Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) 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.
Born~Died May 23, 1795 ~ May 12, 1860Last edited Oct 15, 2026, 3:48 PM
Details
Born ~ Died
May 23, 1795 ~ May 12, 1860
Born
(1795-05-23)23 May 1795, Westminster, London, England
Died
12 May 1860(1860-05-12) (aged 64), London, England
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) 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. He is known for his major contribution to the use of Italianate architecture in Britain,1 especially the use of the Palazzo as basis for the design of country houses, city mansions and public buildings. He also developed the Italian Renaissance garden style for the many gardens he designed around country houses.2
Background and training
Born on 23 May 17953 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 (née Maybank; died 1798). 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.3
He was educated at private schools in Homerton and then Aspley Guise,4 before being apprenticed to Middleton & Bailey,5Lambeth architects and surveyors, at the age of 15. Barry exhibited drawings at the Royal Academy annually from 1812 to 1815. Upon the death of his father, Barry inherited a sum of money that allowed him, after , to undertake an extensive around the Mediterranean and , from 28 June 1817 to August 1820.
This page is based on “Charles Barry” from English Wikipedia, (r1378087985) CC BY-SA 4.0 used under the license. The original authors are listed in its page history.
On 18 June 1819, Barry parted from Baillie at Tripoli. Over this time, Barry created more than 500 sketches.19 Barry then travelled on to Cyprus, Rhodes, Halicarnassus, Ephesus and Smyrna from where he sailed on 16 August 1819 for Malta.20
Barry then sailed from Malta to Syracuse, Sicily,20 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,21 who inspired Barry himself to become an architect. 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.22
Two further Gothic churches in Lancashire, not for the Commissioners followed in 1824: St Saviour's Church, Ringley, partially rebuilt in 1851–54, and Barry's neglected Welsh Baptist Chapel, on Upper Brook Street (1837–39)33 in Manchester (and owned by the City Council), long open to the elements and at serious risk after its roof was removed in late 2005, the building was converted to private apartments in 2014–17. His final church for the Commissioners' was the Gothic St Peter's Church, Brighton (1824–28),34 which he won in a design competition on 4 August 1823 and was his first building to win acclaim.35
The next church he designed was St Andrew'sHove, East Sussex,36 in Waterloo Street, Brunswick, (1827–28); 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 church37 (1843–45), with its tower and spire, unlike his earlier churches was much closer to the Cambridge Camden Society's approach to church design. According to his son Alfred,38 Barry later disowned these early church designs of the 1820s and wished he could destroy them.
His first major civil commission came when he won a competition to design the new Royal Manchester Institution39 (1824–1835) 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 House40 (1825) in Salford this is the only known house where Barry used Greek revival architecture. The Royal Sussex County Hospital41 was erected to Barry's design (1828) in a very plain classical style.
Thomas Attree's villa, Queen's Park, Brighton,42 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. In 1831, he entered the competition for the design of Birmingham Town Hall,43 the design was based on an Ancient Greek temple of the Doric order, but it failed to win the competition.
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,44 in Pall Mall, built in 1832, as with all his urban commissions in this style the design was astylar. He designed the Gothic King Edward's School,45New Street, Birmingham (1833–37), demolished 1936, it was during the erection of the school that Barry first met Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin,46 he helped Barry design the interiors of the building.
His last work in Manchester was the Italianate Manchester Athenaeum (1837–39),47 this is now part of Manchester Art Gallery. From 1835–37, he rebuilt Royal College of Surgeons of England,48 in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Westminster, he preserved the Ionic portico from the earlier building (1806–13) designed by George Dance the Younger, the building has been further extended (1887–88) and (1937). In 1837, he won the competition to design the Reform Club,49 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.
Country house work
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 Hall50 in Staffordshire, between 1834 and 1840. 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,2 with parterres and fountains. Largely demolished in 1912, only a small portion of the house, consisting of the porte-cochère 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.51
Between 1834 and 1838, at Bowood House,52Wiltshire, owned by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Barry added the tower, made alterations to the gardens, and designed the Italianate entrance lodge. For the same client, he designed the Lansdowne Monument in 1845.53 Walton House in Walton-on-Thames54 followed in 1835–39. Again Barry used the Italianate style, with a three-storey tower over the entrance porte-cochère (which was demolished 1973). Then, from 1835 to 1838, he remodelled Sir Roger Pratt's Kingston Lacy, with the exterior being re-clad in stone. The interiors were also Barry's work.
