The architects: Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin - UK Parliament Churchill and the Commons Chamber The architects: Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin The 1835 competition to redesign the Palace was won by the Westminster-born architect Charles Barry. By then, the 40-year-old Barry was already quite a famous architect, having built several churches and won competitions for his work. However, Barry's own architectural style was more classical than Gothic. Architect: Charles Barry Architect: Augustus Welby Pugin Barry and Pugin Barry turned for assistance in his drawings for the competition to Augustus Welby Pugin, a gifted 23-year-old Catholic architect and draughtsman who had devoted himself entirely to the pursuit of Gothic architecture. Pugin was in fact paid £400 by Barry for assisting him with these drawings. During the construction of the Palace, Barry came to rely heavily on Pugin in the execution of these plans, and particularly in the matter of detail, fittings and furnishings. Indeed, it was Pugin who designed most of the Palace's sumptuous Gothic interiors, such as various carvings, gilt work, panelling and furniture in the rooms, and even the doorknobs and spill trays.

Controversy There has in fact been much controversy, which still lingers, over the question of whether Pugin rather than Barry deserves the greater credit for the architectural triumph of the Palace of Westminster. Pugin was nevertheless known to have been displeased with the result of the work. As he famously remarked to an acquaintance, 'All Grecian, sir; Tudor details on a classic body.' However, neither man would see their creation completed as they both worked long hours and endlessly worried about every detail of the design and building of the Palace. It was not until 10 years after Barry's death in 1860 that the new Palace was completed, with his son Edward taking over the work. Pugin's fragile health suffered greatly from his exertions. He was committed to Bedlam (an asylum for the insane which is now the site of the Imperial War Museum) for a short period and died soon after in 1852. Did you know? Pugin lived on a semi-monastic regime, and yet was married three times (he had eight children in total). Biographies The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster, Barry's most famous building.

Sir Charles Barry FRS (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (perhaps better known as the Houses of Parliament) in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens. Training Born in Bridge Street, Westminster, Barry was educated privately before being apprenticed to a Lambeth surveyor at the age of 15. Upon the death of his father (a stationer), he inherited a sum of money that allowed him to travel extensively around the Mediterranean and Middle-East (1817-20). His travels in Italy exposed him to Renaissance architecture and apparently inspired him to become an architect. Royal Manchester Institution for the promotion of Literature, Science & Arts Early career His first major civil commission came in 1824 when he won a competition to design the new Royal Manchester Institution for the promotion of Literature, Science & Arts (now part of the Manchester Art Gallery).

Also in north-west England, he designed Buile Hill House in Salford (1825-27) and several churches in Manchester including The Church of All Saints' Stand, Whitefield and Ringley Church, 1827, partially demolished in 1854. One of the first works by which his abilities became generally known was the 1826 Church of St. Peter, in Brighton, one of the first examples of the Gothic revival in England. Another noted early work was the Travellers Club, in Pall Mall, built in 1832 in the Italianate style. His church designs also include one in Hove, East Sussex (St Andrew's in Waterloo Street, Brunswick, 1828). Hurstpierpoint church. Barry's neglected Welsh Baptist Chapel, on Upper Brook Street in Manchester (and owned by the City Council), is currently open to the elements and at serious risk after its roof was removed in late 2005.

Houses of Parliament Following the destruction by fire of the existing Houses of Parliament on 16 October 1834, Barry won the commission in 1836 to design the new Palace of Westminster, working with Pugin on the Gothic-influenced building. Work on site began with the laying of a foundation stone on 27 April 1840 by Barry’s wife Sarah. The House of Lords was completed in 1847 and the House of Commons finished in 1852. In the meantime, Barry also served on the learned committee developing plans for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Although Parliament gave Barry a prestigious name in architecture, it near enough finished him off. The building was overdue in its construction and was well over budget making Barry tired and stressed. The brass plaque marking Barry's tomb in Westminster Abbey shows the parts of the Palace of Westminster Barry had strongest claim to, and this is seen by some as Barry's cry for recognition from the grave. Awards and recognition Barry was elected Associate of the Royal Academy in 1840, and to full membership in the following year.

He was recognized by the main artistic bodies of many European countries, and was enrolled as a member of the academies of art in Rome, Saint Petersburg, Brussels and Stockholm. Fellow of the Royal Society in 1849. Awarded the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 1850. Knighted in 1852. Sir Charles lived and died at a house, "The Elms", in Clapham Common North Side, London SW4 (blue plaque), and his ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey. Other major projects Cliveden as seen from its lawn. Barry also designed: the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton (1828) the Royal College of Surgeons, London (1834-36) the Manchester Athenaeum (1836 – now also part of the Manchester Art Gallery) Stand All Saints Church, Whitefield, Manchester.

the Reform Club, London (1837 – next door to the Travellers) King Edward's School, New Street, Birmingham (1838) remodelling of Kingston Lacy, Dorset the Trafalgar Square precinct (1840) remodelling of Trentham Hall and creation of its Italianate gardens, north Staffordshire (1842) remodelling of Highclere Castle, Hampshire (1842) remodelling of Harewood House, Yorkshire (1844) HM Treasury building in Whitehall (1846-47) Bridgwater House, London (1846) Cliveden House in Buckinghamshire (1849) Gardens of Dunrobin Castle near Golspie, Scotland (1850) Shrubland Hall gardens, Suffolk (1850) Barristers' chambers at 1 Temple Gardens in Inner Temple restoration of Gawthorpe Hall, near Burnley, Lancashire Halifax Town Hall, West Yorkshire The next generation Three of Sir Charles Barry's four sons followed in his career footsteps.

