Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. Archer was born in Tanworth-in-Arden in Warwickshire and attended Oxford University. He went on a Grand Tour and was influenced by the work of Bernini and Borromini.
His churches include St John's, Smith Square, Westminster, badly damaged in World War II, St. Paul's, Deptford and St Philip, Birmingham, now Birmingham Cathedral. Archer's secular works included Roehampton House in Surrey, Welford Park in Berkshire, and the Cascade House and the west front and broadly bowed pilastered north front at Chatsworth House. Between 1709-1711 Archer designed a Baroque Garden pavilion for Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent at Wrest Park, Silsoe, Bedfordshire. After 1712 Archer designed Hurstbourne Priors in Hampshire for John Wallop (later Earl of Portsmouth). He remodelled St Mary's Church at Hale, Hampshire which also contains Archer Memorial designed by himself and carved by Sir Henry Cheere.[1]
He was a founding governor of the Foundling Hospital in London in 1739, but was not involved in the construction of the resulting building, completed circa 1750. The architect for that project was a Mr. Theodore Jacobsen.
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Documented works
- Chatsworth House, North wing, Derbyshire, circa 1705
- Heythrop Hall, Oxfordshire, circa 1705
- St Philip's, Birmingham, 1708-1715
- Garden pavilion, Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, 1709-1711
- Roehampton House, Surrey, 1712
- Cliveden House, Service pavilions and the quadrant colonnades, Buckinghamshire
- Hurstbourne Priors, Hampshire, 1712
- St John’s, Smith Square, London, 1713-1728
- St. Paul's, Deptford, 1712-1730
- Hale Park, Hampshire, 1715
- St Mary’s Church, additions, Hale, Hampshire, 1717
- Harcourt House, Cavendish Square, London, 1722
Attributed works
- Welford Park, remodelling of house, Berkshire, 1700
- Chicheley Hall, Buckinghamshire, circa 1703
- Parish church, chancel, Chicheley, 1708
- Addiscombe House, Croydon, Surrey, circa 1703
- Monmouth House, Soho Square, London, 1703
- Russell House, King Street, Covent Garden, London, circa 1704
- Cascade House, Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, 1705
- Hill House, Cain Hill, Wrest Park, Bedfordshire, circa 1710, demolished
- Bramham Park, Yorkshire, circa 1710
- Kingston Maurward, Dorset, 1717-1720
- Marlow Place, Buckinghamshire, 1720
- Chettle House, Dorset, circa 1730
- Monument to Susannah Thomas, Hampton Church, Middlesex, circa 1731
- Archer Memorial, St Mary’s Church, Hale, Hampshire
- Thomas Archer (his father) monument, St Mary Magdalene Church, Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire
References
- ^ The Puzzle of St Mary's Church - Hale. Judith Leigh © Cathedral Communications Limited 2005.
External links
Further reading
- Whiffen, Marcus:Thomas Archer: Architect of the English Baroque, Hennessey & Ingalls, Santa Monica 1973, ISBN 0912158239