Highclere Castle,55 Hampshire, with its large tower, was remodelled between about 1842 and 1850, in Elizabethan style, for Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. The building was completely altered externally, with the plain Georgian structure being virtually rebuilt. However, little of the interior is by Barry, because his patron died in 1849 and Thomas Allom completed the work in 1861. At Duncombe Park,56 Yorkshire, Barry designed new wings, which were added between in 1843 and 1846 in the English Baroque style of the main block. At Harewood House57 he remodelled the John Carr exterior between 1843 and 1850, 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, with the dining room being entirely by Barry, and he created the formal terraces and parterres surrounding the house.
Between 1844 and 1848, Barry remodelled Dunrobin Castle,58Sutherland, Scotland, 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, but the gardens, with their fountains and parterres, are also by Barry. Canford Manor,59 Dorset, was extended in a Tudor Gothic style between 1848 and 1852, including a large entrance tower. The most unusual interior is the Nineveh porch, built to house Assyrian sculptures from the eponymous palace, decorated with Assyrian motifs.
James Paine's Shrubland Park60 was remodelled between 1849 and 1854, including an Italianate tower and entrance porch, a lower hall with Corinthian columns and glass domes, and impressive formal gardens based on Italian Renaissance gardens. The gardens included a 70-foot (21 m)-high series of terraces linked by a grand flight of steps, with an open temple structure at the top. Originally there were cascades of water either side of the staircase. The main terrace is at the centre of a string of gardens nearly 1 mile (1,600 m) in length.61
Between 1850 and 1852, Barry remodelled Gawthorpe Hall,62 an Elizabethan house situated south-east of the small town of Padiham, in the borough of Burnley, Lancashire. It was originally a pele tower, built in the 14th century as a defence against the invading Scots. Around 1600, a Jacobean mansion had been dovetailed around the pele, but today's hall is re-design of the house, using the original Elizabethan style.
Barry's last major remodelling work was Cliveden House,63 which had been the seat of the Earls of Orkney from 1696 till 1824. Barry's remodelling was again on behalf of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland. After the previous building was burnt down (1850–51), Barry built a new central block in the Italianate style, rising to three floors, the lowest of which have arch headed windows, and the upper two floors have giant Ionicpilasters. He also designed the parterres below the house.64 Little of Barry's interior design survived later remodelling.
Later urban work
Barry remodelled Trafalgar Square (1840–45) he designed the north terrace with the steps at either end, and the sloping walls on the east and west of the square, the two fountain basins are also to Barry's design, although Edwin Lutyens re-designed the actual fountains (1939).65
Barry was commissioned to design (1840–42) the façade of Pentonville prison, that was designed by Joshua Jebb, he added a stuccoed Italianate pilastered frontage to Caledonian Road.66 The (Old) Treasury (Now Cabinet Office) Whitehall by John Soane, built (1824–26) was virtually rebuilt65 by Barry (1844–47). It consists of 23 bays with a giant Corinthian order over a rusticated ground floor, the five bays at each end project slightly from the façade.
Bridgewater House, Westminster,67 London (1845–64) for Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, in a grand Italianate style. The structure was complete by 1848, but interior decoration was only finished by 1864. The main (south) front is 144 feet long, of nine bays in more massive version of his earlier Reform Club, the garden (west) front is of seven bays. The interiors are intact apart from the north wing which was bombed in The Blitz. The main interior is the central Saloon, a roofed courtyard of two storeys, of three by five bays of arches on each floor, the walls are lined with scagliola, the coved ceiling is glazed and the centre has three glazed saucer domes. The decoration of the major rooms is not the work of Barry.
The last major commission of Barry's was Halifax Town Hall68 (1859–62), in a North Italian Cinquecento style, and a grand tower with spire, the interior includes a central hall similar to that at Bridgewater House, the building was completed after Barry's death by his son Edward Middleton Barry.
Completed after Barry's death in 1863 was the classical, Guest Memorial Reading Room and Library69 in Dowlais, Wales.
The most significant of Barry's designs that were not carried out included, his proposed Law Courts (1840–41), that if built would have covered Lincoln's Inn Fields with a large Greek Revival building, this rectangular building would have been over three hundred by four hundred feet, in a Greek Doric style, there would have been octastyle porticoes in the middle of the shorter sides and hexastyle porticoes on the longer sides, leading to a large central hall that would have been surrounded by twelve court rooms that in turn were surrounded by the ancillary facilities.70 Later was his General Scheme of Metropolitan Improvements, that were exhibited in 1857.71 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.72 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.
