Memorial to John Johnson, Architect, in Leicester Cathedral

John Johnson (22 April 1732 – 17 August 1814) was an 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 ...

and

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

to the county of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. He is best known for designing the

Shire Hall, Chelmsford The Shire Hall is a municipal facility in Tindal Square in Chelmsford, Essex. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The current building was commissioned to replace an ageing 16th sessions house at the north end of the High Street which ho ...

Life

Johnson was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He moved to London before his thirtieth birthday and in the late 1760s was engaged by William Berners in speculative building of Berners' estate in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

. For most of the rest of his life he lived in one of the houses that he had built in

Berners Street Berners Street is a thoroughfare located to the north of Oxford Street in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, originally developed as a residential street in the mid-18th century by property developer William Berners (property de ...

. In 1782 he succeeded William Hillyer as Surveyor to the County of Essex, a position that he held for thirty years, retiring at the age of 80. In 1785 he became a partner with Sir Herbert Mackworth and others in Dorsett and Co, a bank in

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

, but Mackworth left before 1792, the bank failed in 1797 and was wound up in 1803. After this, Johnson moved from Berners Street to

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

, and on his retirement in 1812 returned to Leicester, where he died. He was buried in St Martin's Church (now

Leicester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Martin, Leicester, commonly known as Leicester Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral in Leicester, England and the seat of the Bishop of Leicester. The church was elevated to a collegiate church in 1922 ...

) where he is commemorated on the base of a monument by John Bacon, originally erected in 1786 as a memorial to his parents.

Works

Among Johnson's surviving works are:

Public buildings

* The

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

house, Newmarket (1771–2) * The

(1789–91) *

The City Rooms, Leicester The City Rooms is located in the heart of the City of Leicester in England. It has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. History The building, which was designed by John Johnson in the Greek Revival style, was compl ...

(1799–1800) * Ingrams Close,

Felsted School (Keep your Faith) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Chris Townsend , r_head_l ...

(1799–1802) *

Chelmsford Cathedral Chelmsford Cathedral in the city of Chelmsford, Essex, United Kingdom, is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, St Peter and St Cedd. It became a cathedral when the Anglican Diocese of Chelmsford was created in 1914 and is the seat of the Bishop o ...

(rebuilt the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, 1801–03) *

St Andrew's Church, Hornchurch The church of St Andrew's, Hornchurch, is a Church of England place of worship in Hornchurch, Essex. It is a Grade I listed building. History During the Anglian ice age around 450,000 years ago, the ice sheet reached The Dell, a few metres south ...

(rebuilt the south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

, 1802) * County Hall,

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre of ...

(1808–12), which became

Lewes Crown Court Lewes Crown Court is a Crown Court venue in Lewes High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England. It forms part of the Lewes Combined Court Centre which it shares with Lewes County Court. The building, which was known as the "County Hall" from an earl ...

and is now Lewes Combined Court Centre

Country houses

Castle Ashby Castle Ashby is the name of a civil parish, an estate village and an English country house in rural Northamptonshire. Historically the village was set up to service the needs of Castle Ashby House, the seat of the Marquess of Northampton. The v ...

(rebuilt the Great Hall, 1771-4) *

Terling Place Terling Place is the Georgian family seat of Baron Rayleigh and the largest house in the village of Terling, Essex, England. It was built for John Strutt, MP between 1772 and 1777 to the designs of John Johnson. The wings, a new porch, a two- ...

, Essex (1772-c1780) *

Woolverstone Hall Woolverstone Hall is a large country house, now in use as a school and available at times as a function venue, located south of the centre of Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It is set in on the banks of the River Orwell. Built in 1776 for William Be ...

, Suffolk (1776) *

Bradwell Lodge Bradwell Lodge is a country house in the village of Bradwell-on-Sea, on the Dengie Peninsula in Essex, England. Originally a Tudor rectory, in the 18th century the house was purchased by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley. Bate Dudley engaged J ...

, Essex (c.1785), reconstruction of an earlier house * Benhall Lodge, Benhall, Suffolk (1790), only a fragment of this building remains as part of 'Old Lodge', as the house was totally rebuilt in the Regency period * Hatfield Place,

Hatfield Peverel Hatfield Peverel is a village and civil parish at the centre of Essex, England. It is located 6 miles (10 km) north-east from Chelmsford, the nearest large city, which it is connected by road and rail. The parish includes the hamlets of ...

, Essex (1791–5)

London

* Asia House, no. 63 (originally no. 9), New Cavendish Street,

(c1775-77)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, John (architect) 1732 births 1814 deaths Architects from Leicester 18th-century English architects English surveyors