George Allen Mansfield (15 June 1834 – 20 January 1908) was a prominent

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

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 ...

of the nineteenth century who designed many iconic buildings in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia.

Life

Born in 1834 in

, his father, the Reverend Ralph Mansfield, had been a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

missionary. He was educated at the privately run school of Mr. W. T. Cape and then articled with the

John Frederick Hilly John Frederick Hilly (c.1810 – 3 September 1883) was a surveyor and architect who designed commercial buildings, churches and houses in mid-nineteenth-century Sydney. He was born in Warwickshire and arrived in Australia in 1839. On 8 January ...

. He married Mary Emma Allen, third daughter of prominent

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

George Allen, and had seven children. The family lived in Tranby, Glebe, which was designed by Mansfield.Glebe Walks
They then lived at ''Oakwood'' in Bridge Road From 1864 to 1869, and ''Lynedoch'' in Glebe Road from 1870 to 1879. Mansfield served as an Inner Glebe Ward Councillor (Alderman from 1867) for the Borough of The Glebe from 1866 to 1878. Mansfield was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Glebe A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...

branch of the New South Wales Militia, a commissioner for Peace and an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for Glebe Council. Mansfield was also a member of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

and was the first Australian-born architect to receive the honour of Fellowship. Mansfield was also the founder and first president of the NSW Institute of Architects (now the NSW Chapter of the

Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...

). He died in 1908, and was buried at

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a Heritage register, heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte, New South Wales, Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, ...

. He is remembered in the name of Mansfield Street,

Works

His many prominent colonial buildings including and ten listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, include:

Churches

Pitt Street Uniting Church The Pitt Street Uniting Church is a heritage-listed Uniting church building located at 264 Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district, Australia. Founded in 1833, the congregation was the original church of Congregationalism in New So ...

* Mudgee Uniting Church * Newtown Mission Uniting Church

Schools

* Castle Hill Public School, Sydney * Cleveland Street Public School *

Crown Street Public School The Crown Street Public School is a heritage-listed State school, public primary school located at Crown Street, Sydney, Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Allen Mansfield and built from in 1 ...

* The Old School, Darlington * Mudgee Public School (part) * Newcastle East Public School *

North Sydney Technical High School North Sydney Technical High School is a heritage-listed former public school, Presbyterian school and education resource centre and now pub at 36 Blue Street, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by George Allen Mansfield ...

(1876–1877) * Pyrmont Public School * Redfern Public School (now demolished)Planning department report for Red Fern Public School
. *

Rosebank College Rosebank College is an independent Roman Catholic comprehensive co-educational secondary school in the Benedictine tradition, located in Five Dock, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History Founded in 1867 by Ar ...

* Sussex Street Primary School, Sydney

Houses

* Toxteth Park for his inlaws * Carthona, Darling Point * 'The Warren' at Marrickville * ''Coombing Park'' at Carcoar for the founders of

Cobb and Co Cobb & Co was the name used by several independent Australian coach businesses. The first company to use 'Cobb & Co' was established in 1853 by American Freeman Cobb and his partners. The name grew to great prominence in the late 19th century ...

Commercial buildings

Australia Hotel The Australia Hotel was a hotel on Castlereagh Street, Sydney, Australia. From its opening in 1891 until its closure on 30 June 1971 and subsequent demolition, the hotel was considered "the best-known hotel in Australia", "the premier hotel in S ...

(now demolished for the

MLC Centre 25 Martin Place (formerly and still commonly known as the MLC Centre) is a skyscraper in Sydney, Australia. Originally named the "MLC Centre" after MLC Limited, and still commonly referred to by that name, in 2021 the name was removed by its o ...

) * several bank buildings for the

Commercial Bank of Australia The Commercial Bank of Australia Limited (CBA) was an Australian and New Zealand retail bank which operated from 1866 until it merged with the Bank of New South Wales, which was established in 1817, to form the Westpac Banking Corporation in ...

, now

Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...

* Australian Mutual Provident Society head office in

Pitt Street, Sydney Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, New South Wales, Waterloo, although today's street ...

(1878; demolished 1909). * Much of commercial building stock of O’Connell Street * The

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...

facilities of

AGL Energy AGL Energy Ltd is an Australian listed public company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. It is one of the "big three" retailers in the National Electricity Market. AGL is ...

(now Demolished) * Mansfield House in Maitland

Other

Royal Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of the Sydney Medical School at the ...

, Admission Block and Victoria & Albert Pavilions (1904)Glebe Walks
Webpage. * History House, Macquarie Street offices for the

Royal Australian Historical Society The Royal Australian Historical Society, formerly Australian Historical Society, is a voluntary organisation founded in Sydney, Australia in 1901Helen Doyle, "Royal Australian Historical Society" in Graeme Davison, John Hirst and Stuart Maci ...

Royal Australian Historical Society
Website. * Macleay Museum (

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

)

Gallery

File:(1)former_public_school.jpg, Former public school File:1 Tranby in Mansfield Street.jpg, Tranby House, Glebe File:1_St_Scholasticas3.jpg, Additions to St Scholastica's, formerly known as Toxteth Park File:Carthona circa 1870.jpg, Carthona, Darling Point, circa 1870 before the 1880s extensions at the back were made File:Royal prince alfred hosp.jpg,

- Administration Building File:RAHS 133 Macquarie.JPG, History House File:Hospitals and Asylums of the World - Portfolio of Plans, p. 21.jpg, Mansfield's 1893 floor plan of RPA.

References

External links

Portrait
at Institute of Architecture {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, George Allen 1834 births 1908 deaths Gothic Revival architects Australian Methodists Architects from Sydney New South Wales local councillors Public servants of New South Wales Burials at Waverley Cemetery