Eldest son Charles Barry (junior) designed Dulwich College and park in south London and rebuilt Burlington House (home of the Royal Academy) in central London’s Piccadilly; Edward Middleton Barry completed the Parliament buildings and designed the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden; Sir John Wolfe-Barry was the engineer for Tower Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge. Edward and Charles also collaborated on the design of the Great Eastern Hotel at London’s Liverpool Street station. His second son, Rev. Alfred Barry, became a noted clergyman. He was headmaster of Leeds Grammar School from 1854 to 1862, and also Cheltenham College from 1862 to 1868. He later became the third Bishop of Sydney, Australia. Sir Charles’ nephew Charles Hayward designed several buildings at Pembroke College, Oxford. The old Chamber of the House of Commons built by Sir Charles Barry was destroyed by German bombs during the Second World War. The essential features of Barry's design were preserved when the Chamber was rebuilt. Images of the Houses of Parliament, London, by Sir Charles Barry and A. W. N. Pugin.

Houses of Parliament (or New Palace of Westminster): page 1 (of three pages) Sir Charles Barry assisted by A. W. N. Pugin 1835-67; although Sir Charles Barry died in 1860 when the building was substantially completed, his second son, Edward Middleton Barry, carried on his work, which was finished in 1867. On October 16, 1834 a raging fire destroyed most of the old Palace of Westminster, leaving only the Great Hall (Westminster Hall), the Law courts to the west, and the cloister of St. Stephen. A competition in 1835 for the rebuilding stipulated either a Gothic or Elizabethan design for the new building. These styles were thought to be particularly British and well-suited for national public architecture. In addition, these styles related to the age and dignity of the British institution of parliament. Of 97 entries, all but six were Gothic in style. The winning design was by Barry, who may have preferred classical Renaissance designs (see his Reform Club and Traveller's Club ), although he had also designed neo-Gothic buildings .

Pugin, who looked back to the architecture of the medieval period for moral and spiritual examples, contributed the inventive Neo-Gothic details. View from the southeast This limestone building, at almost 250,000 square feet, cost eventually about £2,000,000. The river front has a horizontal emphasis in harmony with the the line of the water. Two towers break up the symmetry--the Victoria Tower (left), the base of which is the royal entrance to the New Palace of Westminster, and the clock tower (right), containing the bell named Big Ben. Although the sprawling building is picturesque, it is not really Gothic. It has a simple axial plan with a kind of regularity, depite the Gothic details. As Pugin reputedly commented, "[It is] All Grecian, Sir. Tudor details on a classical body." The two main axes of the building meet in an octagonal central hall, with a tall spire punctuating this location (second highest projection in the photograph--to the right). This central tower was added for ventilation and was designed with a spire to contrast with the two other towers.

The fenestration is regular around the building, regardless of the internal plan or function. The clock tower containing Big Ben is 320 feet tall. This slender tower has panelling in the lower portion and then widens at the clock level. The roof is pyramidal. "The clock was designed by E. B. Denison, later Baron Grimthorpe, and E. J. Dent. The great 16-ton bell, cast originally at Norton . . . and then recast . . . was winched into position in October 1858 and has hung there ever since" (Saunders 111). The new Palace Yard with the north facade of Westminster Hall The controversial bronze statue of Oliver Cromwell on the west side of Westminster Hall, unveiled in 1899, was designed by Sir William Hamo Thornycroft. Looking south toward Victoria Tower and the Old Palace Yard The interior is richly decorated--with carved panelling, stonework around windows, carved roof beams, frescoes and mosaics, decorative tile floors, ornamented fire places, and free-standing statues.

The Old Palace Yard with the south window of Westminster Hall The bronze equestrian statue of Richard I (Coeur de Lion) in Old Palace Yard is by Baron Carlo Marochetti. It had originally been outside the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park but was installed here in 1860. Although the sculptor was a favorite of Prince Albert, the installation was controversial because the artist was not British.

Charles Barry (Architect) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Charles Barry Male Born May 23, 1795 Sir Charles Barry FRS was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens .… Read More related links Heritage Open Days In Historic Churches In Sussex Living Magazine (Blog) Google News - Sep 06, 2011 'Saturday 10th September, 4pm: Built by famous architect Sir <mark>Charles Barry</mark>, St Andrew, Waterloo Street, Hove - The Church by the Sea - will be throwing open its doors and its history as it takes part in Heritage Open Days on Saturday 10 September at 4' Trevor Barry: 'i'm So Happy, But I Had A Restless Night' Bahamas Tribune Google News - Sep 03, 2011 'While he was chanting with his family and friends on the social network on the Internet, Barry said he spoke briefly to his parents, Quennie and <mark>Charles Barry</mark>, as well as his coach Keith

 Parker, who had originally booked his ticket to be here in Daegu,' Southeast Oklahoma City Fire Burns Homes And Barns News On 6 Google News - Sep 01, 2011 'Stuck in traffic, Mary and <mark>Charles Barry</mark> worried they would run out of gas and their groceries would spoil.

