Richard Makilwaine Phipson (1827–1884)
[Wilson p. 158.] 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 ...
. As diocesan architect for the
Anglican Diocese of Norwich
The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.
History
It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East A ...
, he was responsible for renovating almost 100 churches in
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
.
[
]
Biography
Phipson was born in Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
. He was diocesan surveyor (architect) for the Anglican Diocese of Norwich
The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Church of England that forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.
History
It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of the Bishop of the East A ...
from 1871 to 1884, and a 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 ...
in the 1860s, though he was active from the 1850s. He restored a large number of churches in East Anglia in the middle and late 19th century:[ he was "fond of big, unexpected figure and foliage carvings".][Wilson 446–47.] He was responsible, for instance, for the St John the Baptist church in Harleston, the interior of the St Peter Mancroft
St Peter Mancroft is a parish church in the Church of England, in the centre of Norwich, Norfolk. After the two cathedrals, it is the largest church in Norwich. It was originally established by the then Earl of East Anglia, Ralph de Gael between ...
church in Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, and the near-complete rebuilding of St Mary le Tower
St Mary-le-Tower is the civic church of Ipswich and a Grade II* listed building. It was in the churchyard of St Mary that the town charter of Ipswich was written in 1200.
History
Although medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, w ...
church in Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
. The diocese then included East Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, where he worked on many churches, including All Saints, Holbrook Holbrook may refer to:
Places
England
*Holbrook, Derbyshire, a village
* Holbrook, Somerset, a hamlet in Charlton Musgrove
* Holbrook, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a former mining village in Mosborough ward, now known as Halfway
*Holbrook, Suffolk, ...
, Thelnetham
Thelnetham is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located on the southern bank of the River Little Ouse (the Norfolk-Suffolk border), six miles west of Diss, in 2005 its population was 230. The ...
Church and St Mary's Burgh-next-Aylsham
Burgh and Tuttington is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.
It covers an area of and had a population of 255 in 115 households at the 2001 census, increasing to a population of 322 in 140 households at the 2011 Census.
For the pu ...
.
Notable projects
St Mary-le-Tower is the civic church of Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
, and "the nearest thing the town will ever have to a cathedral. This is Suffolk's Victorian church par excellence. It is full of the spirit of its age, from the Suffolk flushwork to the international gothic of the spire itself. One could no more imagine Ipswich without 'the Tower' than without the Orwell Bridge," according to Simon Knott. There was a medieval church on the site, which was almost entirely demolished in the 1860s, so that the present exterior is largely Phipson's, although the nave arcades and some monuments and fittings inside remain from the original.
Phipson replaced the tower and spire at Woolpit
Woolpit ( ) is a village in the English county of Suffolk, midway between the towns of Bury St. Edmunds and Stowmarket. In 2011 Woolpit parish had a population of 1,995. It is notable for the 12th-century legend of the green children of Woolpi ...
after they were destroyed by lightning in the 1850s. Despite his use of a style typical of Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, rather than Suffolk, his spire is largely accepted as a success by most authorities. unlike his one at Great Finborough
Great Finborough is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England; about south west of Stowmarket and near one of the sources of the River Gipping. It has two schools, a pub and an active church. In 2 ...
, sometimes dubbed " Thunderbird One" after the Supermarionation
Supermarionation (a portmanteau of the words "super", "marionette" and " animation")La Rivière 2009, p. 67. is a style of television and film production employed by British company AP Films (later Century 21 Productions) in its puppet T ...
space rescue vehicle. He also oversaw the restoration and alteration of the Moot Hall, Aldeburgh
The Moot Hall is a municipal building in Market Cross Place in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England. The building, which is the meeting place of Aldeburgh Town Council, is a Grade I listed building.
History The building
The building was designed in the ...
in 1854–1855.
In 1865–66 Phipson oversaw restoration of St Peter's Church at Ickburgh
Ickburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the A1065 Mildenhall to Fakenham road, some north of Brandon and south of Swaffham. The village is from the city of Norwich and from London.Distances ...
, a project paid for by Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton
Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton (20 May 1800 – 6 September 1868) was a British peer Whig and later Tory politician.
Early life
He was born in Philadelphia, United States, the second son of Alexander Baring and Ann Louisa, the daughter and ...
. Phipson's work is praised as "surprisingly fine". In 1868, he added a chapel to the Union Workhouse at Beetley
Beetley is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. According to the 2011 census the parish had a population of 1,396. The village is situated four miles (6 km) north of East Dereham.
History
Beetley w ...
in Norfolk, now the Norfolk Rural Life Museum. He restored All Saints in Alburgh
Alburgh is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies about four miles (6 km) north-east of Harleston and 16 miles (26 km) south of Norwich.
Heritage
The earliest evidence of settlement is from the Mesolith ...
in 1876, adding "pinnacles with little flying buttresses" and reworking the chancel. In 1883 he restored the outside of St Peter's in Easton, Norfolk
Easton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located north-west of Norwich and east of Dereham, along the A47 between Birmingham and Lowestoft.
History
Easton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and de ...
, and in 1886 the tower of St Andrew's in Kirby Bedon
Kirby Bedon is a hamlet in South Norfolk which lies approximately 3½ miles (5½ km) south-east of Norwich on the road to Bramerton. It covers an area of and had a population of 186 in 77 households at the 2001 census, the population incre ...
, the church in which he is buried.[Wilson 506.]
Besides churches, Phipson also designed commercial buildings, including a bank on Hall Quay in Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...
. In the 1880s Phipson appears as one of the "chief landowners" of the parish of Winfarthing in Norfolk.Kelly's Directory for Cambridgeshire, Norfolk & Suffolk
1883, p. 559.
Gallery
File:St Mary-le-Tower Church Ipswich Suffolk.jpg, St Mary-le-Tower
St Mary-le-Tower is the civic church of Ipswich and a Grade II* listed building. It was in the churchyard of St Mary that the town charter of Ipswich was written in 1200.
History
Although medieval, the church mostly dates from 1860 to 1870, wh ...
, Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
, a new church by Phipson on the site of a medieval one.
File:The workhouse chapel - view east - geograph.org.uk - 1309609.jpg, Chapel of the former Union Workhouse, Norfolk
File:St Mary's church - view east - geograph.org.uk - 863783.jpg, St Mary, Burgh-next-Aylsham
File:St. Mary's church, Woolpit, Suffolk - geograph.org.uk - 237111.jpg, Saint Mary's Church, Woolpit — the tower and spire are Phipson's
References
Bibliography
*
*Jenkins, Simon
Sir Simon David Jenkins (born 10 June 1943) is a British author, a newspaper columnist and editor. He was editor of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1976 to 1978 and of ''The Times'' from 1990 to 1992.
Jenkins chaired the National Trust from 20 ...
, ''England's Thousand Best Churches'', 1999, Allen Lane,
*Simon Knott
Suffolk Churches biography
see also "Woolpit", "Great Finborough",
etc.
*John Julius Norwich
John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality.
Background
Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...
, ''The Architecture of Southern England'', Macmillan, London, 1985,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipson, Richard
1827 births
1884 deaths
19th-century English architects
English ecclesiastical architects
Architects from Ipswich