John H. Brett (1835–1920) was an Irish architect, builder, and

county surveyor A county surveyor is a public official in the United Kingdom and the United States. United Kingdom Webb & Webb describe the increasing chaos that began to prevail within this same period in field of county surveying in England and Wales, with c ...

for counties Limerick (Western Division), Kildare and Antrim, active in late-nineteenth to early twentieth-century

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

.''See'' Brendan O'Donoghue, The Irish County Surveyors 1834-1944 (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007), p.115-117. Cited in

Irish Architectural Archive The Irish Architectural Archive was established in 1976 by Dr Edward McParland and Nicholas Robinson as the National Trust Archive. Its objective is to collect and preserve material of every kind relating to the architecture of Ireland, and ma ...

, ''

Dictionary of Irish Architects The ''Dictionary of Irish Architects'' is an online database which contains biographical and bibliographical information on architects, builders and craftsmen born or working in Ireland during the period 1720 to 1940, and information on the build ...

1720-1940'
John Henry Brett
Accessed 12 April 2011) He was notable in being a prolific designer of utilitarian structures as a county surveyor, with many practical schemes proposed. His designs, however, were often flamboyant in practicing a

Ruskinian Gothic High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right. Promo ...

blend of Victoian Italianate and Venetian Renaissance styles, heavily influenced by the writer

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

(1819–1900).

Career

Brett's first employment was for William Dargan on the railways, then he was appointed county surveyor for the western division of County Limerick (1863), County Kildare (1869), County Antrim (1885). During the late 1860s, he also practiced with his father as Henry Brett & Son, which was joined by his brother Charles Henry Brett and they continued the business after their father's death in 1882 as John H. & H.C. Brett. He was elected a member of the Architectural Association in Ireland November 1872, ICEI in 1874, and Association of Municipal and County Engineers in 1891. Brett retired February 1914 and was made a JP for County Antrim.R.M. Young, ''Belfast and the Province of Ulster in the 20th Century'' (1909), p. 594

Personal life

He was born 1835 in Tobercurry,

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

, the son of builder Henry Brett and was the brother of Charles Henry Brett. He was educated at

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. Brett married Mary Josephine Brady around 1876 in Dublin and have a daughter and five sons. His last address was at 3 Alexandra Gardens, Fortwilliam Park, Belfast.

Works

*County Kildare Court House, Naas, County Kildare, Main Street South (1871-1873 for repairs & improvements; 1876 for addition of record court) *Sewerage, Naas, County Kildare (1875–1879) Proposal (rejected on grounds of cost) *County Wicklow Court House, Wicklow, County Wicklow (1876 for repairs and addition of new record court, estimated cost: £1,800. *Military Barracks, Newbridge, County Kildare, Main Street (1879 for sewerage scheme) *Mercer's Hospital, Mercer Street, Dublin (1880-1888 for competition-winning design of a new wing, containing offices, 3 new wards, lecture theatre, and accommodation for doctors, students and nurses. With W. M. Mitchell.) *FBD Insurance (former National Bank of Ireland branch bank), 1 Great George's Street / Sargent's Lane, Waterford, County Waterford (1887) *Sewerage scheme in Ballymena-Cullybackey, County Antrim (1901) *Weir, Toomebridge, County Antrim (1910 repair with C. L. Boddie)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brett, John Henry 19th-century Irish architects 20th-century Irish architects Irish surveyors People from Tubbercurry Architects from Belfast 1835 births 1920 deaths Architects from County Sligo