George Dance the Elder
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George Dance the Elder (1695 – 8 February 1768) was an English architect of the 18th century. He served as the City of London surveyor and architect from 1735 until his death.
Among his public buildings in London, the most important is the neo-Palladian Mansion House (1739–1752). He also designed churches, including St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate (1725), St Leonard's, Shoreditch (1736-1740), St Botolph-without-Aldersgate, Aldgate (1741-1744), St Botolph's Aldgate (1744), and St Matthew's, Bethnal Green (1743-1746).
St Luke's, Old Street, where Dance worshipped and was later buried, is sometimes attributed to him but is likely to have been designed by John James and Nicholas Hawksmoor; however, he designed the adjacent St Luke's Hospital in 1750-1751.
Further afield, Dance also designed the Town Hall of Coleraine in Northern Ireland (1743; demolished in 1859).
He had five sons, three of whom enjoyed fame in their own right. Eldest son James Dance (1722-1744) became an actor and playwright connected with Drury Lane theatre. Third son Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735-1811) was a notable painter. Fifth son George Dance the Younger (1741-1825) succeeded him as city architect.
