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Name: HUGHES, Eugenie Dorothy MBE, HSC, FRIBA, Mrs

image of individualimage of individual

Nee: dau of Max Ullman

Birth Date: 29 June 1910 Willesden, London

Death Date: 16 Aug 1987 Tunbridge Wells

First Date: 1912 - arrived with parents from SA

Last Date: 1987

Profession: Qualified as architect. Started own business.

Area: Nairobi, Molo

Married: In Kenya 1932 John Joseph Hughes (1895-1971), Director of Hughes Ltd.

Children: Peter Jeffries Connor (27 Jan 1935 Elham, Kent-12 Sep 2012 Nairobi); Maeve; Zelda (11 Apr 1938-27 Mar 1955, killed in car accident); Geraldine; Grania; Sharon

Book Reference: Gillett, Midday Sun, Over my Shoulder, Eldoret, Sixty, Women 3/87, Pioneers, Who's Who, Foster, Barnes

School: Arch. Assn., Lond. FRIBA, AA Dip.

General Information:

Gazette 6 Dec 1938, Rift Valley Voters List
Midday Sun - As a newly qualified architect in Nakuru designed a house for Elspeth and Gervas Huxley on Nellie's land at Njoro. WW2 intervened and they never lived there.
Over my Shoulder - 'I can see Dorothy Hughes, an architect, daughter of Kenya, with her dedication and her big heart and her tremendous drive and energy - much decorated for all her compassionate work for the poor and needy of Kenya.'  
Eldoret - architect and well known for her work among underpriviledged children, is the daughter of Max Ullman who came to Kenya in 1912 and was the first Manager of Gailey and Roberts. Dorothy Hughes was Member of Legco for Eldoret from 1956 to 1961.
Eldoret - Notes on the Old Days in Eldoret - p. 31/32 - "I arrived in Eldoret on my third birthday, having travelled by ox wagon from Londiani with my parents, Mr & Mrs Max Ullmann. I believe the man who took us up was A.J. Simpson who still lives at Subukia. He certainly drove us up on many occasions, and once it took us three weeks to do the 60 miles from Londiani owing to the terrible state of the roads. The mud was so deep that the span of oxen could only travel a few miles at a time, and then when things got so bad that they had to light fires under their noses to get them to rise. Many years later my father travelled up on a motor bike, the first to be seen on the Plateau and considered a most adventurous feat! ..... (much more)
Women 3/87 - With the passing of Eugenie Dorothy Hughes we in Kenya have lost yet another link with the past, and the League another Past President. It is difficult to know for which of her many activities Dorothy will be best remembered. Her parents, Max and Ethel Ullman, came to Kenya from London in 1912 when Dorothy was three years old, travelling by ship to Mombasa, by rail to Londiani, and by oxcart to Eldoret. She was educated in Kenya and won a place at the Architectural Association in London, a lone female surrounded by male colleagues. She qualified in 1932 and came back to Kenya, as EA's first woman architect. She married in 1933 John J. Hughes and during the next 16 years she bore and raised 6 children, as well as founding and running the very busy practice of Hughes and Polkinghorne of which she remained an active partner for 40 years. In 1960 she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. She designed many notable buildings, among them the National Theatre which was opened in 1952 by Sir Ralph Richardson, the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Nairobi, the Princess Elizabeth Hospital for Women and subsequently the main Nairobi Hospital. Dorothy was a Vice-President when the EAWL was raising money for the hospital appeal and became President in 1951-52. She was made an MBE in 1952 for her work as an architect of Kenya hospitals, she also designed the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital. Dorothy began to take an interest in public life after the War and worked with Polish refugees in Kenya, which earned her the Polish Gold Cross of Merit. She led the Inner Wheel Club in 1952, and headed the EA Institute of Architects. In 1953 she became Deputy Commissioner of the Kenya Girl Guides, and was elected to the Nairobi City Council. She was a keen politician and  was an elected Member of Legco from 1955-61, and was a member of the Kenya delegation to the Lancaster House Conference. On Independence she took full Kenya citizenship, and in 1970 was awarded the Head of State's Commendation by President Kenyatta. Her work for charity continued uninterrupted, as did her professional and busy family life. Her many posts included Chairman of the Embu Girls School Board of Governors, and founding Chairman of the Society for Deaf Children, the Edelvale Trust for Girls in need of Care, the Youth Council of Kenya, and Wings for Progress. The Knights of Malta made her a Dame of Magisterial Grace in 1975, and in 1983 the Kenya Association of Youth awarded her the Long Service Medal. In 1984 the National Council of Women of Kenya presented Dorothy with their Certificate of Merit as 'a vital pillar in the shaping of Kenya's social and economic development, guiding the youth, fostering the welfare of women and the needy, and educating leaders in many spheres'. In May of this year she was still active being Chairman of the Kenya Cheshire Homes, which had been one of her interests for many years, as well as the National Sports Association for the Disabled, the Paraplegic Sports Association, and serving as a Trustee to the National Parks. Dorothy's third child, Zelda, was killed in a car accident in 1955, and she was widowed in 1971, but she was very much the beloved head of her growing family and at the time of her death had 13 grandchildren. She had gone to Italy to attend the wedding of her granddaughter, Marcia, and enjoyed this happy family reunion but sadly she fell ill on the eve of the wedding, and died in London on August 16, at the age of 77.  ......... Requiem Mass at St. Austin's Church, Nairobi, and our deep sympathy goes to her son, Peter, and to Maeve, who is a member of Mombasa branch, Geraldine, Grania and Sharon, and to her grandchildren.  (MAJ)
Pioneers - Growing up in Eldoret - Mrs Dorothy Hughes - ……. When we arrived Eldoret had only one building, of mud and wattle, which was the bank, post office and rest house combined. My father built the first shop of wood and iron in the main street for J.H.S. Todd, and they stocked everything needed for farmers. It had a lovely wide verandah back and front, and I always said this building was the start in my interest in architecture.
Who's Who 1954 - Pres. EA Inst of Arch 1946-47; Pres. EA Women's League 1951 and 1952; Pres. Nairobi Inner Wheel Club 1951; Bldgs. designed Vic. Kenya Nat. Theatre, Eur. Hosp., Mombasa and Princess Elizabeth Hosp. and Eur. Hosp. Nairobi
Sixty - President of the EAWL from 1951-52. Designed the Nakuru War Memorial Hospital and many other hospitals in Kenya
Barnes - St Austin's cem, Nbi - loving memory / of / Dorothy Hughes / 26.6.1910 - 16.8.1987

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