&quot;We have a quarter of a tank. We may have to turn around and go get some gas,&quot; Barry said. Motorists got out of their cars, turned off their' What's On: Pendle Walking Festival, September 3 To 11 Burnley And Pendle Citizen Google News - Aug 24, 2011 'In the 19th century Sir <mark>Charles Barry</mark> created the opulent interiors we see today. We will be passing, but not entering the hall. We return through Heald Wood back to Barden Mill where food and refreshments can be bought. 7 Miles â Moderate â 10.30am' Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Charles Barry. CHILDHOOD 1795 Birth Born on 23 May 1795 in Bridge Street, Westminster (opposite the future site of the Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster), he was the fourth son of Walter Edward Barry (died 1805), a stationer, and Frances Barry nÃ©e Maybank (died 1798).

… Read More He was baptised at St Margaret's, Westminster, into the Church of England, of which he was a lifelong member. His father remarried shortly after Frances died and Barry's stepmother Sarah would bring him up. He was educated at private schools in Homerton and then Aspley Guise, before being apprenticed to Middleton & Bailey, Lambeth architects and surveyors, at the age of 15. Read Less TEENAGE 1812 17 Years Old Barry exhibited drawings at the Royal Academy annually from 1812 to 1815. TWENTIES Show Less Upon the death of his father, Barry inherited a sum of money that allowed him, after coming of age, to undertake an extensive Grand Tour around the Mediterranean and Middle East, from 28 June 1817 to August 1820. … Read More He visited France and, while in Paris, spent several days at the MusÃ©e du Louvre. In Rome he sketched antiquities, sculptures and paintings at the Vatican Museums and other galleries, before carrying on to Naples, Pompeii, Bari and then Corfu.

While in Italy, Barry met Charles Lock Eastlake, an architect, William Kinnaird and Francis Johnson (later a professor at Haileybury and Imperial Service College) and Thomas Leverton Donaldson. Read Less Barry was engaged to Sarah Roswell (1798â1882) in 1817, they married on 7 December 1822 and had seven children together. … Read More Four of Sir Charles Barry's five sons followed in his career footsteps. Eldest son Charles Barry (junior) (1823â1900) designed Dulwich College and park in south London and rebuilt Burlington House (home of the Royal Academy) in central London's Piccadilly; Edward Middleton Barry (1830â1880) completed the Parliament buildings and designed the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden; Godfrey Walter Barry (1833â1868) became a surveyor; Sir John Wolfe-Barry (1836â1918) was the engineer for Tower Bridge and Blackfriars Railway Bridge.

Edward and Charles also collaborated on the design of the Great Eastern Hotel at London's Liverpool Street station.<br /><br /> His second son, Rev. Alfred Barry (1826â1910), became a noted clergyman. He was headmaster of Leeds Grammar School from 1854 to 1862 and of Cheltenham College from 1862 to 1868. He later became the third Bishop of Sydney, Australia. He wrote a 400-page biography of his father, The Life and Times of Sir Charles Barry, R.A., F.R.S., that was published in 1867. Read Less 1818 23 Years Old With these gentlemen he visited Greece, where their itinerary covered Athens, which they left on 25 June 1818, Mount Parnassus, Delphi, Aegina, then the Cyclades, including Delos, then Smyrna and Turkey, where Barry greatly admired the magnificence of Hagia Sophia. … Read More From Constantinople he visited the Troad, Assos, Pergamon and back to Smyrna.

Whilst in Athens, Barry met David Baillie, who was taken with Barry's sketches and offered to pay him Â£200 a year plus any expenses to accompany him to Egypt, Palestine and Syria in return for Barry's drawings of the countries they visited. The major sites of the Middle East that they visited included Dendera, the Temple of Edfu, Philae â it was here that he met his future client William John Bankes on 13 January 1819) â then Thebes, Luxor and Karnak, then back to Cairo and Giza with its pyramids.<br /><br /> Continuing on through the Middle East, the major sites and cities visited were Jaffa, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, then Bethlehem, Baalbek, Jerash, Beirut, Damascus and Palmyra, then on to Homs. Read Less On 18 June 1819, Barry parted from Baillie at Tripoli, Lebanon. … Read More Over this time, Barry created more than 500 sketches.

Read Less Barry then travelled on to Cyprus, Rhodes, Halicarnassus, Ephesus and Smyrna from where he sailed on 16 August 1819 for Malta. 1820 25 Years Old Barry then sailed from Malta to Syracuse, Sicily, then Italy and back through France. His travels in Italy exposed him to Renaissance architecture and after arriving in Rome in January 1820, he met architect John Lewis Wolfe, who inspired Barry himself to become an architect. … Read More Their friendship continued until Barry died. The building that inspired Barry's admiration for Italian architecture was the Palazzo Farnese. Over the following months, he and Wolfe together studied the architecture of Vicenza, Venice, Verona and Florence, where the Palazzo Strozzi greatly impressed him.<br /><br /> While in Rome he had met Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, through whom he met Henry Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, and his wife, Elizabeth Fox, Baroness Holland. Their London home, Holland House, was the centre of the Whig Party.

