John Loughborough Pearson
John Loughborough Pearson | |
---|---|
National Portrait Gallery (London). | |
Born | 5 July 1817 |
Died | 11 December 1897 |
Nationality | British |
Occupation | Architect |
Awards | Royal Gold Medal (1880) |
Buildings | Truro Cathedral St John's Cathedral |
Projects | St Margaret's, Westminster Bristol Cathedral |
John Loughborough Pearson RA (5 July 1817 – 11 December 1897) was a British Gothic Revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. Pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation. He worked on at least 210 ecclesiastical buildings in England alone in a career spanning 54 years.[1]
Early life and education
Pearson was born in Brussels on 5 July 1817.[2] He was the son of William Pearson, etcher, of Durham, and was brought up there. At the age of fourteen, he was articled to Ignatius Bonomi, architect, of Durham, whose clergy clientele helped stimulate Pearson's long association with religious architecture, particularly of the Gothic style.
Pearson moved to London, where he became a pupil of Philip Hardwick (1792–1870), architect of the Euston Arch and Lincoln's Inn. He lived in central London at 13 Mansfield Street (where a blue plaque commemorates him). He was awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1880.
Career
From the erection of his first church at Ellerker, in Yorkshire, in 1843, to that of St Peter's, Vauxhall, in 1864, his buildings are geometrical in manner and exhibit a close adherence to precedent, but elegance of proportion and refinement of detail lift them out of the commonplace of mere imitation. Holy Trinity, Westminster (1848), and St Mary's, Dalton Holme (1858), are notable examples of this phase.
Pearson began his career drawing purely on English medieval prototypes, but increasingly incorporated ideas from abroad: Charles Locke Eastlake described Pearson's Christchurch at Appleton-le-Moors in North Yorkshire as "modelled on the earliest and severest type of French Gothic, with an admixture of details almost Byzantine in character."[3]
He was enlisted by Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet to develop the first of what now are known as "The Sykes churches" near Sledmere. Initially Pearson restored the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Garton on the Wolds and the churches at Kirkburn, and Bishop Wilton, along with a new one at Hilton.[5]
Cathedrals
Pearson is best known for
While
Non-ecclesiastical buildings
Pearson's practice was not confined to church buildings.
In general design he first aimed at form, embracing both proportion and contour; and his work may be recognized by accurate scholarship coupled with harmonious detail. Its keynotes are cautiousness and refinement rather than boldness.
Recognition
He was elected an Associate of the
Personal life
In 1862, Pearson married Jemima Christian, a cousin of his friend Ewan Christian, a Manxman and architect to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. Their son Frank Loughborough Pearson (1864–1947) was born two years later, but to Pearson's great sorrow Jemima died on 25 March 1865 of typhoid fever. Frank followed in his father's footsteps completing much of his work before embarking on his own original designs.
Pearson is buried in the nave of Westminster Abbey, where his grave is marked by the appropriate motto Sustinuit et abstinuit.
Legacy
In total, 198 churches created or worked on by Pearson are now listed buildings.[1] In 2016, Historic England commissioned a selective assessment of the significance of The Church and Chapel Interiors of John Loughborough Pearson to help those caring for the buildings to understand the importance of interior fixtures and fittings—particularly movable furniture, which is not covered by listing but a key part of the original designs.[1]
Some notable buildings
- St Augustine's, Kilburn (1871–1880) the tower and spire completed (1897–98)
- St John the Evangelist, Upper Norwood (1878–1887)
- Truro Cathedral (1879–1910)
- St Agnes and St Pancras church
- St Margaret's, Westminster (existing building, Pearson added eastern and western porches)
- Christ Church, Appleton-le-Moors, Yorkshire
- Bristol Cathedral, existing building, Pearson added the twin towers of the west front
- Wakefield Cathedral, Pearson added a new east end after the church was raised to cathedral status (completed 1903–05 by his son Frank).
