william burges

William Burges Born 2 December 1827 Died 20 April 1881 (aged 53) Alma mater King's College School, King's College London Bui ld in gs Mai son Die u, Dover , Sain t Fin Barr e' s Cat hed ra l, Car di ff Cast le , Worcester College, Oxford William Burges (2 December 1827 20 April 1881) was an English architect and desi gner. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his work to escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoclassical ar chitectural style and re-establish the architectural and social values of a utop ian medieval England. Burges stands within the tradition of the Gothic Revival, his works echoing those of the Pre-Raphaelites and heralding those of the Arts a nd Crafts movement. Burges's career was short but illustrious; he won his first major commission for Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork in 1863, when he was 35, and he died, in 18 81, at his Kensington home, The Tower House, aged only 53. His architectural out put was small but varied. Working with a long-standing team of craftsmen, he bui lt churches, a cathedral, a warehouse, a university, a school, houses and castle s. Burges's most notable works are Cardiff Castle, constructed between 1866 and 1928, and Castell Coch (1872 91), both of which were built for John Crichton-Stuar t, 3rd Marquess of Bute. Other significant buildings include Gayhurst House, Buc kinghamshire (185865), Knightshayes Court (1867 74), the Church of Christ the Conso ler (187076) and St Mary's, Studley Royal (1870 78) in Yorkshire, and Park House, C ardiff (187180). Many of his designs were never executed or were subsequently demolished or alter ed. His competition entries for cathedrals at Lille (1854), Adelaide (1856), Col ombo, Brisbane (1859), Edinburgh (1873), and Truro (1878) were all unsuccessful. He lost out to George Edmund Street in the competition for the Royal Courts of Justice (186667) in The Strand. His plans for the redecoration of the interior of St Paul's Cathedral (1870 77) were abandoned and he was dismissed from his post. Skilbeck's Warehouse (186566) was demolished in the 1970s, and work at Salisbury Cathedral (185559), at Worcester College, Oxford (1873 79) and at Knightshayes Cour t had been lost in the decades before. Beyond architecture, Burges designed metalwork, sculpture, jewellery, furniture and stained glass. Art Applied to Industry, a series of lectures he gave to the Society of Arts in 1864, illustrates the breadth of his interests; the topics co vered including glass, pottery, brass and iron, gold and silver, furniture, the weaver's art and external architectural decoration. For most of the century foll owing his death, Victorian architecture was neither the subject of intensive stu dy nor sympathetic attention and Burges's work was largely ignored. However the revival of interest in Victorian art, architecture and design in the later twent ieth century has led to a renewed appreciation of Burges and his work.

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William Burges

Born 2 December 1827Died 20 April 1881 (aged 53)Alma materKing's College School, King's College London

Buildings Maison Dieu, Dover, Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cardiff Castle, Worcester College, OxfordWilliam Burges (2 December 1827 20 April 1881) was an English architect and designer. Among the greatest of the Victorian art-architects, he sought in his workto escape from both nineteenth-century industrialisation and the Neoclassical architectural style and re-establish the architectural and social values of a utopian medieval England. Burges stands within the tradition of the Gothic Revival,his works echoing those of the Pre-Raphaelites and heralding those of the Arts and Crafts movement.Burges's career was short but illustrious; he won his first major commission for Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral in Cork in 1863, when he was 35, and he died, in 1881, at his Kensington home, The Tower House, aged only 53. His architectural output was small but varied. Working with a long-standing team of craftsmen, he built churches, a cathedral, a warehouse, a university, a school, houses and castles. Burges's most notable works are Cardiff Castle, constructed between 1866 and1928, and Castell Coch (187291), both of which were built for John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute. Other significant buildings include Gayhurst House, Buckinghamshire (185865), Knightshayes Court (186774), the Church of Christ the Consoler (187076) and St Mary's, Studley Royal (187078) in Yorkshire, and Park House, Cardiff (187180).Many of his designs were never executed or were subsequently demolished or altered. His competition entries for cathedrals at Lille (1854), Adelaide (1856), Colombo, Brisbane (1859), Edinburgh (1873), and Truro (1878) were all unsuccessful. He lost out to George Edmund Street in the competition for the Royal Courts ofJustice (186667) in The Strand. His plans for the redecoration of the interior of St Paul's Cathedral (187077) were abandoned and he was dismissed from his post.Skilbeck's Warehouse (186566) was demolished in the 1970s, and work at SalisburyCathedral (185559), at Worcester College, Oxford (187379) and at Knightshayes Court had been lost in the decades before.Beyond architecture, Burges designed metalwork, sculpture, jewellery, furnitureand stained glass. Art Applied to Industry, a series of lectures he gave to theSociety of Arts in 1864, illustrates the breadth of his interests; the topics covered including glass, pottery, brass and iron, gold and silver, furniture, theweaver's art and external architectural decoration. For most of the century following his death, Victorian architecture was neither the subject of intensive study nor sympathetic attention and Burges's work was largely ignored. However therevival of interest in Victorian art, architecture and design in the later twentieth century has led to a renewed appreciation of Burges and his work.