Houses of Parliament
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.73 Barry's entry, number 64,74 for which Augustus Pugin helped prepare the competition drawings,75 won the commission in January 1836 to design the new Palace of Westminster. His collaboration with Pugin, who designed furniture, stained glass, sculpture, wallpaper, decorative floor tiles and mosaic work, was not renewed until June 1844,76 and then continued until Pugin's mental breakdown and death in 1852. The Tudor Gothic architectural style was chosen to complement the Henry VII Lady Chapel77 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 were at a slight angle to the river, so Barry had to incorporate the awkwardly different axes 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 (200 m) in length, about two-thirds the size of the finished building.78 The central lobby and tower were later additions, as was 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.79
Before construction could commence, the site had to be embanked and cleared of the remains of the previous buildings, and various sewers needed to be diverted.80 On 1 September 1837, work started on building a 920-foot (280 m) long coffer-dam to enclose the building site along the river.81 The construction of the embankment started on New Year's Day 1839.82 The first work consisted of the construction of a vast concrete raft to serve as the building's foundation. After the space had been excavated by hand,82 70,000 cubic yards (54,000 m3) of concrete were laid.82 The site of the Victoria Tower was found to consist of quicksand, necessitating the use of piles.82 The stone selected for the exterior of the building was quarried at Anston in Yorkshire,82 with the core of the walls being laid in brick.82 To make the building as fire-proof as possible, wood was only used decoratively, rather than structurally,82 and extensive use was made of cast iron. The roofs of the building consist of cast iron girders covered by sheets of iron,83 cast iron beams were also used as joists to support the floors84 and extensively in the internal structures of both the clock tower and Victoria tower.85
Barry and his engineer Alfred Meeson were responsible for designing scaffolding, hoists and cranes used in the construction.86 One of their most innovative developments was the scaffolding used to construct the three main towers. For the central tower they designed an inner rotating scaffold, surrounded by timber centring to support the masonry vault of the Central Lobby, that spans 57 feet 2 inches (17.42 m), and an external timber tower.87 A portable steam engine was used to lift stone and brick to the upper parts of the tower.88 When it came to building the Victoria and Clock towers, it was decided to dispense with external scaffolding and lift building materials up through the towers by an internal scaffolding that travelled up the structure as it was built. The scaffold and cranes were powered by steam engines.88
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.89 A major problem for Barry came with the appointment on 1 April 1840 of the ventilation expert Dr David Boswell Reid.90 Reid, whom Barry said was "...not profess to be thoroughly acquainted with the practical details of building and machinery...",91 would make increasing demands that affected the building's design, leading to delays in construction. By 1845, Barry was refusing 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.91
The House of Lords was completed in April 184792 in the form of a double cube measuring 90 ft × 45 ft × 45 ft (27 m × 14 m × 14 m).92 The House of Commons was finished in 1852, where later Barry would be created a Knight Bachelor. The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the great clock and bells including Big Ben, is 316 feet (96 m) tall and was completed in 1858.93 The Victoria Tower is 323 feet (98 m) tall and was completed in 1860.94 The iron flagpole on the Victoria Tower tapers from 2 feet 9 inches (840 mm) in diameter and the iron crown on top is 3 feet 6 inches (1,070 mm) in diameter and 395 feet (120 m) above ground.95 The central tower is 261 feet (80 m) high.96 The building is 940 feet (290 m) long, covers about 8 acres (3 hectares) of land, and has over 1000 rooms. The east Thames façade is 873 feet (266 m) in length.97 Pugin later dismissed the building, saying "All Grecian, Sir, Tudor details on a classic body",98 the essentially symmetrical plan and river front being offensive to Pugin's taste for medieval Gothic buildings.
The plan99 of the finished building is built around two major axes. At the southern end of Westminster Hall, St. Stephen's porch was created as a major entrance to the building. This involved inserting a great arch with a grand staircase at the southern end of Westminster hall, which leads to the first floor where the major rooms are located. To the east of St. Stephens porch is St. Stephen's Hall, built on the surviving undercroft of St. Stephen's Chapel. To the east of this the octagonal Central Lobby (above which is the central tower), the centre of the building. North of the Central Lobby is the Commons' Corridor which leads into the square Commons' Lobby, north of which is the House of Commons.
