Henry Flitcroft (30 August 1697 – 25 February 1769) was a major 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 ...

in the second generation of

Palladianism Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

. He came from a simple background: his father was a labourer in the gardens at

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

and he began as a joiner by trade. Working as a carpenter at Burlington House, he fell from a scaffold and broke his leg. While he was recuperating, the young

Lord Burlington Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice, the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1831. Since 1858, Earl of Burlington has been a courtesy title used by the duk ...

noticed his talent with the pencil, and by 1720 Flitcroft was Burlington's draughtsman and general architectural assistant, surveying at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

for Burlington's dormitory, and superintending at the site at Tottenham House. Working life in the inner circle that was driving the new Palladian architecture was an education for Flitcroft. Flitcroft redrew for publication the drawings for ''The Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones,'' published by

William Kent William Kent (c. 1685 – 12 April 1748) was an English architect, landscape architect, painter and furniture designer of the early 18th century. He began his career as a painter, and became Principal Painter in Ordinary or court painter, bu ...

in 1727, under Burlington's patronage and supervision. In May 1726 Burlington got his protégé an appointment at the

Office of Works The Office of Works was established in the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences. In 1832 it became the Works Department forces within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Reven ...

, where he worked his way up from Master Carpenter and Master Mason to Comptroller of the King's Works, a prestigious position at the top of the architectural field. Royal commissions came his way in the form of some private projects for junior members of the British Royal Family; namely the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom ...

. His work for the Duke at

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for man ...

included creating the Virginia Water Lake. Flitcroft's hands were constantly occupied with private commissions and, like most professional architects (and unlike virtuoso earls), he did some speculative construction in new-building London streets, supplied stone, and contracted to erect the buildings he was designing. Panelling and a mantelpiece from an old panelled room designed by Flitcroft in the 1720s from Potternewton Hall near

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 ...

were installed in Sutton Park in Yorkshire after 1935. From 1746 to 1756, he was

Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral The post of Surveyor of the Fabric of St Paul's Cathedral was established in 1675. The role is an architectural one, with the current holder being responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the cathedral and its buildings. In the past, the rol ...

. In 1724 Flitcroft married Sarah Minns at St Benet's, Paul's Wharf. His son Henry was born in Hampton (1742). Flitcroft is buried at St Mary with St Alban, Teddington, together with his son Henry (died 1826), and wife Jane (died 1778). The inscription on his tomb records that "Here lies the body of HENRY FLITCROFT of Whitehall in the county of Middlesex who had the honour of serving three first Princes of the House of Brunswick in the Board of Works of which he was successively Appointed Clerk, Master Mason & Controller in the last of which Office he continued till his death which happened on the 25th of February 1769." Inside the church on the west wall is a memorial to Henry Flitcroft. Flitcroft Street, near St Giles in the Fields, London, was named after Henry Flitcroft.

Major commissions

Lilford Hall Lilford Hall is a Grade I listed Jacobean stately home in Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom. The 100-room house is located in the eastern part of the county, south of Oundle and north of Thrapston. History It was started in 1495 as a Tudor ...

, Northamptonshire: 1740s. At Lilford he designed the interiors. * Bower House, Essex, 1729 * St Giles in the Fields, London: 1731–1734. * Ditchley Park, Oxfordshire: 1724 onwards. At Ditchley he designed interiors, working in harmonious partnership with

. *

Wentworth Woodhouse Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. The building has ...

, W. Riding, Yorkshire: 1735 onwards. He rebuilt and enlarged the west front and added wings. * St Giles House, Wimborne St Giles, Dorset: 1740–1744. Interiors. * Stowe House, Buckinghamshire: ca. 1742. The State gallery (attributed). *

Wimpole Hall Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its of parkland and farmland are owned ...

, Cambridgeshire: 1742–1745. * Stourhead, Wiltshire: 1744–1765. Garden temples *

Woburn Abbey Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...

, Bedfordshire: 1748–1761. * Milton Hall, Northamptonshire: 1750–1751. Flitcroft built extensively in the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...

. File:Wimpole Hall 02.jpg, Wimpole Hall, as remodelled by Flitcroft File:Stourhead Pantheon 02 mod timm.jpg, The Pantheon, Stourhead File:Stourhead Pantheon 03.jpg, Facade The Pantheon, Stourhead File:Stourhead, Pantheon, interior.jpg, Interior, The Pantheon, Stourhead File:Temple at Stourhead.jpg, The temple of Apollo, Stourhead File:St Giles in the Fields 01 crop.jpg, North front, St. Giles-in-the-fields File:St giles down the aisle.jpg, Looking East, St. Giles-in-the-fields File:St-Giles-in-the-fields interieur.jpg, Altar, St. Giles-in-the-fields File:Woburn_Abbey.jpg, West front, Woburn Abbey File:Wentworth Woodhouse 02.jpg, West front, Wentworth Woodhouse, the wings were altered later by John Carr File:The Bower House, Havering-atte-Bower, Essex (geograph 4008009).jpg, Bower House, Essex File:Table MET DP112858.jpg, table designed c.1740-1745

References

* H.M. Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'' (1997) * Heward, John and Taylor, Robert "The Country Houses of Northamptonshire". {{DEFAULTSORT:Flitcroft, Henry 1697 births 1769 deaths 18th-century English architects Chatham House people Draughtsmen