Charles Wyatt (1758 – 13 March 1819) was an English

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and Member of Parliament for

Sudbury, Suffolk Sudbury (, ) is a market town and civil parish in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, north-east of London. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government district and part of the South Suf ...

Life

Charles Wyatt was the son of William Wyatt (died 1780, steward to Lord Uxbridge in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

), nephew to the architects

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

and

Samuel Wyatt Samuel Wyatt (8 September 1737 – 8 February 1807) was an English architect and engineer. A member of the Wyatt family, which included several notable 18th- and 19th-century English architects, his work was primarily in a neoclassical style. C ...

, and cousin to Sir

Jeffry Wyattville Sir Jeffry Wyatville (3 August 1766 – 18 February 1840) was an English architect and garden designer. Born Jeffry Wyatt into an established dynasty of architects, in 1824 he was allowed by King George IV to change his surname to Wyatville ...

. He joined the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in 1780 as a cadet, and sailed for

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

aboard the ship ''Mount Stewart'' on 27 June. However, the ship was captured by the French and Spanish fleets and returned to England. His second attempt to reach India was successful, and he finally arrived in 1782. He joined the

Bengal Engineers The Bengal Engineer Group (BEG) (informally the Bengal Sappers or Bengal Engineers) is a military engineering regiment in the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The unit was originally part of the Bengal Army of the East India Company's Ben ...

of the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

, eventually being promoted to captain in 1800. His opportunity to design buildings came in 1798 when Viceroy and Governor-General Richard Wellesley arrived in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and selected Wyatt to design the new

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries. Government Houses in th ...

. Built from 1799 to 1803, it was based on the design of

Kedleston Hall Kedleston Hall is a neo-classical manor house owned by the National Trust, and seat of the :Curzon family, Curzon family, located near Kedleston in Derbyshire, England, approximately 4 miles (6 km) north-west of Derby. The medieval village ...

. Wyatt also designed alterations to Wellesley's country residence at

Barrackpore Barrackpore (), also known as Barrackpore,is a city and municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the India, Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Barrackpore subdivision. The city is a part of the area covered by Ko ...

. In June 1803 he was made Superintendent of Public Works. Having made a fortune in India, Wyatt retired in October 1806, buying the country villa called Ealing Grove outside London, not far from Sir

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neoclassical architecture, Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor ...

's villa at

Pitzhanger Manor Pitzhanger Manor is an English country house famous as the home of neoclassical architect, Sir John Soane. Built between 1800 and 1804 in what is now Walpole Park Ealing, to the west of London, the Regency Manor is a rare and spectacular exa ...

. He was elected as

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

MP for

page 939, ''A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840'', Howard Colvin, 2nd edition 1978, John Murray in two successive parliaments, serving from 1812 to 1818. He died in 1819 at Foley House, his London home in

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to the BBC's headquarters Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Insti ...

. He had married Charlotte Drake (née Greentree), widow of George Drake of the Bombay Marines in 1787.

Gallery of architectural work

File:Rajbahavan.jpg,

File:FraserCalcuttaGovernmentHouse.jpg, East view of Government House, Calcutta File:KolkataRajbhavanGate.JPG, Gate, Government House

References

* ''The Wyatts An Architectural Dynasty'' by John Martin Robinson 1979, Oxford University Press
History of Parliament WYATT, Charles (c.1759-1819) of Foley House, Portland Place, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Charles 1758 births 1819 deaths Bengal Engineers officers 18th-century English architects 19th-century English architects People from Sudbury, Suffolk Architects from Suffolk

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Life

Gallery of architectural work

See also

References