Barry remained a lifelong supporter of the Liberal party, the successor to the Whig Party. Barry was invited to the gatherings at the house, and there met many of the prominent members of the group; this led to many of his subsequent commissions. Read Less 1821 26 Years Old Barry set up his home and office in Ely Place in 1821. … Read More In 1827 he moved to 27 Foley Place, then in 1842 he moved to 32 Great George Street and finally to The Elms, Clapham Common. Now 29 Clapham Common Northside, the Georgian house of five bays and three stories was designed by Samuel Pepys Cockerell as his own home.<br /><br /> Probably thanks to his fiancÃ©e's friendship with John Soane, Barry was recommended to the Church Building Commissioners, and was able to obtain his first major commissions building churches for them. These were in the Gothic Revival architecture style, including two in Lancashire, St.

Matthew, Campfield, Manchester (1821â22), and All Saints' Church, Whitefield (or Stand) (1822â25). Barry designed three churches for the Commissioners in Islington: Holy Trinity, St. John's and St. Paul's, all in the Gothic in style and built between 1826 and 1828.<br /><br /> Two further Gothic churches in Lancashire, not for the Commissioners followed in 1824: St Saviour's Church, Ringley, partially rebuilt in 1851â54 and Barry's neglected Welsh Baptist Chapel, on Upper Brook Street (1837â39) in Manchester (and owned by the City Council), is currently open to the elements and at serious risk after its roof was removed in late 2005. Read Less 1823 28 Years Old His final church for the Commissioners' was the Gothic St Peter's Church, Brighton (1824â28), which he won in a design competition on 4 August 1823 and was his first building to win acclaim.

… Read More The next church he designed was St Andrew's Hove, East Sussex, in Waterloo Street, Brunswick, (1827â28); the plan of the building is in line with Georgian architecture, though stylistically the Italianate style was used, the only classical church Barry designed that was actually built. The Gothic Hurstpierpoint church (1843â45), with its tower and spire, unlike his earlier churches was much closer to the Cambridge Camden Society's approach to church design. According to the his son Alfred, Barry later disowned these early church designs of the 1820s and wished he could destroy them.<br /><br /> His first major civil commission came when he won a competition to design the new Royal Manchester Institution (1824â35) for the promotion of literature, science and arts (now part of the Manchester Art Gallery), in Greek revival style, the only public building by Barry in that style. Also in north-west England, he designed Buile Hill House (1825) in Salford this is the only known house where Barry used Greek revival architecture.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital was erected to Barry's design (1828) in a very plain classical style. Read Less THIRTIES 1831 36 Years Old … Thomas Attree's villa, Queen's Park, Brighton, the only one to be built of a series of villas designed for the area by Barry and the Pepper Pot (1830), whose original function was a water tower for the development. Read Less In 1831 he entered the competition for the design of Birmingham Town Hall, the design was based on an Ancient Greek temple of the Doric order, but it failed to win the competition. 1832 37 Years Old The marked preference for Italian architecture, which he acquired during his travels showed itself in various important undertakings of his earlier years, the first significant example being the Travellers Club, in Pall Mall, built in 1832, as with all his urban commissions in this style the design was astylar.

… Read More He designed the Gothic King Edward's School, New Street, Birmingham (1833â37), demolished 1936, it was during the erection of the school that Barry first met Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, he helped Barry design the interiors of the building.<br /><br /> His last work in Manchester was the Italianate Manchester Athenaeum (1837â39), this is now part of Manchester Art Gallery. From (1835â37) he rebuilt Royal College of Surgeons of England, in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Westminster, he preserved the Ionic portico from the earlier building (1806â13) designed by George Dance the Younger, the building has been further extended (1887â88) and (1937). In 1837 he won the competition to design the Reform Club, Pall Mall, London, which is one of his finest Italianate public buildings, notable for its double height central saloon with glazed roof. His favourite building in Rome, the Farnese Palace, influenced the design.

Read Less 1834 39 Years Old … East of the Central Lobby is the East Corridor leading to the Lower Waiting Hall, to the east of which is the Members Dining Room located in the very centre of the east front. To the north of the Members Dining Room lies the House of Commons Library, and at the northern end of the east front is the projecting Speaker's House, home of the Speaker of the House of Commons. To the south of the Members Dining Room lies various committee rooms followed by House of Lords Library. Projecting from the southern end of the facade is the Lord Chancellor's House, home of The Lord Chancellor. <br /><br />Although Parliament gave Barry a prestigious name in architecture, it nearly finished him off. The building was overdue; Barry had estimated it would take six years and Â£724,986 (excluding the cost of the site, embankment and furnishings). Its construction actually took 26 years and was well over budget; by July 1854 the estimated cost was Â£2,166,846. These pressures left Barry tired and stressed.

The full Barry design was never completed; his design would have enclosed New Palace Yard as an internal courtyard and the clock tower would have been in the north-east corner, with a great gateway in the north-west corner surmounted by the Albert Tower, continuing south along the west front of Westminster Hall. <br /><br />Barry was appointed architect to the Dulwich College estate in 1830, an appointment that last until 1858. Read Less Barry attended the inaugural meeting of the Royal Institute of British Architects on 3 December 1834 he became a fellow of the R.I.B.A. and later served as Vice-President of the Institute, in 1859 he turned down the Presidency of the R.I.B.A. In 1845 he awarded the commission in the competition for New College, Edinburgh to William Henry Playfair. FORTIES 1835 40 Years Old … A major focus of his career was the remodelling of older country houses. His first major commission was the transformation of Henry Holland's Trentham Hall in Staffordshire (1834â40).

