Willey Reveley (1760–1799) was an 18th-century 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 ...

, born at Newton Underwood near Morpeth, Northumberland. He was a pupil of Sir William Chambers, and was trained at the Royal Academy Schools. In 1781-2 he was employed (under Chambers) as assistant clerk of works at Somerset House. Around 1788, Reveley travelled in Greece to make sketches for Sir Richard Worsley. That year, he married Maria James, better known under her later married name of Gisborne as a friend of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Maria's father opposed the marriage and refused to help the couple financially. They returned to England, where they lived on an income of £140 a year. Their son,

Henry Willey Reveley Henry Willey Reveley (1788–1875) was a civil engineer responsible for the earliest public works at the Swan River Colony, the foundation of the state of Western Australia. Life Reveley was the son of Willey and Maria Reveley (later Gisborne) ...

(1788–1875), became a civil engineer and architect in Cape Town and Western Australia. Their other son's name is unknown. Panopticon

Reveley was a strong liberal and became a friend of William Godwin and Thomas Holcroft. About 1791 he received his first professional fee as an architect, £10, for assisting philosopher

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...

in preparing architectural drawings for Bentham's scheme for a Panopticon prison. Reveley continued to work on the project with Bentham for the rest of the 1790s. Reveley contributed some views of the Levant to the ''Museum Worsleyanum'' (1794), the catalogue of Worsley's collections; and, also in 1794, edited the third volume of James Stuart's ''Antiquities of Athens''. ReveleyThamesscheme1796

In 1796, Reveley made four proposals to straighten the River Thames between Wapping and Woolwich

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in east London. A new channel across the Rotherhithe,

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

and Greenwich peninsulas would reduce the river's length, improve flow to remove pollution, and simplify navigation. Three large horseshoe bends of the river would have been left as huge

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s, connected to the new channel through locks. Parliament rejected all four proposals. Like the Thames scheme and the Panopticon prison, Reveley's designs for a public bath complex at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and an infirmary at

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did not come to fruition. His completed projects were

All Saints' Church, Southampton All Saints' Church was a church building in Southampton City Centre, located on the corner of the High Street and East Street, a short distance south of the Bargate. The original church on the site was named All Hallows, and was constructed in ...

(constructed 1792–5, destroyed in 1940); and Windmill Hill, Sussex, a country house built for W. H. Pigou and completed in 1798. He died on 6 July 1799 " ter a few hours illness".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reveley, Willey 1760 births 1799 deaths Architects from Northumberland