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Thomas Taylor (born 1777 or 1778, died 1826) was an English artist and architect. Although he did not achieve the reputation or the output of
Thomas Rickman
Thomas Rickman (8 June 17764 January 1841) was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his ''Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture'' ...
, he was another pioneer in the use of the
Gothic Revival style in church architecture.
Career
Nothing is known of Taylor's early life. During the 1790s he was working in the London office of the architect
James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
. At the same time, he enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools to study architecture on 15 July 1791, giving his age as 22. Between 1792 and 1811 he exhibited 58 pictures at the
Royal Academy. Some of these pictures were landscapes, but most were of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
buildings. By 1810 he had moved to
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 popula ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, where he established an architectural practice, and continued to work as an artist. He died in Leeds in 1826 when he was aged in his late 40s.
Works
His first known architectural work was the rebuilding of the south side of
Leeds Parish church
Leeds Minster, or the Minster and Parish Church of Saint Peter-at-Leeds (formerly Leeds Parish Church) is the minster church of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the site of the oldest church in the city and is of architectural and l ...
(1808–12) in
Gothic Revival style, including a large window in the south
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
. This was followed by Leeds Court House (1811–13) in
Neoclassical style. Taylor's first commission for a new church came from Revd Hammond Robertson (1757–1841), an enthusiast for the use of the
Gothic style in church architecture. This was Christ Church,
Liversedge
Liversedge is a town and former parish of Birstall, in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Liversedge lies between Cleckheaton and Heckmondwike. The Kirklees ward ...
, West Yorkshire. Robertson bought the site, paid for the
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
, and also paid for the church itself. The foundation stone was laid in 1812, and the church was
consecrated in 1816. It was a large church, with
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...
s, a
clerestory, a west tower, and a
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.
Ov ...
larger than was normal at the time. Christ Church was the first new church in Gothic style to be built in the local region. More churches followed locally, including Holy Trinity
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
, constructed 1816-19. By 1815–16 he was also working in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, repairing churches in
Colne
Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds.
The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...
and
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...
, and rebuilding Holy Trinity Church,
Littleborough (1816–20).
The Church Buildings Act of 1818 provided grants for the building of new churches, especially in areas where their building had not kept up with the growth of the population. The grants were administered by the Church Building Commission, and these churches are generally known as
Commissioners' church
A Commissioners' church, also known as a Waterloo church and Million Act church, is an Anglican church in the United Kingdom built with money voted by Parliament as a result of the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1824. The 1818 Act supplie ...
es. Taylor, because of his recent building experience and his geographical location, was ideally placed to receive commissions for these churches. In all he was commissioned to build seven of these churches, all in Yorkshire, the first being St Lawrence,
Pudsey
Pudsey is a market town in the City of Leeds Borough in West Yorkshire, England. It is located midway between Bradford city centre and Leeds city centre. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it has a population of 22,408.
History
T ...
(1819–24).
During the time he was designing these churches, he was also designing other new churches, and carrying out repairs and alterations to existing churches.
See also
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List of works by Thomas Taylor
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Thomas
1826 deaths
19th-century English architects
Year of birth uncertain
Gothic Revival architects
British neoclassical architects
English ecclesiastical architects
Architects from Leeds