St Mary on Paddington Green front entrance

John Plaw (1745-1820) was an architect who was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

but later emigrated to the Colony of Prince Edward Island in North America. He is known for favouring circular designs in the classical style. There are two known surviving examples of his work in the UK. These are a circular villa built on Belle Isle,

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

’s largest island, and

St Mary on Paddington Green Church St Mary on Paddington Green is an Anglican church in the Parish of Little Venice, London, and forms part of Paddington Green conservation area. Today it stands at the junction of Edgware Road and Harrow Road, overlooking the East end of Westway ...

, which was designed in the shape of a

Greek Cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

and constructed between 1788 and 1791. A third property, The Round House in

Romford Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romfo ...

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, constructed between 1792-4, has also been attributed to Plaw.

Career

John Plaw began his apprenticeship with a London bricklaying company in 1759. As an apprentice, he received an architectural award from the RSA. From 1775 – a year after completing plans for the villa on Belle Isle – he was exhibiting architectural drawings at the Royal Academy of Arts. In the 1790s Plaw found work in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

designing the military barracks which became the offices of the Ordnance Survey as well as nearby housing. In 1807 he and his family emigrated to Prince Edward Island where he submitted proposals for a jail, a courthouse, a market building and a commercial building. The courthouse and market building were completed, however neither still stands today.

Surviving designs in print

John Plaw is largely remembered for three successful pattern books, ‘Rural Architecture; or Designs from the Simple Cottage to the Decorated Villa ’, ‘Ferme Ormee or Rural Improvements’ and ‘Sketches for Country Houses, Villas, and Rural Dwellings’. All three books are still in print today.

External links

Digital Library for the Decorative Arts online version of ‘Sketches for Country Houses, Villas, and Rural Dwellings’

Historic Places of Prince Edward Island information about John Plaw

Historic Places of Canada

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaw, John 1745 births 1820 deaths Architects from London English emigrants to Canada Canadian architects People from Prince Edward Island