William Haywood (architect)

William Joseph Haywood (1876–1957) was an English architect and Secretary of The Birmingham Civic Society for over thirty years, being a founder member in 1918.

Born on 2 November 1876 in Ingleby Street, Ladywood, Birmingham, he was the son of Joseph Haywood, a local silversmith, and Emma Haywood (née Ferres). As a student he won the Maintenance Scholarship of Birmingham School of Art in 1894, the Pugin Studentship in 1897 and the RIBA Silver Medal.

From 1900, Haywood was a practising architect and also designed in stained glass, wrought iron and cast lead. In 1914, he went into partnership with Herbert Tudor Buckland, who would later join Haywood on the Executive Council of The Birmingham Civic Society. The partnership of Buckland-Farmer operated from offices in Norwich Union Chambers, Corngreve Street (now demolished).

Haywood produced many schemes for replanning the city, and published his ideas in The Development of Birmingham (1918), which included improvements to New Street Station, a grand "People’s Hall" located close to where the Central Fire Station now stands, pleasure grounds and Zoological Gardens around Edgbaston Reservoir and various grand approaches to the major civic buildings in the city. The Dome Room at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery presents one of the grand ambitions that Haywood had for Birmingham; The Civic Centre which incorporated Baskerville House as but a small fraction of the civic building complex in Broad Street. As a result of his book, Sir Oliver Lodge invited him to take the University Special Lectureship on Town Planning, which he held for 25 years.

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