George Gwilt the younger
George Gwilt, the younger (1775–1856) was an English architect and writer on architecture. best known for his restoration of the east end of the church of St. Saviour, Southwark, (now Southwark Cathedral).
Biography
Gwilt was born in
Gwilt was drawn towards the study rather than the active practice of architecture, and from early on he devoted himself to archæological pursuits. He wrote many papers for the
He was particularly interested in the antiquities of Southwark, and contributed an article on the remains of Winchester Palace to the Gentleman's Magazine in 1815.[1] He also contributed to Britton and Pugin's Illustrations of the Public Buildings of London. [1]
Gwilt's most important archaeological work was the restoration of the church of St. Saviour, Southwark, (now Southwark Cathedral). The tower and choir were restored 1822-5 at a cost of £35,000.[1] In his enthusiasm for returning the church to its thirteenth-century appearance he removed the early sixteenth-century windows at the east end of the choir and, lacking firm evidence as to the original design, substituted an elevation of his own invention, with three lancet windows, and a circular one in the gable above.[2] When the lady chapel was restored at a cost of £3,000, raised by public subscription,[1] its threatened demolition having been averted,[3] Gwilt gave his services as an architect free.[1]
Gwilt died on 26 June 1856 at the age of eighty-one, and was buried, by authority of the secretary of state, in a vault of the choir of St. Saviour's, Southwark.[1]
Family
George Gwilt married Mary Ann Applegath on 1 September 1800 at All Saints Church, Isleworth [TW7 6BE]. Mary Ann's stepfather was John Busch [1730-1795] the landscape architect.
George and Mary Ann had three sons. The two eldest, George and Charles Edwin, were promising architects, but both died young. The latter contributed a paper on some antiquities of Southwark to the Archæologia (xxv. 604).[1]
They also had five daughters. The third daughter Hannah [1807-1893] took a keen interest in astronomy and is the donor of the Jackson-Gwilt Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society. The second daughter Sarah's younger son Edward Haldane Cotsworth [1832-1892] was an early Australian photographer. The youngest daughter, Aderline's son was the painter
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Burnet 1890, p. 397.
- ^ Worley 1905, p. 43.
- ^ Worley 1905, p. 32.
Sources
Worley, George (1905). Bell's Cathedrals: Southwark Cathedral. London: George Bell & Sons.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Burnet, George Wardlaw (1890). "Gwilt, George (1775-1856)". In Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney (eds.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 23. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 397. This source notes:
- Builder, vol. xiv. (1856);
- Gent. Mag. (1833), pt. i. p. 254, (1856), ii. 250.