The Office of Works was established in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings. It was reconstituted as a government department in 1851 and became part of the
Ministry of Works in 1940.
The organisation of the office varied; senior posts included Surveyor of the King's Works (1578–1782) and Comptroller of the King's Works (1423–1782). In 1782 these offices were merged into Surveyor-General and Comptroller. From 1761 there were named Architects. The office also had posts of Secretary, Master Mason and Master Carpenter.
After
James Wyatt's death in 1813 a non-professional Surveyor-General was appointed: Major-General Sir
Benjamin Stephenson. He was assisted by three "Attached Architects": Sir
John Soane
Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...
,
John Nash and Sir
Robert Smirke. This arrangement ended in 1832 with the formation of the Works Department, when architect
Henry Hake Seward
Henry Hake Seward (c.1778 - 19 January 1848) was an English architect who practised in the early 19th century.
Seward was a pupil of Sir John Soane from May 1794 to September 1808. He was house architect (and later, c. 1823, Surveyor) to the Gr ...
was appointed Surveyor of Works and Buildings.
Surveyor of the King's Works
* 1578–1590
Thomas Blagrave
Thomas Blagrave (died 18 June 1590) was Acting Master of the Revels (1573–79) and Surveyor of the Queen's Works (1578–90) under Queen Elizabeth I of England.
Thomas came from Uttoxeter in Staffordshire and had at least three siblings, Willi ...
* 1594–1595
Robert Adams
* 1597–1604 William Spicer
* 1604–1606
David Cunninghame of Robertland
Sir David Cunningham of Robertland, in Ayrshire, was Master of Works to the Crown of Scotland from 1602 to 1607, and Surveyor of the King's Works in England from 1604 to 1606
Career Exiled for murder
Involved in the murder of the Earl of Egli ...
* 1606–1615
Simon Basil Simon Basil ( fl. 1590 — 1615) was an English surveyor or architect, who held the post of Surveyor of the King's Works, 1606-15.
Works
Simon Basil's first recorded appearance, in 1590, was drawing a plan of Ostend, a military objective at the tim ...
* 1615–1643
Inigo Jones
Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings.
As the most notable archit ...
* 1643–1653 Edward Carter
* 1653–1660 John Embree
* 1660–1669
Sir John Denham
Sir John Denham FRS (1614 or 1615 – 19 March 1669) was an Anglo-Irish poet and courtier. He served as Surveyor of the King's Works and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Early life
Denham was born in Dublin to Sir John Denham, Chief Baron of t ...
* 1669–1718
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...
* 1718–1719
William Benson
* 1719–1726
Sir Thomas Hewett
* 1726–1737
Richard Arundell
* 1737–1743
Henry Fox
* 1743–1760
Henry Finch
* 1760–1768
Thomas Worsley
Thomas Worsley (15 July 1797 – 16 February 1885) was an English academic and priest. He was the third Master of Downing College, Cambridge from 1836 until 1885.
Early life
Worsley was born in Stonegrave, Yorkshire, the fifth of eight sons of Rev ...
* 1779–1782
Whitshed Keene
Whitshed Keene (c. 1731–1822) was an Irish soldier in the British Army and a politician who sat in the House of Commons for 50 years between 1768 and 1818.
Keene was born in Ireland, the son of Captain Gilbert Keene and his wife Alice Whits ...
Comptroller of the King's Works
* 1423–1452 Robert Shiryngton
* 1456–1461 Peter Idley
* 1597–1606
Simon Basil Simon Basil ( fl. 1590 — 1615) was an English surveyor or architect, who held the post of Surveyor of the King's Works, 1606-15.
Works
Simon Basil's first recorded appearance, in 1590, was drawing a plan of Ostend, a military objective at the tim ...
* 1606–1641
Thomas Baldwin
* 1641–1668
James Wethered
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguat ...
* 1668–1684
Hugh May
Hugh May (1621 – 21 February 1684) was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flowerin ...
* 1689–1702
William Talman
* 1702–1726
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...
* 1726–1758
Thomas Ripley
* 1758–1769
Henry Flitcroft
Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a simple background: his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court and he began as a joiner by t ...
* 1769–1782
William Chambers
Surveyor-General and Comptroller
* 1782–1796
William Chambers
* 1796–1813
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 ...
Deputy Surveyor
* 1718–1719
Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell (15 June 1676 – 13 September 1729) was a pioneering Scottish architect and architectural writer, credited as a founder of the Georgian style. For most of his career, he resided in Italy and England. As well as his architectural ...
(dismissed)
* 1719–1735 Westby Gill (promoted)
* 1735–1748
William Kent
William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, but ...
(died in post)
* 1748–1758
Henry Flitcroft
Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a simple background: his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court and he began as a joiner by t ...
(promoted)
* 1758–1780 Stephen Wright (died in post)
* 1780–1782
Robert Taylor
Surveyor of the King's Private Roads
* 1660–1690 Andrew Lawrence
* 1690–1715 Michael Studholme
* 1716–1731 William Watkins
* 1731–1737
Richard Arundell
* 1737–1756
Thomas Ripley
* 1756–1757
John Offley
* 1757–1760
Sir Henry Erskine, 5th Baronet
Sir Henry Erskine, 5th Baronet (23 Dec 1710 – 7 August 1765) was a Scottish soldier and politician.
He was a younger son of Sir John Erskine, 3rd Baronet, M.P. of Alva, Clackmannanshire, and Catherine Sinclair, was probably educated at Eton ...
