Edward Alexander Wyon (1842; London – 1872; Hastings) was a London architect and poet, descended from the

Wyon family The Wyon family was an English family of traditional die-engravers and medallists, many of whom went on to work in prominent roles at the Royal Mint or as engravers in a family die business. Starting from Peter George (II) Wyon who migrated to Eng ...

of engravers. His only known building is St John the Evangelist Church in

Hollington, Hastings Hollington is a council estate and local government ward in the northwest of Hastings, East Sussex. The area lies next to Baldslow, Ashdown, North and Conquest, and less than five miles southeast of Battle, East Sussex, the home of Battle Ab ...

in East Sussex. His posthumous publication, ''A Memorial Volume of Poems'' (1874), continues to be reprinted in the 21st century. He died in Hastings prior to his thirtieth birthday.

Biography

Ancestry

His father was Edward William Wyon (1811–1885), a sculptor born in Christchurch, Surrey,Census 1861: RG/9/102/138; p.37. who belonged to the Wyon family of engravers and medallists. Edward Alexander's grandfather was

Thomas Wyon the elder Thomas Wyon the elder (1767–1830) of the Wyon family was an English engraver of dies, who became Chief Engraver of the Seals. Life He was the eldest of the four sons of George Wyon, an engraver. Around 1796, he went into business in Birmingh ...

(1792–1817), and his uncles were

Thomas Wyon the younger Thomas Wyon the Younger (179222/23 September 1817) was an English medallist and chief engraver at the Royal Mint. Life Wyon was born in Birmingham. He was apprenticed to his father, Thomas Wyon (1767–1830), the chief engraver of the King's seals ...

, and

Benjamin Wyon Benjamin Wyon (9 January 1802 – 21 November 1858) was a British engraver of seals, and medallist. Life Born in John Street, Blackfriars, London, on 9 January 1802, he was the second son of Thomas Wyon the elder. He received instruction from h ...

(1802–1858). Edward Alexander's mother was Elizabeth Smyth, (born St James's 1820; died

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

1890).GRO index: death; Elizabeth Wyon; age 70; Barnet; Sept 1890; vol.3a; p.131. His parents were married in 1841, at Marylebone, London.GRO index: Marriage Edward William Wyon; Marylebone; Dec 1841; vol.1; p.170.

Edward Alexander and his siblings

Edward Alexander Wyon was his parents' eldest son, born in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

or St Pancras in the last quarter of 1842.GRO index: birth; Edward Alexander Wyon; Dec 1842; Bloomsbury; Vol.1; p.54. In 1851 he was eight years old and a scholar, living at 36 Stanhope Street, St Pancras, with his father, mother, sister Florence Elizabeth Riddel (born St Pancras 1850),GRO index: birth; Florence Elizabeth Riddel Wyon; St Pancras; Kime 1850; vol.1; p.334. his brother Charles William John (1845–1856)GRO index: births; Charles William John Wyon; St Giles; Mar 1845; vol.1; p.60. GRO index: death; Charles William John Wyon; Marylebone; Sept 1856; vol.1a; p.310. and general servant Mary Anderson.Census 1851: HO/107/1493; p.7. In 1861 he, his parents, his sisters Florence and Jessie Mary Ann (born St Pancras 1855)GRO index: birth; Jessie Mary Ann Wyon; St Pancras; June 1855; vol.1b; p.104. and a servant Susannah Tayler were at 221

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...

, St Pancras. At age eighteen he was already calling himself an architect. In 1871 he was living with his mother at 70 Mornington Road, St Pancras, his two sisters and general servant Eliza Green;Census 1871: RG10/202; p.32. his father lived next door. He died in Hastings in the first quarter of 1872, aged 29 years.GRO index:Death; Edward Alexander Wyon; Hastings; Mar 1872; Vol.2b; p.28. He never married.

After his death

Edward Alexander Wyon is credited with the authorship of the posthumous book, ''A Memorial Volume of Poems'' (1874). His sister Florence married in 1879 at Marylebone, to Reverend Charles James Goody (born 1835).GRO index: Marriage; Florence Elizabeth Riddel Wyon; Mar 1879; Marylebone; vol.1a; 718. Their son, Charles Edward Goody (born 1881) and Edward Alexander's nephew, was an Oxford undergraduate in 1901.Census 1901: RG13/1233/45; p.23.GRO index: birth; Charles Edward Goody; Barnet; Dec 1881; vol.3a; p.206. His sister Jessie Mary Ann Wyon never married; she died about the same time as her mother in 1890 in Barnet, aged 35 years.GRO index: death; Jessie Mary Ann Wyon age 35; Barnet; Sept 1890; vol.3a; p.130.

Professional life and works

He practised from an office in Duke Street, London.Adelphi (KD/L). His only known work is

St John the Evangelist Church St. John the Evangelist Church refers to churches honoring John the Apostle, also known as John the Divine or John of Patmos, as their patron saint but distinguished from John the Baptist. Thus, the designation may refer to: Australia * St Jo ...

, Hollington, constructed between 1865 and 1868 by engineer John Howell & Son It is built with

Bath Stone Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...

dressings; it has one aisle on the south side and a south-east tower. There was a finial on the slimmer, round tower; removed in the 20th century. It was consecrated by

Ashurst Gilbert Ashurst Turner Gilbert (14 May 1786 – 21 February 1870) was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1822 and bishop of Chichester. Life The son of Thomas Gilbert of Ratcliffe, Buckinghamshire, a capta ...

, Bishop of Chichester, in April 1868. This church is not listed.

References

Bibliography

* Forrer, Leonard, ''The Wyons'' (1917) * Wyon, Edward Alexander, ''A Memorial Volume of Poems by the Late Edward Alexander Wyon (1874)'' (2008, Kessinger Publishing) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyon, Edward Alexander 1842 births 1872 deaths 19th-century English poets 19th-century English architects Artists from London English male poets 19th-century English male writers Architects from London