Sir James Pennethorne: Architect and urban planner

Abstract

Sir James Pennethorne (1801-1871) was the architectural heir of John Nash, in whose office he received much of his early training. From 1839 until 1870 he worked almost exclusively for the government: devising and carrying out major street improvement schemes in central London; designing and laying out the first metropolitan parks intended primarily for the use of the poor; acting as architecural surveyor to the Crown Estate in London; advising successive governments on schemes for new public buildings in the capital; and designing some of the most important of those buildings himself. He was one of the leading architects and urban planners of the mid 19th century, and a study of his career fills a major gap in the history of London, and the archtectural history of19th-century England.A first chapter traces Pennethorne's early career, examining his training, his role in the Nash office, and his first independently commissioned buildings. An assessment of his contribution to the planning of London follows, concentrating first on street improvements, then on the Crown Estate, and finally on parks. Pennethorne's main activities in these areas were concentrated in the 1840s and early 1850s. In 1844 he began his involvement in the planning and design of government buildings, and from the 1850s until his retirement the interest of his career is mainly architectural. A chapter traces hisdealings with the Office of Works, through which department government buildings were conceived and carried out. The buildings themselves are then considered by type: government offices, museums, royal residences, and a miscellaneous group which includes the Public Record Office and the first purpose-built headquarters of the University of London. A final chapter provides an assessment of Pennethorne's achievements and of his place in the history of English architecture.