David Papillon (1581–1659) was a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

architect and military engineer in England.

Life

He was born in France on 14 April 1581 into a

family, the younger son of Thomas Papillon, captain of the guard and valet-de-chambre to

Henri IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

, and his wife Jeanne Vieue de la Pierre. In 1588 his mother sailed with him and his two sisters for England. Their ship was wrecked off Hythe; the mother died, but the children were saved. He was brought up in England. Papillon was involved in London property development. As an architect, he is known for Papillon Hall, an octagonal house from 1622 that he built at

Lubenham Lubenham is a small rural village and civil parish west of the market town of Market Harborough, in the Harborough district, in the south of Leicestershire, England. The first National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup was held in Lubenham, in the grou ...

, Leicestershire. It was demolished in 1950. A Parliamentarian of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians ("Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of Kingdom of England, England's governanc ...

, Papillon was treasurer of Leicestershire from 1642 to 1646. He fortified Leicester and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

for the parliament, and advised on the defence of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. After his death in March 1659, a memorial to Papillon was placed in

St Katherine Coleman St Katherine Coleman was a parish church in the City of London, situated in St Katherine's Row, on the south side of Fenchurch Street, in Aldgate Ward. Of medieval origin, it narrowly escaped destruction in the Great Fire of London in 1666, b ...

, London, a church that has also since been demolished.

Works

Papillon published in 1645 ''A Practicall Abstract of the Arts of Fortification and Assailing''. He was author of a moral and religious essay entitled ''The Vanity of the Lives and Passions of Men'', London, 1651; and left in manuscript an essay on forms of government, ''Several Political and Military Observations'', and a French version of the ''Comfort to the Afflicted'' and two other works of the Puritan

Robert Bolton Robert Bolton (1572 – 16 December 1631) was an English clergyman and academic, noted as a preacher. Life He was born on Whit Sunday in Blackburn, Lancashire, the sixth son of Adam Bolton of Backhouse. He attended what is now Queen Elizabet ...

Family

Papillon married twice: #In 1611 he married Marie (died 1614), daughter of Jean Castel, pastor of the French church in London, where Papillon was deacon. #In 1615 he married Anne Marie, granddaughter of Giuliano Calandrini, a Protestant convert from

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as ...

. Thomas Papillon was their son.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Papillon, David 1581 births 1659 deaths Huguenots French architects French military engineers English people of French descent