Sir Robert Smirke (1 October 1780 – 18 April 1867) 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 ...
, one of the leaders of
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
, though he also used other architectural styles. As architect to the Board of Works, he designed several major public buildings, including the main block and façade of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. He was a pioneer of the use of concrete foundations.
Background and training
![British Museum from NE 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/British_Museum_from_NE_2.JPG)
Smirke was born in London on 1 October 1780, the second son of the portrait painter
Robert Smirke; he was one of twelve children.
[page 73, J. Mordaunt Crook: ''The British Museum A Case-study in Architectural Politics'', 1972, Pelican Books] He attended Aspley School,
Aspley Guise
Aspley Guise is a village and civil parish in the west of Central Bedfordshire, England. In addition to the village of Aspley Guise itself, the civil parish also includes part of the town of Woburn Sands, the rest of which is in the City of Milto ...
, Bedfordshire,
[page 74, J. Mordaunt Crook: ''The British Museum A Case-study in Architectural Politics'', 1972, Pelican Books] where he studied
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
,
Greek, French and
drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...
, and was made head boy at the age of 15. In May 1796 he began his study of
architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
as a pupil of
John Soane but left after only a few months in early 1797 due to a personality clash with his teacher. He wrote to his father:
He (Soane) was on Monday morning in one of his amiable Tempers. Everything was slovenly that I was doing. My drawing was slovenly because it was too great a scale, my scale, also, being too long, and he finished saying the whole of it was excessively slovenly, and that I should draw it out again on the back not to waste another sheet about it.
In 1796, he also began his studies at 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 ...
, winning the Silver Medal and the Silver Palette of the
Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce that year. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy in 1799 for his design for a ''National Museum''.
After leaving Soane he depended on
George Dance the Younger and a
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 ...
called Thomas Bush for his architectural training.
In 1801, accompanied by his elder brother Richard, he attempted to embark on a
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
, but was forced to return to England because
war with France made it impossible to travel safely without fear of arrest. The short-lived
Peace of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it se ...
the following year allowed British travellers to visit France, and Smirke set off again in September of 1802 in the company of the artist William Walker, returning early in 1805. His itinerary and impressions are recorded in a series of letters and journals he wrote, many preserved in the archive of the
RIBA, and in the many drawings he made of buildings. In France he visited places such as
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
,
Avignon
Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...
,
Nimes,
Arles
Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
and
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
; he was particularly impressed by the various Roman monuments in the south of the country. In Italy, he passed through
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
,
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
and
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
but spent almost two months in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
where he made the decision to visit Greece. Embarking from
Messina
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...
, he travelled via the
Ionian Islands to
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
and the
Argolid. Turning south into the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, he saw famous sites such as
Messene,
Megalopolis,
Bassai
''Passai'' (拔塞, katakana パッサイ), also ''Bassai'' (バッサイ), is the name of a group of kata practiced in different styles of martial arts, including karate and various Korean martial arts, including Taekwondo, Tang Soo Do, and Soo ...
and
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
, before travelling on to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
where he spent a month sketching the monuments. From Athens Smirke wrote to his father:
How can I by description give you any idea of the great pleasure I enjoyed in the sight of these ancient buildings of Athens! How strongly were exemplified in them the grandeur and effect of simplicity in architecture! The Temple of Thesus ( Temple of Hephaestus)... cannot but arrest the attention of everyone from its appropriate and dignified solemnity of appearance. The temple of Minerva ( Parthenon)... strikes one in the same way with its grandeur and majesty. We were a month there. The impression made upon my mind... had not in that time in the least weakened by being frequently repeated and I could with pleasure spend a much longer time there, while those in Rome (with few exceptions) not only soon grow in some degree uninteresting but have now entirely sunk into disregard and contempt in my mind. All that I could do in Athens was to make some views of them...hoping that they will serve as a memorandum to me of what I think should always be a model.'
Following his departure from Athens, Smirke visited other famous ancient sites such as Thebes and Delphi.
Smirke's return from Greece was complicated by the resumption of war between Britain and France, and he had to travel via Sicily and Malta to avoid the risk of capture by enemy troops. However, he managed to revisit Rome and Naples (seeing the ruins of
Pompeii
Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...
and
Paestum) and other cities as he travelled up the Italian peninsula towards
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
,
Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a th ...
and
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...
. Crossing into Austrian territory, he visited
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
,
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
before moving on to
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, returning to England via
Heligoland
Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
in early January 1805.
His extensive travels through most of the major centres of Europe provided him with an unparalleled insight on ancient, Renaissance and more recent architecture, though his poor opinion of many of the more recent buildings he saw, even in Rome and Paris, combined with the overwhelming impact of ancient Greek structures, triggered a significant shift in his architectural tastes. Whereas his earlier designs had been in the conventional French Neo-Classical idiom of the time, influenced by
George Dance the Younger and
John Soane, most of the classical-style buildings he designed as a professional architect were firmly rooted in the
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
. Unlike some of his contemporaries he did not visit Turkey. His knowledge of its ancient buildings, which were crucial to his designs in the 1820s such as the British Museum, was derived from publications such as ''Ionian Antiquities'' of 1769 by
Richard Chandler,
William Pars
William Pars (28 February 1742 – 1782) was an English watercolour portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and illustrator.
