Source: https://www.dia.ie/architects/view/4300
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 13:10:06+00:00

Document:
Architect and Surveyor General, 1731-1733. Edward Lovett Pearce was a son of General Edward Pearce and his wife Frances, daughter of the Dublin merchant Christopher Lovett, who had been Lord Mayor of the city in 1676-7. His family, which also owned a property at Whitlingham, Norfolk, had wide-reaching and, in some cases, influential connections in both England and Ireland. His date of birth appears to have been in the late 1690s. He was thus still only a child when his father secured him an army commission in 1707. Details of his subsequent military career are scanty: he was a cornet in his father's regiment by 1714 and a captain in Molesworth's Dragoons under Colonel Neville by 1721 or 1722.
In 1731 Pearce leased the property of Tylorcain Hall and the Grove, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, from John Joshua, 2nd Viscount Allen, of Stillorgan House. He was knighted on 10 March 1732 awarded the Freedom of the Dublin on 6 April 1733. and died 'of a violent cholick in his stomach' at Stillorgan, on 7 December 1733. He was buried on 10 December at Donnybrook cemetery, where his grave is no longer identifiable. He married his first cousin, Anne (d. 1749), daughter of Lieutenant General Thomas Pearce, by whom he had four daughters.
Three volumes of architectural drawings by Pearce, Vanbrugh and Castle formerly belonged to Lord Allen's descendants, the Probys of Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire, when they were catalogued by Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig in Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964). Two of the three volumes are now in the Victoria & Albert Museum (E.2123 and E.2124). The third album containing designs for Stillorgan House and demesne remains in the Probys' possession. Pearce's name has been less reliably associated with a small group of drawings in the Papworth Collection in the RIBA Drawings Collection. His annotated copy of Palladio's Quattro Libri dell'Architettura is in the RIBA Library.
All information in this entry not otherwise accounted for is from the account of Pearce's life and career in E. McParland, Public Architecture in Ireland: 1680-1760 (2001), H. Colvin and M. Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (Roxburghe Club, 1964) M. Craig, 'Sir Edward Lovett Pearce', BIGS 17 (Jan-Jun 1974), 10-14, and 'The Quest for Sir Edward Lovett Pearce', Irish Arts Review Yearbook 12 (1996), 27-34. A succinct biography is in Howard Colvin, A Biographical dictionary of British architects 1600-1840 (4th edn., 2008), 793-4. A miniature portrait which is said to be either of Pearce or his father was formerly in the possession of Lady Keane, a connection of the Lovett family (information and photographs of miniature in Edward McParland files).
(1) See family tree in Colvin & Craig, op. cit., above, xl.
(2) See McParland, op.cit., above, 184-5,199.
(3) Colvin & Craig, op. cit., above, 35 (no. 237), Pl.51.
(4) McParland, op. cit. above, 182.
(5) In 1729 he sponsored an act regulating the building industry and brick size (3 Geo. II.14).
(6) NLI, Headfort MS 25448 (information from Roger Hill).
(7) W.A. McCutcheon, The Canals of the North of Ireland (1965), 18-20.
(8) PRO RHK 1/1/4 (IAA, Edward McParland files, Acc. 2008/44).
(10) Freeman's Journal 31 Dec 1768-3 Jan 1769, cited by McParland, op. cit., above, 196.
(11) M. Craig, op.cit., above, 11.
(12) Eileen Harris, British Architectural Books and Writers 1556-1785 (1990), 219,222.
Nature: ELP involved in some way in the building of same for Thomas Conolly.
Nature: Proposed design for front of house, for John Buxton.
Refs: IAA, Edward McParland files, Acc.2008/44, citing Buxton MSS., Cambridge University Library; Howard Colvin, A Biographical dictionary of British architects 1600-1840 (3rd edn., 1995), 745, citing Mark Girouard, 'Shadwell Park, Norfolk', Country Life, 2 Jul 1964.
Nature: New front and proposed alts. for Dr Marmaduke Coghill.