It was remodelled in the Italianate style with a large tower (a feature Barry often included in his country houses). Barry also designed the Italianate gardens, with parterres and fountains. Largely demolished in 1912, only a small portion of the house, consisting of the porte-cochÃ¨re, with a curving corridor and the stables, are still standing, although the gardens are undergoing a restoration. Additionally the belvedere from the top of the tower survives as a folly at Sandon Hall. <br /><br />At Bowood House, Wiltshire, (1834â38), for Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, he added the tower, made alterations to the gardens and designed the Italianate entrance lodge. Also for the same client he designed the Lansdowne Monument (1845). Walton house in Walton-on-Thames followed in 1835â39. Again he used an Italianate style with a three-storey tower over the entrance porte-cochÃ¨re demolished 1973.

Read Less Then in 1835â38 he remodelled Sir Roger Pratt's Kingston Lacy, the interiors being his work, as well as the exterior being re-clad in stone. … Read More Highclere Castle, Hampshire (c.1842â50), with its large tower, was remodelled in Elizabethan style for Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. Externally the building was completely altered, the plain Georgian building virtually rebuilt, although little of the interior is by Barry, his patron dying in 1849, and Thomas Allom completed it in 1861. At Duncombe Park, Yorkshire, he designed new wings added (1843â46), these were in the English Baroque style of the main block.

At Harewood House he remodelled (1843â50) the John Carr exterior adding an extra floor to the end pavilions and replacing the portico on the south front with Corinthian pilasters, some of the Robert Adam interiors were remodelled, the dining room being entirely by Barry, and created the formal terraces and parterres surrounding the house.<br /><br /> He remodelled Dunrobin Castle, Sutherland, Scotland (1844â48) in Scots Baronial Style for George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland for whom he had remodelled Trentham Hall, due to a fire in the early 20th century little of Barry's interiors survive at Dunrobin, the gardens with their fountains and parterres are also by Barry. Canford Manor, Dorset,was extended in a Tudor Gothic style (1848â52), including a large entrance tower, the most unusual interior is the Nineveh porch, built to house Assyrian sculptures from the eponymous palace, this has an interior decorated with Assyrian motifs.

Read Less 1836 41 Years Old … This comprehensive scheme was for the redevelopment of much of Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade, the embankment of the River Thames on both sides of the river in the areas to the north and south of the Palace of Westminster, this would eventual be partially realised as the Victoria Embankment and Albert Embankment, three new bridges across the Thames, a vast Hotel where Charing Cross railway station was later built, the enlargement of the National Gallery (Barry's son Edward would later extend the Gallery) and new buildings around Trafalgar Square and along the new embankments and the recently created Victoria Street. There were also several new roads proposed on both sides of the Thames. The largest of the proposed buildings would have been even larger than the Palace of Westminster, this was the Government Offices, this vast building would have covered the area stretching from horse Guards Parade across Downing Street and the sites of the future Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the HM Treasury on Whitehall up to Parliament Square. It would have had a vast glass-roofed hall, 320 by 150 feet, at the centre of the building.

The plan was to house all government departments apart from the Admiralty in the building. The building would have been in a Classical style incorporating Barry's existing Treasury building. <br /><br />Following the destruction by fire of the old Houses of Parliament on 16 October 1834, a competition was held to find a suitable design, for which there were 97 entries. Read Less Barry's entry, number 64, for which Pugin helped prepare the competition drawings, won the commission in January 1836 to design the new Palace of Westminster. … Read More His collaboration with Pugin (who designed furniture, stained glass, sculpture, wallpaper, decorative floor tiles, mosaic work etc.) was not renewed until June 1844 and continued until Pugin's mental breakdown and death in 1852. The Tudor Gothic architectural style was chosen to complement the Henry VII Lady Chapel opposite. The design had to incorporate those parts of the building that escaped destruction, most notably Westminster Hall, the adjoining double storey cloisters of St Stephen's court and the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel.

Barry's design was parallel to the River Thames, but the surviving buildings are at a slight angle to the river, thus Barry had to incorporate this awkward difference in axis into the design. Although the design included most of the elements of the finished building, including the two towers at either end of the building, it would undergo significant redesign. The winning design was only about 650 feet in length about two-thirds the size of the finished building. The central lobby and tower were later additions as were the extensive royal suite at the southern end of the building. The amended design on which construction commenced was approximately the same size as the finished building, although both the Victoria Tower and Clock Tower were considerably taller in the finished building and the Central Tower was not yet part of the design. Read Less Show Less Work on the actual building began with the laying of a foundation stone on 27 April 1840 by Barry's wife Sarah near the north-east corner of the building. A major problem for Barry came with the appointment on 1 April 1840 of the ventilation expert Dr David Boswell Reid. … Read More Reid, whom Barry described as '..

not profess to be thoroughly acquainted with the practical details of building and machinery' would make increasing demands that affected the building's design, leading to delays in construction, and by 1845 Barry refused to communicate with Reid except in writing. A direct result of Reid's demands was the addition of the Central Tower, designed to act as a giant chimney to draw fresh air through the building.<br /><br /> The House of Lords was completed in April 1847 in the form of a double cube (90 x 45 x 45 feet). The House of Commons was finished in 1852, where later Barry would be created a Knight Bachelor. The Clock Tower is 316 feet tall and was completed in 1858. The Victoria Tower is 323 feet tall and was completed in 1860. The iron flagpole on the Victoria Tower tapers from two feet to nine inches in diameter and the iron crown on top is 3 feet 6 inches in diameter and 395 feet above ground. The central tower is 261 feet high.

