Elisabeth Whitworth Scott Photograph

Access and use

Location of collection:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Special Collections, University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library
Virginia Tech
P.O. Box 90001
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24062-9001
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (540) 231-6308
Fax: (540) 231-3694
Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

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.

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.

Summary

Extent:
0.1 Cubic Feet 1 folder
Abstract:
The collection consists of one black-and-white photograph of Elisabeth W. Scott, designer of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre (now called the Royal Shakespeare Theatre), dated 1928.
Language:
The materials in the collection are in English.
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.

Background

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).

Biographical / historical:

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

Acquisition information:
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.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard