John William Griffith

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John William Griffith (1789-1855) was an English architect and surveyor best known for his Greek Revival designs for the Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green, London.

Career[]

Surveyor[]

From his office at 16 Finsbury Place South, John Griffith held several surveying posts in the City of London and Islington areas: for the London Estates of St John’s College, Cambridge and James Rhodes, and for the Parish of St Botolph, Aldersgate (the church of which he may have enlarged and enhanced circa 1830).[1] In Islington, for the James Rhodes Estate, in the 1820s he prepared the schedules, petitions and plans for development in the Duncan Terrace area.[2]

Architect[]

Apart from his plans for Rhodes’ houses in Islington, he was also responsible for the design of many houses in Hornsey, Kentish Town and Highgate as well as the Islington Parochial Schools (1815)[1] and the South Islington Proprietary School, in a classical style (1836).[2]

The Cemetery of All Souls, Kensal Green[]

In the early 19th Century the insanitary conditions of the metropolis’s grossly overcrowded graveyards had become a national scandal. To alleviate the situation, between 1832 and 1847 Parliament authorized the establishment of eight commercial cemeteries in the countryside around London. The first of these new cemeteries was that of the General Cemetery Company at Kensal Green, planned as a garden cemetery on the lines of Père-Lachaise in Paris with the public 'at liberty to erect what description of monuments they please'. Griffith, one of three architect shareholders (the others were A.C.Pugin and Thomas Willson) was chosen to design the entrance gateway and two chapels in a Greek Revival style.[3] The Cemetery opened in 1833, with the arched entrance-gate, lodges and the Ionic Dissenters' Chapel completed the following year. The Doric Anglican Chapel, catacombs and colonnades followed by 1838. Griffith is also thought to be responsible for the overall layout and planting of the grounds,[4] including the surrounding wall and railings.[5]

Family vault of Griffith in Highgate Cemetery

Griffith is known to have designed three mausolea in Portland Stone in Kensal Green Cemetery, all now listed Grade II:

For Captain George Aikman, which also commemorates Colonel Frederick Aikman VC, a hero of the Indian Mutiny.[6]

For Sir John Dean Paul, with a frieze inscribed THE TOMB OF THE PAUL FAMILY, who was a banker and one of the principal backers of the General Cemetery Company.[7]

For Richard Valpy, Headmaster of Reading School for 50 years and also a director of the General Cemetery Company.[8]

Personal life[]

For more than fifty years Griffith resided at 9 St John’s Square, Clerkenwell, London. He married Philadelphia Evans Congdon (1791-1856) from St Germans, Cornwall and they had six children: William Pettit born in 1815, Sarah in 1818, John William in 1819, Caroline in 1821, Maria in 1823 and Charles in 1829.[9] His eldest son, William Pettit Griffith (1815-1884) also trained as an architect, later publishing books on Gothic Architecture and geometric proportions.[1]

John William Griffith died on the 27th November, 1855[10] and is buried in a family vault at Highgate Cemetery.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Curl, James Stevens (2015). Oxford Dictionary of Architecture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-967498-5.
  2. ^ a b Hansen, Marcus. "Heritage Statement for 16 Duncan Terrace London, N1 8BZ" (PDF). www.islington.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  3. ^ Banerjee, Jacqueline. "Kensal Green Cemetery (The General Cemetery of All Souls)". www.victorianweb.org. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  4. ^ "KENSAL GREEN (ALL SOULS) CEMETERY, Grade I listing document" (PDF). www.rbkc.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  5. ^ Sheppard, F.H.W. "Survey of London: Volume 37, North Kensington". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Frederick Robertson Aikman". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Tomb of Sir John Dean Paul". www.historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Valpy Mausoleum". www.mmtrust.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  9. ^ "1851 Census, 9 St John's Square, Clerkenwell". www.familysearch.org. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Will of John William Griffith, Architect and Surveyor of Clerkenwell , Middlesex". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
Retrieved from ""