William Pilkington (1758–1848) was an English architect.

Life

Born at Hatfield, near

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, on 7 September 1758, he was elder son of William Pilkington of Hatfield, by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of William Barker of

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...

. He was a pupil with Sir Robert Taylor, whose assistant he remained until Taylor's death in 1788. Pilkington had a practice as surveyor and architect in London, being employed by the Board of Customs (1782–1810), the parishes of St. Margaret and St. John in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

(1784), the Sun Fire Assurance office (1792), and

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

(1792). He retired about 1842 to his property at Hatfield, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He died in 1848.

Works

Pilkington was employed as surveyor and architect by Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor at Salisbury, where he built the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...

(1788–97) from Taylor's designs, and at

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, where he built the gaol. He was also employed by Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, for whom he built a house in Half Moon Street,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...

. Among his public works were the custom-house at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

(1785), the transport office in Cannon Row, Westminster (1816), and the Naval Hospital at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

(in 1809–11, under the supervision of

Edward Holl Edward Holl was an architect to the Navy Board, then later Surveyor of Buildings to the Board of Admiralty of the Royal Navy. His father is presumed to be Edward Holl, a stonemason from Beccles in Suffolk, who died in January 1816. Career Edwar ...

) He exhibited some designs 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 ...

The Old Customs House, Portsmouth - geograph

Family

He married, on 16 June 1785, Sarah, daughter and coheiress of John Andrews of

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

, Yorkshire, by whom he left two sons, Henry Pilkington of Park Lane House, near Doncaster, an assistant poor-law and tithe commissioner, and Redmond William Pilkington.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilkington, William 1758 births 1848 deaths Architects from Yorkshire