John Peter Gandy (1787 – 2 March 1850 in

Hanover Square, London Hanover Square is a green square in Mayfair, Westminster, south west of Oxford Circus where Oxford Street meets Regent Street. Six streets converge on the square which include Harewood Place with links to Oxford Street, Princes Street, Hanover ...

), later John Peter Deering, was a British

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 ...

. He served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) from 1847 to 1848.

Family

Gandy was the youngest of the ten children of Thomas Gandy (d. 1814) and his wife, Sophia, née Adams. His older brothers included the painter

Joseph Michael Gandy Joseph Michael Gandy (1771–1843) was an English artist, visionary architect and architectural theorist, most noted for his imaginative paintings depicting Sir John Soane's architectural designs. He worked extensively with Soane both as ...

ARA (1771–1843) and the architect Michael Gandy (1778–1862). Their father Thomas worked at

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is the oldest gentleman's club in London. It moved to its current premises on St James's Street in 1778. Status White's is the oldes ...

, the oldest gentlemen's club in London, in the neighbourhood known as

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the d ...

Life

In 1805 John Peter Gandy was admitted to the

Royal Academy Schools 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 purpo ...

, where he was awarded their silver medal in 1806. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1805 and 1833. His early exhibits included "A Design for the Royal Academy" (1807) and two drawings, "An Ancient City" and "The Environs of an Ancient City" (1810). He was a pupil of

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 ...

from 1805 to 1808 and, when he left Wyatt's office, he took a job at the Barrack Office. In 1810 his was the winning design for a new

Bethlem Hospital Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital and Bedlam, is a psychiatric hospital in London. Its famous history has inspired several horror books, films and TV series, most notably ''Bedlam'', a 1946 film with Bo ...

, though it was never built. He was granted leave from the Barrack Office from 1811 to 1813 to accompany Sir

William Gell Sir William Gell FRS (29 March 17774 February 1836) was a British classical archaeologist and illustrator. He published topographical illustrations of Troy and the surrounding area in 1804. He also published illustrations showing the result ...

as his architectural draughtsman on an expedition to Greece on behalf of the

Society of Dilettanti The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style. History Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is b ...

. The write-up of the trip was published in 1817 as ''The Unedited Antiquities of Attica'', and in 1840 as the third volume of ''Antiquities of Ionia'', edited by William Wilkins. Gell and Gandy also published ''Pompeiana'' (1817–19), which came to be the standard work on the excavations at Pompeii. Gandy was elected a member of the

in 1830 and then began establishing himself as an architect. To begin with he collaborated with William Wilkins on works including an abortive 1817 design for a 280-foot tower commemorating the

battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, intended for Portland Place, which fell through due to an economic recession; the

United University Club The United University Club was a London gentlemen's club, founded in 1821. It occupied the purpose-built University Club House, at 1, Suffolk Street, London, England, from 1826 until 1971. Formation and membership The Club was founded at a meetin ...

, Pall Mall from 1822–26; and on

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, for which his designs were runner-up to Wilkins's, which Gandy then assisted Wilkins to construct. Gandy's other London buildings included the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

St Mark's Church, North Audley Street (1825–8), and

Exeter Hall Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings by promoters of human bettermen ...

, in The Strand (1830–31). He remodelled the courtyard of Burghley House, Northamptonshire (1828) and made alterations at Shrubland Park, Suffolk (1831–3). Though he was regarded as an authority on Greek architecture and produced mostly neo-classical designs, there were exceptions, such as the Stamford and Rutland Hospital in Lincolnshire, in the

Tudor Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed ar ...

style. He was elected

ARA ARA may refer to: Media and the arts * American-Romanian Academy of Arts and Sciences * '' Artistička Radna Akcija'', compilation album released in former Yugoslavia * Associate of the Royal Academy, denoting membership in the British Royal Aca ...

in 1826 and RA in 1838, with Wilkins' support. In 1828 Gandy's friend Henry Deering bequeathed him

The Lee The Lee (formally known as just Lee) is a village in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located in the Chiltern Hills, about 2 mi north east of Great Missenden and 3 mi south east of Wendover. The Lee is also the name of a civil parish ...

estate, near

Great Missenden Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Mar ...

, Buckinghamshire. Gandy took the name of Deering and, gradually giving up his profession as an architect, spent the rest of his life as a country gentleman. He was elected as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

(MP) for Aylesbury at the 1847 general election, but a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

led to his election being declared void in 1848. He was

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the ...

in 1840.

Notes and references

Sources

* *'Gandy afterwards Deering, John Peter', H. M. Colvin, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840'', 3rd edn (1995), 387–8 *A. Felstead, J. Franklin, and L. Pinfield, eds., ''Directory of British architects, 1834–1900'' (1993); 2nd edn, ed. A. Brodie and others, 2 vols.(2001) *R. Windsor Liscombe, ''William Wilkins, 1778–1839'' (1980) * Algernon Graves, ''A dictionary of artists who have exhibited works in the principal London exhibitions of oil paintings from 1760 to 1880'' (1884); new edn. (1895); 3rd edn, 76, 107. *The Builder, 8 (1850), 130 *S. C. Hutchison, 'The Royal Academy Schools, 1768–1830', Walpole Society, 38 (1960–62), 123–91 *'Gandy-Deering (Peter John, also known as J. P. Gandy, Gandy Deering and J. P. Deering from 1828', ''The Dictionary of Architecture'', ed. Wyatt Papworth (1853–92) *''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'', 2nd ser., 33 (1850), 448

External links

*
Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandy, John Peter 19th-century English architects 1787 births 1850 deaths High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire Royal Academicians Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 Greek Revival architects People from Mayfair Architects from London

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...