There are various offices and corridors to the north of the House of Commons with the clock tower terminating the northern axis of the building. South of the Central Lobby is the Peers' Corridor leading to the Peers' Lobby, south of which lies the House of Lords. South of the House of Lords in sequence are the Prince's Chamber, Royal Gallery, and Queen's Robing Room. To the north-west of the Queen's Robing Chamber is the Norman Porch, to the west of which the Royal Staircase leads down to the Royal Entrance located immediately beneath the Victoria Tower. 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 façade is the Lord Chancellor's House, home of the Lord Chancellor.
Although Parliament gave Barry a prestigious name in architecture, it nearly finished him off. Completion of the building was very overdue; Barry had estimated it would take six years100 and cost £724,986101 (excluding the cost of the site, embankment and furnishings). However, construction actually took 26 years, and it was also well over budget; by July 1854 the estimated cost was £2,166,846.102 Those pressures left Barry tired and stressed. The full Barry design was never completed; it 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.103
Barry was an active fellow of the Royal Academy, and he was involved in revising the architectural curriculum in 1856.110 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.111
Barry was elected Associate of the Royal Academy on 2 November 1840112
On 10 February 1842 Barry was elected a Royal Academician of the Royal Academy,112 his diploma work being a drawing of the south front of the Travellers Club.113
Barry disliked being away from London. Not liking life in the country, he preferred the bustle and society of the city.25 He was an early riser, usually between four and six o'clock in the morning;25 he only needed four or five hours sleep.118 He preferred to do his thinking and designing in the morning, but was happy to have company while at work, liking to read to or join in conversation.119 He had a dislike of public display, considering it hollow and lacking in conviction.120 His general disposition was sanguine, though he had a quick temper.120 He preferred science to literature,24 he frequently attended the Friday night lectures held at the Royal Institution.121
Barry was engaged to Sarah Rowsell (1798–1882) in 1817, they married on 7 December 1822122 and had seven children together.
His second son, Rev. Alfred Barry (1826–1910), 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.
Barry's daughters were Emily Barry (1828–1886) and Adelaide Sarah Barry (1841–1907).
Two of Barry's grandsons continued in the profession, Charles Edward Barry (1855–1937) architect and assistant to his father, and his brother Lt Col Arthur John Barry (1859–1943), civil engineer and architect, son of Charles Barry Jr. and pupil and later partner of Sir John Wolfe-Barry. He was the author of Railway Expansion in China and the Influence of Foreign Powers in Its Development (London, 1910) and is noted for significant infrastructure projects in India, China, Thailand and Egypt.125 He was the final generation of the Barry architectural and engineering dynasty.
Death and funeral
From onward 1837 Barry suffered from sudden bouts of illness,126 one of the most severe being in 1858. On 12 May 1860 after an afternoon at the Crystal Palace with Lady Barry, at his home The Elms, Clapham Common, he was seized at eleven o'clock at night with difficulty in breathing and was in pain from a heart attack and died shortly after.127
Hardman & Co. made the monumental brass marking Barry's tomb in the nave at Westminster Abbey132 shows the Victoria Tower and Plan of the Palace of Westminster flanking a large Christian cross bearing representations of the Paschal Lamb and the four Evangelists and on the stem are roses, leaves, a portcullis and the letter B., beneath is this inscription:
Sacred to the memory of Sir Charles Barry, Knight R.A. F.R.S. & c. Architect of the New Palace of Westminster and other buildings who died the 12th May A.D. 1860 aged 64 years and lies buried beneath this brass.
The brass has this inscription running around its edge:
Whatsoever ye do do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto Men for ye serve the Lord Christ. Col. Colossians III.23.24.
