On reading your interesting article on founding fathers (Brand Names, QS News, 24 February) I noted one statement relating to Franklin + Andrews which would appear anomalous.

In 1901 the architects Silvanus Trevail prepared bills of quantities for an extension to the Cornwall County Lunatic Asylum (I have an extract from Bill No 1 Preliminaries) and a contract for £87,973 was agreed in 1903.

The work comprised numerous additional facilities comprised in 12 separate BQs including bathhouses, chronic blocks, kitchens and administration buildings. It is therefore the case that lunatic asylums were very much in vogue before that constructed in 1904 under the auspices of F+A.

It is perhaps also worthy of note that the contractor's final account in 1906 was £95,380, an increase of over 8% and possibly another reason why architects quite rightly passed the mantle of cost control to a separately instituted QS profession!

Paul Williams, Ward Williams Associates

Source

QS News