Charles Alban Buckler (1825–1905) was an English author, topographer, architect, artist and

officer of arms An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or Sovereign state, state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions: * to control and initiate coat of arms, armorial matters; * to arrange and participate in ceremo ...

. According to

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

, he "became one of the most distinguished of the early to mid-Victorian Catholic architects."

St Leonards-on-Sea – St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs
''Taking Stock'', retrieved 11 June 2022 In the field of

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

he was the

Surrey Herald Extraordinary Surrey Herald of Arms Extraordinary was an England, English Officer of Arms, officer of arms. Though an officer of the crown, Surrey Herald Extraordinary was not a member of the corporation of the College of Arms in London. This office was create ...

Life

Family

Charles Alban Buckler was born in 1824. He was born into Buckler dynasty of architects and was the son of the noted architect

John Chessell Buckler John Chessell Buckler (8 December 1793 – 10 January 1894) was a British architect, the eldest son of the architect John Buckler. J. C. Buckler initially worked with his father before taking over his practice. His work included restorations ...

. He grandfather was John Buckler. Since 2013, the Buckler family of architects and topographical artists has been the subject of a research project hosted by the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture at

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

Career

He was a student of medieval art and architecture. Both of he and his father John Chessell Buckler worked together writing architecture books such as ''A History of the Architecture of the Abbey Church of St Alban'' in 1847. In 1844, Charles Buckler converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and went on to design many Catholic churches in England. When his father died in 1851, Charles Buckler was one of six surviving children. In the 1870s, he was commissioned by

Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk Henry Fitzalan-Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk, (27 December 184711 February 1917), styled Lord Maltravers until 1856 and Earl of Arundel and Surrey between 1856 and 1860, was a British Unionist politician and philanthropist. He served as Postmas ...

to re-build

Arundel Castle Arundel Castle is a restored and remodelled medieval castle in Arundel, West Sussex, England. It was established during the reign of Edward the Confessor and completed by Roger de Montgomery. The castle was damaged in the English Civil War a ...

. The

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

, as

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the United Kingdom). He is the eig ...

, the head and chief of the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

, nominated Buckler to be

. On 16 July 1880, his nomination was accepted by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. As both an author and editor he was responsible for numerous literary works about history, architecture and heraldry.Buckler, Charles Alban (1824–)
from

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

, retrieved 11 June 2022 In addition, he was an artist who painted watercolours of such places as

Kirkstall Abbey Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded ''c.'' 1152. It was disestablished during ...

. He died in 1905 and is buried in the churchyard of St Edward the Confessor Church in Sutton Park, a church which he himself designed.

Architectural works

The Catholic churches Buckler built include: * Immaculate Conception Church,

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

, 1857. * St Benedict's Church,

Atherstone Atherstone is a market town and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire, England. Located in the far north of the county, Atherstone is on the A5 national route, and is adjacent to the border with Leicestershire which ...

, 1859. * St Mary's Church,

Shifnal Shifnal is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England, about east of Telford, 17 miles (27 km) east of the county town of Shrewsbury and 13 miles (20 km) west-northwest of the city of Wolverhampton. It is near the M54 mo ...

, 1860. *

St Dominic's Priory Church St Dominic's Priory Church (formally named "Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic") is one of the largest Catholic churches in London. The church is Grade II* listed building on the National Heritage List for England. It has been served by the ...

, Haverstock Hill, 1863. * St Mary's Church,

East Hendred East Hendred is a village and civil parish about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse and a similar distance west of Didcot. The village is on East Hendred Brook, which flows from the Berkshire Downs to join the River Thames at Sutton C ...

, 1863. * St Philip's Church,

Shipston-on-Stour Shipston-on-Stour is a town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon District in Warwickshire, England. It is located on the banks of the River Stour, south-southeast of Stratford-upon-Avon, 10 miles (16 km) north-northwest of Chipping Norto ...

, 1864. * St Richard of Chichester Church,

Slindon Slindon is a mostly rural village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, containing a developed nucleus amid woodland. Much of Slindon's woodland belongs to the National Trust on the southern edge of the escarpment of th ...

, 1865. * St Edward's Church,

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

, 1867. * Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph Church,

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclai ...

, 1869. * St Francis of Assisi Church,

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

, 1869. * St Aloysius Church,

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, 1869. * St Ignatius of Loyola Church,

Sunbury-on-Thames Sunbury-on-Thames (or commonly Sunbury) is a suburban town on the north bank of the River Thames in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, centred southwest of central London. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, in 1965 Sunbury and other ...

