John Pollard Seddon

FRIBA 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 ...

(19 September 1827 – 1 February 1906) was a British

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 ...

, working largely on churches. His father was a cabinetmaker, and his brother

Thomas Seddon : ''For the New Zealand politician see'' Tom Seddon Thomas Seddon (London, 28 August 1821Cairo, 23 November 1856) was an English landscape painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who painted colourful and highly detailed scenes of ...

(1821–1856) a landscape painter. Born in London, he was educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English i ...

. He was later a pupil of

Thomas Leverton Donaldson Thomas Leverton Donaldson (19 October 1795 – 1 August 1885) was a British architect, notable as a pioneer in architectural education, as a co-founder and President of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a winner of the RIBA Royal Gold ...

, though Donaldson was a classical architect and Seddon preferred the Gothic Revivalism of

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and po ...

. Between 1852 and 1863, Seddon formed a partnership with

John Prichard John Prichard (6 May 1817 – 13 October 1886) was a Welsh architect in the neo-Gothic style. As diocesan architect of Llandaff, he was involved in the building or restoration of many churches in south Wales. Personal history John Prichard ...

. Many of their major commissions were church restoration works, most famously for

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf) is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Pe ...

. In 1871 he submitted a design in a competition for

Holloway Sanatorium Holloway Sanatorium was an institution for the treatment of those suffering temporary mental illness, situated on of aesthetically landscaped grounds near Virginia Water, Surrey, England, about south-west of Charing Cross. Its largest buildings ...

C. F. A. Voysey Charles Francis Annesley Voysey (28 May 1857 – 12 February 1941) was an English architect and furniture and textile designer. Voysey's early work was as a designer of wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings in a Arts and Crafts style and he m ...

was articled as a pupil of Seddon in 1873. From 1884 to 1904 he was in partnership with

John Coates Carter John Coates Carter (1859–1927) was an English architect. Born in Norwich, Carter is notable for his design and restoration to churches in South Wales, and in particular Glamorgan. He was partnered with John Pollard Seddon from 1884 to 1904 ...

. In 1904 he was Diocesan Architect for London and designed a gigantic Imperial Monumental Halls, with a tall tower, to be added to

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

; it was intended to restore the dominance of the abbey over the surrounding crowd of towers and monuments. However, the cost of construction was prohibitive and it remained unbuilt. His works include the

University College of Wales , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

building in Aberystwyth; St Peter's Church,

Ayot St Peter Ayot St Peter is a village and civil parish in the Welwyn Hatfield district of Hertfordshire, England, about two miles north-west of Welwyn Garden City. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 166. At the 2011 Census the population ...

, Hertfordshire;

St Nicholas Church, Great Yarmouth The Minster Church of St Nicholas is the minster and parish church of the town of Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England. It was built during the Norman era and is England's third largest parish church, behind Beverley Minster in East Yorkshi ...

;

St Catherine's Church, Hoarwithy The Church of St Catherine is a Church of England parish church at Hoarwithy in the English county of Herefordshire. Alan Brooks and Nikolaus Pevsner, in the revised 2012 ''Herefordshire'' volume of the Pevsner Buildings of England series, des ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

; and, with Prichard, the

Church of St John, Llandenny The Church of St John, is the parish church of Llandenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. It is in the Perpendicular style and is a Grade I listed building as of 27 November 1953. History and architecture The church dates from the twelfth century, the d ...

; the 1858–9 rebuild of

St Mary's Church, Aberavon St Mary's Church, Aberavon, is an Anglican church in Port Talbot, UK. It is part of the Rectorial Benefice of Aberavon. It has been a Grade II listed building since 31 January 2000. The first mention of a church on this site was in 1199. The med ...

, and limited extensions to

Dingestow Court Dingestow Court, at Dingestow, Monmouthshire, Wales, is a Victorian country house with earlier origins and later additions. The architectural historian John Newman describes it as "one of the county's major houses" and Cadw notes its "entertainin ...

, Monmouthshire, including the stables.The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire, page 212 He was also a prolific designer of furniture, metalwork, stained glass, tiles and ceramics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, John Pollard 1827 births 1906 deaths People educated at Bedford School 19th-century English architects Fellows of the Royal Institute of British Architects