  john loughborough pearson (15 july 1817 &ndash; 11 december 1897) was a gothic revival architect renowned for his work on churches and cathedrals. pearson revived and practised largely the art of vaulting, and acquired in it a proficiency unrivalled in his generation. ==early life and education== pearson was born in brussels, belgium on 5 july 1817. he was the son of william pearson, etcher, of durham, and was brought up there. at the age of fourteen he was articled to ignatius bonomi, architect, of durham, whose clergy clientele helped stimulate pearson's long association with religious architecture, particularly of the gothic style. he soon moved to london, where he became a pupil of philip hardwick (1792â1870), architect of the euston arch and lincoln's inn. pearson lived in central london at 13 mansfield street (where a blue plaque commemorates him), and was awarded the riba royal gold medal in 1880. ==career== from the erection of his first church at ellerker, in yorkshire, in 1843, to that of st peter's, vauxhall, in 1864, his buildings are geometrical in manner and exhibit a close adherence to precedent, but elegance of proportion and refinement of detail lift them out of the commonplace of mere imitation. holy trinity, westminster (1848), and st mary's, dalton holme (1858), are notable examples of this phase. pearson began his career drawing purely on english medieval prototypes, but increasingly incorporated ideas from abroad: charles locke eastlake described pearson's christchurch at appleton-le-moors as "modelled on the earliest and severest type of french gothic, with an admixture of details almost byzantine in character." thumb|left|st mary's dalton holmest peter's, vauxhall (1864), was his first groined church, and the first 
1817_births 1897_deaths Architects_of_cathedrals English_architects English_ecclesiastical_architects Gothic_Revival_architects People_from_Brussels People_from_Durham,_County_Durham Recipients_of_the_Royal_Gold_Medal