Eric Bedford; Architect

Eric Bedford, the British government’s chief architect, who was responsible for the Post Office Tower in London, died July 28 in a hospital in Worcester, England. He was 91.

Born near Halifax on Yorkshire, Bedford worked his way up from apprentice at an architectural firm in Leicester. In 1934, he won a competition for a railway terminal organized by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Two years later he joined the Ministry of Public Buildings and Works, where his projects included grain silos, slaughterhouses and a communications center. In 1950, he was appointed chief architect in the ministry, the youngest person to hold the post.

In the early 1960s, Bedford built the Post Office Tower, one of the most distinctive parts of London’s skyline. The building, now called the British Telecom Tower, is 500 feet tall and 54 feet in diameter. It was topped with two observation platforms and a revolving restaurant. The platforms were closed, however, in 1971 after bomb blasts, and the restaurant closed in 1980.

Bedford also designed the British Embassy in Washington, a squat brick structure, and the British Embassy in Jakarta. The British High Commission office in Ottawa, Canada, was also designed by Bedford.

After retiring, Bedford lived in France for several years before returning to Britain after the death of his wife.