, 1869. * St Thomas of Canterbury Chapel,

Exton Hall Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England, standing in its own extensive park. The Hall It was the family seat of the family of Sir James Harington and later the Noel family, Earls of G ...

, 1869. * Sacred Heart Church,

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

, 1872. * Our Lady of Mount Carmel Chapel, Lilystone Hall,

Stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

, 1875. * St Edward the Confessor Church, Sutton Park, 1876. * Immaculate Heart of St Mary and St Dominic Church,

Homerton Homerton ( ) is an area in London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. It is bordered to the west by Hackney Central, to the north by Lower Clapton, in the east by Hackney Wick, Leyton and by South Hackney to the south. In 2019, it had ...

, 1875-1883. * Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church,

Kirtling Kirtling, together with Kirtling Green and Kirtling Towers, is a scattered settlement in the south-eastern edge of the English county of Cambridgeshire. It forms a civil parish with the nearby village of Upend to its north. The population of the ...

, 1877. * St Richard and St Hubert Church,

Hadzor Hadzor is a small village near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England. There are around fourteen houses and a Roman Catholic church in the village, although there is no shop or school and the Church of England church was closed in the 1970s. Hadzor ...

, 1878. *

Holy Cross Priory, Leicester Holy Cross Priory is a Roman Catholic Dominican priory in Leicester, England. History The priory was established in 1882. By 1929, the church had proved too small and Friar Vincent McNabb O.P. began to raise money for a new church. The choir ...

, 1879 (enlarged). *

Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs, St Leonards-on-Sea The Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs is the Roman Catholic church serving St Leonards-on-Sea, a town and seaside resort which is part of the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. The present church, which combines a p ...

, 1889.

Literary works

His written works include: * W. Wallen, C. A. Buckler et al ''Two essays elucidating the geometrical principals of Gothic architecture : read before the Geological and Polytechnic Society of the West Riding of Yorkshire'', 23 Sep, and 2 December 1841 * J. C. Buckler and C. A. Buckler, ''Remarks upon wayside chapels : with observations on the architecture and present state of the chantry on Wakefield Bridge'', 1843. * J. C. Buckler and C. A. Buckler, ''A history of the architecture of the abbey church of St. Alban : with special reference to the Norman structure''. 1847. * C. A. Buckler, ''Notes on the churches of the Friars Preachers'', 1862. * C. A. Buckler, ''The cathedral, or abbey church of Iona. A series of drawings, and descriptive letterpress of the ruins by Charles Alban Buckler'', 1866. * C. A. Buckler, ''Bucleriana : notices of the family of Buckler'', 1886. * C. A. Buckler, ''Emblazoned pedigree of the family of Jones, afterwards Herbert, of Treowen and Llanarth Court, Monmouth County : extracted from the records of the College of Arms'', London, 1886–1901. * C. A. Buckler, ''Design model for a baldachino for the Roman Catholic (Cathedral) Church of Our Lady & Saint Philip, Arundel, West Sussex, for the 15th Duke of Norfolk'', 1890.

Gallery

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Stroud - geograph.org.uk - 3546288.jpg, Immaculate Conception Church, Stroud St Mary's Roman Catholic Church - geograph.org.uk - 810601.jpg, St Mary's Church, Shifnal The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Dominic - geograph.org.uk - 1035783.jpg, St Dominic's Church, Haverstock Hill St Mary, East Hendred - geograph.org.uk - 1547791.jpg, St Mary's Church, East Hendred St Richard's Catholic Church, Slindon - geograph.org.uk - 745019.jpg, St Richard's Church, Slindon St Edward's Church, Windsor.jpg, St Edward's Church, Windsor London - Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph church, from Battersea Park Road.jpg, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph Church, Battersea Park Former St Francis of Assisi's Church, Midhurst.JPG, St Francis of Assisi Church, Midhurst St Edward The Confessor, Sutton Park - geograph.org.uk - 364736.jpg, St Edward The Confessor Church, Sutton Park Roman Catholic Church, Kirtling - geograph.org.uk - 1058741.jpg, Our Lady Immaculate and St Philip Neri Church, Kirtling Kościół Św. Krzyża.jpg, Holy Cross Church, Leicester File:Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs, St Leonards, Hastings (IoE Code 495311).JPG, Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and English Martyrs, St Leonards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buckler, Charles Alban English ecclesiastical architects English officers of arms 1825 births 1905 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects of Roman Catholic churches Preservationist architects