George Clarke (7 May 1661 – 22 October 1736), of All Souls, Oxford, was an English architect, print collector and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

politician who sat 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 ...

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

between 1702 and 1736.

Life

The son of Sir William Clarke, he enrolled at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

in 1676. He was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

in 1680. He was returned in a contested by-election on 23 November 1685 as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Oxford University 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 ...

, but never took his seat as Parliament had been prorogued. He became Judge Advocate to the Army and was Secretary at War in Ireland from 1690 to 1692 and in England from 1693 to 1704 under

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

and Queen Anne. He served as secretary to

Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Georg ...

, Queen Anne's consort and the Lord High Admiral and Generalissimo of England. Clarke was returned as

for Winchelsea at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

, coinciding with his office as Joint Secretary of the Admiralty. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

he was returned as MP for

East Looe East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. He was not nominated for a seat at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. He was returned in a by-election on 29 May 1711 as MP for Launceston from 1711. He did not stand at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

. Over the latter period he was Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty from 20 December 1710 until 14 October 1714, when he was dismissed following the accession of George I. Clarke returned to the House of Commons as MP for

at a by-election on 4 December 1717 following the death of William Whitelock. He was reelected in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as ...

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

, and

1734 Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Province of Georgia, Georgia in North America ...

, by which point he had lost his left eye and was losing sight in the other. He was also an amateur architect.page 216, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840, Howard Colvin 2nd edition 1978 John Murray His known work is largely confined to Oxford, (Clayton's DNB entry for Clarke offers more detail of his architectural endeavours) and he is known to have designed buildings and also to have collaborated with

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 ...

, amongst others. Timothy Clayton discusses Clarke's print collection, noting “John Vanburgh, Alexander Pope and George Vertue travelled to Oxford to use his library with its unique collection of notes and drawings by

nigo is a Japanese fashion designer, disc jockey (DJ), record producer and entrepreneur. He is best known as the creator of the urban clothing line A Bathing Ape (Bape) and currently serves as creative director for Kenzo. Additionally he is a member ...

Jones” (Clayton 1992, p. 124). The library of Worcester College, Oxford houses Clarke's collection of books, MSS, prints and drawings. Building work on the library, which was started within a few years of the college's founding in 1714, was completed in 1736. A spat between Clarke and All Souls resulted in the bequest to Worcester.

List of architectural works

The library in the Peckwater Quad,

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

(1717–38) Rebuilt

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

, with Hawksmoor (1710–21) The New Buildings,

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

(1733) The Hall, Chapel and Library,

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms w ...

(1733–1753) The Rectory, Kingston Bagpuize (c.1723) Cokethorpe House, alterations (c.1710)

Gallery of architectural work

File:Library, Christ Church, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 187943.jpg, The Library, Christ Church, Oxford File:Library (rear view), Christ Church, Oxford - geograph.org.uk - 187942.jpg, The rear of The Library, Christ Church, Oxford File:The Queens' College Oxford, quad.jpg, Quad, The Queens' College Oxford File:Queens College Ball 2010.jpg, Quad, The Queens' College Oxford File:The Queen's half-mast.jpg, High Street front, The Queens' College Oxford File:Magdalen College Oxford panorama.jpg, Magdalen College, Oxford, New Buildings in the background File:WorcesterCollegeTHShepherdEarly19thc edited.jpg, Front, Worcester College, Oxford File:WorcQuad.JPG, Quad, Worcester College, Oxford

References

Clayton, T. (1992) “The Print Collection of George Clarke at Worcester College, Oxford”. ''Print Quarterly'' 9(2) 123–141.
George Clarke Print Collection
http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/clarke-george-1661-1736

Life

List of architectural works

Gallery of architectural work

References

Further reading