Frederick de Jersey Clere (7 January 1856 – 13 August 1952) was an architect in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand.

Biography

He was born in Walsden, near

Todmorden Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. In 2011, it had a popul ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and trained as an architect before emigrating to New Zealand with his family in 1877. He was an architect for 58 years, in

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

Wanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest nav ...

, and

. In 1883 he was made the Diocesan Architect for the Anglican Church in Wellington, designing over 100 churches not only in Wellington but across the lower

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. He built a variety of buildings, including the

Wellington Harbour Board Head Office and Bond Store Wellington Harbour Board Head Office and Bond Store is a historic building on Jervois Quay in Wellington, New Zealand. The building currently houses the Wellington Museum. It was commissioned in 1890 by the Wellington Harbour Board to replace w ...

and the Wellington Harbour Board Wharf Office Building for the Wellington Harbour Board (WHB) and also designed schools, houses and churches. In 1891 he designed the extension to the baptistry of Old St Paul's in Wellington.Sheppard, Peter. ''Restoring Old St Paul's''. Wellington: Ministry of Works, 1970, p. 4. An advocate of concrete construction (though he wrote a pamphlet on building wooden churches), his best known design is St Mary of the Angels (Catholic, 1922) of reinforced concrete, in Wellington. Many of his churches are in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style, for example St Alban's Church in Pāuatahanui and the Catholic, St Patrick's Church, Palmerston North which was built in 1925 and renovated and rededicated in 1980 as the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. He was involved with his architectural partner, John Swan, in designing St Gerard's, Wellington. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

. He practised on his own and in association with many other architects, including his son. Clere continued working until the age of 92, and died on 13 August 1952 at the age of 96.

References

* * ''Hints on building wooden churches'' by Frederick de J. Clere (1886, Ffrost & Manley, Wellington), a 16-page pamphlet

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clere, Frederick De Jersey 1856 births 1952 deaths New Zealand architects New Zealand ecclesiastical architects People from Todmorden English emigrants to New Zealand Wellington City Councillors Hutt City Councillors

Biography

See also

References

External links