John Gibbs was a British Gothic Revival architect based in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, and

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 ...

, England.

Life

John Gibbs was initially in Oxford but he moved to Wigan in the 1850s and then Manchester in the north of England. In 1858, he proposed a memorial fountain to commemorate Alfred the Great (purported to be the founder of

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 th ...

for many years) to be located in the centre of the wide Broad Street, southeast of St Giles', but it was never completed. The current

Banbury Cross Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

was erected in 1859 to a design of Gibbs at the centre of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

, Oxfordshire, in commemoration of the marriage of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's eldest daughter to Prince Frederick of Prussia. It is a stone, spire-shaped monument decorated in Gothic form. The cross is 52 feet 6 inches high and is topped with a gilt cross. Statues surrounding the cross were added later in 1911. Gibbs returned to Oxford in the 1860s and worked in St Giles', central

. In 1865, he designed a monument to Prince Albert in Albert Park, Abingdon, then in Berkshire. This consisted of a statue on a tall pedestal, a total of 48 feet high. In

North Oxford North Oxford is a suburban part of the city of Oxford in England. It was owned for many centuries largely by St John's College, Oxford and many of the area's Victorian houses were initially sold on leasehold by the College. Overview The le ...

, Gibbs designed three large and prominent houses on the west side of

Banbury Road Banbury Road is a major arterial road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' at the south end, north towards Banbury through the leafy suburb of North Oxford and Summertown, with its local shopping centre. Parallel and to the west is the ...

(numbers 54, 56, and 58). No. 54 (1866) now forms part of

Wycliffe Hall Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England Seminary, theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was Master (college), mast ...

. No. 56 (1867) was built for Henry Hatch, a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...

, and was later the long-time residence of Sir

Edward Bagnall Poulton Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton, FRS HFRSE FLS (27 January 1856 – 20 November 1943) was a British evolutionary biologist, a lifelong advocate of natural selection through a period in which many scientists such as Reginald Punnett doubted its ...

, FRS,

Hope Professor of Zoology The Hope Professor of Zoology (Entomology) is a professorship at Oxford University. The first Hope Professor was John Obadiah Westwood. The current holder is Geraldine Wright. The position is associated with a professorial fellowship at Jesus ...

.Hinchcliffe, p. 105. The building is now used by the Careers Service of Oxford University. No. 58 (also 1867) was built for the chemist, William Walsh. It includes a statue of

William of Wykeham William of Wykeham (; 1320 or 1324 – 27 September 1404) was Bishop of Winchester and Chancellor of England. He founded New College, Oxford, and New College School in 1379, and founded Winchester College in 1382. He was also the clerk of wor ...

by the sculptor W. Forsyth of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

in a niche on the external wall of the house. The building is now the Department of

Biological Anthropology Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...

and Human Sciences at Oxford University. John Gibbs designed the parsonage and the village school (1871) at South Leigh in Oxfordshire west of Oxford. Gibbs wrote books promoting the

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

architectural style including ''Designs for Gothic Ornaments'' (1853) and ''English Gothic Architecture'' (1855).Hinchcliffe, p. 248. He was also the author of a novel, ''The Old Parish Church: with the Ghost of Merton Hall'', published in 1861.

References

Sources

* *

External links

John Gibbs (architect.)

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, John Year of death missing 19th-century English architects Gothic Revival architects English architecture writers 19th-century English novelists Architects from Oxford English male novelists 19th-century male writers 1827 births

Life

See also

References

Sources

External links