Robert Smythson

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Wollaton Hall in the late 18th century. Engraving by M A Rooker after a drawing by Thomas Sandby

Example of Smythson's work at Hardwick Hall

Robert Smythson (1535 - 1614) was an English architect. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing - his first mention in historical records comes in 1556, when he was stonemason for the house at Longleat, built for Sir John Thynne. He later designed Hardwick Hall and Wollaton Hall among others.

The profession of architect in Britain at this time was in its most embryonic stages. Smythson was trained as a stone mason, and by the 1560 was travelling England as a master mason leading his own team of masons. In 1568 he moved from London to Wiltshire to commence work on the new hose at Longleat for Sir John Thynne, he worked there for almost eighteen years, carving personally much of the external detail, and he is believed to have had a strong influence on the overall design of the building. In 1580 he moved to his next project - Wollaton Hall. At Wollaton he was clearly more the surveyor (the then term for an architect) than a mere stonemason and was in charge of overall construction. ^[1]

Smythson's style was more than fusion of influences; although Renaissance, especially Sebastiano Serlio, Flemish, and English Gothic notes can be seen in his work, he produced some ingenious adaptations, resulting in classically detailed, innovative domestic buildings. Hardwick in particular is noted for its use of glass.

Smythson died at Wollaton in 1614; his son John Smythson was also an architect.