![Benjamin Dean Wyatt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Benjamin_Dean_Wyatt.jpg)
Benjamin Dean Wyatt (1775–1852) was an English architect, part of the
Wyatt family
The Wyatt family included several of the major English architects during the 18th and 19th centuries, and a significant 18th century inventor, John Wyatt (1700–1766), the eldest son of John Wyatt (1675–1742).
The family
This is a summary t ...
.
Early life
He was the son and pupil of the architect
James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
, and the brother of
Matthew Cotes Wyatt
Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777 – 3 January 1862) was a painter and sculptor and a member of the Wyatt family, who were well known in the Victorian era as architects and sculptors.
Early life
Wyatt was born in London, the son of the architect James ...
. Before setting up as an architect in 1809, he joined the Civil Service of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
, working in the office of
Lord Wellesley
Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of ...
, in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. Afterwards, in Dublin he was employed as private secretary to Wellesley's brother
Arthur
Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...
, later the Duke of Wellington.
In 1811, Wyatt won the competition to rebuild the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...
, which had been destroyed by fire in 1809. Construction began in October 1811, and the theatre opened a year later.
Wyatt based the design of the auditorium partly on that of the theatre at Bordeaux, which was reputed to have the best acoustics in Europe. In 1813 he published '' Observations on the Design for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane''.
[
He succeeded his father in the post of ]Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey
The post of Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey was established in 1698. The role is an architectural one, with the current holder being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the Abbey and its buildings. In the past, the role has i ...
from 1813 to 1827.
The Duke of Wellington
When Arthur Wellesley returned from the Peninsula War in 1814, he was created 1st Duke of Wellington, and the government offered to buy him a residence. Wellington called in Wyatt to advise him. Wyatt advocated a building that produced "a very magnificent & imposing effect" without "the monstrous expense of a Fabrick extended to the dimensions of Blenheim rCastle Howard
Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years ...
".
Without having found an appropriate site, he drew up a set of plans, which he presented to Wellington in Paris, a few months after the Duke's victory at Waterloo. His idea was to lay out the buildings around three sides of a large courtyard with rounded corners, entered through a colonnaded screen. The main block of the house was planned around an octagonal staircase hall, with a coffered dome pierced by an oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following
Architecture
* Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American ...
, in the manner of the Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
in London, designed by his father James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
. The architect had to produce a number of variations before the Duke finally gave his approval in November 1815. Wyatt then produced a set of working drawings, which included detailed instructions for the Neoclassical decoration.
In 1817 the trustees appointed by Parliament to provide the duke with a house bought an estate at Stratfield Saye
Stratfield Saye is a small village and civil parish in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane and the English county of Hampshire. The parish includes the hamlets of West End Green, Fair Oak Green and Fair Cross.
Etymology
The name means 'Street-F ...
, Hampshire, for Wellington's use, and Wyatt was confident that the palace would be built there, despite the coolness that the trustees had previously shown towards his designs. However, in early 1818, it was decided that the existing house could be modified; Wyatt was paid for his drawings and the project shelved.[
In 1819 Wyatt began work on improvements to ]Apsley House
Apsley House is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. It stands alone at Hyde Park Corner, on the south-east corner of Hyde Park, facing south towards the busy traffic roundabout in the centre of which stands the Wellington Arch. I ...
, Wellington's London home. In the first phase of the work, he added a three-storey extension to the north east, housing a State Dining Room, bedrooms and dressing rooms.
A second phase, started after Wellington had become Prime Minister in 1828, included a new staircase and the Louis XIV style
The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...
