Thomas Hardwick
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- This article is about the English architect. For the American politician, see Thomas W. Hardwick.
Thomas Hardwick (1752-1829) was an eminent English architect.
Hardwick was born in Brentford, the son of a master mason turned architect, also named Thomas Hardwick, who worked with the architect brothers Robert and John Adam on nearby Syon House between 1761-1767. Both father and son were associated with Syon from about the 1720s and employment continued until the early 19th Century. The Hardwicks were one of the finest architectural families during the whole of the 19th century. From Thomas Hardwick to his son Philip Hardwick (1792-1870), and then grandson Philip Charles Hardwick (1822-1892), they each held the post of Surveyor to St Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
Aged 17, Thomas Hardwick (junior) enrolled at the Royal Academy School, where he studied architecture under the tutelage of Sir William Chambers, for whom he later worked during the construction of Somerset House. During his first year at the Royal Academy he won the silver medal in architecture and from 1772 to 1805 he exhibited his work.
In his early 20s, Hardwick travelled to Europe at his own expense, visiting Paris and Lyon, before heading for Italy accompanied by artist Thomas Jones (1742-1803). He lived in Rome for two years from 1776, gaining an extensive grounding in classical architecture which was to strongly influence his own neo-classical style, and renewing his acquaintance with fellow Academy pupil John Soane (1753-1837). He later became an original member of the Architect's Club but never became an associate of the Royal Academy due to his apparent lack of self-advancement.
After returning to London, Hardwick established a reputation as a church architect, designing the church of St Mary the Virgin at Wanstead (completed in 1790 – now a Grade I listed building), restoring Inigo Jones's St Paul's, Covent Garden (Hardwick was appointed in 1788 and the eventual 10-year-long restoration project survived an almost disastrous fire in 1795 which destroyed much of Jones’s original interior) and Sir Christopher Wren's St James's, Piccadilly, and rebuilding George Dance the Younger's St Bartholomew-the-Less in West Smithfield (1823-1825). Arguably, his most notable work is the church of St Mary, Marylebone Road (1813-1817). He also designed the nearby Hampstead Road Chapel (1791-1792), St John's Church, St John's Wood High Street (1813-1814), and the church of St Barnabas (now St Clement) near Old Street.
Further afield, St John's Church, Workington was built in 1823 to Hardwick’s design and although built of local sandstone it bears some resemblance to the Inigo Jones St Paul's Church in Covent Garden which Hardwick had previously restored. As well as churches, he also designed some civic buildings, including the Shire Hall in Dorchester, Dorset. Built in 1797, this building (also now a Grade I listed building) retains the courtroom where the Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to transportation to Australia for their part in the early trade union movement in 1834.
Hardwick was appointed Clerk of Works at Hampton Court by King George III, following which he also work at Kew Palace and its gardens.
Among Hardwick's pupils were artist J.M.W. Turner (during 1788; Hardwick advised him to concentrate more on painting than architecture), Plymouth architect John Foulston (1772-1842), and his second son Philip Hardwick. Philip thus became the third successive generation to practice as an architect, joining his father as a partner and in 1825 taking over the firm’s London office. His other son was a well known magistrate of the 19th century, John Hardwick (1790-1875).
Hardwick died at his family home in central London’s Berners Street and was buried in the family vault in the churchyard of St Laurence, Brentford.
A portrait of Hardwick by George Dance the Elder is part of the National Portrait Gallery collection