The following tribute was paid by the R.I.B.A.:
The Royal Institute of British Architects impressed with the loss which the profession and the country have sustained through the decease of Sir Charles Barry, whose genius has conferred great lustre upon this age, hereby record their profound sympathy with the affliction which has fallen upon the widow and family of their lamented friend.133
Following Barry's death a life size white-marble sculpture (1861–65) of him was carved by John Henry Foley and was set up as a memorial to him at the foot of the Committee Stairs in the Palace of Westminster.134
Old Grammar School at the College of God’s Gift at Dulwich (established for the education of poor boys from Dulwich and Camberwell, constructed 1841–42)140
London 4 : North. Cherry, Bridget., Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1902–1983. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2002. pp. 656. ISBN 0-300-09653-4. OCLC719418475. ↩
Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus, eds. (2002). London. 4: North / by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner (1. publ. by Yale Univ. Press ed.). New Haven London: Yale Univ. Press. p. 658. ISBN 978-0-300-09653-8. ↩
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) 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. He is known for his major contribution to the use of Italianate architecture in Britain,1 especially the use of the Palazzo as basis for the design of country houses, city mansions and public buildings. He also developed the Italian Renaissance garden style for the many gardens he designed around country houses.2
Background and training
Born on 23 May 17953 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 (née Maybank; died 1798). 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.3
He was educated at private schools in Homerton and then Aspley Guise,4 before being apprenticed to Middleton & Bailey,5 architects and surveyors, at the age of 15. Barry exhibited drawings at the annually from 1812 to 1815. Upon the death of his father, Barry inherited a sum of money that allowed him, after , to undertake an extensive around the Mediterranean and , from 28 June 1817 to August 1820.
On 18 June 1819, Barry parted from Baillie at Tripoli. Over this time, Barry created more than 500 sketches.19 Barry then travelled on to Cyprus, Rhodes, Halicarnassus, Ephesus and Smyrna from where he sailed on 16 August 1819 for Malta.20
Barry then sailed from Malta to Syracuse, Sicily,20 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,21 who inspired Barry himself to become an architect. 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.22
Two further Gothic churches in Lancashire, not for the Commissioners followed in 1824: St Saviour's Church, Ringley, partially rebuilt in 1851–54, and Barry's neglected Welsh Baptist Chapel, on Upper Brook Street (1837–39)33 in Manchester (and owned by the City Council), long open to the elements and at serious risk after its roof was removed in late 2005, the building was converted to private apartments in 2014–17. His final church for the Commissioners' was the Gothic St Peter's Church, Brighton (1824–28),34 which he won in a design competition on 4 August 1823 and was his first building to win acclaim.35
The next church he designed was St Andrew'sHove, East Sussex,36 in Waterloo Street, Brunswick, (1827–28); 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 church37 (1843–45), with its tower and spire, unlike his earlier churches was much closer to the Cambridge Camden Society's approach to church design. According to his son Alfred,38 Barry later disowned these early church designs of the 1820s and wished he could destroy them.
His first major civil commission came when he won a competition to design the new Royal Manchester Institution39 (1824–1835) 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 House40 (1825) in Salford this is the only known house where Barry used Greek revival architecture. The Royal Sussex County Hospital41 was erected to Barry's design (1828) in a very plain classical style.
Thomas Attree's villa, Queen's Park, Brighton,42 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. In 1831, he entered the competition for the design of Birmingham Town Hall,43 the design was based on an Ancient Greek temple of the Doric order, but it failed to win the competition.
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,44 in Pall Mall, built in 1832, as with all his urban commissions in this style the design was astylar. He designed the Gothic King Edward's School,45New Street, Birmingham (1833–37), demolished 1936, it was during the erection of the school that Barry first met Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin,46 he helped Barry design the interiors of the building.
His last work in Manchester was the Italianate Manchester Athenaeum (1837–39),47 this is now part of Manchester Art Gallery. From 1835–37, he rebuilt Royal College of Surgeons of England,48 in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Westminster, he preserved the Ionic portico from the earlier building (1806–13) designed by George Dance the Younger, the building has been further extended (1887–88) and (1937). In 1837, he won the competition to design the Reform Club,49 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.
Country house work
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 Hall50 in Staffordshire, between 1834 and 1840. 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,2 with parterres and fountains. Largely demolished in 1912, only a small portion of the house, consisting of the porte-cochère 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.51
Between 1834 and 1838, at Bowood House,52Wiltshire, owned by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Barry added the tower, made alterations to the gardens, and designed the Italianate entrance lodge. For the same client, he designed the Lansdowne Monument in 1845.53 Walton House in Walton-on-Thames54 followed in 1835–39. Again Barry used the Italianate style, with a three-storey tower over the entrance porte-cochère (which was demolished 1973). Then, from 1835 to 1838, he remodelled Sir Roger Pratt's Kingston Lacy, with the exterior being re-clad in stone. The interiors were also Barry's work.
