Charles Wilson (19 June 1810 – 5 February 1863) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

architect from

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Biography

Charles Wilson was the younger son of a Glasgow-based master mason and builder. After working for his father, he was articled to the architect David Hamilton in 1827. In Hamilton's office, Wilson worked on jobs including

Hamilton Palace Hamilton Palace was a country house in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton and is widely acknowledged as having been one of the grandest houses in the British Isles.Glasgow Royal Exchange,

Castle Toward Castle Toward () is a nineteenth-century country house in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Built in 1820 by Glasgow merchant Kirkman Finlay, it replaced the late medieval Toward Castle, formerly the ancestral home of the Clan Lamont. It was grea ...

and Lennox Castle. Wilson left Hamilton's practice in 1837 to take over his father's business, together with his elder brother John. This partnership only lasted for two years, after which Charles Wilson established his own architecture practice. His early work was influenced by the architectural style of his former employer, including

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

and

Greek revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

buildings. Due to financial problems at David Hamilton's firm, which was sequestrated in 1844, Wilson gained work that might have been expected to go to Hamilton, including the commission for the City Lunatic Asylum at Gartnavel in 1840. In preparation for this project, Wilson travelled to asylums in England and France. LewsCastle

Continental

neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

increasingly influenced his work during the 1840s and 1850s, although he also produced work in the

Scots Baronial Scottish baronial or Scots baronial is an architectural style of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival which Revivalism (architecture), revived the forms and ornaments of historical Architecture of Scotland in the Middle Ages, ...

style. During this period he worked on numerous residential villas, and several public buildings including the Queens Rooms (1856) and the Free Church College (1856–1857), both in Glasgow. In 1850, he designed Woodside House in Paisley for the thread baron, Sir Peter Coats. He was responsible for the Duke Street Cotton Mill and the Neilson Institute in Paisley (both 1849). In 1851 Wilson prepared a master plan for the Park district of Glasgow, the core of which was taken forward as Park Circus, although other parts of his scheme were not adopted. He also assisted

Sir Joseph Paxton Sir Joseph Paxton (3 August 1803 – 8 June 1865) was an English gardener, architect, engineer and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Member of Parliament. He is best known for designing the Crystal Palace, which was built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde ...

with the layout for the adjacent

Kelvingrove Park Kelvingrove Park is a public park located on the River Kelvin in the West End of the city of Glasgow, Scotland, containing the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. History Kelvingrove Park was originally created as the West End Park in 1852, a ...

. Wilson's design for 22 Park Circus was executed after his death. His important mansions include the castellated

Lews Castle Lews Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Leòdhais'') is a Victorian era castle located west of the town of Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Scotland. It was built in the years 1844–51 as a country house for Sir James Matheson who had bought the who ...

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

(1847–1857), for

Sir James Matheson Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet, FRS (17 November 179631 December 1878), was a Scottish opium trader and taipan. Born in Shiness, Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, he was the son of Captain Donald Matheson. He attended Edinburgh ...

. Wilson was a founder-member of the Architectural Institute of Scotland in 1850, and of the Glasgow Architectural Society in 1858, of which he became president in 1860, although due to failing health he was succeeded as president by

Alexander Thomson Alexander "Greek" Thomson (9 April 1817 – 22 March 1875) was an eminent Scottish architect and architectural theorist who was a pioneer in sustainable building. Although his work was published in the architectural press of his day, it was ...

the following year. Wilson's former assistant, David Thomson, returned to his firm as a partner shortly after, taking on the running of the practice. In February 1863 Charles Wilson died of dropsy, and was buried in Glasgow's Southern Necropolis, close to the gateway he had designed in 1848. Besides David Thomson, architects trained in Wilson's practice include Thomas Ross, James Boucher and James Cousland.

Mentions in literature and pop culture

A House designed by Charles Wilson plays an important part in the "Empathy is the Enemy" storyline of the comic-book series

Hellblazer ''John Constantine, Hellblazer'' is an American contemporary Horror fiction, horror comic-book series published by DC Comics since January 1988, and subsequently by its Vertigo Comics, Vertigo imprint since March 1993, when the imprint was introd ...

.Hellblazer, Vertigo Comics, Issues 216-222

References

External links

Charles Wilson (1810–63)
Glasgow – City of Sculpture

Gazetteer for Scotland

City of the Dead: Glasgow Southern Necropolis Guide {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Charles 19th-century Scottish architects Architects from Glasgow 1810 births 1863 deaths Burials at the Southern Necropolis Deaths from edema