"Waterloo Gallery" on the west front of the house.[ The exterior – previously red-brick – was clad in Bath stone, and a pedimented portico added.] Wyatt's original estimate for the work was £23,000, but the need to repair structural defects discovered during the work led to costs escalating to more than £61,000.[
]
Other houses
He added a two-storey north wing to Westport House
Westport House in Westport, County Mayo, Ireland, is a country house, historically the family seat of the Marquess of Sligo and the Brownes and designed by notable eighteenth century architects Richard Cassels, Thomas Ivory and James Wyatt. ...
in Mayo, Ireland in 1816 for the 2nd Marquess of Sligo. This wing contained staff accommodation and kitchen facilities. This was followed by a corresponding South wing of 1819 which contained a two-storey high library surrounded with a mezzanine floor supported on cast iron brackets which gave access to the books. This wing was lost in a fire of 1826 due to the overheating of the technically advanced hot air heating system. Wyatt's original drawings for the library survive in Westport House.
Wyatt was influential in reviving the Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style in England during the mid-1820s. He designed the interiors of Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 an ...
(1825–30), including the Dining Room, Picture Gallery, Elizabeth Saloon and, in the grounds, a Romanesque-style mausoleum.
Later works in London
With his brother, Philip William (d. 1835), he designed Crockford's Club (1827), 50–3 St James's Street, Londonderry House
Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their home until 1962. In that year London ...
(1825–28) demolished 1964 and the Oriental Club
The Oriental Club in London is an exclusive Private Members’ Club established in 1824 Charles Graves describes it as fine in quality as White's but with the space of infinitely larger clubs. It is located in Stratford Place, near Oxford S ...
in Hanover Square (1827–1828).Collage Record 20748
at cityoflondon.gov.uk (Retrieved 28 January 2008) He was the designer of Duke of York Column
The Duke of York Column is a monument in London, England, to Prince Frederick, Duke of York, the second eldest son of King George III. The designer was Benjamin Dean Wyatt. It is sited where Regent Street meets The Mall, a purposefully wide end ...
, erected 1831–34. Also he was the involved in the design of Lancaster House
Lancaster House (originally known as York House and then Stafford House) is a mansion in the St James's district in the West End of London. It is close to St James's Palace, and much of the site was once part of the palace complex. This Gr ...
, designing the exterior (the top floor was added by Sir Robert Smirke) and the state rooms.
Pupils
The architects Alexander Dick Gough
Alexander Dick Gough (3 November 1804 – 8 September 1871) was an English architect who practised in London, where much of his work may be found. He was a pupil of Benjamin Dean Wyatt, and worked in partnership with Robert Lewis Roumieu between ...
and Robert Lewis Roumieu
Robert Lewis Roumieu (1814 – 1877) otherwise R.L. Roumieu, was a 19th-century English architect whose designs include Milner Square in Islington and an idiosyncratic vinegar warehouse at 33–35 Eastcheap in the City of London. A pupil of B ...
were articled to him in 1823 and 1831 respectively.
Gallery of architectural work
File:Apsley House 1.JPG, Apsley House, London
File:Crockford's - later the Devonshire Club.JPG, Crockford's Club, London joint work with his brother Philip Wyatt
Philip William Wyatt (5 March 1785 – 1835) was an English architect and member of the Wyatt family. He was the youngest son of the architect James Wyatt and his wife Rachel (Lunn) Wyatt, and a nephew of Samuel Wyatt, cousin to Sir Jeffry Wyatvil ...
File:Duke Of York Monument.jpg, Duke of York Column
File:Lancaster House London April 2006 032.jpg, Lancaster House
File:Stafford House central hall and principal staircase by Joseph Nash 1850.jpg, The Great Staircase, Lancaster House
File:Lancaster-House-interior-ceiling.jpg, The ceiling, South-West Drawing Room, Lancaster House
File:Lancaster-House-interior-fireplace.jpg, Fireplace, South-West Drawing Room, Lancaster House
See also
* Wyatts, an architectural dynasty
References
External links
Columbia encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Benjamin Dean
British neoclassical architects
1775 births
1852 deaths
19th-century English architects
Architects from London
Benjamin Dean
Benjamin Dean (August 14, 1824 – April 9, 1897) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
Early life
Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, U.K., fifth child of Alice Lofthouse and Benjamin Dean, he moved ...