William Henry Lynn (1829–1915) was an Irish-born

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 ...

with a practice in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

and the north of England. He is noted for his Ruskinian Venetian Gothic public buildings, which include

Chester Town Hall Chester Town Hall is in Northgate Street in the centre of the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. History In 1698 an exchange was built to ...

(completed 1869) and Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall (completed 1886).

Career

In 1846 Lynn was

articled Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to Sir Charles Lanyon in Belfast; under Lanyon he prepared the drawings for the original building housing Queens College, Belfast. He and Lanyon formed a

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

in 1854; in 1860, with Charles' son

John Lanyon John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

as junior partner, they incorporated as

Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, Civil Engineers and Architects was a 19th-century firm working mainly in Dublin and Belfast, and the leading architectural firm in Belfast during the 1860s. Its partners were Charles Lanyon, William Henry Lynn, and Charle ...

. The partnership dissolved in 1872, when Lynn struck out on his own. For their first joint projects (1855), Lynn and the elder Lanyon produced bank buildings at

Newtownards Newtownards is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the most northern tip of Strangford Lough, 10 miles (16 km) east of Belfast, on the Ards Peninsula. It is in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Newtownard ...

, County Down, and at

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

, County Tyrone, which are two of the earliest Irish examples of the

Venetian Gothic Venetian Gothic is the particular form of Italian Gothic architecture typical of Venice, originating in local building requirements, with some influence from Byzantine architecture, and some from Islamic architecture, reflecting Venice's trading ...

style that was being championed by

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

. In

the firm produced urbane Italianate commercial structures, in Dublin, the Church of St Andrew (1860) and the Unitarian Church, St Stephen's Green was "justly described as the best example extant of a modern Gothic church on a narrow street frontage, the treatment being quite original and altogether admirable". In Jordanstown, Co. Antrim, they designed the Romanesque Revival Church of St Patrick (1865–8) and, in England, the Chester Town Hall, following a public competition (1863–9), should be mentioned. In the 1860s a second Shane's Castle was designed with Charles Lanyon for 1st Lord O'Neill (burned 1922), and in 1870 Castle Leslie was designed for

Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet Sir John Leslie, 1st Baronet (16 December 1822 – 23 January 1916) was the son of Charles Powell Leslie (II) and grandson of Charles Powell Leslie (I) and his uncle was the Bishop, John Leslie. Leslie was a Conservative Member of Parliament fo ...

. A project that was never realised was the remodelling and expansion of Clandeboye House for the young Lord Dufferin and Claneboye, though correspondence continued over three decades, concerning the plans but also ranging over a projected new house at Grey Point; a seaside resort at Helen's Bay; a water tank to be sited below Helen's Tower; and projects in Canada, where Lord Dufferin was Governor General. A letter from Lynn to Lord Dufferin in March 1869 referring to alterations then under way at Clandeboye, some interior alterations of the time were designed by Lynn, perhaps in the dining-room, drawing-room, library and gallery. Among Lynn's most prominent designs working on his own were his work at Queen's University, Belfast, the Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church, Carlisle Circus, Belfast (1872–5; now semi-derelict and being restored) and the Ruskinian "Venetian" Gothic Belfast Bank on College Green, Dublin (1892), now housing a grand pub. Among his other later public commissions in Belfast were the Central Library (1883–8), the

Bank Buildings A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

(1895–1900), and Campbell College (1891–4). In part on the success of the Chester Town Hall he was commissioned to produce designs for

Paisley Town Hall Paisley Town Hall is a public hall in Abbey Close, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The building, which is being converted into a centre for performing arts, is a Category A listed building. History In the mid-19th century the administrative c ...

in Scotland (1875–82), and Barrow-in-Furness Town Hall in North Lancashire (1882–87), as well as the extension (1891–95) to the Italianate Harbour Office, Belfast. One of his last designs was for the baptistry of

St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast St Anne's Cathedral, also known as Belfast Cathedral, is a Church of Ireland cathedral in Donegall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is unusual in serving two separate dioceses ( Connor and Down and Dromore). It is the focal point of Belfas ...

in 1915. He died that same year and is buried in

Belfast City Cemetery Belfast City Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Chathair Bhéal Feirste) is a large cemetery in west Belfast, Northern Ireland. It lies within the townland of Ballymurphy, between Falls Road and Springfield Road, near Milltown Cemetery. It is maintained by ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, William Henry 1829 births 1915 deaths Architects from Belfast William Henry Lynn buildings Burials at Belfast City Cemetery