Benjamin Dean Wyatt (1775–1852) was an English architect, part of the

Wyatt family The Wyatt family included several of the major English architects during the 18th and 19th centuries, and a significant 18th century inventor, John Wyatt (1700–1766), the eldest son of John Wyatt (1675–1742). The family This is a summary t ...

Early life

He was the son and pupil 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 ...

, and the brother of

Matthew Cotes Wyatt Matthew Cotes Wyatt (1777 – 3 January 1862) was a painter and sculptor and a member of the Wyatt family, who were well known in the Victorian era as architects and sculptors. Early life Wyatt was born in London, the son of the architect James ...

. Before setting up as an architect in 1809, he joined the Civil Service of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...

, working in the office of Lord Wellesley, in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

. Afterwards, in Dublin he was employed as private secretary to Wellesley's brother

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, later the Duke of Wellington. In 1811, Wyatt won the competition to rebuild the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) and backs onto Dr ...

, which had been destroyed by fire in 1809. Construction began in October 1811, and the theatre opened a year later. Wyatt based the design of the auditorium partly on that of the theatre at Bordeaux, which was reputed to have the best acoustics in Europe. In 1813 he published '' Observations on the Design for the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane''. He succeeded his father in the post of Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey from 1813 to 1827.

The Duke of Wellington

When Arthur Wellesley returned from the Peninsula War in 1814, he was created 1st Duke of Wellington, and the government offered to buy him a residence. Wellington called in Wyatt to advise him. Wyatt advocated a building that produced "a very magnificent & imposing effect" without "the monstrous expense of a Fabrick extended to the dimensions of

Blenheim Blenheim ( ) is the English name of Blindheim, a village in Bavaria, Germany, which was the site of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Almost all places and other things called Blenheim are named directly or indirectly in honour of the battle. Places ...

Castle Howard Castle Howard is a stately home in North Yorkshire, England, within the civil parish of Henderskelfe, located north of York. It is a private residence and has been the home of the Carlisle branch of the Howard family for more than 300 years ...

". Without having found an appropriate site, he drew up a set of plans, which he presented to Wellington in Paris, a few months after the Duke's victory at Waterloo. His idea was to lay out the buildings around three sides of a large courtyard with rounded corners, entered through a colonnaded screen. The main block of the house was planned around an octagonal staircase hall, with a coffered dome pierced by an

oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following Architecture * Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American s ...

, in the manner of the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

in London, designed by his father

. The architect had to produce a number of variations before the Duke finally gave his approval in November 1815. Wyatt then produced a set of working drawings, which included detailed instructions for the Neoclassical decoration. In 1817 the trustees appointed by Parliament to provide the duke with a house bought an estate at Stratfield Saye, Hampshire, for Wellington's use, and Wyatt was confident that the palace would be built there, despite the coolness that the trustees had previously shown towards his designs. However, in early 1818, it was decided that the existing house could be modified; Wyatt was paid for his drawings and the project shelved. In 1819 Wyatt began work on improvements to Apsley House, Wellington's London home. In the first phase of the work, he added a three-storey extension to the north east, housing a State Dining Room, bedrooms and dressing rooms. A second phase, started after Wellington had become Prime Minister in 1828, included a new staircase and the

Louis XIV style The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the official ...

"Waterloo Gallery" on the west front of the house. The exterior – previously red-brick – was clad in

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 ...

, and a pedimented portico added. Wyatt's original estimate for the work was £23,000, but the need to repair structural defects discovered during the work led to costs escalating to more than £61,000.

Other houses

He added a two-storey north wing to Westport House in Mayo, Ireland in 1816 for the 2nd Marquess of Sligo. This wing contained staff accommodation and kitchen facilities. This was followed by a corresponding South wing of 1819 which contained a two-storey high library surrounded with a mezzanine floor supported on cast iron brackets which gave access to the books. This wing was lost in a fire of 1826 due to the overheating of the technically advanced hot air heating system. Wyatt's original drawings for the library survive in Westport House. Wyatt was influential in reviving the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style in England during the mid-1820s. He designed the interiors of Belvoir Castle (1825–30), including the Dining Room, Picture Gallery, Elizabeth Saloon and, in the grounds, a Romanesque-style mausoleum.

Later works in London

With his brother, Philip William (d. 1835), he designed Crockford's Club (1827), 50–3 St James's Street,

Londonderry House Londonderry House was an aristocratic townhouse situated on Park Lane in the Mayfair district of London, England. The mansion served as the London residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. It remained their home until 1962. In that year Londond ...

(1825–28) demolished 1964 and the Oriental Club in Hanover Square (1827–1828).Collage Record 20748
at cityoflondon.gov.uk (Retrieved 28 January 2008) He was the designer of Duke of York Column, erected 1831–34. Also he was the involved in the design of Lancaster House, designing the exterior (the top floor was added by Sir Robert Smirke) and the state rooms.

Pupils

The architects

Alexander Dick Gough Alexander Dick Gough (3 November 1804 – 8 September 1871) was an English architect who practised in London, where much of his work may be found. He was a pupil of Benjamin Dean Wyatt, and worked in partnership with Robert Lewis Roumieu between ...

and

Robert Lewis Roumieu Robert Lewis Roumieu (1814 – 1877) otherwise R.L. Roumieu, was a 19th-century English architect whose designs include Milner Square in Islington and an idiosyncratic vinegar warehouse at 33–35 Eastcheap in the City of London. A pupil of B ...

were articled to him in 1823 and 1831 respectively.

Gallery of architectural work

File:Apsley House 1.JPG, Apsley House, London File:Crockford's - later the Devonshire Club.JPG, Crockford's Club, London joint work with his brother

Philip Wyatt Philip William Wyatt (5 March 1785 – 1835) was an English architect and member of the Wyatt family. He was the youngest son of the architect James Wyatt and his wife Rachel (Lunn) Wyatt, and a nephew of Samuel Wyatt, cousin to Sir Jeffry Wyatvil ...

File:Duke Of York Monument.jpg, Duke of York Column File:Lancaster House London April 2006 032.jpg, Lancaster House File:Stafford House central hall and principal staircase by Joseph Nash 1850.jpg, The Great Staircase, Lancaster House File:Lancaster-House-interior-ceiling.jpg, The ceiling, South-West Drawing Room, Lancaster House File:Lancaster-House-interior-fireplace.jpg, Fireplace, South-West Drawing Room, Lancaster House

References

External links

Columbia encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Benjamin Dean British neoclassical architects 1775 births 1852 deaths 19th-century English architects Architects from London

Benjamin Dean Benjamin Dean (August 14, 1824 – April 9, 1897) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Clitheroe, Lancashire, England, U.K., fifth child of Alice Lofthouse and Benjamin Dean, he moved ...