Francis Cranmer Penrose
FRS (29 October 1817 – 15 February 1903) was an English architect, archaeologist, astronomer and
sportsman rower. He served as
Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral, and as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and Director of the British School at Athens.
Early life
Penrose was born at
Bracebridge, Lincolnshire, the third son of
Rev. John Penrose who was vicar there, and his wife
Elizabeth Cartwright. His mother was the daughter of
Edmund Cartwright and a teacher and author of children's books under the name Mrs Markham.
Penrose was educated at
Bedford Modern School,
Bedford School
:''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.''
Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...
,
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
and
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
.
[ "Penrose, Francis Cranmer" from the Dictionary of National Biography, 1912 supplement at ]Wikisource
Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...
He rowed for
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
in the
Boat Race
Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...
in the
1840
Events
January–March
* January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded.
* January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom.
* Janua ...
,
1841
Events
January–March
* January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom, and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, agree to the Convention of Chuenpi.
* January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the i ...
and
1842 races.
Architectural career
Penrose studied architecture under
Edward Blore
Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary.
Early career
He was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore.
Blore's backg ...
from 1835 to 1838, and studied abroad under the Cambridge designation of "travelling bachelor" from 1842 to 1845. In 1843 in Rome, Penrose noticed a problem with the pitch of the roof of pediment 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 St ...
– subsequent research confirmed that the angle had been changed from its original design.
Penrose studied classical monuments in Greece, taking and recording detailed measurements. He was one of the first to discover the
entasis
In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upward. It also may ...
of the
Parthenon and to show the deliberate curvature of the steps and entablature. The
Society of Dilettanti
The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style.
History
Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is b ...
became interested in his discoveries and sent him back to Greece to confirm them.
In 1848 Penrose was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Institute of British Architects. He was appointed
Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral in 1852 and in this role did his main work.
Penrose's work on St Paul's included the choir seats and the marble pulpit and stairs. He designed the memorial to Lord Napier of Magdala and the Wellington tomb in the crypt, and arranged the relocation of the Wellington monument. He was also responsible for rearranging the West entrance steps and for exposing remains of the old cathedral in the churchyard.
[ The new premises for the cathedral's choir school in Carter Lane were built to his designs in 1874. It was after a dispute with the Dean and Chapter that he turned to astronomy.][
There is some academic controversy over whether Penrose authored an April 1852 article on Athenian architecture, or whether the true author was ]Coventry Patmore
Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (23 July 1823 – 26 November 1896) was an English poet and literary critic. He is best known for his book of poetry ''The Angel in the House'', a narrative poem about the Victorian ideal of a happy marriage.
A ...
.
Penrose was made a Fellow of Magdalene College in 1884. He designed the entrance gate of Magdalene College and the Chapel Court of St John's in Cambridge.[ From 1886 to 1887 and from 1890 to 1891 he was the first Director of the ]British School at Athens
, image = Image-Bsa athens library.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, image_upright=
, alt=
, caption = The library of the BSA
, latin_name=
, motto=
, founder = The Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, called the foundation meeti ...
, which he had designed.
As President of the RIBA from 1894 to 1896, Penrose was appointed architect and antiquary to the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
in 1898. He supplied the entry on Sir 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 ...
to the ''Dictionary of National Biography''.[ Works by Francis Cranmer Penrose at ]Wikisource
Wikisource is an online digital library of free-content textual sources on a wiki, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole and the name for each instance of that project (each instance usually rep ...
.
Personal life
Penrose was married in 1856 to Harriette Gibbes, daughter of Francis Gibbes, a surgeon of Harewood, Yorkshire. Emily Penrose
Dame Emily Penrose, (18 September 1858 – 26 January 1942) was an ancient historian and principal of three early women's university colleges in the United Kingdom: Bedford College from 1893 until 1898, Royal Holloway College from 1898 until ...
, the second of five children and eldest of their four daughters, became Principal of Somerville College, Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, Royal Holloway College, London and Bedford College, London
file:Bedford College in York place - photographer is unknown but guess 1908.png, Bedford College was in York Place after 1874
Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for education of women, women in th ...
.
Selected works
*Penrose, F.C., (communicated by Joseph Norman Lockyer)
''The Orientation of Greek Temples''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
, v.48, n.1228, 11 May 1893, pp. 42–43
*''An Investigation of the Principles of Athenian Architecture, or, The Results of a Recent Survey Conducted chiefly with Reference to the Optical Refinements Exhibited in the Construction of the Ancient Buildings at Athens'', edited by the Society of Dilettanti, London 1851
**2nd edition: ''An investigation of the principles of Athenian architecture, or, the results of a survey conducted chiefly with reference to the optical refinements exhibited in the construction of the ancient buildings at Athens'', London 188
(document server of Heidelberg University)
*A work predicting eclipses
See also
* List of Cambridge University Boat Race crews
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penrose, Francis Cranmer
1817 births
1903 deaths
Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Cambridge University Boat Club rowers
19th-century British astronomers
Directors of the British School at Athens
English male rowers
Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Fellows of the Royal Society
People educated at Bedford Modern School
People educated at Bedford School
Presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal