George Smith (architect)

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For other people named George Smith, see George Smith (disambiguation).

George Smith (28 September 1782 – 5 January 1869) was an

surveyor of the early 19th century, with strong connections with central and south-east London
.

Life and work

St Michael and All Angels, Blackheath Park (1828–9)
St Albans Town Hall (1829)

Smith was born on 28 September 1783 at Aldenham in Hertfordshire.[1] He was articled to Robert Furze Brettingham, and later worked for James Wyatt, Daniel Asher Alexander, and then Charles Beazley,[2] before eventually setting up his own practice in the City of London.[1]

He was appointed District Surveyor of the southern division of the City in 1810, and was elected Surveyor to the

Coopers' Company, and later served as their master.[1]

Smith's works included St Paul's School, then sited at the east end of St Paul's Churchyard (replacing a building demolished in 1824),[3] and Gresham College in Basinghall Street (opened in 1843).[4] For the Mercers' Company he built the Whittington Almshouses (1822) at Highgate, in a Gothic style; John Summerson noted that the company had sufficient wealth to afford "a great many crockets".[5] Smith built the Mercers' School on the previous site of the almhouses, in College Hill in the City.[6] At the Royal Exchange he replaced the wooden tower and entrance with a stone one.[7] In collaboration with A.B. Clayton he built the New Corn Exchange in Mark Lane (1827), with a Doric colonnade, echoing that of George Dance's neighbouring exchange of 1749-50.[8]

At Hornsey in 1832-3 he replaced the body of the church with a white brick Gothic structure, leaving only the medieval tower standing.[9]

His Gothic church of

Buildings of England guide describes as "a fanciful thin east spire", sometimes called "the Needle of Kent".[10] Ian Nairn describes it as "far more individual than the usual run", "more than a studious crib from a pattern book", and notes "the highly successful Eastern Tower".[11] A house called "Brooklands" (1825), designed for himself survives nearby.[12]

For the Cator family, Smith also rebuilt Woodbastwick Hall in Norfolk, following its damage by fire in 1819.[13]

Smith later built later another house for himself, called "Newlands", at Copthorne, in Sussex.[1]

He was also surveyor to the

South East Rail Company and Morden College
and his other works included:

Works in his native Hertfordshire include the Church of St. Peter,

Ionic columns.[15]

He was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, of which he was elected a Fellow in 1834, a member of the Surveyors' Club from 1807, and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.[1] He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1801 and 1829.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e "Obituary". The Architect and Contract Reporter. 1: 65. 30 January 1869.
  2. ISBN 9780486415345
    .
  3. ^ Timbs 1858, p.724
  4. ^ Timbs 1858, p.274
  5. ^ Summerson 1962, p233
  6. ^ Timbs 1858, p.732
  7. ^ Summerson 1962, p265
  8. ^ Summerson 1962, p267
  9. ^ T F T Baker, C R Elrington (Editors), A P Baggs, Diane K Bolton, M A Hicks, R B Pugh (1980). "Hornsey, including Highgate: Churches". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 6: Friern Barnet, Finchley, Hornsey with Highgate. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 5 April 2012. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Cherry and Pevsner, p.247
  11. ^ Nairn's London, Penguin Books, 1966. Page 183.
  12. ^ Cherry and Pevsner, p.276
  13. ISBN 0-7552-0043-8
    . Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  14. ^ Pevsner 1953, p.169
  15. ^ Pevsner 1953, p.222
  16. ^ Graves, Algernon (1906). The Royal Academy: A Complete Dictionary of Contributors from its Foundations in 1769 to 1904. Vol. 7. London. p. 178.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

References

  • Dictionary of Scottish Architects
  • Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus (1990) [1983]. London 2: South. The Buildings of England. London: Penguin Books. p. 247.
  • Pevsner, Nikolaus (1953). Hertfordshire. The Buildings of England. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
  • Summerson, John (1962). Georgian London. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
  • Timbs, John (1858). Curiosities of London. London.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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