Samuel Acton (c. 1773 – January 1837), was an English architect,

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and artist.

Life

Acton was the nephew and pupil of

Nathaniel Wright Nathaniel Wright (February 13, 1785 – November 5, 1858) was an American businessman and lawyer who was the fourth Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts. Early life Wright was born in Sterling, Massachusetts on February 13, 1785, the oldest son of ...

, a London carpenter and surveyor. He entered the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

Schools in 1790, and studied there for at least four years, receiving the silver medal in 1794. He exhibited at the Academy from 1791 to 1802. His address is given in the catalogues as Hatton Garden throughout this period: "at Mr Wright's" in 1791, at number 75 from 1792, and number 78 in 1802. His exhibits included a drawing of the interior of St Botolph's church (1791), and designs for mansions, villas and baths. Little is known of his professional career, except that he held the post of Surveyor to the

Commissioners of Sewers for the City of London A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

, and that in 1822 he was President of the

Surveyors Club Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is c ...

. At his death in January 1837, he was living at

Chalfont St. Peter Chalfont St Peter is a large village and civil parish in southeastern Buckinghamshire, England. It is in a group of villages called The Chalfonts which also includes Chalfont St Giles and Little Chalfont. The villages lie between High Wycombe ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Among his bequests he left £500 to establish a charitable fund for the benefit of members of the Surveyors Club and their dependents. In 1838, his widow Hannah Acton gave £1000 in his memory to the

Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...

to found the

Actonian Prize The Actonian Prize was established by the Royal Institution as a septennial award for the "person who in the judgement of the committee of managers for the time being of the Institution, should have been the author of the best essay illustrative of ...

References

Sources

*Sir H.M. Colvin, ''A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600-1840'', 1995, p. 48 Architects from London 1773 births 1837 deaths {{England-architect-stub