Sancton Wood (27 April 1814 – 18 April 1886) was an English architect and surveyor, known for his work on railway buildings.

Life and family

Sancton Wood was born on 27 April 1814 in Nursery Place, Hackney Terrace, Hackney, London. He was the son of John Wood and Harriet Russell. He had 5 sisters. Wood's birth was registered in the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

dissenters’ birth registry. His mother was a niece of the painter, Richard Smirke. His paternal family were cotton merchants originally from

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

. He was named Sancton after his paternal uncle by marriage, Philip Sancton, a London merchant. He attended a private school in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, and later a school run by T. W. Hill at Hazelwood,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. On 11 March 1839, Wood married Elizabeth Sarah Simson (1810–1878), at

Dedham, Essex Dedham is a village within the borough of Colchester in northeast Essex, England, on the River Stour and the border of Essex and Suffolk. The nearest town to Dedham is the small market town of Manningtree. Governance Dedham is part of the ele ...

. The couple had two sons, Herbert Sancton Wood (1844–1883) and William Winder Wood (1846–1876). The family moved to 11 Putney Hill, London in 1850, a house which Wood designed. He died there on 18 April 1886, and was buried with his wife and sons at Putney Lower Common cemetery.

Career

Wood obtained work in the office of his cousin, the architect Robert Smirke, as a pupil. He later worked for Robert's brother,

Sydney Smirke Sydney Smirke (20 December 1797 – 8 December 1877) was a British architect. Smirke who was born in London, England as the fifth son of painter Robert Smirke and his wife, Elizabeth Russell. He was the younger brother of Sir Robert Smirke ...

. In these positions he was trained in classical architecture, which led to his early recognition. He set up his own practice in England and obtained work designing stations for the growing railway networks in Great Britain and Ireland. He also designed houses in London, including some at

Lancaster Gate Lancaster Gate is a mid-19th century development in the Bayswater district of central London, immediately to the north of Kensington Gardens. It consists of two long terraces of houses overlooking the park, with a wide gap between them openi ...

. He designed one of London's first train terminals in 1837, for

Eastern Counties Railway The Eastern Counties Railway (ECR) was an English Rail transport, railway company incorporated in 1836 intended to link London with Ipswich via Colchester, and then extend to Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Yarmouth. Construction began in 1837 on t ...

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

. His designs were constrained by budgets, but he was successful in a number of competitions, winning a prize of £100 for

Ipswich station Ipswich railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line in the East of England, serving the town of Ipswich, Suffolk. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and, on the main line, it is situated between to the south and to the no ...

. In 1845 he won the competition to design the Kingsbridge terminus and company offices, Dublin (now known as

Heuston Station Heuston Station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iar ...

), winning against 65 other designs. His design for Blackburn station won Wood a £100 prize in 1846. Wood continued to work in Ireland for a number of years, designing stations between Dublin and Cork for Great Southern and Western, and on the

Limerick Junction Limerick Junction ( ga, Gabhal Luimnigh) is the interchange railway station for trains originating in , , , , and stations. The station opened on 3 July 1848. The station was highly noted for its layout which prior to 1967 required every tr ...

. He was also engaged to design a stand at the

Curragh racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History T ...

. Among the other stations Wood designed are those on Rugby and Stamford line (1846), and Syston and Peterborough route (1847). In 1841, he was elected an associate of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, and in 1848 he was elected an associate of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

and an associate of the Institution of Surveyors. He is credited with a number of churches, commercial buildings, estates, and schools in the London area, including Queen's Assurance Company office (1852), Hackney town hall (1864) and a terrace houses, Lancaster Gate (1857). He served as district surveyor for Putney and Roehampton, and from 1866 district surveyor for St Luke's, Chelsea, and was a member of the district surveyors examining board.

Selected works

Portlaoise railway station Portlaoise railway station is a station on the Dublin to Cork and also the Dublin to Limerick Intercity railway lines. It is also the terminus for the South Western Commuter also called the Portlaoise Commuter Line which forms part of the Dub ...

(1847) *

Thurles railway station Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Arch ...

(1848) *

Muine Bheag railway station Muine Bheag halt serves the town of Bagenalstown (), in County Carlow, Ireland. Nearby is Leighlinbridge in the same county. It is a station on the Dublin to Waterford intercity route. The station is staffed; the main platform is fully acce ...

(1850)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Sancton 1814 births 1886 deaths 19th-century English architects People from Hackney Central Architects from London