Robert Dennis Chantrell ( Newington,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

14 January 1793 – Norwood, 4 January 1872) 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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

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 ...

, best-known today for designing Leeds Parish Church, now

Leeds Minster Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster (church), minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of ar ...

Early life

Chantrell was born in Newington,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His father, Robert (1765-1840) had interests in a range of businesses that took the family to Europe, settling in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

in 1808. He was a pupil in the office of Sir

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professo ...

from 1807 to 1814, where he learnt the principles of

Classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

. In 1816, Chantrell moved to Halifax where he assisted the architect William Bradley. In March 1819, Chantrell won the competition to build the Leeds Public Baths and he opened a practice in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Career

At the beginning of his career Chantrell designed a string of classical buildings. The Public Baths were single storey with double columns flanking the main door. In May 1819, Chantrell won the competition to design a new hall for the Leeds Philosophical Society, also in a classical design. He went on to design the South Market which included a Neo-classical temple. However, by 1825 he fell out of favour with prominent townsmen. After a few years, Chantrell reinvented himself as a pioneering

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 ...

specialist to meet the huge demand of the times for additional church accommodation. He became one of the most accomplished specialists in this area of practice and numerous remaining buildings testify his original skills. The crowning of his career was the building of Leeds Parish Church (1837–1841), the biggest church in England since

Christopher Wren Sir Christopher Wren PRS FRS (; – ) was one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history, as well as an anatomist, astronomer, geometer, and mathematician-physicist. He was accorded responsibility for rebuilding 52 churches ...

's St Paul's and, on a national level, the most important church of the age. After he moved to London, Chantrell started a second career as surveyor of church constructions. He also became a respected antiquary, writer, lecturer and member of several prestigious London committees.

Architectural work

Surviving buildings by Chantrell include: *alterations to the

Leeds Library The Leeds Library is the oldest surviving subscription library of its type in the UK. It was founded in 1768, following an advertisement placed in the ''Leeds Intelligencer'' earlier that year. The first secretary was Joseph Priestley. In 1779 ...

, including galleries (1821–36) *completion of

Rudding Park House Rudding Park Hotel, Spa and Golf is a Grade I listed Regency-style country house in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It is situated within the Rudding Park estate at Follifoot on the southern outskirts of Harrogate. It is a two-storey buil ...

(c.1824) *alterations to St Mary-the-Virgin,

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

(1826) *

St Stephen's Church, Kirkstall St. Stephen's Church is a Church of England church in Kirkstall, Leeds. The church has been Grade II listed since 5 August 1976. Location The church is located on Morris Lane in Kirkstall. The church sits on high ground overlooking Kirkstall A ...

(1828–9) *Emmanuel Church, Lockwood (1828–29) *All Saints,

Netherthong Netherthong is a village in the civil parish of Holme Valley, and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. The village is near the town of Holmfirth, and on the B6107 road to Meltham from the main A6024 Woodhead Road thr ...

(1828–9) *St Peter,

Morley Morley may refer to: Places England * Morley, Norfolk, a civil parish * Morley, Derbyshire, a civil parish * Morley, Cheshire, a village * Morley, County Durham, a village * Morley, West Yorkshire, a suburban town of Leeds and civil parish * M ...

(1829–30) *St Matthew,

Holbeck Holbeck is an inner city area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It begins on the southern edge of Leeds city centre and mainly lies in the LS11 postcode district. The M1 and M621 motorways used to end/begin in Holbeck. Now the M621 is the o ...

(1829–32) *partial reconstruction of All Saints,

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

(1832–33) *St Peter-at-Leeds or Leeds Parish Church (now

) (1837–41) *Christ Church,

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

(1837–39) *Christ Church,

Lothersdale Lothersdale is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, near Skipton and within the triangle formed by Skipton, Cross Hills and Colne. It is a small community of about 200 houses but local amenities i ...

(1838) *St Wilfred,

Pool-in-Wharfedale Pool-in-Wharfedale or Pool in Wharfedale, usually abbreviated to Pool, is a village and civil parish in the Lower Wharfedale area, north of Leeds city centre, north-east of Bradford, and east of Otley. It is in the City of Leeds metropolitan ...

