Memorable Manitobans: Arthur Thomas Timewell (1841-1906)

Architect, civil engineer.

Born at Middlesex, England on 6 March 1841, he trained as a civil engineer before coming to Manitoba around March 1883, applying unsuccessfully for the job of Winnipeg city engineer. He resided for a time at Brandon where he practiced as an architect with Edward McCroskrie, after which he formed his own architectural and contractor partnership with his son Arthur W. Timewell, operating as Timewell & Son. He served as a site inspector for the several construction projects, including the Brandon Court House and municipal bridges in the Rural Municipality of Pipestone. They otherwise specialized in designing grain elevators. By 1886, he had returned to Winnipeg. He moved to Spokane, Washington in October 1890 and patented a machine for the sewing and filling of ore sacks in 1894, licensing production to the Pacific Sack Sewing Machine Company. He later resided at Chicago before returning to England where he died at his home on 26 August 1906. He was survived by seven children.

Some of the architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Brandon Agricultural Exhibition Hall	Exhibition Grounds, Brandon	1883	Destroyed in a storm (1904)
Brandon Fire Hall	Princess Avenue at Seventh Street, Brandon	1883	Demolished (1911)
Brandon Masonic Hall	Brandon	1883
Mitchell Block	173 McDermot Avenue, Winnipeg	1886
All Saint’s Anglican Church School	Winnipeg	1886
George Foulds Building	Main Street at Market Avenue, Winnipeg	1886
Owen Street Warehouse	Owen Street, Winnipeg	1886
J. A. Shortt Residence	Langside Street, Winnipeg	1886
George Young Residence	Mayfair Avenue, Winnipeg	1886
A. H. Smith Grain Elevator	Shoal Lake	1886
Hudson’s Bay Company Elevator	?	c1886
Gerald F. Brophy Residence	Roslyn Road, Winnipeg	1887
L. M. Lewis Residence	Roslyn Road, Winnipeg	1887
W. F. Hall Residences	Near the Manitoba College	1887
Dr. Bernardo Residence	Russell	1888
Birds Hill Public School	Birds Hill	1888	Demolished (?)
Law & Pearson Grain Elevator	Neepawa	1888
Biggs Block (renovations)	Winnipeg	1890

Sources:

“Personal,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 2 March 1883, page 8.

“Personal,” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 24 May 1883, page 5.

“City and Province [Timewell],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 13 August 1883, page 8.

“Virden [municipal bridge inspection near Pipestone],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 18 February 1884, page 3.

“To contractors!” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 20 August 1884, page 4.

“Tenders! [All Saints’ Church School] and [George Foulds Building] and [A. H. Smith Mill and Elevator] and [Owen Street Warehouse],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 12 June 1886, page 4.

“City and Province [Timewell & Son],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 29 June 1886, page 4.

“Legal intelligence [Brandon Masonic Hall],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 22 April 1887, page 4.

“To contractors [two semi-detached residences near Manitoba College, W.F. Hall],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 2 August 1887, page 4.

“To contractors [Dr. Bernardo],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 8 October 1887, page 4.

“Personal [Dr. Bernardo Home and Neepawa Messrs. Law & Pearson Elevator],” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 13 June 1888, page 4.

“To general contractors!” Manitoba Daily Free Press, 13 November 1889, page 4.

“City and country,” Manitoba Free Press, 27 October 1890, page 6.

“Sacking ore by machine,” Daily Intermountain Post [Butte, Montana], 4 May 1894, page 4.

“Mr. Timewell’s success,” Manitoba Free Press, 8 May 1894, page 6.

Obituary, Chicago Daily Tribune, 9 September 1906, page 5.

“Looking backward,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 March 1918.

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

Mackey Family Tree, Ancestry.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Nathan Kramer.

Page revised: 5 April 2018

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: 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 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!