Daniel Asher Alexander by John Partridge

Daniel Asher Alexander (6 May 1768 – 2 March 1846) 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

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

Life

Daniel Asher Alexander was born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

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 ...

and educated at St Paul's School, London. He was admitted to the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1782. His first major work was the improvement of the medieval bridge at Rochester. The bridge was widened and the two central arches merged into one to provide a wider channel for shipping. The work was not completed until 1824, by which time Alexander had been dismissed from his post as engineer to the bridge. He was the principal architect of

Dartmoor Prison HM Prison Dartmoor is a Prison security categories in the United Kingdom, Category C men's prison, located in Princetown, England, Princetown, high on Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. Its high granite walls dominate this area of the mo ...

and

Maidstone Prison HM Prison Maidstone is a Category C men's prison, located in Maidstone, Kent, England and operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Maidstone Prison is one of the oldest penal institutions in the United Kingdom, having been in operation ...

, two of the oldest

gaol A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cri ...

s still in use in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Point Alexander was named after him by Captain George Vancouver in 1793. In 1799 he carried out a detailed survey of

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is in Rochester, Kent, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Rochester and seat (''cathedra'') of the Bishop of Rocheste ...

, and recommended a programme of repairs, which was begun in 1801. Alexander was the

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

to the London Dock Company between 1796 and 1831 and was responsible all the buildings at the

London Docks The London Docks were one of several sets of docks in the historic Port of London. They were constructed in Wapping, downstream from the City of London between 1799 and 1815, at a cost exceeding £5½ million. Traditionally ships had d ...

during that time, including the Pennington Street Warehouses and the London Dock House. The dock basins themselves were by the company's engineers, including John Rennie. In his capacity as surveyor to the

Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...

he built a number of lighthouses, including the High Lighthouse at Harwich (1818), and others at

Holyhead Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...

, Farne Island, and Lundy Island, the latter built on older foundations in 1819. Lundy Old Lighthouse - geograph

Other works include Mote House near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, built in the 1790s for the 1st Earl of Romney; Coley House near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and extensions to

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

Queen's House Queen's House is a former royal residence in the London borough of Greenwich, which presently serves as a public art gallery. It was built between 1616 and 1635 on the grounds of the now demolished Greenwich Palace, a few miles downriver fro ...

(then the Royal Naval Asylum) in Greenwich, London. In later life he lived at

Yarmouth, Isle of Wight Yarmouth is a town, port and civil parish in the west of the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. The town is named for its location at the mouth of the small Western Yar river. The town grew near the river crossing, originally a fer ...

, and at

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, where he died. His pupils included James Savage, John Whichcord Snr, William Hurst Ashpitel and Charles Busby.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Daniel Asher 1768 births 1846 deaths 19th-century English architects English surveyors Architects from London