(1839) *the

steeple In architecture, a steeple is a tall tower on a building, topped by a spire and often incorporating a belfry and other components. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religi ...

of Holy Trinity, Boar Lane, Leeds (1839) *the neo-roman tower of the St. Salvator's Cathedral in

, (

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

) (1839) *the neo-Norman bellcote of St John the Baptist, Adel (1839) *St David,

Holmbridge Holmbridge is a small village on the A6024 road, A6024 to the southwest of Holmfirth and south of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the parish of Holme Valley and the metropolitan borough of Kirklees. In the 1950s, it was a site ...

(1839–40) *St Lucius,

Farnley Tyas Farnley Tyas is a small village in West Yorkshire, England south east of Huddersfield. It is located on a hilltop between Almondbury, Castle Hill, Thurstonland and Honley. It is mostly rural and farmland with private housing and some local a ...

(1840) *Holy Trinity, Batley Carr (1841–42) *St Paul,

Shadwell Shadwell is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets , east of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the Thames between Wapping (to the west) and Ratcliff (to the east). This riverside location has meant ...

(1841–42) *St Mary,

Honley __NOTOC__ Honley is a large village in West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated near to Holmfirth and Huddersfield, and on the banks of the River Holme in the Holme Valley. According to the 201 ...

(1843) *Holy Trinity,

Leven Leven may refer to: People * Leven (name), list of people with the name Nobility * Earl of Leven a title in the Peerage of Scotland Placenames * Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central ...

(1843) *St Paul, Denholme Gate (1843–46, with Thomas Shaw) *All Saints,

Roberttown Roberttown is a village, in the township of Liversedge in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England and is historically, part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Industry For most of the 1980s and early 1990s Roberttown served as the Headquarters of H ...

(1844–46, with Thomas Shaw) *Holy Trinity,

Cowling A cowling is the removable covering of a vehicle's engine, most often found on automobiles, motorcycles, airplanes, and on outboard boat motors. On airplanes, cowlings are used to reduce drag and to cool the engine. On boats, cowlings are a cove ...

(1845) *

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Middleton The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Middleton, West Yorkshire, England is an active Anglican parish church in the Armley deanery in the archdeaconry of Leeds and the Diocese of Leeds. The church and its lych gate are Grade II listed buildings ...

, Leeds (1846–52) *the tower of St Paul, Halifax (1847) *St Andrew,

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford city centre, north-west of Bi ...

(1847–48) *St Paul,

Armitage Bridge Armitage Bridge is a village approximately south of Huddersfield, in the Holme Valley, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Berry Brow and South Crosland and straddles the River Holme. The village has a public house, a cricket club ...

(1848) *St George's,

New Mills New Mills is a town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a deep gorge cut thro ...

(1829–30) Surviving buildings restored by Chantrell include: *St Catherine, Barmby Moor, East Yorkshire (1852) Note: restoration mistakenly attributed to J.B. Atkinson by Historic England

Gallery

File:St Peter, Leeds Parish Church - Chancel - geograph.org.uk - 1333338.jpg, Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds File:ID29716-Brugge Sint-Salvatorskathedraal-PM 62174.jpg, Upper part of the tower by Chantrell of the St. Salvator's Cathedral in

, (

) File:Parish Church of St Wilfrid, Pool-in-Wharfedale - geograph.org.uk - 722456.jpg, Church of St Wilfrid in

Sources and literature

* Howard COLVIN, ''Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1660–1840'', John Murray, London, 1954 * Nikolaus PEVSNER & Enid RADCLIFFE ''Yorkshire: The West Riding'', 1959, 2nd edition 1967, Penguin Books, London * Derek LINSTRUM, ''West Yorkshire Architects and Architecture'', Lund Humphries Publishers, London, 1979, * Andries VAN DEN ABEELE & Christopher WEBSTER, ''Architect Robert D. Chantrell en de kathedraal van Brugge'', 1987, Bruges * Christopher WEBSTER, ''R.D. Chantrell, architect: his life and work in Leeds 1818–1847,'' Leeds, 1992 * Christopher WEBSTER & Andries VAN DEN ABEELE, ''A portentous mass of bastard romanesque frippery: an early ecclesiological export'', Leeds, 1999. *Susan WRATHMELL, & John MINNIS, ''Leeds'', Pevsner Architectural Guides, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 2005, * Christopher WEBSTER, ''R. D. Chantrell (1793–1872) and the architecture of a lost generation'', Reading, Spire Books, 2010, .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chantrell, Robert Dennis 19th-century English architects People from Newington, London Architects from London 1793 births 1872 deaths