John Bilson (1856–1943) was an English architect trained under

William Botterill William Botterill and Son was a prominent Kingston upon Hull architectural practice. The practice was founded by William Botterill (1820–1903), who worked with his son William Henry Botterill (1851–79), and after 1881 with John Bilson (1858 ...

, later working as a partner in

Botterill and Bilson Botterill is an English surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Cal Botterill (born 1947), Canadian sports psychologist * George Botterill (born 1949), English chess player and writer * Jason Botterill (born 1976), American ice hocke ...

. Bilson is best known for his architectural research on the medieval period.

Biography

John Bilson was born on 23 September 1856 in

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road bypasses the town on the line of t ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

and educated at

Wesley College, Sheffield Wesley College, a school to educate the sons of the laity, opened in 1838 in new buildings designed by William Flockton on Glossop Road, Sheffield, England. It was founded by Rev. Samuel Dousland Waddy (1804–1876) to "supply a generally su ...

. He trained in architecture under

from 1873 to 1877, and joined the practice as a partner in 1881. After Botterill's son's early death in 1879 Bilson became the main partner in the practice, and took over the business completely when Botterill retired in 1899. Bilson received a D.Litt. from Durham University in 1925 for his work on dating the architecture of

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of ...

. he was also honoured by the Société française d'archéologie (French) in 1926. John had two children, John Seymour Craven Bilson (born 1903) and Joan Bilson (born 1906). He died 15 December 1943.

Legacy

Bilson is well regarded for his historical work on medieval architecture; on his work at Durham it has been written ''"The chronology of the works .of construction have been established by John Bilson on such solid bases that there is nothing significant to be added."'' John Bilson also wrote an article for the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica on ''Romanesque and Gothic Architecture in England''. Photographs attributed to Bilson are held by The Courtauld in the Conway Library of art and architecture, and are currently being digitised.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilson, John English architectural historians Architects from Nottinghamshire 1856 births 1943 deaths People educated at Wesley College, Sheffield

Biography

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links