Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction .

Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], Elisabeth Whitworth Scott Photograph, 1928, Ms2024-053, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Elisabeth Whitworth Scott Photograph was purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in Spring of 2020.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Elisabeth Whitworth Scott Photograph was completed in April 2024.

Biographical Note

Elisabeth Whitworth Scott, architect, was born in 1898 to parents Bernard Scott and Lydia Margaret (née Whitworth) in Bournemouth, England. She attended the Architectural Association School in Bedford Square, London, from which she graduated in 1924. In 1928, her design proposal for a Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was unanimously selected by an international prize commission from among 72 submissions, making her the first woman to win a major architectural competition in Britain. The commission was completed in 1932.

Before World War II, Scott's firm (Scott, Chesterton, and Shepherd; later Scott, Shepherd, and Breakwell) was responsible for the Fawcett Building at Newnham College, Cambridge, in addition to several schools , residences, and a hospital alteration. After the war Scott primarily practiced in Bournemouth, where she re-designed the pavilions on Bournemouth and Boscombe piers. She retired in 1968.

Scott was also a member of the Fawcett Society, previously the London Society for Women's Suffrage, an advocacy organization that campaigns for gender equality.

She died on June 19, 1972.

Sources:

Stamp, Gavin. "Scott, Elisabeth Whitworth (1898–1972), architect." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . October 24, 2019. Oxford University Press. Date of access 30 Apr. 2024, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-53117

Scope and Content

The collection consists of one folder containing a single photograph. A book accompanying the purchase was cataloged separately and is housed in the Rare Book Room (see note on related materials).

Related Material

The book Brave enterprise: a history of the Shakespeare memorial theatre , by A.K. Chesterton, is available to view in the Special Collections and University Archives' reading room.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• History of Women in Architecture
• International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA)
• Stratford-upon-Avon

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Elisabeth Whitworth Scott photograph by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).