The building is 940 feet in length and covers about eight acres of land and has over 1000 rooms. The east Thames facade is 873 feet in length. A.W.N. Pugin later dismissed the building saying 'All Grecian, Sir, Tudor details on a classic body', the essentially symmetrical plan and river front being offensive to Pugin's taste for medieval gothic buildings. Read Less FIFTIES 1851 56 Years Old Barry also served on the Royal Commission (learned committee) developing plans for the Great Exhibition of 1851. 1852 57 Years Old In 1852 he was an assessor on the committee that selected Cuthbert Brodrick's design in the competition to design Leeds Town Hall. 1853 58 Years Old In 1853 Barry was consulted by Albert, Prince Consort on his plans for creation of what became known as Albertopolis.

LATE ADULTHOOD 1855 60 Years Old Barry spent two months in Paris in 1855 representing, along with his friend and fellow architect Charles Robert Cockerell, English architecture on the juries of the Exposition Universelle. 1856 61 Years Old Barry was an active fellow of the Royal Academy, and he was involved in revising the architectural curriculum in 1856. 1858 63 Years Old In 1858 Barry was appointed to the St. Paul's Committee, whose function was to oversee the maintenance of the Special Evening Service in St Paul's Cathedral and carry out redecoration of the Cathedral. … Read More Several architects received their training in Barry's office, including: John Hayward, John Gibson, George Somers Leigh Clarke, J. A. Chatwin and his sons Charles Barry and Edward Middleton Barry. Additionally Barry had several assistants who worked for him at various times, including Robert Richardson Banks, Thomas Allom, Peter Kerr and Ingress Bell.<br /><br /> Barry disliked being away from London not liking life in the country, he preferred the bustle and society of the city.

He was an early riser, usually between four and six o'clock in the morning, he only needed four or five hours sleep. Preferring to do his thinking and designing in the morning, but was happy to have company while at work, liking to be read to or join in conversation. He had a dislike of public display, considering it hollow and lacking in conviction. His general disposition was sanguine, though he had a quick temper. He preferred science to literature, he frequently attended the Friday night lectures held at the Royal Institution. Read Less Sir Charles Barry biography History > Biography > Sir Charles Barry Sir Charles Barry biography BY DAVID ROSS , EDITOR b. 1795 - d. 1860 Charles Barry was born in London in 1795. At the age of 15 he apprenticed to a London surveyor, but when his father died Barry was left a legacy which allowed him to travel throughout Italy, France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, and Syria, studying buildings and making architectural drawings. < Upon his return to England, Barry began designing churches for the Church Commissioners.

He discovered that they preferred designs in Gothic and Greek styles, so he concentrated his efforts in those areas, building churches in London, Brighton, and Manchester. The Italian influence was strong in Barry's designs, and he was a leading figure in the mid-Victorian architectural stlye known as Anglo-Italian that held vogue before Victorian Gothic became popular. Despite this, Barry was skilled in a variety of design styles, from Greek Revival to Italian Rennaissance, Gothic to Elizabethan, and suited his designs to the requirements of the job at hand. In 1824 he won his first major civic commission, the Royal Institution in Manchester (later to become the City Art Gallery). This success was followed by two influential clubs in London, The Traveller's Club (1830) and the Reform Club (1838). The Reform Club design, based on Italian Rennaissance palace layout, was widely copied. Barry later used the Italian Rennaissance palace theme into a variety of town houses and country house commissions, including Bridgewater House (London, 1846), Cliveden (Buckinghamshire, 1859), and Harewood (Yorkshire).

He also worked extensively on Highclere Castle (Hampshire, 1842), where he adapted his work sympathetically to the largely Elizabethan structure. He also developed the classical Treasury Building in Whitehall, London (1846). Despite these successes, it is for his work with one building in particular that Barry will always be remembered. In 1834 the old Palace of Westminster, where the House of Commons had met since 1547, was destroyed by fire. The only parts of the medieval Palace to survive were Westminster Hall, the Jewel Tower, the crypt of St Stephen's Chapel, and the adjacent cloisters. A public competition was held to develop a design for the rebuilding of the Palace. Bary's design was chosen the winner over 95 other architects, and over the next several decades years he worked closely with AW Pugin to create the neo-Gothic masterpiece popularly known as the Houses of Parliament. The design was essentially classical - a tribute to Barry's Italian training, but with a plenitude of Gothic details by Pugin.

The surviving parts of the medieval Palace were skillfully incorporated into the overall design of the new buildings, which also includes the Victoria Tower, at 336 feet considered the tallest tower in the world at the time of its construction. At the opposite end of the building rises the much more famous clock tower known as Big Ben (though the name more accurately refers to the bell that tolls the hours, not the tower itself or its large clock-face). Barry's design did not meet with universal approval; when the Commons finally met in their new chambers in 1852, members complained that the high ceilings produced poor acoustics. So Barry was forced to lower the ceilings, thus spoiling the Gothic proportions he had striven to emulate. The family tradition for prominent public architecture was carried on by three of Barry's sons. John Wolfe-Barry designed Tower Bridge in London, Charles Barry rebuilt Burlington House in Piccadilly, London, and Edward Barry finished his father's work on the Palace of Westminster and the Town Hall of Halifax, Yorkshire, as well as redesigning the Covent Garden Opera House in London.