Life and works
Pars was born in London, the son of a metal engraver. He studied at "Shipley's Drawing Schoo ...
and
Nicholas Revett.
During his Grand Tour, Smirke made drawings and watercolours of many buildings, including most of the surviving ancient structures in Athens and the
Morea. Most however were never published, and few were exhibited in his lifetime, though a considerable is preserved in the
RIBA, the
Paul Mellon Center for British Art
The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art is a scholarly centre in London devoted to supporting original research into the history of British Art. It was founded in 1970 and endowed by a gift from Paul Mellon. Since 1996, it has been si ...
, the British Museum, and other collections.
Career
In 1805, Smirke became a member of the
Society of Antiquaries of London
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
and the
Architects' Club. His first official appointment came in 1807 when he was made architect to
The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins.
Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by His Majesty's Treasury and is under an exclus ...
. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy on 7 November 1808, and a full Academician on 11 February 1811, his diploma work consisting of a drawing of a reconstruction of the
Acropolis of Athens. He only ever exhibited five works at the Academy, the last in 1810.
Smirke's relations with Soane reached a new low after the latter, who had been appointed Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy, heavily criticised Smirke's design for the
Covent Garden Opera House in his fourth lecture on 29 January 1810. He said:
The practise of sacrificing everything to one front of a building is to be seen, not only in small houses where economy might in some degree apologize for the absurdity, but it is also apparent in large works of great expense ... And these drawings of a more recent work (here two drawings of Covent Garden theatre were displayed) point out the glaring impropriety of this defect in a manner if possible still more forcible and more subversive of true taste. The public attention, from the largeness of the building, being particularly called to the contemplation of this national edifice
Together with
John Nash and Sir John Soane, he became an official architect to the
Office of Works in 1813 (an appointment he held until 1832) at a salary of £500 per annum, thereby reaching the height of the profession. In 1819 he was made surveyor of the
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
. In 1819, he married Laura Freston, daughter of
The Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Anthony Freston, the great-nephew of the architect
Matthew Brettingham
Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and become one of the country's best-known ...
. The only child of the marriage was a daughter Laura. In 1820, he was made surveyor of the
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of ...
, and also in 1820 he became treasurer to the Royal Academy. He was
knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1832, and received the
RIBA Royal Gold Medal for Architecture in 1853. Smirke lived at 81 Charlotte Street, London, commemorated now by a
blue plaque
A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
on the building. He retired from practice in 1845, after which
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...
made him a member of the Commission for London Improvements. In 1859, he resigned from the Royal Academy and retired to
Cheltenham
Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, where he lived in Montpellier House, Suffolk Square. He died there on 18 April 1867 and was buried in the churchyard of
St Peter's in
Leckhampton. His estate was worth £90,000.
He is known to have designed or remodelled over twenty churches, more than fifty public buildings and more than sixty private houses.
This productivity inspired
James Planché's 1846 chorus in his
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. of
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
' ''
The Birds'':
Go to work, rival Smirke
Make a dash, À la Nash
Something try at, worthy Wyatt
Plans out carry, great as Barry Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
The rapid rise of Smirke was due to political patronage.
[page 79, J. Mordaunt Crook: ''The British Museum A Case-study in Architectural Politics'', 1972, Pelican Books] He was a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
at a time when this party was in the ascendant. His friends at the Royal Academy, such as
Sir Thomas Lawrence
Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was an innkeeper at t ...
, George Dance,
Benjamin West and
Joseph Farington
Joseph Farington (21 November 1747 – 30 December 1821) was an 18th-century English landscape painter and diarist.
Life and work
Born in Leigh, Lancashire, Farington was the second of seven sons of William Farington and Esther Gilbody. His ...
, were able to introduce him to patrons such as:
The 1st Marquess of Abercorn;
The 1st Viscount Melville;
Sir George Beaumont, 7th Baronet
Sir George Howland Beaumont, 7th Baronet (6 November 1753 – 7 February 1827) was a British art patron and amateur painter. He played a crucial part in the creation of London's National Gallery by making the first bequest of paintings to that ...
;
The 4th Earl of Aberdeen;
The 3rd Marquess of Hertford;
The 3rd Earl Bathurst;
John 'Mad Jack' Fuller
John Fuller (20 February 1757 – 11 April 1834), better known as "Mad Jack" Fuller (although he himself preferred to be called "Honest John" Fuller), was Squire of the hamlet of Brightling, in Sussex, and politician who sat in the House of Com ...
, and
The 2nd Earl of Lonsdale. These
politicians
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and
aristocrats ensured his rapid advancement and several were to commission buildings from Smirke themselves.
Thomas Leverton Donaldson described Smirke as able to please "Men whom it was proverbially impossible to please". His patron at
Lowther Castle,
The 1st Earl of Lonsdale, said he was "ingenious, modest and gentlemanly in his manners".
Style
Classicism
Smirke's first major work, the rebuilt Covent Garden Theatre, was the first Greek Doric building in London.
John Summerson
Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century.
Early life
John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington. His grandfather wo ...
described the design as demonstrating "how a plain mass of building could be endowed with a sense of gravity by comparatively simple means".
