Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe, (12 May 1816 – 29 April 1905), known previously as Sir Edmund Beckett, 5th Baronet and Edmund Beckett Denison, was an English lawyer, mechanician, and controversialist, as well as a noted horologist and architect.

Biography

Beckett was born at Carlton Hall near Newark,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, England, and was the eldest son of Sir Edmund Beckett, 4th Baronet, MP for the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

. He was educated at Doncaster Grammar School for Boys (briefly), then Eton, and went on to read mathematics at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he graduated in the 1838 Tripos with the rank of "30th Wrangler". Lord Grimthorpe Vanity Fair 2 February 1889

Beckett began practising law in 1841 at Lincoln's Inn, becoming a leader of the parliamentary bar. He was made a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1854, retiring in 1881. He was elected to the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

in 1866. He was elected to the presidency of the

British Horological Institute The British Horological Institute (BHI) is the representative body of the horology, horological industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by a group of clockmakers in 1858, and has its current premises at Upton Hall, Nottinghamshire, Upton ...

in 1868, a position he accepted on the condition that he should not be asked to attend dinners. He was re-elected annually until his death. In 1877 he was appointed

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

and

Vicar-General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar ...

of the

Diocese of York The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The diocese is headed by the ar ...

. He was created Baron Grimthorpe in 1886. He is sometimes known as Edmund Beckett Denison; his father had taken the additional name Denison in 1816, but the son dropped it on his father's death in 1874. He married Fanny Catherine (23 February 1823 – 8 December 1901), daughter of John Lonsdale, 89th

Bishop of Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...

. In 1851, he designed the mechanism for the clock of the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

(the Houses of Parliament in London), responsible for the chimes of

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...

. In 1868 he worked with W. H. Crossland to design St Chad's Church, Far Headingley in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

on land given by his family. The Trinity College Clock mechanism was designed by Lord Grimthorpe He was also responsible throughout the 1880s and 1890s for rebuilding the west front, roof, and

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

windows of

St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban, also known as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Normans, Norman times. It ceased to be an abb ...

at his own expense. Although the building had been in need of repair (and indeed considerable work had already been done since 1856 under the guidance of Sir

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), largely known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he ...

until his death in 1878, including making the central tower safe, correcting the listing of the south side of the nave, and reconstructing the shrine of

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; ) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at an ea ...

), popular opinion at the time held that he had changed the cathedral's character, even inspiring the creation and temporary popularity of the verb "to grimthorpe", meaning to carry out unsympathetic restorations of ancient buildings. Part of Beckett's additions included statues of the four evangelists around the western door; the statue of

St Matthew Matthew the Apostle was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. According to Christian traditions, he was also one of the four Evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew, and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. The claim of his g ...

has Beckett's face. He later turned his attentions to St Peter's and then to St Michael's churches, both in the same city. He lived at Batchwood Hall from where he oversaw the restoration work on the cathedral. He died on 29 April 1905 after a fall, and is buried in the grounds of St Albans Cathedral. His obituary in the ''

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ''Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society'' (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in astronomy, astrophysics and related fields. It publishes original research in two formats: papers (of any length) and letters (limited to ...

'' noted his mastery of ecclesiastical law, his publications (ranging from ''Astronomy without Mathematics'' to ''Clocks, Watches, and Bells'' (1903) to ''Building, Civil and Ecclesiastical'') and noted "there was not a better locksmith in England."

Quotation

* "I am the only architect with whom I have never quarrelled."

Religious publications

*
Six Letters on Dr. Todd's Discourses on the Prophecies Relating to Antichrist in the Apocalypse
' (1848) *
On the Origin of the Laws of Nature
' (1880) *
Should the Revised New Testament be Authorised?
' (1882) *''The Life of John Lonsdale, Bishop of Lichfield With Some of His Writings'' (1868) *
A Review of Hume and Huxley on Miracles
' (1883)

Other works

*
Astronomy Without Mathematics
' (1871)

Arms

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimthorpe, Edmund Beckett, 1st Baron Grimthorpe 1816 births 1905 deaths People from Newark and Sherwood (district) 19th-century English architects Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College People from St Albans Burials at St Albans Cathedral Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deaths from falls Chancellors of the Diocese of York Architects from Nottinghamshire Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria English King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel Members of Lincoln's Inn Edmund, 1st Baron Grimthorpe English barristers