Bassae Temple of Apollo by John Foster 1820

Bassae Frieze BM 4401433473 546a9aa58d o

:''This is about the architect. For his father, see John Foster, Sr.'' John Foster, Junior (1786 – 21 August 1846) was an English

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 ...

born and based in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. In succession to his father, he was Surveyor to the

Corporation of Liverpool Liverpool City Council is the local authority for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan boroug ...

(1824–1835).Hollinghurst (2009), p67 His buildings were generally in the

Greek Revival style Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

and he mainly worked on public buildings and Anglican churches.Hollinghurst (2009), p50

Biography

John Foster Sr. married Ann Dutton on 18 September 1781 in St George's Church, Liverpool.Hollinghurst (2009), p9 John Foster Jr. is the second of eight sons born to the couple in 1786 in Liverpool.Hollinghurst (2009), p12 Foster studied under Jeffry Wyatt in Lower Brook Street, London, whose uncle

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

had worked with John Sr. on

Liverpool Town Hall Liverpool Town Hall stands in High Street, Liverpool, High Street at its junction with Dale Street, Castle Street, and Water Street, Liverpool, Water Street in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for E ...

.Hollinghurst (2009), p28 John Jr. displayed three designs at

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, in 1805 a design for a Mausoleum, in 1806 a design for a National Museum and in 1807 a Public Library or National Gallery.Hollinghurst (2009), p29 During 1810-11 he travelled extensively through southern Europe and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

studying classical architecture and accompanied C. R. Cockerell and the German archaeologists Haller and Linckh during their excavation of the temples at Aegina and

Bassae Bassae (, – ''Bassai'', meaning "little vale in the rocks"The Bassai Sculptures / The Phigaleian Frieze
British Museum, retrieved July 2010 In 1816 John Jr. returned to Liverpool and joined the family building firm. He succeeded his father, John Foster, Sr., as senior surveyor to the

in 1824, and held that post until the

Municipal Reform Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...

. His own designs included

The Oratory The Oratory stands to the north of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral in Merseyside, England. It was originally the mortuary chapel to St James Cemetery, and houses a collection of 19th-century sculpture and important funeral monuments as part of the ...

, St. John's Market, Liverpool Necropolis (converted into a park in 1914),

St James Cemetery St James's Cemetery is an urban park behind Liverpool Cathedral that is below ground level. Until 1825, the space was a stone quarry, and until 1936 it was used as the Liverpool city cemetery. It has been designated a Grade I Historic Park by ...

, alterations and additions to

Knowsley Hall Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of parkland, which contains the Knowsley S ...

, the grandstand at

Aintree Racecourse Aintree Racecourse is a horse racing, racecourse in Aintree, Merseyside, England, near to Liverpool. The racecourse is the venue for the Grand National steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase, which takes place annually in April over three da ...

and the Church of St. Andrew's in Rodney Street, converted in the early 21st century to student accommodation. The second Royal Infirmary and the public baths have both been demolished, as has the enormous, domed

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

, which suffered extensive fire damage during the Second World War. He is often attributed as the architect for numbers 2–10

Gambier Terrace Gambier Terrace (Liverpool, England) is a street of 19th-century houses overlooking St. James's Mount and Gardens and Liverpool Cathedral. It is generally reckoned to be in Canning, although it falls within the Rodney Street conservation are ...

, Liverpool.Port (2006), p326 He was living in

Hamilton Square Hamilton Square is a town square in Birkenhead, Wirral, England. The Georgian square, which was designed by Edinburgh architect James Gillespie Graham, has the most Grade I listed buildings outside London (after Trafalgar Square). It is named ...

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

when he died in 1846 and was buried the cemetery, St James, he designed.

Gallery of work

File:St Lukes Church, Liverpool (geograph 3765352).jpg, St Luke's Church, corner of Berry Street and Leece Street, Joint Work with his father
(1811–32; Grade II*) File:Blind Asylum Chapel, Liverpool, Merseyside; with scale. Line Wellcome V0012842.jpg, The Chapel, Blind Asylum, Hardman Street
(1819; demolished 1930) File:Church of St. Andrew Rodney Street Liverpool Merseyside England UK.jpg, St. Andrew's Church, Rodney Street
(1823–24; Grade II*) File:Second Liverpool Royal Infirmary (14652158422).jpg, Second Liverpool Royal Infirmary, Brownlow Hill
(1824; demolished 1889) File:Gateway to St James's Gardens 1.jpg, Gateway to St James Cemetery
(1827; Grade II) File:St James cemetery lodge, Liverpool 2.jpg, Lodge to St James Cemetery
(c.1828; Grade II) File:Liverpool Oratory - geograph.org.uk - 1021592.jpg, The Oratory, St James Cemetery(1827–29; Grade I) File:The Oratory, Liverpool 3.JPG, The Oratory, St James Cemetery
(1827–29; Grade I) File:The Oratory, Liverpool 14-10-2016 (13).JPG, The Interior, The Oratory, St James Cemetery
(1827–29; Grade I) File:BRADSHAW(1854) p156 LIVERPOOL, CUSTOM HOUSE.jpg, The Custom House (1828–38; bombed 1941, demolished 1946) File:An account of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway - comprising a history of the parliamentary proceedings preparatory to the passing of the act, a description of the railway in an excursion from (14756763971).jpg, The Moorish Arch, Liverpool and Manchester Railway
(1830; demolished 1860) File:Huskisson Monument, St James's Gardens 1.jpg, The Husksson Memorial, St James Cemetery
(1834; Grade II

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster Jnr, John 19th-century English architects 1786 births 1846 deaths Architects from Liverpool