Engineering Archie

Download or read book Engineering Archie written by Simon Inglis and published by Historic England. This book was released on 2005 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the second book of the Played in Britain series, stadium expert Simon Inglis recalls the life and work of Archibald Leitch, the Scottish engineer whose designs were to football what Frank Matcham was to theatre. Millions of spectators sat or stood in Leitch's structures, built for such famous clubs as Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton, Tottenham, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Glasgow Rangers. But while his pedimented gables and criss-cross steelwork balconies formed a recognisable and much-admired style, Leitch remained virtually unknown during his lifetime. Moreover, following the modernisation of stadiums brought on by the Hillsborough disaster, only a handful of his buildings survive, the listed stand and pavilion at Fulham's Craven Cottage in London being perhaps the best known.