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William Railton (1800–77) was an English architect, best known as the designer of
Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whi ...
. He was based in London, with offices at 12 Regent Street for much of his career.


Life

He was born in
Clapham Clapham () is a suburb in south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (most notably Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Early history T ...
(then in Surrey) on 14 May 1800, the son of Isaac Railton and his wife, Margaret Maria Railton, née Scott. He was a pupil of the London architect and surveyor William Inwood. In 1825 Railton set off for a tour of Greece and Egypt. On his return to England he prepared for publication some drawings he had made of the remains of the recently excavated Kardaki Temple on Corfu. They were printed as a supplementary volume to James Stuart's ''Antiquities of Athens'' under the title of ''The newly-discovered Temple at Cadachio Illustrated''. In the mid-1830s, Railton carried out several commissions for Ambrose March Phillipps, a Leicestershire landowner who had converted to Catholicism at an early age. On his marriage his father, Charles March-Phillipps of Garendon Park, had given him one of the family's other Leicestershire estates, on which stood the ruins of
Grace Dieu Priory The Grace Dieu Priory was an independent Augustinian priory near Thringstone in Leicestershire, England. It was founded around 1235-1241 by Roesia de Verdun and dissolved in October 1538. It was dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St Mary. Toda ...
. There, Railton built the neo-Tudor
Grace Dieu Manor Grace Dieu Manor is a 19th-century country house near Thringstone in Leicestershire, England, occupied by Grace Dieu Manor School until 2020. It is a Grade II listed building. Early history The house is named after the adjacent Grace Dieu Pr ...
, complete with chapel. Meanwhile, Ambrose Phillipps bought - with borrowed money - a tract of land in nearby
Charnwood Forest Charnwood Forest is a hilly tract in north-western Leicestershire, England, bounded by Leicester, Loughborough and Coalville. The area is undulating, rocky and picturesque, with barren areas. It also has some extensive tracts of woodland; i ...
to build a monastery for a community of Trappist monks, to be named Mount St Bernard. Railton designed a church and monastic buildings, once again employing a neo-Tudor style. The church was consecrated in October 1837. Railton's buildings were, however, soon replaced by a more ambitious monastic complex to plans by
Augustus Pugin Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin ( ; 1 March 181214 September 1852) was an English architect, designer, artist and critic with French and, ultimately, Swiss origins. He is principally remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival st ...
. For Charles March Phillipps, Railton designed lodges and gatehouses for Garendon Park, which have survived the demolition of the main house. Railton also designed two identical Anglican churches in Charnwood Forest, at Copt Oak and
Woodhouse Eaves Woodhouse Eaves is a village in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. Nearby are the villages of Quorn, Swithland, and Newtown Linford. Breakback Road leads from the village to Nanpantan and Loughborough. The church of St Paul is a ...
, (consecrated on 3 September and 5 September 1837). He built further churches nearby at
Groby Groby (pronounced "GREW-bee") is a large English village in the county of Leicestershire, to the north west of the city of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 6,796. Description The village has expanded vastly since ...
(c.1840) and Thorpe Acre (1845), the latter on land donated by Charles March Phillipps. Also in Leicestershire, he designed Beaumanor Hall for the Herrick family. At
Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the cit ...
he designed a palace for the bishop. The foundation stone was laid at a ceremony in October 1838, and by the end of 1841 it was ready for the bishop to move in. Four years later, Railton was asked to add a chapel, slightly separate from the palace, to allow the local population to worship there. In deference to the Tudor style of the palace, he chose the perpendicular style, battlemented like the main building. Between 1838 and 1848 he was employed as architect to the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...
for whom he produced two standard designs for parsonages. During this time he also remodelled Riseholme as a house for the Bishop of Lincoln.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Retrieved 9 January 2009
In 1836 he won the fourth prize in the competition to design a replacement for the
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...
which had recently been destroyed by fire, and in 1839 came first in the competition to design a monument to
Admiral Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
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 commem ...
, London. His winning design – a simple Corinthian column topped with a statue of Nelson – was constructed between 1839 and 1842; the lions on the base, although part of the original plan, were not added until 1867. Railton exhibited 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 purp ...
between 1829 and 1851. He built nothing after 1850. He lived at 65 Onslow Square, Kensington, in the later part of his life, and died on 13 October 1877, while visiting Brighton.


Works

*Randalls, Surrey. House for Nathaniel Bland (1830). *St Peter, Duddon, Cheshire (1835). *Grace Dieu, Leicestershire. House for Ambrose Phillipps (1833). *Copt Oak church, Leicestershire (consecrated 1837). *St Paul,
Woodhouse Eaves Woodhouse Eaves is a village in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. Nearby are the villages of Quorn, Swithland, and Newtown Linford. Breakback Road leads from the village to Nanpantan and Loughborough. The church of St Paul is a ...
, Leicestershire (consecrated 1837). *Two lodges and a gatehouse at Garendon Park, Leicestershire, for Charles Phillipps (1837–47). *Bishop's Palace, Ripon (1838–41). *
Nelson's Column Nelson's Column is a monument in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, Central London, built to commemorate Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's decisive victory at the Battle of Trafalgar over the combined French and Spanish navies, during whi ...
, Trafalgar Square, London (1839–42). *St Philip and St James,
Groby Groby (pronounced "GREW-bee") is a large English village in the county of Leicestershire, to the north west of the city of Leicester. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 6,796. Description The village has expanded vastly since ...
, Leicestershire (c.1840). *Rebuilding of St Mary, Bromley by Bow (1842-3). Destroyed. *St Bartholomew the Less Bethnal Green (consecrated 1844) *
Mount St Bernard Abbey Mount St Bernard Abbey is a Roman Catholic, Trappist monastery near Coalville, Leicestershire, England, founded in 1835 in the parish of Whitwick and now in that of Charley. The abbey was the first permanent monastery to be founded in Englan ...
, Leicestershire (opened 1844). Later demolished and replaced with buildings by Pugin. *St Mary, Stafford Street, Wolverhampton (consecrated 1845). Demolished. * Beaumanor Hall, Leicestershire (1845-7). *Bishop's Palace Chapel, Ripon (1846). *
Holy Trinity, Hoxton Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
(1848). *Remodelling of Riseholme Hall as a palace for the Bishop of Lincoln (1840). *Holy Trinity, Meanwood, Yorkshire (1848-9).


Gallery

File:Nelson's Column, Trafalgar Sq, London - Sep 2006.jpg, The capital and statue at the top of Nelson's Column Image:Woodhouse Eaves church 2006-03-029 043web.jpg, St Paul's Church,
Woodhouse Eaves Woodhouse Eaves is a village in Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. Nearby are the villages of Quorn, Swithland, and Newtown Linford. Breakback Road leads from the village to Nanpantan and Loughborough. The church of St Paul is a ...
, 1837 File:Holy Trinity Church, Shepherdess Walk, Hoxton, London N1 - geograph.org.uk - 1296536.jpg, Holy Trinity Church, Shepherdess Walk, Hoxton, London N1 File:Another view of St. Peters Church, Copt Oak - geograph.org.uk - 461666.jpg, St Peter's Church, Copt Oak Image:HolyTrinityMeanwood.jpg, Holy Trinity Church, Meanwood, Leeds 1849


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Railton, William 19th-century English architects Trafalgar Square Horatio Nelson 1877 deaths 1800 births People from Clapham Architects from Surrey