* 1760–1771
Hon. Edward Finch
* 1771–1772
Thomas Whateley
Thomas Whately (1726 – 26 May 1772), an English politician and writer, was a Member of Parliament (1761–1768), who served as Commissioner on the Board of Trade, as Secretary to the Treasury under George Grenville, Lord Grenville, and as Under- ...
* 1772–1782
Hon. Henry Fane
Surveyor of Royal Gardens
* 1660–1670
Adrian May
* 1670–1684
Hugh May
Hugh May (1621 – 21 February 1684) was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flowerin ...
Superintendent of all the King's Gardens
* 1689–1700
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland
Hans William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland, (20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch and English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, and future King of England. H ...
* 1700–1702
Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (8 February 1641 – 5 January 1712), known as The Viscount Ranelagh between 1669 and 1677, was an Irish peer, politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland.
Background
He was the eldest son of Ar ...
Surveyor of Gardens and Waters
* 1715–1726
John Vanbrugh
Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restora ...
* 1726–1737
Charles Dartiquenave
Charles Dartiquenave, also known as Charles Darteneuf (baptised 166419 October 1737) was an English epicure and courtier.
Origins
Dartiquenave was rumoured to be the illegitimate child of Charles II. Biographers who have accepted the traditio ...
* 1738–1760
Thomas Hervey
* 1761–1763
George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow
George Onslow, 1st Earl of Onslow PC (13 September 1731 – 17 May 1814), known as Lord Onslow from 1776 until 1801, was a British peer and politician.
Background
He was the only son of Arthur Onslow, having no brothers but one sister, who died ...
* 1763–1763
Lord Charles Spencer
Lord Charles Spencer PC (31 March 1740 – 16 June 1820) was a British courtier and politician from the Spencer family who sat in the House of Commons between 1761 and 1801.
Background
Spencer was the second son of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of ...
* 1763–1764 John Marshe Dickinson
* 1764–1769
Charles Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan
Charles Sloane Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan (29 September 1728 – 3 April 1807) was a British peer and Whig politician.
Early life
Cadogan was the only son of Charles Cadogan, 2nd Baron Cadogan and his wife, the former Elizabeth Sloane.
His ma ...
* 1770–1782 William Varey
Paymaster of the Works
* 1660–1668
Hugh May
Hugh May (1621 – 21 February 1684) was an English architect in the period after the Restoration of King Charles II. He worked in the era which fell between the first introduction of Palladianism into England by Inigo Jones, and the full flowerin ...
* 1668–1686
Philip Packer
* 1686–1706 Thomas Lloyd
* 1706–1726
Charles Dartiquenave
Charles Dartiquenave, also known as Charles Darteneuf (baptised 166419 October 1737) was an English epicure and courtier.
Origins
Dartiquenave was rumoured to be the illegitimate child of Charles II. Biographers who have accepted the traditio ...
* 1726–1738
Hugh Howard
* 1738–1741
John Harris
* 1741–1742
Sir Robert Brown, 1st Baronet
* 1742–1743
Sir Charles Gilmour, 2nd Baronet
* 1743–1755
Denzil Onslow Denzil Onslow may refer to:
* Denzil Onslow (cricketer) (1802-1879)
*Denzil Onslow of Pyrford ( – 1721), British politician, Member of Parliament for several constituencies
* Denzil Onslow of Stoughton ( – 1765), British politician, Member of Pa ...
* 1755–1782
George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Metropolitan (later ...
Architect of the Works
* 1761–1769
Sir William Chambers
__NOTOC__
Sir William Chambers (23 February 1723 – 10 March 1796) was a Swedish-Scottish architect, based in London. Among his best-known works are Somerset House, and the pagoda at Kew. Chambers was a founder member of the Royal Academy.
Biog ...
* 1761–1769
Robert Adam
Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...
* 1769–1777
Sir Robert Taylor
Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England.
Early life
Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor, ...
* 1769–1782
James Adam
* 1777–1780
Thomas Sandby
Thomas Sandby (1721 – 25 June 1798) was an English draughtsman, watercolour artist, architect and teacher. In 1743 he was appointed private secretary to the Duke of Cumberland, who later appointed him Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park, wh ...
* 1780–1782
James Paine
Secretary to the Board of Works
* 1715–1718
Nicholas Hawksmoor
Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...
* 1718–1719
Benjamin Benson
* 1719–1726 John Hallam
* 1726–1736 Nicholas Hawksmoor
* 1736–1766
Isaac Ware
Isaac Ware (1704—1766) was an English architect and translator of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio.
Early life
Ware was born to a life of poverty, living as a street urchin and working as a chimney sweep, until he was adopted by ...
* 1766–1775 William Robinson
* 1775–1782
Kenton Couse
Kenton Couse (1 March 1721 – 10 October 1790) was an English architect. He was apprenticed to Henry Flitcroft whose patronage obtained him posts in the Office of Works. Couse subsequently became Secretary to the Board of Works from 1775 to 1782 ...
References
Sources
*
H. M. Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600-1840'' (1997)
*
H. M. Colvin, ''The History of the King's Works'', London: H.M.S.O. (1963–1982)
**
** (v.3,pt 1)
** (v.4,pt 2)
** (v.5)
** (v.6)
** (Plans 5-7)
External links
Parliamentary Archives, Records of the Office of Works, 1378-1940
{{Authority control
1378 establishments in England
Works
Works may refer to:
People
* Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach
* Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician
Albums
* '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983
* ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...
Material culture of royal courts