Swan & Lavelle

John Swan and William Lavelle practiced under the name of Swan & Lavelle from 1934 onwards. The practice was formed after the dissolution of Swan, Lawrence & Swan in 1933.

Swan, Lawrence & Swan was one of Wellington’s pre-eminent architecture practices of the early 20th century. It was formed by John Sydney Swan (1874-1936), Charles Alexander Lawrence (c.1873-1933) and Francis Herbert Swan (1885-1958). Swan, Lawrence & Swan was responsible for, among others, the former Home of Compassion Crèche, Buckle St, (1916); the library wing of the Hunter Building (1918) and the Physics Wing (1920) at Victoria University. Swan also designed, with William Gray Young, the Wellington Technical School (1919) (now Wellington High School) and, in 1930, the celebrated Erskine College Chapel (1930). John Swan was a director of the Kelburn and Karori Tramway Co. which led to the firm’s commission to make major changes to the cable car Winding House in 1933. Charles Lawrence died in 1933 and, a year later, Francis Swan continued in practice as Lawrence & Swan (also Swan & Lawrence) until the 1950s.

John Swan left the practice in 1934 to set up a partnership with William Edward Lavelle (1905-1974). William Lavelle was born in Kelburn and worked for Swan, Lawrence & Swan from 1922-1926. He went overseas for two years before returning to Wellington to work for Dawson & King. He started his own practice in 1931 before going into partnership with Swan. He continued to practice as Swan & Lavelle after John Swan’s death in 1936 until he founded Structon Group with Ronald Muston in 1944. He continued with the practice until his retirement in 1965.

Sources:
Kernohan D. and Kellaway T. 1994, Wellington’s Old Buildings, Victoria University Press pp 24-25
Mew, Geoff & Adrian Humphris. “Raupo to Deco: Wellington Styles and Architects 1840 – 1940” (Wellington: Steel Roberts Aotearoa, 2014) 
Stones Directories 1915-1940; ATL 13/191/1
WCC Heritage Inventory 2001