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John Notman (22 July 18103 March 1865) was a Scottish-born American architect, who settled in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. He is remembered for his churches, and for popularizing the Italianate style and the use of
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...
.


Career

Notman was born on 22 July 1810 at
Fernieside Fernieside is a neighbourhood on the southern edge of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, four miles (6.5 km) southeast of the city centre. It is very close to Craigour, which is just to its north, with Ferniehill to the south, Moredun to the ...
on the south edge of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He was the son of David Notman, a mason and builder. He was educated at the Watt Institution in Edinburgh. Around 1824 Notman joined his older cousin,
William Notman William Notman (8 March 1826 – 25 November 1891) was a Scottish-Canadian photographer and businessman. The Notman House in Montreal was his home from 1876 until his death in 1891, and it has since been named after him. Biography Notman ...
to train as an architect in the office of
William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century, who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks. Life Playfair was born on 15 ...
in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
prior to emigrating to the United States in 1831. He eventually settled in Philadelphia, where one of his first commissions was Laurel Hill Cemetery in 1835. He later opened and operated a successful firm until his death in 1865. Notman was also a founding member of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...
and was committed to establishing professionalism in the practice of architecture in the United States. Notman is credited with introducing the Italianate style to America. "Riverside", his 1837-39 house in
Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was ...
for Bishop G.W. Doane, was tremendously influential, and his 1845
Athenaeum of Philadelphia The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814 to collect materials ...
was the first Italianate building in his adopted city. Notman designed a number of suburban villas and country houses, including "Ogontz" (1863) for financier
Jay Cooke Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowle ...
. Many of his designs for churches were dictated by the ideas of the
Cambridge Camden Society The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,Histor ...
who suggested that
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
churches of the Low church variety should be built in the Romanesque style, while those of the
High church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
variety be built in the
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style. He was also briefly employed by the
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
Diocese of Philadelphia during construction of the
Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, head church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is located at 18th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, on the east side of Logan Square in Philadelphia. It was built betwe ...
until an argument over the terms of his contract resulted in his dismissal. Notman was also the architect of the highly influential New Jersey State Lunatic Asylum in Trenton, New Jersey of 1847. This building was the first example of the
Kirkbride Plan The Kirkbride Plan was a system of mental asylum design advocated by American psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride (1809–1883) in the mid-19th century. The asylums built in the Kirkbride design, often referred to as Kirkbride Buildings (or si ...
in asylum design. Notman also designed the
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 ...
gatehouse for Mount Vernon Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following Notman's death, the firm continued for a couple of years under his protege George Hewitt. He is buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery. John's brother, Peter Notman, lived on Joralemon Street in Brooklyn Heights and sold fire insurance. His children, John's nieces and nephews, are memorialized on a bas-relief in the crypt of St George's Episcopal Church on Stuyvesant Square in New York City.


Churches

Some of Notman's notable commissions for the Episcopal Church include:
Chapel of the Holy Innocents, Saint Mary's Hall
Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 9,743. Burlington was first incorporated on October 24, 1693, and was ...
(1845).
St. Thomas Episcopal Church
Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,Church of the Messiah, Richmond (1848)
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.St. Mark's Church, 1625 Locust Street, Philadelphia (1849). Tower completed by George Hewitt (1865). Lady Chapel by
Cope & Stewardson Cope and Stewardson (1885–1912) was a Philadelphia architecture firm founded by Walter Cope and John Stewardson, and best known for its Collegiate Gothic building and campus designs. Cope and Stewardson established the firm in 1885, and were jo ...
(1899-1902). * Emmanuel Church,
Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...
(1851). * St. Peter's Church,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
(1851). * St. Clement's Church, Philadelphia (1855–59). * Church of the Holy Trinity,
Rittenhouse Square Rittenhouse Square is a neighborhood, including a public park, in Center City Philadelphia. The park is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. The neighborho ...
, Philadelphia (1856–59). *Episcopal Church of the Messiah, District of Port Richmond, Philadelphia, PA (1847-8). *St. John's Episcopal Church,
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...
(1857-1858); located in the Brandywine Village Historic District. * Cathedral Church of St. John the Evangelist, Concord Ave. & Market St., Wilmington, Delaware (1858).


Gallery

File:LaurelHillCemeteryGatehouse(cropped) HABS314296cv.jpg, Laurel Hill Cemetery Gatehouse, 3822 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia (1835). File:PhiladelphiaAthenaeum.png,
Athenaeum of Philadelphia The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814 to collect materials ...
, 219 S. 6th St., Philadelphia (1845). File:AthenaeumPhilly.jpg,
Athenaeum of Philadelphia The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located at 219 S. 6th Street between St. James Place and Locust Street in the Society Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library and museum founded in 1814 to collect materials ...
, stair hall. File:WTP2 Thewinners IMG 0953.JPG, Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia (1856–59).


Further reading

*Constance M. Greiff, ''John Notman Architect, 1810-1865''. Philadelphia: Athenaeum of Philadelphia, 1979. *Carla Yanni, The Architecture of Madness: Insane Asylums in the United States, University of Minnesota Press, 2007.


References


External links


Philadelphia BuildingsCatalogue of Notman's works and biographyEpiscopal Church of the Messiah, Port Richmond
{{DEFAULTSORT:Notman, John 1810 births 1865 deaths Architects from Philadelphia British emigrants to the United States Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Royal Scottish Academicians 19th-century American architects Architects from Edinburgh