During the early part of his career Smirke was, along with
William Wilkins, the leading figure in the Greek Revival in England. At the General Post Office in London in the mid-1820s he was still using the
giant order of columns with a certain restraint, but by the time he came to design the main front of the British Museum, probably not planned until the 1830s, all such moderation was gone and he used it lavishly, wrapping an imposing colonnade around whole facade.
Gothic Revival
![Assize Court, Lincoln Castle, Lincoln, England](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Assize_Court%2C_Lincoln_Castle%2C_Lincoln%2C_England.jpg)
Smirke, in the view of
Charles Locke Eastlake
Charles Locke Eastlake (11 March 1836 – 20 November 1906) was a British architect and furniture designer.
His uncle, Sir Charles Lock Eastlake PRA (born in 1793), was a Keeper of the National Gallery, from 1843 to 1847, and from 1855 its fi ...
, came third in importance amongst the Gothic Revival architects of his generation, after John Nash and James Wyatt, but criticised his work for its theatrical impracticability. He said that his Eastnor Castle (1808–15), a massive, gloomy building with watch towers and a keep, "might have made a tolerable fort before the invention of gunpowder, but as a residence it was a picturesque mistake".
Constructional innovation
Smirke was a pioneer of using both
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
and
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
. A critic writing in 1828 in the ''Athenaeum'' said "Mr. Smirke, is pre-eminent in construction: in this respect he has not his superior in the United Kingdom".
James Fergusson, writing in 1849, said "He was a first class builder architect ... no building of his ever showed a flaw or failing and ... he was often called upon to remedy the defects of his brother artist."
Projects in which he used concrete foundations included the
Millbank Penitentiary, the rebuilding of the London Custom House and the British Museum. At the first two he was called in when work overseen by previous architects had proved unstable. The prison at Millbank (1812–21; demolished c. 1890) had been designed by an architect called William Williams, but his plan was then revised by
Thomas Hardwick
Thomas Hardwick (1752–1829) was an English architect and a founding member of the Architects' Club in 1791.
Early life and career
Hardwick was born in Brentford, Middlesex the son of a master mason turned architect also named Thomas Hardw ...
. The largest prison in Europe, it consisted of a hexagonal central courtyard with an elongated pentagonal courtyard on each outer wall of the central courtyard; the three outer corners of the pentagonal courtyards each had a tower one storey higher than the three floors of the rest of the building. Work had started under Hardwick in late 1812, but when the boundary wall had reached a height of about six feet it began to tilt and crack. After 18 months, with £26,000 spent, Hardwick resigned. Work continued and by February 1816 the first prisoners were admitted, but the building creaked and several windows spontaneously shattered. Smirke and the engineer
John Rennie the Elder
John Rennie FRSE FRS (7 June 1761 – 4 October 1821) was a Scottish civil engineer who designed many bridges, canals, docks and warehouses, and a pioneer in the use of structural cast-iron.
Early years
He was born the younger son of James ...
were called in, and they recommended demolition of three of the towers and the
underpinning of the entire building with
concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
foundations: the first known use of this material for foundations in Britain since the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. The work cost £70,000, bringing the total cost of the building to £458,000.
![Custom House J](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Custom_House_J.Woods_after_a_picture_by_Hablot_Browne_%26_Garland_publ_1837_edited.jpg)
From 1825 to 1827 Smirke rebuilt the centre of the
Custom House
A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...
in the City of London, following the failure of its foundations. The building had been erected from 1813 to the designs of
David Laing. The building is 488 feet long, the central 200 feet being Smirke's work.
He used large cast-iron beams to support the floors of the upper galleries at the British Museum; these had to span 41 feet.
Another area where Smirke was an innovator was in the use of
quantity surveyors to rationalise the various eighteenth-century systems of estimating and measuring building work.
Writings
In 1806 he published the first and only volume of an intended series of books ''Specimens of Continental Architecture''. Smirke started to write a
treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject and its conclusions."Treat ...
on architecture in about 1815 and although he worked on it for about 10 years never completed it. In it he made his admiration for the
architecture of ancient Greece plain. He described it as "the noblest", "simple, grand, magnificent", "with its other merits it has a kind of primal simplicity". This he contrasted with the
Architecture of ancient Rome which he described as "corrupt Roman taste", "An excess of ornament is in all cases a symptom of a vulgar or degenerate taste". Of
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...
he described as '"till its despicable remains were almost everywhere superseded by that singular and mysterious compound of styles".
Pupils and family
His pupils included
Lewis Vulliamy
Lewis Vulliamy (15 March 1791 – 4 January 1871) was an English architect descended from the Vulliamy family of clockmakers.
Life
Lewis Vulliamy was the son of the clockmaker Benjamin Vulliamy. He was born in Pall Mall, London on 15 March 179 ...
,
William Burn,
Charles Robert Cockerell
Charles Robert Cockerell (27 April 1788 – 17 September 1863) was an English architect, archaeologist, and writer. He studied architecture under Robert Smirke. He went on an extended Grand Tour lasting seven years, mainly spent in Greece. H ...
