Wikipedia

John Henry Chamberlain: Difference between revisions

Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m rearranged images
→Life: uppercase per direct link (Arts and Crafts movement)
 
(40 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown)
Line 1:
{{Short description|British architect}}
{{otherOther people|John Chamberlain}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=SeptemberJanuary 20132024}}
{{Infobox architect
|name=John Henry Chamberlain
Line 15 ⟶ 16:
|awards=
}}
 
'''John Henry Chamberlain''' (21 June 1831 – 22 October 1883), generally known professionally as '''J. H. Chamberlain''', was a British nineteenth-century architect based in [[Birmingham]], England.
 
Working predominantly in the [[Victorian Gothic]] style, he was one of the earliest and foremost practical exponents of the ideas of architectural theorist [[John Ruskin]], who selected Chamberlain as one of the trustees of his [[Guild of St George]]. Chamberlain's later work was increasingly influenced by the early [[Arts and Crafts movement]].
Line 22 ⟶ 24:
 
==Life==
[[File:Shenstone-House,-Edgbaston,-Birmingham---John-Henry-Chamberlain.jpg|thumb|left|Shenstone House of 1855: Chamberlain's first building withinin Birmingham, – Shenstone House of 1855 – wasand the first High Victorian building withinin the town.]]
Chamberlain was born in [[Leicester]] on 21 June 1831, son of a Baptist minister,<ref name=thornton>{{Cite book| last=Thornton|first=Roy|title=Victorian Buildings of Birmingham|publisher=Sutton Publishing Ltd|year=2006|isbn=0-7509-3857-9}}</ref> and received his architectural training with a local practice. After further experience in London and a period travelling in Italy he moved to Birmingham in 1853. He designed two buildings for John Eld, the business partner of his uncle. The first of these to be completed, Eld's house at [[12 Ampton Road]], [[Edgbaston]] (1855) survives to this day and already shows many of the features that would characterise much of Chamberlain's later work: a [[gothic architecture|gothic]] structure in polychromatic brick with finely crafted decoration inspired by natural and organic forms. The shop at 28–29 Union Street for Eld & Chamberlain has been demolished.<ref name=thornton/>
 
In the late 1850s, he entered into a partnership with [[William Harris (Birmingham Liberal)|William Harris]]. This was short-lived, but the two men remained friends, and, in later years, Harris would marry Chamberlain's widow.<ref>Holyoak 2009, p. 160</ref><ref name="harrobit">{{cite journal |author=Anon. |title=The late Mr William Harris, J.P. |journal=Edgbastonia |volume=31 |issue=359 |date=April 1911 |pages=61–70 (62–3, 70) }}</ref>
Line 29 ⟶ 31:
Although Chamberlain continued to build in both Leicester and Birmingham (where he built the [[Edgbaston Waterworks]] whose tower would inspire the young [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]) his career failed to take off, and in 1864 he considered moving to [[New Zealand]] after being offered a commission to design [[Christ Church (cathedral), New Zealand|Christchurch Cathedral]].
 
[[File:Birmingham Central Library c1890.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|The rebuilt Central Library of 1882, demolished in 1974]]
Instead he went into partnership with [[Martin & Chamberlain|William Martin]] who was already established as the city's public works architect. Chamberlain took the lead in design matters, while Martin saw to the more practical side of running an architectural practice.{{sfn|Boase|1887}}▼
[[File:BMI leaflet detail.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Chamberlain enrolling [[Hercules]] as a member of the [[Birmingham and Midland Institute]]: detail from an 1866 leaflet]]
▲Instead he went into partnership with [[MartinWilliam &Martin Chamberlain(architect)|William Martin]] who was already established as the city's public works architect. Chamberlain took the lead in design matters, while Martin saw to the more practical side of running an architectural practice.{{sfn|Boase|1887}}
 
Chamberlain's belief in the value of individual craftsmanship and patterns inspired by nature (characteristic of the [[artsArts and craftsCrafts movement]]) together with his sense of [[urbanism]] and the civilising potential of cities (that was much less typical of a movement which generally abhorred the [[industrialIndustrial revolutionRevolution]] and viewed large cities as dehumanising) chimed perfectly with the [[progressivism|progressive]] [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] ideology – dubbed the "[[Civic Gospel]]" – of Birmingham's ruling liberals, who sought to transform industrial Birmingham into a cultural centre to rival the great European capitals.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}▼
[[File:Behind the Town Hall was the Central Library rebuilt in 1882 after a fire and demolished in the 1970's to make way for a short length of road.jpg|thumb|right|J. H. Chamberlain's rebuilt Central Library of 1882, demolished in 1974]]
▲Chamberlain's belief in the value of individual craftsmanship and patterns inspired by nature (characteristic of the [[arts and crafts movement]]) together with his sense of [[urbanism]] and the civilising potential of cities (that was much less typical of a movement which generally abhorred the [[industrial revolution]] and viewed large cities as dehumanising) chimed perfectly with the [[progressivism|progressive]] [[non-conformist]] ideology of Birmingham's ruling liberals, who sought to transform industrial Birmingham into a cultural centre to rival the great European capitals.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}
 
Together with Martin's contacts and business acumen this saw the partnership win a string of commissions to design civic structures throughout Birmingham, including libraries, hospitals, public utilities, major projects such as the cutting of [[Corporation Street, Birmingham|Corporation Street]] and culminating in 1871 with a commission to design no fewer than 41 [[Birmingham board schools|board schools]] in response to the [[Elementary Education Act 1870]]. Among the most important buildings were the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in Paradise Street, and the Free Libraries in Edmund Street.{{sfn|Boase|1887}}
 
Chamberlain became the unofficial domestic architect to Birmingham's civic leaders, designing a string of prestigious houses in upmarket districts of South Birmingham, including [[Highbury, Birmingham|Highbury Hall]] –, the home of [[Joseph Chamberlain]] himself, and now the official residence of Birmingham's Lord Mayor.
 