Highclere Castle,55 Hampshire, with its large tower, was remodelled between about 1842 and 1850, in Elizabethan style, for Henry Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon. The building was completely altered externally, with the plain Georgian structure being virtually rebuilt. However, little of the interior is by Barry, because his patron died in 1849 and Thomas Allom completed the work in 1861. At Duncombe Park,56 Yorkshire, Barry designed new wings, which were added between in 1843 and 1846 in the English Baroque style of the main block. At Harewood House57 he remodelled the John Carr exterior between 1843 and 1850, 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, with the dining room being entirely by Barry, and he created the formal terraces and parterres surrounding the house.
Between 1844 and 1848, Barry remodelled Dunrobin Castle,58Sutherland, Scotland, 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, but the gardens, with their fountains and parterres, are also by Barry. Canford Manor,59 Dorset, was extended in a Tudor Gothic style between 1848 and 1852, including a large entrance tower. The most unusual interior is the Nineveh porch, built to house Assyrian sculptures from the eponymous palace, decorated with Assyrian motifs.
James Paine's Shrubland Park60 was remodelled between 1849 and 1854, including an Italianate tower and entrance porch, a lower hall with Corinthian columns and glass domes, and impressive formal gardens based on Italian Renaissance gardens. The gardens included a 70-foot (21 m)-high series of terraces linked by a grand flight of steps, with an open temple structure at the top. Originally there were cascades of water either side of the staircase. The main terrace is at the centre of a string of gardens nearly 1 mile (1,600 m) in length.61
Between 1850 and 1852, Barry remodelled Gawthorpe Hall,62 an Elizabethan house situated south-east of the small town of Padiham, in the borough of Burnley, Lancashire. It was originally a pele tower, built in the 14th century as a defence against the invading Scots. Around 1600, a Jacobean mansion had been dovetailed around the pele, but today's hall is re-design of the house, using the original Elizabethan style.
Barry's last major remodelling work was Cliveden House,63 which had been the seat of the Earls of Orkney from 1696 till 1824. Barry's remodelling was again on behalf of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland. After the previous building was burnt down (1850–51), Barry built a new central block in the Italianate style, rising to three floors, the lowest of which have arch headed windows, and the upper two floors have giant Ionicpilasters. He also designed the parterres below the house.64 Little of Barry's interior design survived later remodelling.
Later urban work
Barry remodelled Trafalgar Square (1840–45) he designed the north terrace with the steps at either end, and the sloping walls on the east and west of the square, the two fountain basins are also to Barry's design, although Edwin Lutyens re-designed the actual fountains (1939).65
Barry was commissioned to design (1840–42) the façade of Pentonville prison, that was designed by Joshua Jebb, he added a stuccoed Italianate pilastered frontage to Caledonian Road.66 The (Old) Treasury (Now Cabinet Office) Whitehall by John Soane, built (1824–26) was virtually rebuilt65 by Barry (1844–47). It consists of 23 bays with a giant Corinthian order over a rusticated ground floor, the five bays at each end project slightly from the façade.
Bridgewater House, Westminster,67 London (1845–64) for Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere, in a grand Italianate style. The structure was complete by 1848, but interior decoration was only finished by 1864. The main (south) front is 144 feet long, of nine bays in more massive version of his earlier Reform Club, the garden (west) front is of seven bays. The interiors are intact apart from the north wing which was bombed in The Blitz. The main interior is the central Saloon, a roofed courtyard of two storeys, of three by five bays of arches on each floor, the walls are lined with scagliola, the coved ceiling is glazed and the centre has three glazed saucer domes. The decoration of the major rooms is not the work of Barry.
The last major commission of Barry's was Halifax Town Hall68 (1859–62), in a North Italian Cinquecento style, and a grand tower with spire, the interior includes a central hall similar to that at Bridgewater House, the building was completed after Barry's death by his son Edward Middleton Barry.
Completed after Barry's death in 1863 was the classical, Guest Memorial Reading Room and Library69 in Dowlais, Wales.
The most significant of Barry's designs that were not carried out included, his proposed Law Courts (1840–41), that if built would have covered Lincoln's Inn Fields with a large Greek Revival building, this rectangular building would have been over three hundred by four hundred feet, in a Greek Doric style, there would have been octastyle porticoes in the middle of the shorter sides and hexastyle porticoes on the longer sides, leading to a large central hall that would have been surrounded by twelve court rooms that in turn were surrounded by the ancillary facilities.70 Later was his General Scheme of Metropolitan Improvements, that were exhibited in 1857.71 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.72 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.