,
Henry Jones Underwood,
Henry Roberts, and his own brother
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, best known for the circular reading room at the British Museum. Another brother,
Edward Smirke, was a lawyer and
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
. Their sister
Mary Smirke
Mary Smirke (22 June 1779 – 14 September 1853) was an English artist and translator.
Biography
Smirke was one of the eight children born to the painter and illustrator Robert Smirke and his wife Elizabeth, who died in 1825. Their other child ...
was a noted painter and translator.
London buildings
Royal Mint
The former Royal Mint, Tower Hill (1807–12).
The main building was designed by the previous architect to the Mint James Johnson, but the design was modified by Smirke, who oversaw its execution. The long stone
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...
with a ground floor of
channelled rustication, the two upper floors have a broad
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
containing
The Royal Arms supported by six Roman Doric attached columns. The end bays are marked by four Doric
pilaster
In 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 ...
s; the Greek Doric
frieze and lodges are probably by Smirke. The building contained an apartment for the Deputy Master of the Mint, the Assay Master, and Provost of the Moneyers as well as
bullion
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...
stores and Mint Office.
Covent Garden Theatre
![Covent Garden Theatre 1827-28](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Covent_Garden_Theatre_1827-28.jpg)
The second incarnation of the Covent Garden Theatre (now the Royal Opera House), built in ten months in 1808–1809. It had a symmetrical facade with a tetrastyle portico in the centre, and was the first building in London to use the Greek Doric order.
[page 473, John Summerson, ''Architecture in Britain 1530–1830'', 8th Edition 1991, Pelican Books] The portico was flanked by four bays, the end bays being marked by pilasters with a statue in a niche between. The three bays on each side of the portico had arches on the ground floor and windows above these and a single carved relief above designed
by
John Flaxman
John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...
. The main entrance hall, behind the three doors in the portico, was divided into three aisles by square Doric piers. To the south was the grand staircase, rising between walls, the flight was divided into two sections by a landing, the upper floor had four Ionic columns each side of the staircase that supported a barrel vault over it. The horseshoe-shaped
auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...
was on five levels, and seated 2,800 people, in addition to those in the many private boxes. The building was destroyed by fire in 1857.
Lansdowne House
Lansdowne House, (1816–19) interiors, notably the sculpture gallery, central part of room has a shallow
barrel vault
A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...
with plain coffering;
antae
The Antes, or Antae ( gr, Ἄνται), were an early East Slavic tribal polity of the 6th century CE. They lived on the lower Danube River, in the northwestern Black Sea region (present-day Moldova and central Ukraine), and in the regions aro ...
mark off the part circular ends of the room.
London Ophthalmic Hospital
Smirke's London Ophthalmic Hospital in
Moorfields (1821–2) moved in 1898 to a nearby site as
Moorfields Eye Hospital.
General Post Office
![The Post Office in St Martin le Grand by Thomas Shepherd (late 1820s)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/The_Post_Office_in_St_Martin_le_Grand_by_Thomas_Shepherd_%28late_1820s%29.jpg)
The General Post Office building in St Martins-le-Grand in the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
(1825–29; demolished c. 1912). This was the first purpose built
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
in England. Its main facade had a central hexastyle Greek Ionic portico with pediment, and two tetrastyle porticoes, without pediments, at each end. The main interior space was the large letter-carriers' room, with an elegant iron gallery and a
spiral staircase
Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...
.
British Museum
The main block and facade of the British Museum,
Bloomsbury (1823–46). This is Smirke's largest and best-known building. Having previously designed a temporary gallery for the
Parthenon sculptures
The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of the architect and s ...
following their acquisition by the British Museum in 1816, his role as architect to the Office of Works also led Smirke to be invited to redesign the museum in 1821. The core design dates from 1823, and stipulated a building surrounding a large central courtyard (or quadrangle) with a grand south front. Given the limited funds—which were granted by parliament on an annual basis—and the need to retain the Museum throughout the rebuilding programme, the work was divided into phases, and was subject to various changes before its completion over 25 years later. In particular, Smirke was forced to abandon plans for a much grander quadrangle with interior porticoes, while from the early 1840s modified the severity of the original design (such as sculpture deiagned by
Richard Westmacott
Sir Richard Westmacott (15 July 17751 September 1856) was a British sculptor.
Life and career
Westmacott studied with his father, also named Richard Westmacott (the elder), Richard Westmacott, at his studio in Mount Street, off Grosvenor ...
). The building is constructed of brick with the visible facades cased in massive slabs of
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building sto ...
, which is also used for architectural elements and string courses along the sides of the building. The first part to be constructed was the "King's Library" of 1823–1828, which forms the east wing. The north section of the west wing, the "Egyptian Galleries" followed 1825–1834. The north wing, housing the library and reading rooms, was built in 1833–1838. The souther part of the west wing and south front were built in 1842–1846 following the demolition of the Townley Gallery and then of
Montague House itself. Following Smirke's retirement in 1846, his brother
Sydney Smirke continued to work on the building, adding galleries in the style of the original building, while also building the Round Reading Room in the centre of the quadrangle whose original purpose was superseded. Sydney Smirke also added polychromatic decoration in Greek Revival style to replace the plainer interiors designed by his brother, especially in the entrance hall and sculpture galleries.