Refs: Front elevation with letter to Dr Coghill from ELP, Dublin, 27 Aug 1727, on verso in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (seeHoward Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), xliii,4-5 (no. 27), Pl.57b); Mark Bence-Jones, Burke’s Guide to Country Houses. Volume I, Ireland. (London, 1978), 112(illus.).
Nature: Proposed mansion in Old Deer Park, Richmond 'probably prepared for George II soon after his accession in 1727' attr. to ELP (on basis of handwriting at end of introductory text?).
Nature: ELP 'may well have been its designer' (Casey). For Luke Gardiner.
Refs: Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 300-301.
Nature: Possibly designed in part by ELP for Col. Edward Ligonier.
Nature: New. FS laid 3 Feb 1729. Finished under supervision of Arthur Dobbs after Pearce's death.
Refs: Draft memorial by ELP to Lords Justices of Ireland and designs in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see .Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), 1(nos. 1,2,4),2(no.11),5(nos.29,31?),24(no.165),27(no.184), Pls.45,46,47,48a,48b,49); Edward Watson. 'The Irish Parliament House. Who was the architect?', IB 71, 8 Jun 1929, 516-528; E. McParland, 'Edward Lovett Pearce and the Parliament House in Dublin', Burlington Magazine 131 (Feb, 1989), 91-100; Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 380-86.
Nature: For Thomas Carter; attr. to ELP because Carter was married to ELP's first cousin. (Front copied from 30 Old Burlington St, London, designed by Lord Burlington and Colen Campbell for Lord Mountrath).
Refs: Information from Mary Aronsson in letter to Desmond Guinness, 27 Apr 1993; Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 196.
Nature: Pair of houses for Luke Gardiner.
Refs: Section and 2 alternative designs for doorway with notes in ELP's hand in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), xliv-v,26(no.171),30(nos.204,205),pl.63; Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 198-9.
Nature: New archbishop's palace. For Archbishop Theophilus Bolton.
Nature: Probably designed by ELP and completed by Richard Castle. For Hercules Langford Rowley.
Nature: Attr. to Pearce or William Halfpenny by Casey & Rowan.
Refs: Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 360.
Nature: Probably in collaboration with Castle. For Hercules Rowley, M.P.
Nature: EP possibly involved in design.
Refs: Elevation and plan, signed and dated 1731, and site plan in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), 10(no.65),21(no.140),pl.62.
Nature: Conversion of Capt. Rawson's house into dragoon barracks.
Nature: New Deanery for Dean Welbore Ellis.
Nature: ELP appointed overseer of works, 1731. Responsible for changing transom windows to sashes. Garden house on Craig's 'list of candidates for buildings in some way connected to Pearce'.
Nature: Monument to William Worth, for Dr Edward Worth; 'a slender Doric aedicule' (Casey).
Refs: Elevation, dated 1732, in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), 34(no.227),pl.53b); Christine Casey, The Buildings of Ireland: Dublin (2005), 620.
Nature: Proposed house for Col. John Ligonier 'Entended...to be Built...about 6 [Irish] miles from Dublin by a plan of Sir Edward Lovet Pearce'. Unexecuted?
Refs: DNB; 'Annals of Dublin' in Pettigrew & Oulton's Dublin Almanac (1847); M. Lenihan, History of Limerick (1866), 331; Christine Casey, '"De architectura": an Irish eighteenth-century gloss', Architectural History 37 (1994), 88.
Refs: Maurice Craig, Classic Irish Houses of the Middle Size (1976), 74(illus.); Mark Bence-Jones, Burke’s Guide to Country Houses. Volume I, Ireland. (London, 1978), 186; Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013), 302-3.
Nature: 'built ca 1733 for John Cuffe, 1st Lord Desart, almost certainly to the design of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce'. On Craig's 'list of candidates for buildings in some way connected to Pearce'.
Nature: On Craig's 'list of candidates for buildings in some way connected to Pearce'.
Nature: Attributed by Craig to ELP. For Rev. John Jackson, vicar of Santry.
Nature: Boardroom/library has been attributed to ELP, but Casey questions attribution.
