Memorable Manitobans: Henry Sandham Griffith (1865-1943)

Henry Sandham Griffith Click to enlarge

Architect.

Born at Oxfordshire, England in June 1865, son of Reverend George Sandham Griffith (1831-1903) and Julia Robberds (?-1904), he trained as an architect from 1882 to 1885 with a firm at Reading and as a draughtsman in 1886 at London.

He came to Winnipeg in the spring of 1887 and took employment in the engineer’s office of the Northern Pacific Railway, and later in the Land Titles Office. He began to practice as an architect in 1893, designing a number of commercial and residential buildings. Around mid-1907, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia where he continued his architectural practice.

He and wife Maria Jane Hall (1864-1948) had four children: Eva Griffith (1900-1928, wife of Forgie Lyall Martin), George Sandham Griffith (1903-1975), Alice Victoria Griffith (1907-1995, wife of Earnest Albert Pearson), and John Woolgar Griffith (1908-1986). In 1904, he was a founding member of the Winnipeg Automobile Club.

He died at Vancouver, British Columbia on 18 October 1943 and was buried in the Ocean View Burial Park.

Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
McMeans House	40 West Gate, Winnipeg	1893
Ryan Block	104 King Street, Winnipeg	1895	Demolished (2010)
Knox Presbyterian Church	15 Tupper Street South, Portage la Prairie	1897
Brookside Chapel and Winter Vault	Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg	1897
Fire Hall No. 1 / Central Fire Hall	110 Albert Street, Winnipeg	1898-1899	Demolished (1966)
St. Mary’s la Prairie Anglican Church	36 Second Street NW, Portage la Prairie	1898-1899
Machray School No. 2	Charles Street, Winnipeg	1899	Demolished (?)
Leckie Building	216 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1900
Belmont School No. 441	Belmont	1901	Demolished (?)
Baker Block	468 Main Street, Winnipeg	1901
Vokes House (C. Vokes)	136 Middle Gate, Winnipeg	1902
Vendome Hotel (expansion)	308 Fort Street, Winnipeg	1902
St. Boniface Normal School	210 rue Masson, St. Boniface	1902
Carberry Methodist Church	Third Avenue, Carberry	1903
Criterion Hotel	214 McDermot Street, Winnipeg	1903
Macdonald Block / Commercial Hotel (renovation)	226 Main Street, Winnipeg	1903
MacGregor School No. 240	MacGregor	1903	Demolished (1975)
Odd Fellows Hall	376 Mountain Avenue, Neepawa	1903
Williamson Block	38 Kate Street / 553-555 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg	1903
Winnipeg General Hospital (addition)	Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg	1903	Demolished (?)
Brandon Asylum for the Insane (addition)	First Street, Brandon	1903-1905	Destroyed by fire (November 1910)
Roland School No. 902	Roland	1904	Demolished (?)
Wolseley Hotel	186 Higgins Avenue, Winnipeg	1904
Strathcona Hotel	567 Main Street, Winnipeg	1905	Demolished (?)
Oxford Hotel	216 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg	1905
McMeans House	40 West Gate, Winnipeg	1907

Sources:

The Canadian Architect and Builder, Volume 10, Issue 1, page 5, 1897.

“The city schools,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 March 1899, page 3.

Birth registration [Eva Griffith, George Sandham Griffith], Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

Marriage registration [Eva Griffith, Forgie Lyall Martin], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Marriage registration [Alice Victoria Griffith, Earnest Albert Pearson], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Death registrations [Eva Griffith Martin, Henry Sandham Griffith, Maria Jane Griffith, George Sandham Griffith, Alice Victoria Pearson], British Columbia Vital Statistics.

Buildings at the Brandon Mental Health Centre by David Butterfield and Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch, November 1988.

Winnipeg Buildings Index.

Henry Sandham Griffith, FindAGrave.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.

We thank Nathan Kramer and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 25 August 2026

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!