The main feature of the south front is the great
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
of 44
Greek Ionic columns. The columns are 45 feet high and five feet in diameter; their
capitals
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
are loosely based on those of the temple of Athena Polias at
Priene and the bases on those of the temple of Dionysus at
Teos. Many of the mouldings in turn derive from the
Erechtheion
The Erechtheion (latinized as Erechtheum /ɪˈrɛkθiəm, ˌɛrɪkˈθiːəm/; Ancient Greek: Ἐρέχθειον, Greek: Ερέχθειο) or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropoli ...
in Athens, including the main doorway from the colonnade. At the centre of the colonnade is an
octastyle
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, two columns deep; the colonnade continues for three more columns before embracing the two wings to either side. Beyond the facade Smirke built two smaller wings (the Residences), decorated across the front with Doric pilasters. The Residences originally contained houses for the principal officers of the Museum who were expected to live on site, such as the Principal Librarian (
Director of the museum) and heads of departments (or Keepers). These buildings frame the main building and forecourt without dominating it, while also screening the backs of the buildings in the adjacent streets. The major surviving interiors are the entrance hall with the Great Stair – in the form of an
Imperial staircase– rising to the west, and the "King's Library". This, built to house 65,000 books, is 300 feet long, 41 feet wide and 31 feet high, the centre section being slightly wider, with four great Aberdeen granite columns with
Corinthian capitals carved from Derbyshire alabaster. The only major interior to survive in the north wing is the "Arched Room" at the west end. The "Egyptian Gallery" matches the "King's Library" but is much plainer in decoration.
File:SIMPSON, W. after WALKER, E.publ1852 edited.jpg, British Museum, 1852
File:British Museum (front).jpg, Entrance portico, British Museum
File:L-british-museum-london.png, Plan of the British Museum
File:BM, Main Floor Main Entrance Hall ~ South Stairs.6.JPG, Great Staircase, British Museum
File:BM; 'MF' RM1 - The King's Library, Enlightenment 1 'Discovering the world in the 18th Century ~ View South.jpg, King's Library, British Museum
File:British Museum Room 1 Enlightenment.jpg, Bookcases in the King's Library, British Museum
File:BM, AES Egyptian Sculpture (Room 4), View North.4.JPG, Egyptian Gallery, British Museum
The Inner Temple
Smirke's works at the Inner Temple included his only Gothic buildings in London. They included the
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
(1827-8) and the remodelling of the Great Hall in 1819 (which burnt down and was rebuilt by Sydney Smirke in 1868). Nearly all Smirke's work was destroyed in the 1940–1941
London Blitz and has been rebuilt to a completely different design, the only major survival being the Paper Buildings of 1838, in a simple classical style.
Former Royal College of Physicians
![Canada House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Canada_House.jpg)
The
Royal College of Physicians and Union Club building (1824–27) in
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
(now Canada House) The building is much altered, the north front though retains Smirke's hexastyle Ionic portico, and the east front (to Trafalgar Square) still has his portico
in antis
An anta (pl. antæ, antae, or antas; Latin, possibly from ''ante'', "before" or "in front of"), or sometimes parastas (pl. parastades), is an architectural term describing the posts or pillars on either side of a doorway or entrance of a Greek ...
. The building is of
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an oolitic limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England. Its honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of ...
. There were several extensions and remodellings during the 20th century.
Lancaster House
Smirke was first involved with the design of Lancaster House in 1825, was dismissed and then brought back in 1832. He added the top floor, and designed the interiors apart from the State Rooms. His involvement ceased in 1840.
Somerset House
The east wing of Somerset House, and the adjacent
King's (formerly Smirke) Building of
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
, on the Strand (1829–31). The Thames front follows the design of the original architect
Sir William Chambers being a mirror image of the west wing, the building stretches back toward the Strand by 25 bays of two and half stories, the centre five bays with giant attached Corinthian columns and end three bays are of three full stories and also the end bays have Corinthian pilasters, and general being plainer than the facades by Chambers.
Carlton Club
Carlton Club
The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only.
History
The ...
(1833–6) was rebuilt 1854–1856 by Sydney Smirke, bombed in 1940 and later demolished.
File:New Covent Garden Theatre Microcosm edited.jpg, Covent Garden Theatre, burnt and rebuilt
File:Lancaster House London April 2006 032.jpg, Lancaster House
File:Herbert Railton - The Inner Temple Library.jpg, Inner Temple Library
File:King's1.jpg, King's College London, east wing of Somerset House
File:London - Inner Temple.jpg, Paper Buildings, Inner Temple
The Oxford and Cambridge Club
![Oxford and Cambridge Club](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Oxford_and_Cambridge_Club.JPG)
The Oxford and Cambridge Club building in
Pall Mall (1835–38). It is of seven bays, the ground floor is
rusticated with round headed windows, the first floor is of banded rustication and the windows framed with square or half pillars, the building is of brick covered with
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
. The first floor windows have
carved relieves above them, the entrance porch is of a single storey with Corinthian columns. The interiors are in Smirke's usual restrained Greek revival style.
No. 12 Belgrave Square
Belgrave Square:
Smirke designed No. 12 Belgrave square, built 1830–1833 for
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH (19 August 1779 – 15 September 1853) was a British Peer and Tory politician.
