeguarding the legacy of Watts’ early history.