(1852–1942), who was also soon to set up in practice on his own behalf. Nesfield's assistant at the time was E. J. May, a former pupil of Decimus Burton, who had been responsible for the Palm House at Kew Gardens amongst other buildings. It was only later that the group that produced some of the most exciting Arts and Crafts Movement Architecture and scholarship and provided the impetus to the Movement came together under Shaw. William Lethaby (1857–1931) joined the practice as Chief Assistant in 1878, Mervyn Macartney (1853–1932) joined as a pupil in the same year and Gerald Horsley (1862–1917) in 1879. May and Newton both set up in practice nearby. Horsley later illustrated Prior's A History of Gothic Art in England (1900). The St George's Art Society grew out of the discussions held amongst Shaw's past and present staff at Newton's Hart Street offices. In the late 1870s and early 1880s Shaw's prestige was greatly enhanced by major success with "spectacular perspectives" exhibited at Royal Academy exhibitions. As Chief Draftsman Newton was probably the main influence on the drawing style though Prior may have made a considerable contribution. By 1877 Shaw's health was deteriorating. His assistants were encouraged to supervise jobs and live on site. Prior was appointed Clerk of Works for St Margaret's Church, Ilkley, administering the works from November 1877 to August 1879. Prior was responsible for the contract drawings and possibly for the design of the roof reinforcement and some of the detailing and furniture, such as the font. Prior had been eager to gain practical experience of construction, an area of the profession in which Shaw was loath to give instruction. The expertise of the craftsmen at Ilkley made a deep impression on Prior; Practice and private life Prior only stayed a few more months with Shaw on his return from Ilkley. In 1880 he began his own practice at 17, Southampton Road, near Shaw and others of his former employees; Reginald Blomfield leased an office on the second floor. Prior occupied the building until 1885 and again in 1889–94 and 1901. His early commissions were primarily located in areas where he had connections, in Harrow and around Bridport in Dorset, where his father had lived and his mother's relatives, the Templers, were prominent inhabitants, and in Cambridge where he had been at university. The opening of the Metropolitan Railway to Harrow in 1880