Houses of Parliament
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.73 Barry's entry, number 64,74 for which Augustus Pugin helped prepare the competition drawings,75 won the commission in January 1836 to design the new Palace of Westminster. His collaboration with Pugin, who designed furniture, stained glass, sculpture, wallpaper, decorative floor tiles and mosaic work, was not renewed until June 1844,76 and then continued until Pugin's mental breakdown and death in 1852. The Tudor Gothic architectural style was chosen to complement the Henry VII Lady Chapel77 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 were at a slight angle to the river, so Barry had to incorporate the awkwardly different axes 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 (200 m) in length, about two-thirds the size of the finished building.78 The central lobby and tower were later additions, as was 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.79
Before construction could commence, the site had to be embanked and cleared of the remains of the previous buildings, and various sewers needed to be diverted.80 On 1 September 1837, work started on building a 920-foot (280 m) long coffer-dam to enclose the building site along the river.81 The construction of the embankment started on New Year's Day 1839.82 The first work consisted of the construction of a vast concrete raft to serve as the building's foundation. After the space had been excavated by hand,82 70,000 cubic yards (54,000 m3) of concrete were laid.82 The site of the Victoria Tower was found to consist of quicksand, necessitating the use of piles.82 The stone selected for the exterior of the building was quarried at Anston in Yorkshire,82 with the core of the walls being laid in brick.82 To make the building as fire-proof as possible, wood was only used decoratively, rather than structurally,82 and extensive use was made of cast iron. The roofs of the building consist of cast iron girders covered by sheets of iron,83 cast iron beams were also used as joists to support the floors84 and extensively in the internal structures of both the clock tower and Victoria tower.85
Barry and his engineer Alfred Meeson were responsible for designing scaffolding, hoists and cranes used in the construction.86 One of their most innovative developments was the scaffolding used to construct the three main towers. For the central tower they designed an inner rotating scaffold, surrounded by timber centring to support the masonry vault of the Central Lobby, that spans 57 feet 2 inches (17.42 m), and an external timber tower.87 A portable steam engine was used to lift stone and brick to the upper parts of the tower.88 When it came to building the Victoria and Clock towers, it was decided to dispense with external scaffolding and lift building materials up through the towers by an internal scaffolding that travelled up the structure as it was built. The scaffold and cranes were powered by steam engines.88
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.89 A major problem for Barry came with the appointment on 1 April 1840 of the ventilation expert Dr David Boswell Reid.90 Reid, whom Barry said was "...not profess to be thoroughly acquainted with the practical details of building and machinery...",91 would make increasing demands that affected the building's design, leading to delays in construction. By 1845, Barry was refusing 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.91
The House of Lords was completed in April 184792 in the form of a double cube measuring 90 ft × 45 ft × 45 ft (27 m × 14 m × 14 m).92 The House of Commons was finished in 1852, where later Barry would be created a Knight Bachelor. The Elizabeth Tower, which houses the great clock and bells including Big Ben, is 316 feet (96 m) tall and was completed in 1858.93 The Victoria Tower is 323 feet (98 m) tall and was completed in 1860.94 The iron flagpole on the Victoria Tower tapers from 2 feet 9 inches (840 mm) in diameter and the iron crown on top is 3 feet 6 inches (1,070 mm) in diameter and 395 feet (120 m) above ground.95 The central tower is 261 feet (80 m) high.96 The building is 940 feet (290 m) long, covers about 8 acres (3 hectares) of land, and has over 1000 rooms. The east Thames façade is 873 feet (266 m) in length.97 Pugin later dismissed the building, saying "All Grecian, Sir, Tudor details on a classic body",98 the essentially symmetrical plan and river front being offensive to Pugin's taste for medieval Gothic buildings.
The plan99 of the finished building is built around two major axes. At the southern end of Westminster Hall, St. Stephen's porch was created as a major entrance to the building. This involved inserting a great arch with a grand staircase at the southern end of Westminster hall, which leads to the first floor where the major rooms are located. To the east of St. Stephens porch is St. Stephen's Hall, built on the surviving undercroft of St. Stephen's Chapel. To the east of this the octagonal Central Lobby (above which is the central tower), the centre of the building. North of the Central Lobby is the Commons' Corridor which leads into the square Commons' Lobby, north of which is the House of Commons.
There are various offices and corridors to the north of the House of Commons with the clock tower terminating the northern axis of the building. South of the Central Lobby is the Peers' Corridor leading to the Peers' Lobby, south of which lies the House of Lords. South of the House of Lords in sequence are the Prince's Chamber, Royal Gallery, and Queen's Robing Room. To the north-west of the Queen's Robing Chamber is the Norman Porch, to the west of which the Royal Staircase leads down to the Royal Entrance located immediately beneath the Victoria Tower. 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 façade is the Lord Chancellor's House, home of the Lord Chancellor.