Life
Cust was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Brownlow and his second wife, Frances. He was educated at Eton (1788–93) and ...
.
London churches
For Smirke's London churches see Church Architecture below.
Public buildings outside London
File:A7 Roadbridge over River Eden in Carlisle - geograph.org.uk - 92889.jpg, Eden Bridge Carlisle
File:Perth Sheriff Court 2.jpg, Perth Sheriff Court
Perth Sheriff Court is an historic building on Tay Street in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The structure, which is used as the main courthouse for the area, is a Category A listed building.
History
Originally, court hearings in Perthshir ...
File:Crown Court - geograph.org.uk - 134109.jpg, Courts Lincoln Castle
File:Ireland - Dublin - Phoenix Park - Wellington Monument 2.jpg, Wellington Testimonial
File:Oldcouncilhousebristol.JPG, Old Council House, Bristol
File:The Parade Shopping Centre, St Mary's Place, Shrewsbury - geograph.org.uk - 117039.jpg, Former Salop Infirmary, Shrewsbury
File:CitadelCarlisle0809.jpg, Former County Courts, Carlisle
File:The cloisters and St Lawrence's Church - geograph.org.uk - 771339.jpg, The former Market House, Appleby
File:Main entrance to Shire Hall - geograph.org.uk - 694058.jpg, Gloucester Shire Hall
File:Shire Hall and war memorial - geograph.org.uk - 844672.jpg, Hereford Shire Hall
His public buildings outside London include:
*
Carlisle
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
,
Cumberland County Courts (1810–12), in a Gothic style.
*
Appleby Market House (1811).
* Carlisle, The Eden Bridge (1812–15) widened in 1932.
*
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...
Fish Market (1813) demolished c. 1852, and Butter Market (1813) demolished 1880.
*
Gloucester Shire Hall (1814–16).
* Gloucester, Westgate Bridge (1814–17)
*
Perth Sheriff Court
Perth Sheriff Court is an historic building on Tay Street in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The structure, which is used as the main courthouse for the area, is a Category A listed building.
History
Originally, court hearings in Perthshir ...
(1815–19)
*
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
Shirehall (1815–17).
* the
Wellington Monument, Dublin
The Wellington Monument ( ga, Leacht Wellington), or sometimes the Wellington Testimonial, is an obelisk located in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland.
The testimonial is situated at the southeast end of the Park, overlooking Kilmainham and the ...
(Wellington Testimonial), started in 1817 it was only completed in 1861, at it is the largest
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
in Europe.
*
Maidstone County Gaol, (1817–19).
*
Maidstone Sessions House (1824) (now known as County Hall).
*
Ledbury
Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills.
It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...
St. Katherine's Hospital (1822–25) in a Gothic style.
*
Lincoln County Courts
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions (subnational entities) within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of ''county courts'' held by the high ...
and Gaol in
Lincoln Castle (1823–30) both in a Gothic style to harmonise with the castle.
*
Salop Infirmary,
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, rebuild (1827–30), consulting architect.
* the Gaol
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland.
The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...
(c. 1831).
*
Shrewsbury Shire Hall (1834–37) demolished 1971.
Domestic architecture
File:The Observatory - a Fuller Folly - geograph.org.uk - 313439.jpg, Brightling Observatory
File:Luton Hoo.jpg, Luton Hoo
File:Whittingehame house.jpg, Whittingehame House
File:Normanby Hall (overview).jpg, Normanby Hall
File:Mar Hall Hotel.jpeg, Erskine House
File:Lowther Castle 01.jpg, Lowther Castle
File:Lowther Castle 02.jpg, Lowther Castle
File:Cholmondeley Castle.jpg, Cholmondeley Castle
File:Eastnor Castle 03.jpg, Eastnor Castle
File:Oulton Hall Hotel, Oulton. - geograph.org.uk - 258514.jpg, Oulton Hall
File:Armley House, Gotts Park, Upper Armley - geograph.org.uk - 922697.jpg, Armley House
File:Strathallan Castle - geograph.org.uk - 539085.jpg, Strathallan Castle
In the classical style:
*
Brightling Park
Brightling Park (previously known as Rose Hill) is a country estate which lies in the parishes of Brightling and Dallington in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is now the home of Grissell Racing, who have operated a racehorse train ...
west wing, observatory and follies (temple, obelisk) c. 1800–10
* Eywood, Herefordshire, (1806–07) major extension, demolished 1955
* Upleatham Hall, North Riding, Yorkshire (1810) extension, demolished 1897
* Bickley Hall, Kent, (1810) extension of large library wing, demolished 1963
*
Cirencester House
Cirencester Park is a country house in the parish of Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England, and is the seat of the Bathurst family, Earls Bathurst. It is a Grade II* listed building. The gardens are Grade I listed on the Register of His ...
north wing (1810–11) and rebuilt east front 1830.
* alterations to
Luton Hoo
Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
from 1816, damaged by fire in 1843 it was reconstructed by Sydney Smirke.
*
Armley House, Yorkshire, (1817).
*
Whittingehame House,
East Lothian
East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921.
In 1975, the histo ...
(1817–18).