Nature: For General Folliott. On Craig's 'list of candidates for buildings in some way connected to Pearce' though built after Pearce's death. cf. Arch Hall, Co. Meath. According to Allingham,; built by General Folliott after great frost of 1739-40 'which occasioned a period of great scarcity and distress'.
Nature: Influence of ELP can be seen both in exterior and interior. For ELP's 1st cousin Trevor Lloyd. On Craig's 'list of candidates for buildings in some way connected to Pearce'.
Nature: New house, 'very much in the style of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce' (Bence-Jones). For ? Maude.
Nature: 'suggests the participation of Sir Edward Lovett Pearce' (Craig). For - Fraser.
Refs: Mark Bence-Jones, Burke’s Guide to Country Houses. Volume I, Ireland. (London, 1978), 52; Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013), 403-4(illus.).
Nature: House and arch in grounds attributed to ELP.
Nature: Suggested alts. for - Earle.
Nature: Proposed service wing. Completion of house begun by Vanbrugh or collaboration with Vanbrugh?. For 2nd Viscount Shannon.
Nature: For Thomas Coote (whose 3rd wife was ELP's aunt).
Refs: Plan (not as executed) in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), xliv, 11 (no. 74), Pl. 59b); Angélique Day & Patrick McWilliams, Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Vol. 40: Counties of South Ulster 1834-8, 6; Georgian Society Records V (1913), 35-42, pls. x-xv; Maurice Craig, 'Bellamont Forest, Co. Cavan - I', Country Life 135 (21 May 1964), 1258-61; Mark Bence-Jones, Burke’s Guide to Country Houses. Volume I, Ireland. (London, 1978), 37(illus.); Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013), 179-81, Pls.. 36,38.39.
Nature: Proposed estate office 'to be built of stone with brick to arches and windows'. For Robert Cope. Unexecuted.
Refs: Plan and rear elevation in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), 21 (no. 146), Pl. 64b); Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013), 419.
Nature: Attr. to ELP by D. Griffin on basis of its similarity to ELP's design fro market house at Loughgall, Co. Armagh.
Refs: Unsigned, undated sketch plans and elevations in V & A, Elton Hall Collection (see Howard Colvin and Maurice Craig, Architectural Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1964), 17 (no. 117), Pl. 64a); see also C.E.B. Brett, Court Houses and Market Houses of the Province of Ulster (UAHS, 1973), 40; Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013), 419-20.
Nature: Proposed two storey hexagonal building 'For Mr Creighton to be built on a Sunk Island in Lough Hern'.
Nature: Attr. to ELP whose first cousin was married to the owner, Thomas Carter, for whom he designed 9 Henrietta St , Dublin.
Nature: On Craig's 'list of candidates for byuildings in some way connected to Pearce'.
Nature: Unexecuted plans for Palladian remodelling of house. Obelisk (executed), designed as mausoleum for Lady Allen. Also water feature with grotto (executed). For John Joshua, 2nd Viscount Allen.
Nature: Stables (now ruined) 'may justly be considered a building worthy of Pearce' (Mulligan). For Mervyn Pratt (cousin of ELP).
Refs: Kevin V. Mulligan, The Buildings of Ireland: South Ulster (2013), 405.
Colvin, Howard, & Craig, Maurice Drawings in the library of Elton Hall by Sir John Vanbrugh and Sir Edward Lovett Pearce 1965 Oxford, 1964.
Craig, Maurice 'Sir Edward Lovett Pearce' 1974 BIGS 17 (Jan-Jun 1974), 10-14.
Craig, Maurice 'The Quest for Sir Edward Lovett Pearce' 1996 Irish Arts Review Yearbook 12 (1996), 27-34 (illus.).
Mcparland, Edward 'Edward Lovett Pearce and the Parliament House in Dublin' 1898 Burlington Magazine 131 (Feb 1989), 91-100.
Sadleir, Thomas Ulick 'Sir Edward Lovett Pearce' 1927 Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society 10, no. 5 (1927), ?.
Williams, Jeremy 'The Elusive Sir Edward Lovett Pearce' 2001 Irish Arts Review Yearbook 17 (2001), 96-106 (illus.).

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