Places to see: Westminster Palace, or Houses of Parliament - Sir Charles Barry - Great Buildings Architecture Westminster Palace, or Houses of Parliament seat of government, government center Construction System English Gothic Revival Notes Westminster New Palace, the Houses of Parliament for England and all the United Kingdom, including the famous clock Big Ben. Design of gothic details assisted by A. W. N. Pugin. Images Contributions appreciated . Discussion Westminster Palace, or Houses of Parliament Commentary Connects with the much older Westminster Hall . In the south-west corner is the 102m (336ft) high Victoria Tower, considered the tallest in the world at the time it was built. At the northern end rises the Clock Tower, a great symbol of London with the famous clock "Big Ben", and 96m (316ft) high itself. Resources C. L. Eastlake on Sir Charles Barry and the Houses of Parliament (1872) [ Victorian Web Home —> Visual Arts —> Architecture —> Gothic Revival —> Houses of Parliament —> Sir Charles Barry ] [ George P. Landow scanned Eastlake's text, converted it to html, and added photographs and other images.

The decoraive tailpiece beneath the main text appears at the end of each of Eastlake's chapters.] For upwards of a quarter of century the Battle of the Styles was carried on, and, if it has ceased at the present day to rage with its old violence, it is probably because the weapons used in that prolonged warfare have become blunted and worn out. Everything that could be said in favour or disparagement of Gothic has been said. Mutual concessions have since been made; old prejudices have disappeared; misunderstandings have been cleared up; but the event which first raised the controversy into national importance was undoubtedly the decision that Gothic should be adopted for the Palace of Westminster. The first stone of the new building (after the river-wall and foundation had been completed) was laid, without ceremony, on April 27, 1840. [Eastlake's note: "Such is the date given in the 'Life of Sir Charles barry.' But according to the 'Civil Engineers and Architects' Journal' the first stone was laid on March 5, 1839.

Possibly this was for some portion of the substructure.] The practical and constructive difficulties which Barry had to encounter at the outset of his work were great, but they sank into insignificance compared with the annoyances to which, in his professional capacity, he was subjected from a variety of causes — some no doubt inseparable from the external management of so great an undertaking, but others that might well have been avoided. These, however, were in time met, and in a great measure dispelled, by the tact and ability which formed part of Barry's character, and which contributed so largely to his success. From the original design as submitted in competition, several important alterations were made. The Victoria Tower was reduced in the dimensions of its plan, but carried to a far greater height than had at first been intended. The roof of the House of Lords was raised. The Central Hall — in consequence of the conditions proposed by Reid, for a scheme of ventilation (afterwards abandoned) — was lowered. The House of Commons was again and again remodelled in the endeavour to effect a compromise between requirements based in turn upon considerations of convenience, acoustic principles, and architectural effect.

The extraordinary increase which, during the progress of the building, occurred in the business of Parliamentary Committees, necessitated considerable modifications. All these facts ought to be remembered in estimating the effect of a design whose execution extended over a far longer period of time than was originally contemplated, and must have been subject to a number of internal influences, of which the public take small account, but which no architect would find it possible to disregard. Much of the artistic criticism which was passed on Barry's design at first, and during the progress of the building, was undoubtedly just. The strong tendency to long unbroken horizontal lines in composition, was the natural fault of an architect the bent of whose taste was confessedly in favour of the Italian School. "Tudor details on a classic body!" Pugin is said to have exclaimed to a friend as they passed down the river in a steamboat. And unfortunately the Tudor details were needlessly multiplied. There are general principles of taste which may be safely accepted independently of the question of style, and among these is that one which requires for elaborate ornament proportionate area of blank wall-space. Barry utterly ignored, and possibly disputed, this principle.

As the eye wanders over every compartment of every front in this building, it seeks in vain for a quiet resting-place. Panels moulded and cusped — carved work in high and low ||relief — niches statued and canopied — pinnacles bossed and crocketed — spandrelled window-heads — battlemented parapets — fretted turrets, and enriched string-courses — succeed each other with the endless iteration of a recurring decimal. It is hardly too much to say that, if half the decorative features of this building had been omitted, its general effect would have been enhanced in a twofold degree. One of the peculiar failings exhibited by Gothic architects of the day seems to have been the incapacity to regulate the character of design by the scale on which it was to be applied. The extraordinary size of the Victoria Tower required in its general outline and surface decoration a very different treatment from that of the building which lay at its base. In this case, Barry contented himself with magnifying small features into large ones.

The result has proved to be that while the tower individually loses in apparent grandeur by reason of its elaborated detail, when seen in connection with the main body of the building, it has the unfortunate effect of dwarfing the proportions of the latter by reason of its own overwhelming bulk. In spite of these and other defects which critics have not failed to point out (without considering the long lapse of time that ensued between the first conception of Barry's design and the completion of his work), it must be admitted that, taken as a whole, the Palace of Westminster was eminently creditable to its author, and probably equal, if not superior, to any structure which might have been devised and carried out in the same style and under similar conditions by the most skilful of his competitors. Thirty years have made a vast difference in the professional study of Mediaeval Architecture, and in public appreciation of its merits. Qualities of design which were once considered essential to artistic grace are now ignored and even condemned, while the so-called faults which the last generation of architects strove to avoid have risen to the level of confessed excellence.

