Robert Pearsall (architect)
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Robert Pearsall (3 March 1852 – 1929) was an English architect. He was architect to the
London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, in ...
, for whom he designed several notable fire stations, seven of which are Grade II listed buildings. His work included
Woolwich Fire Station Woolwich Fire Station is a Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland ...
, built in 1887, and extensions to
Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...
's 1872 station, which was London's oldest operational fire station before both stations were among ten closed on 9 January 2014.


Early life

He was born on 3 March 1852 at Oregon Terrace, Peckham Rye, Surrey (now London), the son of Henry Robert Pearsall, and initially educated at the
Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
Proprietary School. He was then articled to Sir
Arthur Blomfield Sir Arthur William Blomfield (6 March 182930 October 1899) was an English architect. He became president of the Architectural Association in 1861; a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1867 and vice-president of the RIBA in ...
, and after studying at the
Royal Academy 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 pur ...
(1871–1873), began to practice in his own account.


Career

He was appointed architect in the Fire Brigade Office, Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW, later London County Council) in 1879, and was initially supervised by Alfred Mott. After 1889, Pearsall headed the new Fire Brigade Section of the London County Council. His notable buildings include several fire stations now
Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
including: * Tooley Street (1878–79; now Brigade Bar and Bistro) * West Norwood Fire Station (1881; now the
South London Theatre The South London Theatre is a community theatre housed in a Grade II listed former fire station, in West Norwood in the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The first play opened in October 1967, and it is now a busy theatrical venue, presenti ...
) *164
Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate gave its name to the Bishopsgate Ward of the City of London. The ward is traditionally divided into ''Bishopsgate Within'', inside the line wall, and ''Bishop ...
(1885; now a supermarket) *
Woolwich Fire Station Woolwich Fire Station is a Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland ...
(1887) * Manchester Square Fire Station (1889; now a hotel) *
New Cross Fire Station New Cross Fire Station is a Grade II listed building at 266 Queens Road, New Cross, London. It was built in 1893–94 and the architect was Robert Pearsall. George Arthur Roberts, founder and pioneer of the discussion and education groups of t ...
(1893–94) *
Fulham Fire Station Fulham Fire Station is a listed building, Grade II listed building at 685 Fulham Road, Fulham, London. It was built from 1895 to 1896, and the chief architect was Robert Pearsall (architect), Robert Pearsall. In 1994, it was refurbished and ext ...
(1895–96), at 685 Fulham Road,
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
Pearsall also designed London fire stations in
Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...
(now The Old Fire Station, a community building) and Rosebery Avenue in
Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...
(Pearsall designed its extension in 1895–97; the original building was some 25 years older, making it London's oldest operational station when it closed on 9 January 2014). Pearsall also designed now-demolished London fire stations in Holborn, Kentish Town, Shadwell, North Kensington, and Camden Town. In 1873, Pearsall designed three different railway
sleeping car The sleeping car or sleeper (often ) is a railway passenger car (rail), passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car. ...
s for the American William d'Alton Mann. The first of the cars manufactured was used to convey the newly wed Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and his bride from
St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
to Flushing. Pearsall designed the chancel and transepts added to
Plaxtol Plaxtol is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. The village is located around north of Tonbridge and the same distance east of Sevenoaks. In the 2011 Census, the parish had a population of 1,117. ...
Church in Kent in 1894. Pearsall was also a life member of the British Museum, and served on "The Committee for the Survey of the Memorials of Greater London".


Personal life

On 2 April 1878, he married Libbie Florence Dezill (1859–1899), the daughter of Charles Antoine Ferdinand Dezille who was born in 1829, in Calais, France. and Isabel Bruce Craib who was born on March 22, 1831, in Hampton Wick, London.and settled in Islington London. They had three children together: Estelle Maud Pearsall, Robert Humphrey Pearsall, and Gerald Clifford Swinnerton Pearsall.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearsall, Robert 1852 births 1929 deaths Architects from Surrey People educated at Islington Proprietary School