Although Parliament gave Barry a prestigious name in architecture, it nearly finished him off. Completion of the building was very overdue; Barry had estimated it would take six years100 and cost £724,986101 (excluding the cost of the site, embankment and furnishings). However, construction actually took 26 years, and it was also well over budget; by July 1854 the estimated cost was £2,166,846.102 Those pressures left Barry tired and stressed. The full Barry design was never completed; it 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.103
Barry was an active fellow of the Royal Academy, and he was involved in revising the architectural curriculum in 1856.110 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.111
Barry was elected Associate of the Royal Academy on 2 November 1840112
On 10 February 1842 Barry was elected a Royal Academician of the Royal Academy,112 his diploma work being a drawing of the south front of the Travellers Club.113
Barry disliked being away from London. Not liking life in the country, he preferred the bustle and society of the city.25 He was an early riser, usually between four and six o'clock in the morning;25 he only needed four or five hours sleep.118 He preferred to do his thinking and designing in the morning, but was happy to have company while at work, liking to read to or join in conversation.119 He had a dislike of public display, considering it hollow and lacking in conviction.120 His general disposition was sanguine, though he had a quick temper.120 He preferred science to literature,24 he frequently attended the Friday night lectures held at the Royal Institution.121
Barry was engaged to Sarah Rowsell (1798–1882) in 1817, they married on 7 December 1822122 and had seven children together.
His second son, Rev. Alfred Barry (1826–1910), 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.
Barry's daughters were Emily Barry (1828–1886) and Adelaide Sarah Barry (1841–1907).
Two of Barry's grandsons continued in the profession, Charles Edward Barry (1855–1937) architect and assistant to his father, and his brother Lt Col Arthur John Barry (1859–1943), civil engineer and architect, son of Charles Barry Jr. and pupil and later partner of Sir John Wolfe-Barry. He was the author of Railway Expansion in China and the Influence of Foreign Powers in Its Development (London, 1910) and is noted for significant infrastructure projects in India, China, Thailand and Egypt.125 He was the final generation of the Barry architectural and engineering dynasty.
Death and funeral
From onward 1837 Barry suffered from sudden bouts of illness,126 one of the most severe being in 1858. On 12 May 1860 after an afternoon at the Crystal Palace with Lady Barry, at his home The Elms, Clapham Common, he was seized at eleven o'clock at night with difficulty in breathing and was in pain from a heart attack and died shortly after.127
Hardman & Co. made the monumental brass marking Barry's tomb in the nave at Westminster Abbey132 shows the Victoria Tower and Plan of the Palace of Westminster flanking a large Christian cross bearing representations of the Paschal Lamb and the four Evangelists and on the stem are roses, leaves, a portcullis and the letter B., beneath is this inscription:
Sacred to the memory of Sir Charles Barry, Knight R.A. F.R.S. & c. Architect of the New Palace of Westminster and other buildings who died the 12th May A.D. 1860 aged 64 years and lies buried beneath this brass.
The brass has this inscription running around its edge:
Whatsoever ye do do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto Men for ye serve the Lord Christ. Col. Colossians III.23.24.
The following tribute was paid by the R.I.B.A.:
The Royal Institute of British Architects impressed with the loss which the profession and the country have sustained through the decease of Sir Charles Barry, whose genius has conferred great lustre upon this age, hereby record their profound sympathy with the affliction which has fallen upon the widow and family of their lamented friend.133
Following Barry's death a life size white-marble sculpture (1861–65) of him was carved by John Henry Foley and was set up as a memorial to him at the foot of the Committee Stairs in the Palace of Westminster.134
Old Grammar School at the College of God’s Gift at Dulwich (established for the education of poor boys from Dulwich and Camberwell, constructed 1841–42)140
London 4 : North. Cherry, Bridget., Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1902–1983. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2002. pp. 656. ISBN 0-300-09653-4. OCLC719418475. ↩
Cherry, Bridget; Pevsner, Nikolaus, eds. (2002). London. 4: North / by Bridget Cherry and Nikolaus Pevsner (1. publ. by Yale Univ. Press ed.). New Haven London: Yale Univ. Press. p. 658. ISBN 978-0-300-09653-8. ↩