Charles Gustave Agate

• Born      1878
• Died       25 June 1959
• Burial     30 June 1959, Monton Unitarian Church

 Born at Pendleton, Salford, in 1878, Charles Gustave Agate was the son of Charles James Agate, grey cloth commission agent in the firm of Beard, Agate and Company of Manchester and his wife Eulalie. He was educated at Giggleswick School before commencing his architectural training.  Agate had commenced independent practice at 14 John Dalton Street by 1909 and was elected Licentiate of RIBA in 1911. About 1916 he joined James Theodore Halliday in partnership, under the style Halliday Paterson and Agate. Whether this partnership included Claude Paterson, who had enlisted for military service shortly after the outbreak of the First World War is unclear. Competition entries in the two years 1915 to 1916 were submitted in the name of James Halliday or Messrs Halliday and Paterson with Mr C G Agate. For the next ten years the practice was run under the style of Halliday Paterson and Agate, suggesting that Agate became a partner about August 1916, the time Claude Paterson went to the front. However, Slater’s directory of 1919 still lists the partnership of Halliday and Paterson, C G Agate appearing separately. Although the practice under the name of Halliday Paterson and Agate continued until 1926, no supporting evidence has been found to confirm that Claude Patterson re-joined the practice after the war. In 1926 a new partnership was formed between J Theodore Halliday, Charles Gustav Agate and Franklyn Leslie Halliday, the younger brother of James Theodore, under the style of Halliday and Agate, and was continued after the death of James Theodore Halliday in 1933.

 Agate was a member of the Manchester Society of Architects and President in 1939-1942. He was also a Member of the Manchester committee of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England.

Charles Gustave Agate died, at his residence, 65 Crow Hill South, Alkrington, near Middleton on 25 June 1959, after a short illness. He was survived by his wife Eliza Agate (1888-1964) and daughter Mary. The funeral and interment took place at Monton Unitarian Church on Tuesday 30 June 1959, at twelve noon. [Manchester Guardian 29 June 1959 page 16 – deaths]

He was the brother of the author, diarist, essayist and drama critic James E Agate (1877 -1947). James Evershed Agate was considered the most powerful voice of the theatre in his time.  A friend of both Noel Coward and Lucius Beebe, he was noted for his “perverse but lovable personality and wit,” as evidenced by his observation, "What's wrong with a little incest? It's both handy and cheap."

 Address
1909 Charles Gustave Agate  14 John Dalton Street
1911-1914: Charles Gustave Agate FMSA architect 14 John Dalton Street
1929: Charles Gustave Agate LicRIBA. (Halliday & Agate). 14 John Dalton Street

 Residence
1881       18 Seedley Road, Pendleton (Census)
1903       The Elms 74 Seedley Road, Pendleton (Slater)
1909       The Elms 74 Seedley Road, Pendleton (Slater)
1911       Fearnfield, Victoria Road, Eccles (Slater)
1959       65 Crow Hill South Alkrington,Middleton