George Dance the Elder (1695 – 8 February 1768) was a British architect. He was the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and architect from 1735 until his death.

Life

Originally a mason, George Dance was appointed Clerk of the city works to the

. In 1734, shortly before taking up the post, he had won a major commission from the city, for the Mansion House, the new residence for the Lord Mayor. He was one of three architects—the others being

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transi ...

and

Giacomo Leoni Giacomo Leoni (1686 – 8 June 1746), also known as James Leoni, was an Italian architect, born in Venice. He was a devotee of the work of Florentine Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti, who had also been an inspiration for Andrea Pallad ...

—who had been invited to submit designs. His building has a grand portico, and an "Egyptian Hall", so called because it uses an arrangement of columns described as Egyptian by

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled ''De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribute ...

. It was completed in 1752. He also designed the

Great Synagogue of London The Great Synagogue of London was, for centuries, the centre of Ashkenazi synagogue and Jewish life in London. Built north of Aldgate in the 17th century, it was destroyed during World War II, in the Blitz. History The earliest Ashkenazi synagog ...

as well as the churches of

St Leonard's, Shoreditch St Leonard's, Shoreditch, is the ancient parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney in East London. The ...

(1736–40),

St Botolph's Aldgate St Botolph's Aldgate is a Church of England parish church in the City of London and also, as it lies outside the line of the city's former eastern walls, a part of the East End of London. The full name of the church is St Botolph without Aldga ...

(1741–44) and St Matthew's, Bethnal Green (1743–46). Further afield, Dance designed the Town Hall of

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

in Northern Ireland (1743; demolished in 1859). Sir

John Summerson Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century. Early life John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington. His grandfather wo ...

included Dance in a list of London architects who he felt debased Palladianism, calling his Mansion House "cramped and overdressed". George had five sons, three of whom enjoyed fame in their own right. * Eldest son James Dance (1722–1744) became an actor and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

connected with

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

theatre, and took the name Love. * Second son Giles * Third son Sir

Nathaniel Dance-Holland Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet (8 May 1735 – 15 October 1811) was an English portrait painter and later a politician. Early life The third son of architect George Dance the Elder, Dance (he added the 'Holland' suffix later in l ...

(1735–1811) was a notable painter. * Fourth son William, "an ingenious modest man, is in a private situation. With a talent for musick, & much ingenuity He has attempted to get a living by miniature painting & by teaching as a School Master.

Lord Camden Marquess Camden is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1812 for the politician John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden. The Pratt family descends from Sir John Pratt, Lord Chief Justice from 1718 to 1725. His third son from hi ...

knows him &, being at a Concert given by his Brother Sir Nathaniel, conceived the reason to be his situation in life. His Lordship soon after had a Concert & invited Sir Nathaniel & William who made an excuse, which His Lordship saw through & put off the day of his Concert. William was obliged to attend to the 2nd invitation & gave Lord C. an opportunity of showing an attention that the Brother had not."A typed note affixed to the back of a print by brother George - original source not yet established. * Fifth son

George Dance the Younger George Dance the Younger RA (1 April 1741 – 14 January 1825) was an English architect and surveyor as well as a portraitist. The fifth and youngest son of the architect George Dance the Elder, he came from a family of architects, artists a ...

(1741–1825) succeeded him as city architect. Dance is buried in the churchyard of St Luke's Old Street, north of the City of London.

Gallery of architectural work

File:Mansion House London.jpg, Mansion House, City of London. File:Shoreditch st leonards 2.jpg, St. Leonard's Shoreditch, London File:Looking from Minories across to St Botolph, Aldgate - geograph.org.uk - 1004803.jpg, St. Botolph, Aldgate, London File:St Botolph without Aldgate, London EC3 - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 1229915.jpg, St. Botolph, Aldgate, London, interior

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dance, George, the Elder 1695 births 1768 deaths 18th-century English architects