Peter Harrison (June 14, 1716 – April 30, 1775) was a colonial American

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 New England who is credited with bringing the

Palladian 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 ...

architectural movement to the colonies.

Early life and education

Born in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, England, Harrison immigrated to the colony of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

in 1740 with his brother Joseph Harrison. They initially established themselves as merchants and captains of their own trading vessels. Having gained a stake, between 1743 and 1745, Harrison returned to England to receive formal training as an architect. He studied under the direction of an English lord (it is not known which one), among those who trained architects through private studio-schools. They used architectural pattern books, taught drafting and coloring skills, and conducted grand tours of Italy and Greece, where students could see classical structures firsthand. They were taught to become expert draftsmen. These private studio-schools drew from the works of such masters such as the 16th-century Italian Palladio and the classical Roman

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

Career

Through his travels and education in Europe, Harrison acquired a substantial library of books related to classically inspired designs, and also had an opportunity to see the latest designs that were produced by architects of the

movement. When he returned to New England, where he first settled in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, he brought Palladianism with him. He designed notable buildings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and influenced many more. Peter Harrison is now credited as the first professionally trained architect in America in the Palladian style. His known works in the British-American colonies are considered to be of the highest quality and the finest examples of Palladianism in his time.

Works

More than 400 buildings in Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia have been attributed to Harrison, though only a few are supported with documentary evidence. Those listed here are his documented projects as identified by historian John Fitzhugh Millar in 2014. * Steeple, Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA (1745) * Fort George I, Goat Island, Newport, RI (1745, demolished) * Leamington Farm, Newport, RI (1747, altered) * Matthew Cozzens House, Middletown, RI (1748, demolished 1949) * Redwood Library,

Newport, RI Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

(1748–49) * Beavertail Lighthouse I, Jamestown, RI, (1749, burned) *

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed ...

, Boston, MA (1749) * John Still Winthrop House, New London, CT (1754, demolished) * Beavertail Lighthouse II, Jamestown, RI, (1755, destroyed) *

Touro Synagogue The Touro Synagogue or Congregation Jeshuat Israel ( he, קהל קדוש ישועת ישראל) is a synagogue built in 1763 in Newport, Rhode Island. It is the oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States, the only surviving s ...

, Newport, RI (1759) * Christ Church, Cambridge MA (1759–60) * Saint John’s Freemasons Hall, Newport, RI (1759) * Steeple and enlargement, Trinity Church, Newport, RI (1762) * Old Brick Market, Newport, RI (1762–72) * Saint Paul’s Chapel, New York, NY (1766, recent identification) * Old Dartmouth Hall,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

Hanover, NH Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of En ...

(1769, burned 1904, reconstructed) * Governor John Wentworth County House, Wolfeborough, NH (1769, demolished) * Trinity Church, Brooklyn, CT (1771) Elizabeth Pelham Harrison

Later life

Harrison married Elizabeth Pelham and later settled in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. He was dedicated to

Toryism A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

and English culture. He was ruined by this affiliation during the turbulent years of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, when Tories were sometimes boycotted as local conditions turned. He died of a stroke at his home in New Haven in 1775. He is buried in an unmarked grave at the New Haven Green. Soon after his death in 1775, his home was attacked by a mob of revolutionaries. They burned his library and all of his original drawings. This act of political violence destroyed the collection of one of the most erudite architects of the colonial period. It prevented the preparation of a catalogue of his designs for posterity.

Gallery

File:VIEW OF EXTERIOR FROM SE - Christ Church, 22-26 North Second Street, Philadelphia, HABS PA,51-PHILA,7-37 (steeple).jpg, Steeple, Christ Church, Philadelphia, Christ Church (1745), Philadelphia File:Boston - King's Chapel (48718908106).jpg,

(1749), Boston File:Redwood Library and Athenaeum - Newport, RI (51487895396).jpg, Redwood Library and Athenaeum (1750), Newport File:CambridgeMA ChristChurch.jpg, Christ Church (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Christ Church (1759), Cambridge File:Francis Malbone House, Thames Street, Newport Rhode Island.jpg, Francis Malbone House (1760), Newport File:Old Brick Market, Newport.jpg, Brick Market Building (1762), Newport File:Trinity Church Newport RI 2006.jpg, Steeple, Trinity Church, Newport (1762) File:Touro Synagogue, Newport, Rhode Island.jpg,

(1763), Newport File:St. Paul's Chapel - NYC (51522449420).jpg, Saint Paul’s Chapel, New York (1766) File:Dartmouth Hall - Dartmouth College - DSC01608.jpg, Dartmouth College, Old Dartmouth Hall, Hanover, New Hampshire, Hanover (1769) File:Trinity Church, Brooklyn, CT, corner view 2004.jpg, Trinity Church (1771), Brooklyn, CT

References

External links

from a Digital Archive of American Architecture
* https://www.flickr.com/photos/herzogbr/3714177960/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Peter 1716 births 1775 deaths People from York Architects from Newport, Rhode Island People of colonial Rhode Island Loyalists in the American Revolution from Connecticut English emigrants Burials in Connecticut