James Bunstone Bunning
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

James Bunstone Bunning (6 October 1802 – 2 November 1863) was an English
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
. He held the post of architect to 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 ...
from 1843 until his death, and is probably best remembered for his design for the
Coal Exchange The Coal Exchange (also known as the Exchange Building) is an historic building in Cardiff, Wales. It is designed in Renaissance Revival style. Built in 1888 as the Coal and Shipping Exchange to be used as a market floor and office building for ...
.


Life

Bunning was born in London on 6 October 1802. He was trained in the office of his father, the surveyor Daniel James Bunning, from the age of thirteen. He was then articled to George Smith. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1819 and 1848., giving his address as Bernard Street between 1819 and 1823, and Guilford Street after 1832. He was a fellow of the
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 ...
, and of the Society of Antiquaries.


Early career

Bunning was district surveyor for
Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...
, (where he built the workhouse in 1840-2), and, from around 1825, surveyor to the
Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...
estates. He went on to hold the same post with the Haberdashers' Company, the London and County Bank, the Thames Tunnel, the Victoria Life Office and the Chelsea waterworks. For the Haberdashers he built the Five Bells Hotel, the Railway Tavern, Hatcham Terrace, Albert Terrace and other streets on the Company's estate at
New Cross New Cross is an area in south east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, Telegraph Hill, Nunhead, Peckham, Brockley, Deptford and Greenwich, ...
, and for the London and County Bank he built or converted many branches, including those at Chatham, Canterbury, Brighton and Leighton Buzzard. In 1834 he built a "receiving house" – a first-aid post for people rescued from the water – by the Serpentine in
Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...
for the
Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...
. He won the commission in a competition, entered under a pseudonym, but, as a member of the committee of the society, waived his fee. He also won the competition to build the new
City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...
on the site of Honey Lane Market in
Cheapside Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...
. Begun in October 1835, it was a Gothic building more than 180 feet long, accommodating 400 pupils. He also entered the competitions to rebuild the Royal Exchange and the Houses of Parliament. In 1839 he became surveyor to the London Cemetery Company for whom he did work at
Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
, possibly including the design of the Terrace Catacombs (1842), and laid out Nunhead Cemetery (1840) and designed its gates and lodges. Among the last works he did in private practice, before taking up his appointment with the Corporation of the City of London were the towers and parts of the approaches for Brunel's
Hungerford Suspension Bridge The Hungerford Bridge crosses the River Thames in London, and lies between Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Owned by Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd (who use its official name of Charing Cross Bridge) it is a steel truss railway bridge ...
.


Architect to the City of London

In 1843, Bunning was appointed Clerk of the City's Works to 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 ...
in 1843, a post for which
William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...
had also been a candidate. The title of the post was changed to City Architect in 1847. In this role he built the Coal Exchange in Thames Street (1849); the City Prison at Holloway, its front and gateway a ragstone imitation of
Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...
; Billingsgate Market (1853), in red brick and stone, in an
Italianate style 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 ...
, with a central campanile; the Freemens' Orphans' Schools in
Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...
, also Italianate and in red brick and stone (1852–54), and the
Metropolitan Cattle Market The Metropolitan Cattle Market (later Caledonian Market), just off the Caledonian Road in the parish of Islington (now the London Borough of Islington) was built by the City of London Corporation and was opened in June 1855 by Prince Albert. ...
in Islington, opened in 1855. He had previously made a design for remodeling the market on its existing site at Smithfield. The central
clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
, in what is now Caledonian Park, and two sets of railings are all that remain following the market’s closure and demolition in the early 1960s. In 1856, he built two law courts at the Guildhall, and in 1858 began the complete reconstruction of
Newgate prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey Street just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, t ...
, leaving only George Dance's outer walls intact. In 1858 he built Rogers' almshouses at Brixton and the Pauper Lunatic Asylum at Stone in Kent, both in a "domestic Gothic" style. Much of his time as City architect was spent on work connected with the valuation, leasing and sale of the City estates. He also surveyed and planned many road improvements, including the building of New Cannon Street (opened in 1854). His unexecuted projects included one for the widening of
London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...
.
Thomas Leverton Donaldson Thomas Leverton Donaldson (19 October 1795 – 1 August 1885) was a British architect, notable as a pioneer in architectural education, as a co-founder and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a winner of the RIBA Royal Gold ...
, paying tribute to Bunning shortly after his death, said "Not content with the mere routine of official duty (which however he carried out zealously and with stern integrity), he had higher aims, and with an earnestness beyond all praise he directed his efforts to give his buildings for the city the stamp of a monumental character, worthy of the corporate body whom he represented", and called the central hall of Bunning's Coal Exchange "a grand feature, recalling the sentiment of an antique Roman building." Another duty was to provide decorations for the annual Lord Mayor's banquet, and for state occasions in the City. His last work was the decoration of London Bridge and other buildings for the ceremonial welcome of Princess
Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
to London. During this time his health broke down and he tendered his resignation from his post with the City of London, which was not accepted.


Family

In 1826, he married Esther Basan, who was of Italian origin. She survived him and they had no children.


Death

Bunning died at his home in Gloucester Terrace,
Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
, on the 2nd November 1863. A street in
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
is named after him. He is buried with his wife in
Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...
(west side).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bunning, James Bunstone 1802 births 1863 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery 19th-century English architects Architects from London