 Edmund Sharpe established an architectural practice in his mother 's house in Penny Street , Lancaster , in late 1835 . He had received no formal training in architecture , gaining his knowledge from studying and drawing buildings during a tour of Germany and France between 1832 and 1835 . In 1838 he moved his office to Sun Street , and that year Edward Paley , then aged 15 , joined him as a pupil . The following year Sharpe moved his office again , this time to St Leonard 's Gate . 
