Charles Wyatt
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Charles Wyatt, (1758 – 1813), was an English architect, nephew to the architects James Wyatt & Samuel Wyatt, cousin to Sir Jeffry Wyattville. He entered the army in 1780 as a cadet, sailing for India aboard the ship Mount Stewart on the 27th June of the same year, but the ship was captured by the French & Spanish fleets and returned to England. His second attempt to reach India was successful, arriving in 1782. He joined the Bengal Engineers, eventually being promoted to Captain in 1800 and Commander of Police. In June 1803 he was made Superindendent of Public Works.
His opportunity to design buildings came in 1798 when The Marquess of Wellesley arrived in Calcutta as Governor-General. He was commissioned to design the new Government House, Calcutta. Wyatt also designed alteration's to Lord Wellesley's country residence at Barrackpore.
He married Charlotte Drake a widow in 1787. Having made a fortune in India Wyatt retired in October 1806, buying a country villa just outside London called Ealing Grove, not far from Sir John Soane's villa at Pitzhanger. He was elected as Tory MP for Sudbury in two successive parliaments 1812 to 1818.
[edit] References
- The Wyatts An Architectural Dynasty by John Martin Robinson 1979, Oxford University Press