* Haffield House,
Donnington, Herefordshire
Donnington is a village and civil parish near Ledbury.
Parish church
The parish church is dedicated to Saint Mary.
Donnington Hall is located here on the outskirts of the village.
In 1870–72, Donnington was described as:
: "DONNINGTON, a p ...
(1817–18).
*
Hardwicke Court
Hardwicke Court is a Grade II* listed country house in Hardwicke, Gloucestershire, England. The house is Late Georgian in style. It was designed by Sir Robert Smirke and built in 1816–17, although a canal still remains from the early ...
, near Gloucester (1817–19).
*
Oulton Hall
Oulton Hall in Oulton, West Yorkshire, is a Grade II listed building in England. It was once the home of the Blayds/Calverley family. After a major fire in 1850 the hall was remodelled, but its fortunes declined until it was revived for use as ...
(c. 1822) damaged by fire 1850 and restored by Sydney Smirke
*
Normanby Hall (1825–30)
Smirke used the
Elizabethan Style
Elizabethan architecture refers to buildings of a certain style constructed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland from 1558–1603. Historically, the era sits between the long era of the dominant architectural style o ...
at:
*
Drayton Manor
Drayton Manor, one of Britain's lost houses, was a British stately home at Drayton Bassett, since its formation in the District of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. In modern administrative areas, it was first put into Tamworth Poor Law Union ...
(1831–35) demolished 1919.
His
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
domestic buildings include:
*
Lowther Castle in
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
, (in 1806–11) his first major commission when he was 26.
* Offley Place, Hertfordshire, (1806–10)
*
Wilton Castle (Yorkshire)
Wilton Castle is an early 19th-century mansion, built on the site of a medieval castle, now converted into residential apartments, situated at Wilton, in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England.
It is a Grade II listed building.
Hist ...
(1810)
*
Strathallan Castle
Strathallan is the strath of the Allan Water in Scotland. The strath stretches north and north-east from Stirling through Bridge of Allan, Dunblane and Blackford to Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross.
Strathallan is also the name for one of the ...
, Perthshire, remodelled (1817–18)
*
Cholmondeley Castle
Cholmondeley Castle ( ) is a country house in the civil parish of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England. Together with its adjacent formal gardens, it is surrounded by parkland. The site of the house has been a seat of the Cholmondeley family since ...
(1817–19) a remodelling of the existing building.
*
Kinfauns Castle
Kinfauns Castle is a 19th-century castle in the Scottish village of Kinfauns, Perth and Kinross. It is in the Castellated Gothic style, with a slight asymmetry typical of Scottish Georgian. It stands on a raised terrace facing south over the R ...
, Perthshire (1822–26)
*
Erskine House (1828–45)
A rare use of
Norman Revival Architecture Norman Revival architecture is an architectural style.
In the United Kingdom, "Norman style", also known as "Lombard style" may be essentially a synonym for Romanesque Revival architecture.
In the United States, Romanesque Revival architecture evo ...
is:
*
Eastnor Castle,
Ledbury
Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills.
It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...
,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
(1812–20)
Church architecture
File:St. Anne's Church, St. Ann's Crescent, Wandsworth. - geograph.org.uk - 20226.jpg, St Anne's Church, Wandsworth
File:St. Anne's Church, Wandsworth - geograph.org.uk - 1030515.jpg, St Anne's Church, Wandsworth
File:St Mary's Church, Bryanston Square, London (IoE Code 207691).JPG, St Mary's Church, Bryanston Square
File:Saint Mary's Church, Bryanston Square - geograph.org.uk - 585541.jpg, St Mary's Church, Bryanston Square
File:Church of St Philip with St Stephen, Salford.jpg, St Philip's Church, Salford
File:Stgeorgeschapel.jpg, St George's Church, Brandon Hill
File:St George, Tyldesley, north.jpg, St George's Church, Tyldesley
File:Milton Mausoleum - geograph.org.uk - 55748.jpg, The Mausoleum Milton
File:St Peter's Church - Askham - geograph.org.uk - 509275.jpg, St Peter's Church, Askham
File:St. Nicholas Church, Strood - geograph.org.uk - 1044614.jpg, St Nicholas's Church, Strood
File:Railway Street, Chatham - geograph.org.uk - 847371.jpg, St John's Church, Chatham
File:Belgrave Chapel, and West Side of Belgrave Square - Shepherd, Metropolitan Improvements (1828), p257.jpg, Belgrave Chapel on the right, demolished c. 1910
File:St. Peter, Milton Bryan - geograph.org.uk - 837314.jpg, St Peter's Church, Milton Bryan
He advised the Parliamentary
Commissioners
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 ...
on the building of new churches from 1818 onwards, contributing seven himself, six were in the
Greek revival style
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
, the exception being the church at Tyldesley that is in the
Gothic revival style
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
:
*
St Anne's, Wandsworth (1820–22).
* St John's,
Chatham, Kent
Chatham ( ) is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham.
The town developed around Chatham ...
(1821–22).
* St James,
West Hackney (1821–3) bombed during The Blitz in 1940 and 1941 and later demolished.
*
St George, Brandon Hill
St George's is a former church in Great George Street, off Park Street, on the lower slopes of Brandon Hill in Bristol, England. Since 1999 it has been used as a music venue known as St George's Bristol. It was built in the 1820s by Sir Robert ...
