Arthur Blomfield
Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March, 1829 – 30 October 1899) was an English architect.
Background
The fourth son of Charles James Blomfield, an Anglican Bishop of London helpfully began a programme of new church construction in the capital. Born in Fulham Palace, Arthur Blomfield was educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1] He was then articled as an architect to Philip Charles Hardwick, and subsequently obtained a large practice on his own account. The young Thomas Hardy joined Blomfield's practice as assistant architect in April 1862, and the writer remained friends with Blomfield. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a fellow Royal Institute of British Architects in1867 (proposed by George Gilbert Scott, H Brandon and J P Seddon); and vice-president of the RIBA in 1886. In 1889, he was knighted. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal in 1891.
He was twice married. His second wife was Lady Blomfield a noted author and humanitarian.[2] He had two sons, Charles J. Blomfield and Arthur Conran Blomfield, who he brought up to his own profession, of which they became distinguished representatives. His nephew, Sir Reginald Blomfield, apprenticed under him, and went on to design numerous buildings, public works, and sculpture, including the Cross of Sacrifice or War Cross, for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These are in Commonwealth cemeteries in many countries.
Major works
In 1882 Blomfield designed the Royal College of Music in London. In 1887 he became architect to the Bank of England and, in association with A. E. Street, designed the Law courts Branch in Fleet Street.[1] A. E. Street was the son of the architect G.E. Street.
In 1890-7 he rebuilt the nave of St. Saviour's parish church, Southwark (now Southwark Cathedral), replacing an earlier reconstruction of 1839-40.[3] It is a notable example of his use of a Gothic Revival style. He was highly regarded as a restorer; a spokesman for the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings said of his 1898 restoration of Salisbury Cathedral spire "conducted in the most conservative way possible... I am confident that anyone who had been privileged to see the work that is being done... would not withhold his subscriptions even though he was as ardent an anti-restorer as your obedient servant."[4]
In 1899 he completed St. George's Anglican Cathedral in Georgetown, Guyana, which was the tallest wooden church in the world until 2003 when the Peri Monastery near Săpânţa in northern Romania was completed.
Other works (in chronological order)
- All Saints' parish church, Windsor, Berkshire, 1862-64[5]
- St. Luke's chapel at the former Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, 1864[6]
- St. Mary's parish church, Banbury, Oxfordshire: restoration 1864[7]
- Dartford Grammar School, Kent, 1864.
- St. Mary's parish church, Adwell, Oxfordshire, 1865[8]
- St. Mark's parish church, Binfield, Berkshire, 1866[9]
- St. John the Baptist parish church, Eton Wick, Buckinghamshire, 1867-69[10]
- St. Saviour's parish church, Eddington, Berkshire, 1868[11]
- St. Barnabas parish church, Jericho, Oxford, 1869[12]
- St. Saviour's parish church, Oxford Street, London 1870-73.[13]
- St. Nicholas Church, Chawton 1872/3. [14]
- St. James' parish church, Ramsden, Oxfordshire, 1872.[15]
- St. Andrew's parish church, Surbiton, Surrey 1872.[16]
- St. John the Baptist parish church, Crowthorne, Berkshire, 1873.[17]
- Holy Innocents parish church, High Beach, Essex, 1873
- St. Michael's parish church, Hughenden, Buckinghamshire, 1874-90.[18]
- Holy Trinity Church, Privett, 1876-78[19]
- Haileybury and Imperial Service College Chapel, 1877.
- All Saints parish church, Roffey, West Sussex, 1878.
- St. Mary Magdalene parish church, Woodstock, Oxfordshire: restoration 1878[20]
- Trinity College, Cambridge Bishop's Hostel additions 1878.
- St. Nicholas' parish church, Heythrop, Oxfordshire, 1880[21]
- St John the Evangelist's Church, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex (1881; partly destroyed by bombing in 1943 and rebuilt by Harry Stuart Goodhart-Rendel)[22]
- Selwyn College, Cambridge, 1882.
