Joseph Clarke (1819–1888) was a British
Gothic Revival architect who practised in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England.
[
]
Career
In 1839, Clarke exhibited an antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
drawing with the Oxford Society for Promoting the Study of Gothic Architecture. He was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...
(RIBA) in 1841 and a Fellow of the RIBA in 1850.[ He became a member of the ]Ecclesiological Society
The Cambridge Camden Society, known from 1845 (when it moved to London) as the Ecclesiological Society,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and Rochester, and from 1871 to the see of St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
.[ He was also Consultant Architect to the ]Charity Commission
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is a non-ministerial department of His Majesty's Government that regulates registered charities in England and Wales and maintains the Central Register of Charities. Its counterparts in Scotland and ...
ers.[
In 1852, Clarke published ''Schools and Schoolhouses: a series of Views, Plans, and Details, for Rural Parishes''. In this he condemned the set of model plans issued by the Committee of Council on Education as "unsuitable in every way" and stressed the advantages of employing an architect for every new school, rather than relying on a standardised design:]''The plan should always be formed to the ''site'', and reference had to local materials; the design of the school, again, should conform to the materials. Brick and stone each require their separate uses, and so their several applications.''
The book included plans of twelve schools he had built in Kent, Essex and Oxfordshire, at Monks Horton, Lydd, Little Bentley, Coggeshall, Clifton Hampton, Coopershall, Wellesborough, Brabourne, Boreham, Foxearth, Hatfield and Leigh (Essex).
He drew up ambitious plans for an extension to the House of Charity in Greek Street Soho
SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...
, including a chapel, refectory, dormitories and cloisters, although only the chapel (begun 1862) was built.
His association with commissions in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
make it possible that he was the "Joseph Clarke, esq., architect" who presented plans for restoring the gatehouse at Rye, the intended scene of the Rye House Plot
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the r ...
, to the Oxford Architectural Society in May 1842.
Clarke exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1845 and 1870. The exhibition catalogues give his address as 1, Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...
, from 1845 to 1850; and 13, Stratford Place, thereafter.
He is buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...
.
Work
Buildings
* St Mary and St Nicholas parish church, Littlemore
Littlemore is a district and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxford, England. The civil parish includes part of Rose Hill, Oxfordshire, Rose Hill. It is about southeast of the city centre of Oxford, between Rose Hill, Blackbird Ley ...
, Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
: chancel and tower, 1848
*St Mary's parish church, Garsington
Garsington is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford in Oxfordshire. "A History of the County of Oxfordshire" provides a detailed history of the parish from 1082. The 2011 census recorded the parish's population as 1,689.
The v ...
, Oxfordshire: restoration, 1849
*St Paul's parish church, Culham
Culham is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in a bend of the River Thames, south of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Abingdon in Oxfordshire. The parish includes Culham Science Centre and Europa School UK (formerly the European Sch ...
, Oxfordshire: rebuilding, 1852
*Culham College, Culham, Oxfordshire, 1852 (now the European School, Culham
The European School, Culham (ESC) was one of the fourteen European Schools and the only one in the United Kingdom. Located in Culham near Abingdon in Oxfordshire. It was founded in 1978 for the purpose of providing an education to the children ...
)
*Gloucester and Bristol Diocesan Training Institution, Fishponds
Fishponds is a suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about from Bristol city centre, the city centre. It is mainly residential, and housing is typically terraced Victorian. It has a small student population from the presence ...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
(in partnership with John Norton of London), 1852 (later St Matthias' College)
*Holy Trinity parish church, Ardington
Ardington is a village and civil parish about east of Wantage in the Vale of White Horse. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire. Since 2012 responsibility for Ardington and the neighbouring p ...
, Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
(now Oxfordshire): tower and spire, 1856
*St John the Baptist's parish church, Wateringbury
Wateringbury is a village and civil parish near the town of Maidstone in Kent, England. The Wateringbury Stream flows into the River Medway just above Bow Bridge. It formerly powered three watermills in the village, one of which survives. The Wa ...
, Kent: restoration and south aisle, 1856
*St Alban's parish church, Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
, Lancashire, 1856 (demolished 1973)
* St Mary's parish church, Slaugham
Slaugham ( or ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. It is located to the south of Crawley, on the A23 road to Brighton. The civil parish covers an area of . At the 2001 census it had a population of ...
, West Sussex: restoration, 1857–1860
*St Mary the Virgin parish church, Farnham, Essex, 1858–59
*St Stephen's parish church, Congleton
Congleton is a market town and civil parish in Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is on the River Dane, south of Manchester and north of Stoke on Trent. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 28,497 and the built-up area ha ...
, Cheshire, 1860
*St Luke's parish church, Heywood, Lancashire, 1860–62
*St James' parish church, Aston, Oxfordshire
Aston is a village about south of Witney in West Oxfordshire, England. The village is part of the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney. The southern boundary of the parish is the River Thames. The Unite ...
: restoration, 1862
*St Mary's chapel of ease, Shifford
Shifford is a hamlet in the civil parish of Aston, Cote, Shifford and Chimney in the West Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the north bank of the River Thames about south of Witney.
Archaeology
There was a ...
, Oxfordshire, 1863
* St John the Baptist parish church, Niton
Niton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Niton and Whitwell, on the Isle of Wight, England. It is west of Ventnor, with a population of 2,082. It has two public house, pubs, several church (building), churches, a pottery ...
, Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
: new churchyard cross on 15th-century base, 1865
*St Paul's parish church, Choppington
Choppington is a large village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is situated 5 miles to the south-east of Morpeth, and north of Bedlington. It was at one time part of the three big mid-Northumberland collieries (Ashington, ...
, Northumberland, 1866
*St Michael's parish church, Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the ...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
: alterations to chancel and ceilings, extension of north aisle, 1868–69
*St Mary's parish church, Apsley, Hertfordshire
Apsley is a village in Hertfordshire, England, in a valley of the Chiltern Hills below the confluence of the River Gade and Bulbourne. It was the site of water mills serving local agriculture and from the early 19th century became an importa ...
, 1871.
*St Peter's Church, Woodmansterne
Woodmansterne is a village in the borough of Reigate and Banstead, Surrey, bordering Greater London, England. It sits on a small plateau of and a southern down slope of the North Downs and its ecclesiastical parish borders continue to span old ...
, Surrey, 1876–77
* St Mary the Virgin parish church, Hillborough
Hillborough is an area of eastern Herne Bay in Kent, England. The population is included in the Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England.
It is in the Wa ...
, for Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England.
It is in the Wards of the United Kingdom, ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent.
Reculver once o ...
parish, 1876–78
*Holy Trinity parish church, Beckenham
Beckenham () is a town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Prior to 1965, it was part of Kent. It is situated north of Elmers End and Eden Park, east of Penge, south of Lower Sydenham and Bellingham, and west ...
, Kent 1878
*All Saints' Friern Barnet
Friern Barnet () is a suburban area within the London Borough of Barnet, north of Charing Cross. Its centre is formed by the busy intersection of Colney Hatch Lane (running north and south), Woodhouse Road (taking westbound traffic towards No ...
, London, N20.
*Holy Cross Church, Hoath
Hoath is a semi-rural village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury local government district. The hamlets of Knaves Ash, Maypole, Ford, Old Tree, Shelvingford and Stoney Acre are included in the parish.
Etymology
In Kent and East Sussex t ...
, Kent: restoration, north aisle added, new roofs and north arcade, new fittings including font, pulpit and pews, 1866-1867
Writings
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References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Joseph
1819 births
1888 deaths
Burials at Highgate Cemetery
English ecclesiastical architects
Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Associates of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Gothic Revival architects