He served from 1865 until his death as Honorary Secretary and on the Council of the [[Birmingham and Midland Institute]]. He was also responsible for an extension to the Institute's building, completed in 1881.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rachel E. |last=Waterhouse |author-link=Rachel Waterhouse |title=The Birmingham and Midland Institute, 1854–1954 |publisher=Birmingham and Midland Institute |place=Birmingham |year=1954 |pages=44–58, 69, 190 }}</ref>
In January 1867, he was appointed to the council of the [[Birmingham and Midland Institute]].{{sfn|Boase|1887}}
 
[[Image:BirminghamBIADFineArtMargaretStreet.jpg|thumb|right|250pxupright=1.1|[[Birmingham School of Art]], now part of [[Birmingham City University]]'s [[Birmingham Institute of Art and Design]]]]▼
ChamberlainShortly diedbefore suddenlyhis ondeath 22he October 1883, shortly after completingcompleted the designs for what is generally considered his finest building – the [[Birmingham School of Art]],.{{sfn|Foster|2005|pp=69–73}} whichThe building was subsequently completed afterby his[[Martin death by& Chamberlain|William Martin and his son [[Frederick Martin (architect)|Frederick Martin]].▼
 
==Death and burial==
Chamberlain died suddenly on 22 October 1883, immediately after delivering an evening lecture at the Birmingham and Midland Institute. His subject was "Exotic Art", and he concluded by quoting [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]]'s poem "Amphion":
▲[[Image:BirminghamBIADFineArtMargaretStreet.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Birmingham School of Art]], now part of [[Birmingham City University]]'s [[Birmingham Institute of Art and Design]]]]
{{blockquote|<poem>And I must work thro' months of toil,
▲Chamberlain died suddenly on 22 October 1883, shortly after completing the designs for what is generally considered his finest building – the [[Birmingham School of Art]], which was completed after his death by William Martin and his son [[Frederick Martin (architect)|Frederick Martin]].
And years of cultivation,
Upon my proper patch of soil
To grow my own plantation.
I'll take the showers as they fall,
I will not vex my bosom:
Enough if at the end of all
A little garden blossom.</poem>}}
 
He afterwards left the lecture room, but when he reached the home of [[Lawson Tait]] fainted away and died.
 
The Institute's Report for 1883 commented: "Under his guidance the Institute has undergone development that is truly marvellous; he had genius to see the needs of the time and the direction in which the Institute could be developed to meet them. The wisdom of his counsel, the extent and variety of his knowledge, the grace of his eloquence and the wonderful charm of his personal presence made him a colleague whom it is impossible to replace."<ref>{{cite book |first=J. H. |last=Muirhead |author-link=J. H. Muirhead |title=Birmingham Institutions |publisher=Cornish Brothers |place=Birmingham |year=1911 |pages=350–351 }}</ref>
 
He is buried in [[Key Hill Cemetery]], [[Hockley, West Midlands|Hockley]], in Birmingham's [[Jewellery Quarter]].
 
==Personal life==
In 1859, Chamberlain married Anna Mary Abrahams, daughter of Rev. George Abrahams, in 1859.<ref>Boase and Brooks 2004.</ref> AfterFollowing hisChamberlain's death, she married in 1888 his former professional partner, William Harris, in 1888.<ref name="harrobit"/>
 
==Significant works==
[[File:Highbury Hall Birmingham.jpg|thumb|right|250pxupright=1.1|[[Highbury Hall]], Moseley, commissioned by Joseph Chamberlain]]
*12 Ampton Road (Shenstone House), [[Edgbaston]] – Chamberlain's first house; "the first High Victorian house in the town"
* The Birmingham & Midlands Institute, Paradise Street façade (1881); "exhuberant gothic style" - demolished 1966.
*[[Birmingham Central Library]] (1882) – Demolished in 1974.
*[[Chamberlain Memorial]], Birmingham (1882)
Line 66 ⟶ 84:
==Sources==
*{{ODNBweb|first=G. C. |last=Boase |first2=Michael W. (revised) |last2=Brooks |title=Chamberlain, John Henry (1831–1883) |year=2004 |edition=online |id=5047 }}
*{{cite book |title=Birmingham |first=Andy |last=Foster |year=2005 |series=Pevsner Architectural Guides |publisher=Yale University Press |place=New Haven/London |ISBNisbn=0-300-10731-5 }}
*{{cite book |title=Birmingham's Victorian and Edwardian Architects |last=Holyoak |first=Joe |chapter=John Henry Chamberlain |editor-first=Phillada |editor-last=Ballard |publisher=Oblong |place=Wetherby |year=2009 |ISBNisbn=978-0-9556576-2-7 |pages=153–81 |ref=harv }}
*{{cite DNB|wstitle=Chamberlain, John Henry|first=George Clement|last=Boase|authorlink = George Clement Boase|volume=10|pages=2–3}}
 
Line 76 ⟶ 94:
[[Category:Gothic Revival architects]]
[[Category:English ecclesiastical architects]]
[[Category:PeopleArchitects from Leicester]]
[[Category:1831 births]]
[[Category:1883 deaths]]
[[Category:Members and Associates of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists]]
[[Category:Burials at Key Hill Cemetery]]
[[Category:Architects from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Guild of St George]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Chamberlain"