- Chester Cathedral restoration and additions, 1882.[23]
- St Andrew's Church, Worthing, West Sussex (1882)
- St Luke's Church, Queen's Park, Brighton, Sussex, 1882-85.
- Charterhouse School, the Great Hall 1884.[24]
- Wellington College, Berkshire: chapel apse and dormitories, 1886.[25]
- St. Alban's Anglican Church, Copenhagen, Denmark
- St Germanus's parish church, Faulkbourne, Essex, 1886.
- St. Andrew's parish church, Leytonstone, Essex 1886-93.[26]
- St Mary's Church, Walmer, Kent, 1887.
- Minster Church of St Denys, Warminster, Wiltshire, rebuilding 1887-89.
- St Mary's Church, Rostherne, Cheshire, 1888.[23]
- St. Mark's parish church, Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, 1889
- Bancroft's School, Woodford Green, Essex, 1889.
- Eton College, Buckinghamshire: Lower Chapel and Queen's Schools, 1889-91[27]
- Oxford House, Bethnal Green, London, 1891.
- St. Mary's parish church, Liss, Hampshire 1892.[28]
- Magdalen College School, Oxford, 1893-94.[29]
- West Sussex County Asylum, Chichester, West Sussex, 1894-7[30]
- The Catholic Church of Our Lady and St Edward the Confessor, Lyndhurst, Hants, 1894–96
- Epsom College Chapel, Surrey 1895[31]
- St Mary's Church, Swansea, Glamorgan, 1896.
- St Michael's Church, Macclesfield, Cheshire, New Nave and Aisles, 1898-1901.[23]
- Wellington College, Berkshire: chapel aisles, 1899[25]
- St. Saviour's Church of Ireland parish church, Coolgreaney Road, Arklow, County Wicklow, 1899.[32][33]
- St John the Evangelist's Church, Preston Village, Brighton, Sussex, 1901.
- St. Michael's parish church, Abbey Wood, Kent, 1907.[34]
Sources
References
- ^ a b Blomfield, Arthur William in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
- ^ Memorial to a shining star London, United Kingdom, 10 August 2003 (BWNS)
- ^ Worley, George (1905). Southwark Cathedral. Bell's Cathedrals. London: George Bell & Sons. p. 48. http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24616. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ William Morris and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, Andrea Elizabeth Donovan, Routledge 2008, ISBN 0-203-93790-2 (p.72)
- ^ Pevsner, 1966, page 299
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 305
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 436
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 419
- ^ Pevsner, 1966, page 87
- ^ Pevsner, 1960, page 132
- ^ Pevsner, 1966, page 136
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 290
- ^ British-history.ac.uk
- ^ Chawton Village information
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 734
- ^ Victorianweb.org
- ^ Pevsner, 1966, page 124
- ^ Pevsner, 1960, page 172
- ^ Pevsner, 1967, page 471
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 856
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 646
- ^ "Church of St John the Evangelist, Upper Maze Hill, St Leonard's, Hastings, East Sussex". The National Heritage List for England. English Heritage. 2011. http://list.english-heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1043400. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
- ^ a b c Pevsner & Hubbard, 1971, pages 135+, 265, 324
- ^ Buildingphotography.co.uk
- ^ a b Pevsner, 1966, page 262
- ^ Standrewsleytonstone.org
- ^ Pevsner, 1960, page 131
- ^ Lissparishchurch.co.uk
- ^ Sherwood & Pevsner, 1974, page 304
- ^ Cracknell, 2005, countyasylums.com
- ^ Imagesofengland.org.uk
- ^ Ireland.anglican.org
- ^ Philip Smith (writer), An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow (Dublin: Wordwell Press / Government of Ireland, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 2004). p.2-3, 70-71.
- ^ Stmichaelsabbeywood.co.uk
| Persondata |
| Name |
Blomfield, Arthur |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
Architect |
| Date of birth |
6 March 1829 |
| Place of birth |
England |
| Date of death |
30 October 1899 |
| Place of death |
|