It is easy to say that if these Houses of Parliament had been begun in 1865 instead of 1835, a nobler type of Gothic would have been adopted in the design. Who knows how far the taste for Mediaeval Art might have been developed at all but for this timely patronage of the State? Is it not rather true that the decision of the Government as to the style of the new buildings gave an impulse to the Revival which could have been created in no other way — an impulse that has kept this country advanced before others; in the earnestness with which ancient types of national Architecture are studied and imitated by professional men? [Eastlake's note: "In the literature of the Gothic Revival we are, however, far behind the French. No work has been produced in England which can compare, in amount of research and usefulness, with Viollet-le-Duc 's admirable 'Dictionnaire Raisonnée.'] In the department of Art Manufacture it would be impossible to overrate the influence brought to bear upon decorative sculpture, upon ceramic decoration, ornamental metal-work, and glass staining, by the encouragement given to those arts during the progress of the works at Westminster.

In the design of such details Pugin's aid was, at the time, invaluable. It was frankly sought and freely rendered. a Hardman's painted windows and brass fittings, Minton's encaustic tiles, and Grace's mural decoration, bear evidence of his skill and industry. [Eastlake's note: "For the execution of the decorative sculpture, Mr. Thomas (acting of course under the direction of Sir Charles Barry) was alone responsible, and probably at the time no one was better qualified to undertake it."] They may be rivalled and surpassed in design and execution at the present day; but to Pugin , and to the architect who had the good sense to secure his services, we shall ever be indebted for the rapid advance made in these several departments of Art during the first half of the present century. Nor must we overlook the important step gained in connection with this work by the appointment of a Fine Arts Commission in 1841. To assert that the statues and paintings which now decorate the Houses of Parliament are all that could be desired in point of style or execution, would be very far from the truth. But before they were undertaken, no public encouragement worth mentioning had for some time past been given either to painters or sculptors.

They were now associated in the completion of a grand national work. The Pictorial Art Competition, and display of prize cartoons in Westminster Hall, had the effect of bringing under public notice the talents of many an artist who might otherwise have long remained in obscurity. The technical details of fresco painting, which for centuries had been forgotten in this country, received scientific attention; and if the issue has not been altogether satisfactory, it is from no want of pains or extent of research. If it be argued that these results could have been equally attained by the adoption of any other style of architecture for the Houses of Parliament, the answer is that no other style would have served so well to preserve — at least in aim — the unities of a School of Art. Before the commencement of this work, many public buildings were erected in the pseudo-Greek and revived Italian fashion of the day, but the accessories with which they were invested had by long sufferance been allowed to remain deficient in the character and consonance of design. The Classic Renaissance, even in its palmy days, had failed to inspire that sort of uniformity which should mark the return to a former style of art.

Fashionable portrait-painters who in the seventeenth century had depicted their royal patron as a Roman warrior in a full-bottomed wig, were not more inconsistent than many a contemporary architect, who suffered the most incongruous modernisms to intrude in the interior and fittings of a palace which was professedly classic in taste. In the Houses of Parliament it was Barry's endeavour to maintain, down to the minutest article of furniture, the proprieties of that style which the voice of the nation had selected for his design. How carefully and thoroughly he did this, the work itself testifies in every detail. It may not belong to the highest class of art. But, of its kind, it is genuine, well studied, and complete. [pp. 182-86] References Eastlake, Charles L. A History of the Gothic Revival. London: Longmans, Green; N.Y. Scribner, Welford, 1872. [Copy in Brown University's Rockefeller Library] Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) The architect of the Houses of Parliament (Westminster Palace).

He was born in London, studied first for a Lambeth architect and then abroad for a while, mainly in Italy, and his work shows the influence of Italian Renaissance architecture. His first important work was a church in Brighton (St Peter's), and after further churches in Manchester and Oldham, he had his first significant commissions in London. Following the destruction by fire of the Houses of Parliament in 1834, Barry won the competition for the new buildings, on which he worked from 1837 through the commencement of building in 1840, to the completion of first the House of Lords in 1847, and then the House of Commons in 1852 (though some work carried on after that). The Victoria Tower, perhaps the most satisfyingly perpendicular Gothic part of the structure, was completed after Barry's death by his son. Working together with him on this pre-eminent example of Victorian Gothic was Pugin .

(See the page on Westminster Bridge for description of the building as seen from across the river) Barry's other well known buildings include the Manchester Athenaeum (1836), Manchester City Art Gallery (built 1824-35), the Treasury building in Whitehall (1845), the Travellers' Club (1829-31) and the Reform Club (1837) - both Italianate - and the Royal College of Surgeons. One of his sons, Sir John Wolfe-Barry, was the engineer for Tower Bridge; another, Edward M. Barry, worked with his father on Halifax Town Hall, and was the architect of Charing Cross Hotel

Question: Which architect worked with Sir Charles Barry on the new Palace of Westminster?
Answer: Augustus PUGIN