,
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
(1821–23).
*
St George, Tyldesley (1821–4).
*
St Mary's, Bryanston Square
St Mary's, Bryanston Square, is a Church of England church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on Wyndham Place, Bryanston Square, London. A related Church of England primary school which was founded next to it bears the same name.
History
St Mary's, ...
, London (1821–3).
*
St Philip's Church, Salford
St Philip's Church is an Anglican parish church in the diocese of Manchester, in the deanery and archdeaconry of Salford. The church was renamed in 2016 as Saint Philip's Chapel Street. It is located at Wilton Place, off Chapel Street in Salford, ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
(1822–4); a copy of St Mary's with only minor variations.
Smirke also designed churches for clients other than the commissioners, these included:
* Belgrave Chapel, London 1812, demolished c. 1910.
* St Nicholas
Strood
Strood is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in Kent, South East England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham and Rainham. It lies on the northwest bank of the River Medway at its lowes ...
, this was a rebuilding in 1812 of a medieval church, the tower of which has been retained, and is in a simplified classical style.
* The
Milton Mausoleum at
Milton, Nottinghamshire
Milton is a hamlet in Nottinghamshire. It is part of West Markham civil parish, a short distance northwest of West Markham and southwest of Sibthorpe.
Mausoleum
The mausoleum at Milton was designed by Robert Smirke and built in 1831–2. It w ...
(1831–32) for
Henry Pelham-Clinton, 4th Duke of Newcastle.
* The parish church of St. Peter's at
Askham, Cumbria
Askham is a village and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Westmorland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 360, decreasing slightly to 356 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...
1832, in a Neo-Norman style.
*
The Church of St Peter,
Milton Bryan
Milton Bryan is a village and civil parish located in Central Bedfordshire (the spelling Milton Bryant was previously common and is still recognised by postal services). It lies just off the A4012 road, near to its junction with the A5 at Hockl ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
addition of north transept to church by
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham
Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787 – 13 October 1847) was a British architect who pioneered the study of Medieval Gothic architecture. He was a restorer and conservator of existing buildings. He set up a Museum of Medieval Art in Waterloo Road, Lon ...
.
Restoration work
![York York minster choir area 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/York_York_minster_choir_area_001.JPG)
Smirke was involved in
Building restoration, several commissions coming to him via his post in the Office of Works:
*
Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishment of a minster dedicated to S ...
(1807), Gothic screen behind the high altar; removed 1873.
*
Carlisle Cathedral (1809–11), repairs and alterations to the Fratry.
*
Powis Castle (1815–18), restoration of battlements, window mullions etc.
*
Savoy Chapel
The King's Chapel of St John the Baptist in the Precinct of the Savoy, also known as the King's Chapel of the Savoy, is a church in the City of Westminster, London. Facing it are 111 Strand, the Savoy Hotel, the Institution of Engineering and Te ...
(1820–21), rebuilt south wall and added the west tower.
*
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(1830) repaired the roof and inserted a new ceiling in the upper reading room in the schools quadrangle.
*
Clarendon Building
Clarendon Building is an early 18th-century neoclassical building of the University of Oxford. It is in Broad Street, Oxford, England, next to the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre and near the centre of the city. It was built betwee ...
, Oxford (1831) fitted up the interior as university offices.
*
York Minster after the arson attack on the
chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse.
Ove ...
of the cathedral in 1829, Smirke oversaw the restoration (1830–32), which involved rebuilding the roof and vaults plus the recreation of the
choir stalls
*
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parli ...
, (1834–37) he refaced the interior of Westminster Hall after the fire of 1834 and erected a temporary House of Lords in the Painted Chamber and a temporary House of Commons in the remains of the former House of Lords.
*
Banqueting House, Whitehall (1835–38) repairs and internal alterations.
*
Mansion House, London (1836), redesign of the external steps to the
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
.
*
St. James's Palace
St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...
(1836–37) refitted the interior of the Chapel Royal.
*
St James's Church, Piccadilly (1836), repairs to the roof
*
Serjeant's Inn (1836–39) extensive reconstruction work, destroyed 1940 during the London Blitz.
In popular culture
Both Smirke's buildings and Robert Smirke himself play a major role throughout the plot of the fiction podcast ''
The Magnus Archives
''The Magnus Archives'' is a horror fiction podcast written by Jonathan Sims, directed by Alexander J. Newall, and distributed by Rusty Quill. Sims narrated the podcast in-character as the main character, Jonathan Sims, the newly appointed Hea ...
''. He is given a fictional interest in the esoteric and the paranormal, and works with several characters to construct buildings that secretly use the principle of balance to channel the energies of Dread Powers. He fails, and is an unwitting accomplice in several attempts to create an apocalypse, one of which eventually succeeds at the end of the show's penultimate season.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Smirke's work in Cumbria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smirke, Robert
1780 births
1867 deaths
Knights Bachelor
19th-century English architects
Royal Academicians
British neoclassical architects
Greek Revival architects
People associated with the British Museum
Recipients of the Royal Gold Medal
Robert Smirke (architect) buildings
Architects from London