James Thomas Knowles (1806–1884) was an English architect with an extensive practice, who designed upper-class houses in an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

manner more familiar in the work of Sir

Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsi ...

. The drawings he submitted in the competition for the new

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

lost to Barry's.

Major works

In London, Knowles built in 1854 the confident and technically assured

palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

at 15

Kensington Palace Gardens Kensington Palace Gardens is an exclusive street in Kensington, west of central London, near Kensington Gardens and Kensington Palace. Entered through gates at either end and guarded by sentry boxes, it was the location of the London Cage, th ...

, which is today the official residence of the Ambassador of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Together with his son (Sir) James Thomas Knowles (1831–1908), he was responsible for the Victoria Station Hotel – originally named The Grosvenor and recently rebranded and reopened under this name after an 18-month, £20 million refurbishment. Knowles provided a vast Italianate mansion at

Silverton Park Silverton Park, also known locally as Egremont House, was a large neoclassical mansion in the parish of Silverton, Devon, England. History It was built between 1838 and 1845 by George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont, and demolished in 1901. It wa ...

, Devon, for the fourth

Earl of Egremont Earl of Egremont was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1749, along with the subsidiary title Baron of Cockermouth, in Cumberland, for Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, with remainder to his nephews Sir Charles Wy ...

, who had inherited the title but not the family seat at

Petworth Petworth is a small town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Chichester (district), Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located at the junction of the A272 road, A272 east–west road from Heathfield, East Sussex ...

, Sussex, and was determined to build a rival. It was not fully complete when the earl died in 1845, and after a house sale in 1892 had dispersed its contents, it was demolished except for the stables. Over a century later, a brief, unillustrated catalogue description in the 1892 sale inspired the creation of a forgery of an ancient Egyptian portrait head, known as ''

Amarna Princess The ''Amarna Princess'', sometimes referred to as the "Bolton Amarna Princess," is a statue forged by British art forger Shaun Greenhalgh and sold by his father George Sr. to Bolton Museum for £440,000 in 2003. Based on the Amarna art-style of ...

''. Knowles also built the Italianate

Blackborough House Blackborough House is a grade II listed privately owned country house in Blackborough, Devon, east of Cullompton. It was built in 1838 and is currently in undergoing restoration. Construction It was built in 1838 by James T. Knowles for Ge ...

in 1832 for

George Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont George Francis Wyndham, 4th Earl of Egremont (30 August 1786 – 2 April 1845) of Orchard Wyndham, Somerset and Silverton Park, Devon, was an English nobleman and naval officer. Origins He was the son of William Frederick Wyndham (1763–1828) ...

. Chosen by Sir Francis Cook to rebuild the

Monserrate Palace The Monserrate Palace ( pt, Palácio de Monserrate) is a palatial villa located near Sintra, the traditional summer resort of the Portuguese court in the foothills overlooking the Atlantic Ocean north of the capital, Lisbon. History According ...

in Sintra, Portugal, Knowles added to the previous neo-gothic construction exotic decoration of mixed neo-Indian and neo-Moorish styles. This Palace of Monserrate, along with the Palace of Pena, is considered to be one of the most important examples of Romantic architecture in Portugal. One of Knowles's sketchbooks survives in the library of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

.National Archives
His son, Sir James Thomas Knowles, practised as an architect in partnership with his father and edited the ''

Contemporary Review ''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013. History The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intellige ...

'' in 1870–1877.

References

*James Stevens Curl, ''A Dictionary of Architecture''

Major works

References

Further reading