Robert Smythson (1535 – 15 October 1614) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

. Smythson designed a number of notable houses during the Elizabethan era. Little is known about his birth and upbringing—his first mention in historical records comes in 1556, when he was stonemason for the house at

Longleat Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquess of Bath, Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan era, Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of War ...

, built by Sir John Thynne (ca. 1512–1580). He later designed

Hardwick Hall Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is an architecturally significant country house from the Elizabethan era, a leading example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Built between 1590 and 1597 for Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect ...

Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...

, Burton Agnes Hall, and other significant projects. Historically, a number of other Elizabethan houses, such as

Gawthorpe Hall Gawthorpe Hall is an Elizabethan country house on the banks of the River Calder, in Ightenhill, a civil parish in the Borough of Burnley, Lancashire, England. Its estate extends into Padiham, with the Stockbridge Drive entrance situated ther ...

and

Chastleton House Chastleton House () is a Jacobean country house at Chastleton, Oxfordshire, England, close to Moreton-in-Marsh (). It has been owned by the National Trust since 1991 and is a Grade I listed building. History Chastleton House was built betwe ...

, have been attributed to him on stylistic grounds. In Britain at this time, the profession of architect was in its most embryonic stage of development. Smythson was trained as a stonemason, and by the 1560s was travelling England as a master mason leading his own team of masons. In 1568 he moved from London to Wiltshire to commence work on the new house at Longleat for Sir

John Thynne Sir John Thynne (c. 1515 – 21 May 1580) was the steward to Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (c. 1506 – 1552), and a member of parliament. He was the builder of Longleat House, and his descendants became Marquesses of Bath. Early life ...

; he worked there for almost eighteen years, carving personally much of the external detail, and he is believed to have had a strong influence on the overall design of the building. In 1580 he moved to his next project—Wollaton Hall. At Wollaton he was clearly more a "surveyor" (the term at that time for an architect) than a stonemason, and was in charge of overall construction. Smythson's style was more than a fusion of influences; although

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, especially

Sebastiano Serlio Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential trea ...

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

and

English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

notes can be seen in his work, he produced some ingenious adaptations, resulting in classically detailed, innovative domestic buildings. Hardwick in particular is noted for its use of

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

. Smythson died at Wollaton in 1614 and is buried in the parish church there; his memorial includes these words "Architecter (sic) and Surveyor unto the most worthy house of Wollaton with divers others of great account." Mark Girouard, ''Robert Smythson & the Elizabethan Country House'' 1983; pp. 82–83. His son John Smythson (

Bolsover Castle Bolsover Castle is in the town of Bolsover (), in the north-east of the English county of Derbyshire. Built in the early 17th century, the present castle lies on the earthworks and ruins of the 12th-century medieval castle; the first structure of ...

) and grandson Huntingdon Smithson (as he spelt the family name) were also architects.

Gallery of architectural works

File:Longleat House - geograph.org.uk - 21573.jpg,

Longleat House Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wilts ...

File:Hardwick Hall Giano.gif,

File:Wollaton Hall.jpg,

File:Wollaton Hall - geograph.org.uk - 11651.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smythson, Robert 1535 births 1614 deaths Renaissance architects 16th-century English architects 17th-century English architects Year of birth uncertain People from Wollaton Architects from Nottinghamshire