Born at London, Ontario on 24 March 1868, son of Richard Fitzgerald Matthews and Jane Fitzgerald, he trained as an architect with George P. Durand at London. He then moved to Toronto where he worked as an architect with the firm of Darling & Curry. He moved to New York City in 1893 to work with architect Charles C. Haight for a time, returning to London in early 1894. He opened his own architectural practice and designed the London Public Library and several public schools. After practicing briefly with William D. Murray, he closed his practice in 1905 and moved to Winnipeg. He formed a brief partnership (1910-1911) with Fred F. Le Maistre, and served as President of the Manitoba Association of Architects (1914). He was district resident architect in the Dominion Department of Public Works from 1921 until his retirement in 1938.
On 4 January 1897, he married Bertha Maud Collins (1873-1935) at Lambton, Ontario and they had a daughter, Katharine Jane Matthews (1912-?). The family lived at 940 Macmillan Avenue (c1935).
He died at his Winnipeg residence, 401 Kingston Crescent, on 7 December 1941 and was buried in the St. John’s Cathedral Cemetery.
Some of his architectural works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
Dwight House (H. P. Dwight)
Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg
1905
130 Portage Avenue East, Winnipeg
1905
Simpson House (W. J. Simpson)
95 Academy Road, Winnipeg
1905
376 Donald Street, Winnipeg
1905
374 Donald Street, Winnipeg
1905
Weldon Block
Donald Street at Portage Avenue, Winnipeg
1905
132-134 Portage Avenue East, Winnipeg
1906
740 Dufferin Avenue, Winnipeg
1907
586 Ellice Avenue, Winnipeg
1908
138 Portage Avenue East, Winnipeg
1909
Aldous Building (addition)
376 Donald Street, Winnipeg
1909
Bell Block (addition)
370 Donald Street, Winnipeg
1909
300 River Avenue, Winnipeg
1910
Aldous Building Annex (addition)
374 Donald Street, Winnipeg
1911
Byrnes House (Henry B. Byrnes)
233 Yale Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
462 Brandon Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
828 Preston Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
551 Machray Avenue, Winnipeg
1913
641 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg
1913
969 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg
1914
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Ontario marriage registration [Hubert Edward Matthews, Bertha Maud Collins], Ancestry.
Birth registration [Katharine Jane Matthews], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registrations [Bertha Maud Matthews, Herbert Edward Matthew], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary [Bertha M. Matthews], Winnipeg Tribune, 5 July 1935, page 6.
Obituary, Winnipeg Tribune, 8 December 1941, page 21.
Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950 by Robert G. Hill, Toronto.
Herbert Edward Matthews - Church Architect, Fadedgenes - A Chronicle of the People of the Methodist Church in Canada.
We thank Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 September 2023
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