- St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, related to Truro Cathedral (the design re-worked by his son, Frank, and completed in 2009)
Some of Pearson's other important works
- North Ferriby, Church of All Saints (1846)[7]
- Stow, Lincolnshire, St Mary's Minster (restoration, 1850)
- St John's Church, Acaster Selby (1850)
- Weybridge, St James's (1853)
- St Matthew's church,
- Church of St Michael and All Angels, Garton on the Wolds (restoration, 1856–57)[11]
- St Mary's Church, Catherston Leweston (1857–58)[12]
- St Peter's Church, Vauxhall (1863–64)
- Freeland, Oxfordshire, St Mary's parish church, parsonage and schools (1869–71)
- Kilburn, St Peter's Home (1868)
- Wentworth, Church of the Holy Trinity (1872)[13]
- Kirk Braddan new church, Isle of Man (1873)
- Horsforth, Church of St Margaret (1874)[14]
- St George's(1882)
- Chiswick, St Michael's (restoration, 1882)
- Hove, St Barnabas' parish church (1882–1883)
- Great Yarmouth church (restoration, 1883)
- St Agnes' (1883)
- St Mary's Church, Lastingham 1879
- Silverhill, East Sussex, St Matthew's Church (1884)
- Woking Convalescent Home (1884)
- Headingley, St Michael's church (1884)
- Torquay, All Saints' church (1884)
- Maidstone, All Saints' church (restoration, 1885)
- Shrewsbury Abbey (1886)
- Ayr, Holy Trinity (1886)
- Thurstaston, St Bartholomew's (1886)
- Hythe, Kent, St Leonard's Church (restoration, 1887)
- Oxford, New College, reredos (completion, 1889)
- Cambridge, Old Schools, University Library (additions, 1889)
- Cheswardine, Shropshire, (St Swithun's) (rebuilding 1889)
- Church of St John the Evangelist, Redhill (1889)
- St John, Friern Barnet, (1890)
- Cambridge, Sidney Sussex College(additions, 1890)
- Fitzrovia Chapel the old Middlesex Hospital chapel (1890)
- Bishopsgate, St Helen's parish church (restoration, 1891)
- Catholic Apostolic (Irvingite) Church, Maida Avenue, Maida Hill (1891-3)[15]
- St Paul's Church, Walsall (1892)
- Barking, All Hallows church (restoration, 1893)
- Cambridge, Emmanuel College (additions, 1893)
- Ledbury, St Michael's church (restoration, 1894)
- Lady Rachel Hamilton-Gordon Memorial Chapel(1893–1894)
- Two Temple Place, London (1895), built as the Astor Estate Office
- St Theodore's Church, Port Talbot (1895)
- Merthyr Tydfil, St Tydfil's church (1895)
- Bordesley St Patrick's Church, Bordesley(1896), demolished 1964
- St Paul's Church(1896)
- Nottingham, St Bartholomew's Church (completed by his son, 1899–1902)
- Upper Norwood, St John the Evangelist (Consecrated in 1887)
Gallery
-
Bristol Cathedral West front
-
Truro cathedralfrom the north-west
-
St Stephen's Church, Bournemouth: The Tower
See also
- List of new ecclesiastical buildings by J. L. Pearson
- List of ecclesiastical restorations and alterations by J. L. Pearson
- List of non-ecclesiastical works by J. L. Pearson
References
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Pearson, John Loughborough". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the- ^ a b c Clare Howard, Simon Taylor (4 July 2017). "The Church and Chapel Interiors of John Loughborough Pearson: A Selective Assessment of their Significance Historic England Research Report: 26/2016". research.historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
- ^ "John Loughborough Pearson, R.A." Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ Eastlake, Charles Locke (1872). A History of the Gothic Revival. London: Longmans, Green & Co. pp. 303–4.
- ^ "Bomb damage to St John the Evangelist, Red Lion Square, Camden, London: the vaults underneath a side chapel | RIBA". RIBApix. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ Christopher Sykes The Big House.
- ^ Denzil Scrivens "John Loughborough Pearson RA and St John's Cathedral Brisbane: the Development of a Queensland Masterpiece" (published by St John's Cathedral, Brisbane 2017)
- ^ Historic England. "Church of All Saints, North Ferriby (1347004)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ Preston, Richard. "William Hinves and Alfred Bedborough: architects in nineteenth-century Southampton" (PDF). Southampton Local History Forum Journal. Southampton City Council. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ "The Old Quarry Landscove". Domesday Reloaded. BBC. 1986. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St Matthew (1108532)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "CHURCH OF ST MICHAEL, Garton (1160977)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ Historic England (10 January 1984). "PARISH CHURCH (ST MARY), Catherston Leweston (1213892)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of the Holy Trinity, Wentworth (1192788)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Church of St. Margaret, Horsforth (1261804)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Catholic Apostolic Church and Church House, Non Civil Parish (1238911)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 16 January 2022.