Bevan, William

BEVAN, William (1865-1945) arrived in Toronto, Ont. in 1909. He had trained in London, Engl. before moving to South Africa to work in the office of the Chief Government Architect in the Transvaal, and later as an architect to the Government of Jamaica (Catholic Register [Toronto], 11 March 1909, 2). In 1911 he joined with Herbert E. Moore, who had just opened his own office in Toronto, and together the firm of Bevan & Moore submitted a sophisticated Romanesque Revival scheme in the competition for Knox College, Toronto (Const., iv, Feb. 1911, 68-71, illus. & descrip.). Their entry was not premiated and the firm of Chapman & McGiffen was awarded the commission. Just two months later Bevan & Moore entered another competition, this time for the Ontario Lieutenant Governor's Residence in Rosedale, Toronto. Their striking Tudor Revival proposal, rendered in a captivating bird's eye perspective, was among eleven schemes submitted (Const., iv, May 1911, 60-4, illus. & descrip.). Again they were unsuccessful, and the First Premium was awarded to G.W. King. Bevan left Toronto in 1912 and returned to England (inf. R.I.B.A., Directory of British Architects, 1993, 79)